MindfulMover on Planche Training

Pike Pull Through

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#FrequentlyAskedFridayMM: What’s the Best Way To Start Planche Work? . One of the common questions you’ll hear in bodyweight, calisthenic, and gymnastic training circles is “What’s the best way to develop the Planche?”. It’s a great question because there are a lot of methods! Static holds, bands, spotting, weights, and other weird and ineffective exercises that some strong guy on YouTube made up and people believed him based on his accomplishments 😂 . In my experience, I’ve found many of those methods to be very iffy. Statics often provided fickle gains. One day, you are holding and it’s easy and the next day, it feels like someone filled your stomach with bricks and you can barely even get into the position. Bands often provided a false sense of progression only to find out you have been holding the movement wrong. That weird strong guy YouTube exercise didn’t even work because that guy had no idea what he was talking about and just got lucky because he was strong 😂 . Instead, we favor the Pike Pull Through. This movement is where you’ll start in an L-Sit type position with your feet on the ground and press your hips up high until they’re in line with your shoulders. Then, you’ll lower back down. Advanced trainees can do it with feet in the air. This allows you to build the Planche in a dynamic way instead of static . When we use this exercise, we notice our trainees are not only able to Planche, but they become able to press in and out of it. Not only that, but the gains are MUCH more solid. No more having a good day then losing it the next day. The Planche sticks and the gains are solid! . So next time it’s time to train your Planche, give the Pike Pull Through a try. And tag a friend who needs help building their Planche!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Jan 20, 2019 at 12:52pm PST

Easier Pike Pull Through - on a Reddit thread, MindfulMover offered this additional advice:

3 sets of 8-10 reps twice a week. Make sure your hips reach in line with your shoulders every rep and do a short 1s pause at the top of each on. When it gets too easy, do it with your feet in the air.

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#StrengthSundayMM : Pike Pull Through . The Pike Pull Through is one of our favorite exercises for two reasons: One, it gets results. And two, it gets results FAST! . Our inbox is FULL people telling us the same story: They would work toward developing a Tuck Planche with things like static holds, Planche Leans, and band assistance and would make little to no progress despite their hard work. We have even had stories of women who have worked for multiple YEARS to get a Tuck Planche and still not been successful . Then these people try the Pike Pull Through progressions we made an all of a sudden, they're able to Tuck Planche within weeks! In our online coaching, our average time from zero to Tuck Planche is now a matter of weeks. Not to mention that's only training the movement twice a week with an average of 3 sets... 😂 . Why are our trainees able to make so much progress so fast? Because we are using the best tool for the job. Even those of us who have made Planche progress with other methods like static know that the progress is a bit fickle. One day, you can hold a Planche for 20 seconds and the next day, you can barely do 5! Yet with Pike Pull Throughs and other dynamic exercises, our trainees know they can maintain their gains MUCH more easily! . One of the reasons is muscle mass. Something I learned from Stephane Cazeault is that half your strength potential is determined by your muscle mass. Pike Pull Throughs have a concentric (lifting phase) AND an eccentric (lowering phase) which helps to build muscle mass and improve strength gains faster. Bands and Statics don't have either of these which is why the gains are slower and less permanent . So if you're not doing them already, start using the better tool for the job and get on the Pike Pull Through gain train! And for an extra tip, check the IG stories! 😎

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Apr 1, 2018 at 7:34am PDT

Leaned Forward Pushups

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#TechniqueTuesdayMM: Leaned Forward Pushups . You know how everyone who is successful can give you a starting point or tool that they used at the beginning to get where they are now? Well for bodyweight strength training, one of those tools is the Leaned Forward Pushup (LFPU). These are one of the keys to success if your goal is high level bodyweight strength . Why? Because they set the foundation for MANY of your future gains like Planche Pushups and 90 Degree Pushups! To perform them, follow these steps . Step One. Start in a pushup position and protract your shoulders (shrug them into the ground). Then lean forward. The further you lean, the more difficult the movement is . Step Two. Lower down slow until your chest is nearly touching the ground. Try to keep some amount of protraction but don’t be anal about it. Range of motion is more important than the exact shoulder position . Step Three. Push back up while keeping that shoulder angle that you had earlier. At the top of the movement, protract again and hold for a second or two before you lower down again for your next rep . As you get stronger and stronger, increase the amount of lean you use until eventually, your feet float in the air at the bottom of each repetition. Once this is achieved for reps, you’re ready to move onto the next step! . So get your foundation strong and work on the LFPU so you can get on the Gain Train!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Jul 10, 2018 at 8:36am PDT

