MindfulMover on Hamstring/Posterior Chain Flexibility

These are the exercises that MindfulMover seems to like for improving Hamstring/Posterior Chain Flexibility

Jefferson Curl

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#MobilityMondayMM: Jefferson Curls . Jefferson Curls are an 80/20 stretch. You get a LOT of benefits for a little bit of work. You stretch out your hamstrings, hips, lower back, and improve your spinal mobility ALL in one movement. That means it serves as loaded stretching, spinal mobility and relaxation (especially after heavy squats and deadlifts) and injury prevention all in one . And while it isn’t the BEST stretch for the posterior chain, it’s a great start. Many people will get all the posterior chain mobility they need from just Jefferson Curls and the ones who need more will have a solid base of mobility before they move