MindfulMover on Front Lever Training

Tuck Front Lever Pull - not sure about the difference between this tuck front lever pull and the other one posted on Instagram on a different date:

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#TechniqueTuesdayMM: Tuck Front Lever Pulls . When developing Straight Arm Strength, one of the best ways to build it is by using movements with a concentric (lift) and an eccentric (lowering) to build the strength and muscle mass you’ll need. This will allow you to pull into, lower into, AND pause in the position . For the Front Lever, there are several movements we can use to build those foundational steps. And if you missed them, ask to be tagged in the comments. After those steps, we’re ready for Tuck Front Lever Pulls . To perform them, follow these steps . Step One. Hang off a bar or rings. Squeeze your shoulders back and down. Don’t get anal about this. Front Levers with completely retracted shoulders are rare. Just do your best here . Step Two. Pull the bar downward with straight arms like a front crawl in swimming which will allow you to bring up your lower body in a Tuck shape . Step Three. Don’t forget your eccentric. Lower down slowly and in control because a controlled lowering builds gains too! . Using this movement along with the earlier ones will build you a strong Front Lever that is also easier to maintain than if you had just built it using statics. In addition, it’ll give you to strength to move into and out of the position which has a whole list of benefits! . Give it a try and get on the Gain Train!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Aug 14, 2018 at 10:35am PDT

Front Lever Pull

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#TechniqueTuesdayMM : Front Lever Pull . Front Levers are a great tool for developing massive amounts of upper body pulling strength! If you want to see some reasons, check out last Strength Sunday post! . With so many reasons WHY to train it, the question becomes HOW? . Just like Planches, the common method is to use static exercises. But since we believe that #staticssuck we are going to go over a better method of training the Front Lever. And that is the Front Lever Pull . To perform it, follow these steps . One. Hang off a bar or rings with a pronated (hands facing away) grip. Squeeze your shoulder blades back and down. . Two. Keep the arms straight and press press down like you’re doing a front crawl in swimming. Keep body tight and if you’re strong enough, your body should begin rise up toward the bar or rings. . Three. Once you reach the top, reverse the motion and lower down slow. Front Levers respond EXTREMELY well to slow eccentrics. . Performing these pulls has the benefit of a lift AND a lower, unlike static exercises. In addition, you can add some extra gains by pausing in the middle on the way down! . Use the Front Lever Pulls to improve your Front Lever and get aboard the Gain Train! And if this movement is too advanced, comment below and we will tag you in a more beginner friendly movement that will help you work toward this one!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Jun 12, 2018 at 9:09am PDT

Bodyweight Arc Rows for progressing to Tuck Front Lever Rows

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#MindsetMondayMM . One of the biggest limiters of growth is the inability to consider a new idea or possibility. Being attached to the same old ways things have always been done and refusing to be open to different methods is how you leave gains on the table . In the bodyweight strength field, this happens in the form of trainees being unwilling to be open to new ideas. For example, static holds, L-Sits, Hollow Body Holds etc are all thought of as 100% necessary for the development of bodyweight strength. Especially in beginners . Yet here at MindfulMover, we have eliminated these exact things and for our beginners and they make FASTER progress for it. 😂. Without a single static or hollow hold being done 😂 . Being open to new ideas and new methods that provide better results is one of our top tenants as coaches because we want our trainees to make the best gains possible. Not be stuck in the old and outdated ways . One example is with front lever rows. It’s hard to find people who are able to front lever rows with full range of motion and touching their hips to the bar. We wanted to make this movement accessible for EVERYONE. Not just the freaks. So we thought up a movement called a “bodyweight arc row” and started implementing that to improve our trainees rowing strength and bring them toward full range of motion front lever rows . The testimonials on that will be coming soon! But for now, you can see the results in the video here where I’m able to touch my hips to the bar for multiple reps in a Front Lever even with my tree trunks for legs 😂 . Give it a try and get on the rowing gain train! And keep an open mind when it comes to making the best gains possible as you work on your bodyweight strength training!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on May 14, 2018 at 10:43am PDT

Technique for Bodyweight Arc Row

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#TechniqueTuesdayMM: Bodyweight Arc Rows . Row work is important for balancing out the strength you develop as you work toward things like Chin-Ups, Pull-Ups, and One Arm Chin Ups! They help to keep your shoulders balanced and healthy, build more pulling work volume, and add another angle you are strong from! . The only problem is that with normal bodyweight rows, you’ll eventually run out of resistance to add. The problem you’ll eventually run into is that once you get to the point where you’re able to perform bodyweight rows with your feet elevated on a bench and your body is completely horizontal, it can be hard to add resistance. And while the goal is to eventually move on toward Front Lever Rows, even the hardest versions of normal bodyweight rows probably won’t be enough to bridge the gap . To solve that issue a great tool to use is the Bodyweight Arc Row. Just like you go from Pushup to Leaned Forward Pushup to Tuck Planche Pushup, you can go from a normal Bodyweight Row to a Bodyweight Arc Row to a Tuck Front Lever Row! . To perform them, follow these steps! . Step One. Grab the rings put your feet in front of you. The same rules apply as normal rows. The further your feet go in front of your body, the more difficult the movement becomes. The goal should be to eventually have the feet elevated on a bench and the body horizontal. . Step Two. Pull the rings downward and draw your elbows back behind you. The goal is to touch the rings to your lower abdomen. Make sure you don’t cheat by contorting your body in a way that gets you into Cirque du Soleil! . Step Three. Lower down slowly and in control. This part is hard but if you fall fast enough to deploy a parachute, reduce the resistance a bit and try again! . Using these can help you improve your rowing strength and bridge the gap between rows and front lever rows so you can get onto the gain train! . Check the IG stories to see the preferred tempo for this movement!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on May 15, 2018 at 10:34am PDT

Front Lever Progression

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#StrengthSundayMM: Beginning Front Lever Progressions . The Front Lever is an AWESOME display and builder of straight arm pulling strength but it comes along with one MAJOR problem. That problem is “how do I start?” . Some people are lucky enough that they can simply start off performing a Tuck Front Lever and then continue through progressions. But for many of us, that isn’t enough. We need something to allow us to begin the progressions up to the Tuck Front Lever. So what can we use? Easy. We can use the Arching Pull In AND Arching Pull In + Leg Raise . The Arching Pull In allows you to build up Front Lever strength in a progressive way. Simply hang off a bar, squeeze the shoulders back and down, then pull the chest up towards the ceiling. As you get stronger, pull up higher and higher . Once you’re good at this, pull up to the top, hold there, and add a knee raise. This will make you even stronger and build the Front Lever even more . By using these two progressions, you can go from zero to performing Tuck Front Levers in a matter of time! Give it a try and use it to hop on the Gain Train! And tag a friend who needs help with their Front Lever!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Jan 13, 2019 at 3:18pm PST

Full Front Lever Pull

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#StrengthSundayMM: Front Lever Pull . Yesterday, we talked about how a popular exercise called an “Ice Cream Maker” was a Stupid Exercise. If it was an actual flavor, it would be something like mint... which no one should like or eat 😂. So today, let’s go over one you SHOULD include: The Front Lever Pull! . The Front Lever Pull is a straight arm pull from a hang, through a Front Lever, and to an inverted hang. Now why is it so worth your time? . In terms of gains, it can provide awesome gains in terms of straight arm pulling strength, opening up movement options on bars and rings, as well as improving performance in things like climbing, grappling, and more. Plus, let’s be honest: it looks freaking cool! . In terms of FREE gains, when paired with Pull-Up work, it can unlock the Ice Cream Maker with NO direct work. And when paired with Planche and Muscle Up work, it can allow you to do that move where you go from a Front Lever, through a Muscle Up and into a Planche on the rings. Also with no direct work . With so many gains and free gains, it’s easy to see why Front Lever Pulls are an exercise you should include i into your training. Give it a try and get on the Gain Train! And tag a friend who needs to do some Front Lever Pulls!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Feb 10, 2019 at 12:46pm PST

Tips on moving through the progressions (not being a form nerd)

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#FrequentlyAskedFridayMM: Form . You know what’s one of the BEST ways to ensure that you stunt the growth of your gains and NEVER reach the highest level of bodyweight strength that you can?Easy: Become SO attached to perfect form that you “miss the forest for the trees” and don’t understand how to use form to progressively overload. Become a Form-Nerd. 🤓 . That’s it! Your growth will be stunted and you won’t have to worry about ACTUALLY making those pesky gains. 😂 . But for the rest of us who DO like gains, keep reading and let’s learn how to use form as a way to PROGRESS! . See , the common progressions for things like a Planche or Front Lever is the Tuck, Advanced Tuck, Straddle, Half Lay, Full position progressions. Going through these positions progressively extends the length of your body and makes it HARDER to perform whatever movement you’re doing in that position . Form-Nerds become suckers about the positions themselves. They say Form-Nerd type things like “your scapula isn’t perfectly retracted in your Tuck” or “your lower back isn’t perfectly flat in your Adv Tuck” or “your hips piked in your straddle” or “your body isnt fully hollow in your full”. And that’s one of the big reasons Form-Nerds don’t progress very far: The jumps between some of these progressions are TOO BIG. If you ONLY progress when you can use the next progression with PERFECT form, you’ll eventually get stopped by a gap that is too big to jump . To not be a Form-Nerd and stunt your progress, think of each of these positions as ways to increase the LOAD! The body position isn’t what matters as much as how the position changes the LOAD you are lifting. You can do this by looking at how far your SHOULDERS are from your HANDS . As you use harder and harder positions, your shoulders have MORE distance from your hands. THAT is what makes the movement harder. If you understand that, then the body position is just a TOOL to extend the shoulders away from the hands so that you can INCREASE the load and make gains . So don’t be a Form-Nerd. They are slaves to form. Instead, use form as you should: a tool to help you progressive get stronger! Give it a try and get on the Gain Train!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Nov 8, 2019 at 12:38pm PST

Mindful Mover on Improving Bridge with other exercises

I'm going to test this idea for improving my Bridge hold

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#TestItTuesdayMM: Free Bridge Gains . Guess what? You don’t HAVE to work on the Bridge Stretch directly to make gains in it. We tested it and found out that you can make FREE gains in the Bridge simply by adding three small tweaks to your training! . One. On leg days, perform your Split Squats by slightly elevating your back leg. Use 4-6 inches of height and make sure you use FULL range of motion. This will stretch the hip flexors which are a huge limiting factor in the Bridge . Two. Work on Arching Pull-Ups. When you do your pull-ups, work on going up with an arch and then on the way down, push the bar FAR away and allow your back to arch as much as possible. This will improve your T-Spine mobility . Three. Posterior Pelvic Tilt on your hangs. Whenever you hang, round your lower back so that you get an even bigger stretch on your shoulders which is another limiting factor in the Bridge. You can even do this at the end of your set of the Arching Pull-Ups . These are all movement you are probably doing anyway so adding these slight tweaks should let you start gaining and maintaining on your Bridge without doing direct work for it! No added work to make added gains. That’s working Smarter, Not Harder . As always, MindfulMover has your back when it comes to getting YOU more GAINS for the time you DO train! Saving you time and helping you gain more is the reason we test! . Give these tweaks a try and get aboard the Gain Train! And check the IG stories for an extra tip!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Dec 31, 2019 at 6:37am PST

Perfect Pullup Tutorial

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#TechniqueTuesdayMM: Perfect Pull-Ups . Accomplishing your first Chin-Ups and Pull-Ups is good and it’s an awesome achievement. But you don’t want to JUST settle for good. You want more than that. While Chin-Ups and Pull-Ups provide decent gains, you know that to get better, you have to continually challenge yourself. One way to do that is to work toward the Perfect Pull-Up. . Unlike the a regular Pull-Up where you pull until your chin reaches over the bar, a Perfect Pull Up will have you squeezing your shoulders back and down and pulling until your CHEST reaches the bar. . To perform it, follow these steps! . Step one. Hang from a bar. This can be done on rings as well but bars provide better feedback. Squeeze the shoulders back and downward. This should angle your chest upward toward the bar. . Step two. Pull your elbows back like you’re trying to elbow someone in the face behind you! If done correctly, it should bring your chest up and your chest should touch the bar if done with enough strength and power. . Step three. Lower down slow and prepare for the next rep again! . Now that we know how, the question is why are Perfect Pull-Ups so great! There are a lot of reasons, but they are great for continuing to improve your Pull-Up strength, keeping your shoulders healthy, and they’re especially good if you don’t have time to perform straight arm workouts because they can be altered to help your Front Lever! . So if you’re up for the challenge, get on the Perfect Pull-Up gain train! Try a few reps and tag us in them and let’s see how perfect your pull-up is!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Jun 26, 2018 at 11:15am PDT

HSPU Program Session 14

Prepare
GMB Mobility session on Sidebending and Rotation, except for the Play section
GMB Vitamin session revisiting Forward Roll - Prepare section only.

Practice
Rest of GMB Vitamin session

Play
One set of Top Position Knee Raises on rings, just to see how far I could bring my hips forward and up to bring my knees closer to my face.

Couple of attempts to press into full Back Bridge then lift one foot for the advanced exercise shown in the advanced level Elements Core Conditioning circuit.  I don't have the strength yet.

Ponder
Mobility improved since last forward roll session in Vitamin. Still need to improve mobility in hamstrings, back of shoulders or upper back, maybe some other areas.

I revisited the GMB Fitness Instagram post on a hanging leg raise progression.  That's where I got the idea to try raising the knees towards my face.  Later on when I'm able to do a set of knee raises to my face, from the top position on rings, with good movement quality and ease, I can try a knee raise to the face, then straighten the legs and do a negative straight leg raise.

I searched good ol Youtube for ideas for improving hamstring flexibility, other than the ones I've already seen.   I got some ideas from Tom Merrick's videos:

I came across this video featuring Daniel of FitnessFAQs and Gabo of Saturno Movement, which is all about strengthening hip flexors to "kill 2 birds with one stone" - strengthen the hip flexors and lengthen the hamstrings.

I stumbled upon this video of how an "average guy" achieved his first handstand.  Before he began his pursuit of the handstand, he was already into climbing and had good pulling strength, so I'm not sure how "average" his fitness level actually was.  However, he came to the same conclusion that I did - that for optimal use of one's training time, it is preferable to achieve a certain level of upper body pressing strength before beginning handstand training, otherwise the road to the handstand will be much, much longer. 

This older GMB video shows what looks like possible alternatives to the chest stretches presented in the GMB Handstand Prepare routine and the GMB Shoulder Mobility routine.

HSPU Program Session 13

Prepare
GMB Handstand prep routine, except of course the stretch while in handstand

Practice
HSPU Main circuit 
A-Frame Inverted Press - 20 second set - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Reverse Row  w/feet elevated on chair - 20 second set - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Shrimp Squat (3/4 move) - 20 second set - Quality: Snappy, Ease: Relaxed
5 rounds with 2-3 minutes of rest in between rounds

Push
GMB Vitamin session focusing on Spiderman. Quality: Smooth, Ease: Sold

Finish with GMB Shoulder Mobility routine, Frog stretch, and Brachial Hang

Ponder
Set the timer to 30 seconds for the Inverted Press sets, so I could take the time to set up my A-Frame before beginning the actual work for roughly 20 seconds.

Getting better at remembering to squeeze the butt and abs to ensure a straight body line during the Reverse Row, but sometimes I forget to squeeze the shoulder blades together.    For the most part, I remembered to perform both cues.

I was going to do the Shrimp Squat Half version.  Then I recorded a video of myself and noticed I'm getting my non-working knee closer to the ground than I previously thought, which makes the move I practiced today the 3/4 version instead of the 1/2 version.

I canceled my regular Push routine because I knew the Vitamin session would have me doing a lot of extra pressing work.

HSPU Session 12

Prepare
Tall Kneeling Arm Raise
Tall Kneeling Arm Raise to Side
Standing Knee to Chest
Single Leg Deadlift
Quadruped Shoulder Circles
Quadruped Spine Circles
Spine Flexion to Extension
L-Sit Shrugs on Parallettes

Practice
Hollow Body Hold - 10 sec. hold (from Elements Core Conditioning)
Bridge Variation with Leg lowered to side and lifted back - 5x side (from Elements Core Conditioning)
Hanging Leg Raise Variation

Ponder
Forgot to do the Waiter Walks for shoulder stability
Thought about doing GMB Vitamin but decided to go shopping instead

HSPU Session 11

Prepare
Wrist prep from the Handstand tutorial
Quadruped Shoulder Circles
A-Frame Shrugs
Shoulder Flexion and Upper Thoracic Extension, Bent Arm Thoracic Extension, and Parallette Motor Control Play from GMB Shoulder Pain Exercises article

Practice
HSPU Main circuit 
A-Frame Inverted Press - 20 second set - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Reverse Row  w/feet elevated on chair - 20 second set - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Shrimp Squat (Stall Step to Lunge) - 20 second set - Quality: Snappy, Ease: Relaxed
5 rounds with 2-3 minutes of rest in between rounds

Push
1 reps of Inverted Press with bent legs and toes on stair landing. Quality: Smooth, Ease: Sold

Bent-Arm Bear - 20 second set for 3 sets w/ 1 min. rest between sets.  Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid

Finish with 2 sets Bridge Hold,  L-Arm Stretch, Tall Kneeling Arm Raise to Side, Clasped Hands Extension

Ponder
Reduced fear of loading the suspect shoulder is allowing me to work more on getting the hips closer to above the shoulder.  As Daniel of Fitness FAQs noted in one of his handstand pushup videos, it may not be possible to literally line up the hips over the shoulders, but the mental cue should help with the form.

I didn't consistently pay attention to scapula action during the Inverted Press.  I'm supposed to pull the scapula towards the ground when extending up into the A-Frame, and pull the scapula towards the hips before lowering my head towards the ground.  It does seem a bit more important though to keep the elbows in, as even the slightest flare of the elbow will irritate the suspect shoulder.

In the middle of the workout, I remembered I'm supposed to squeeze the butt and abs to ensure a straight body line during the Reverse Row.  It does activate the core.

Time to progress in the Shrimp Squat.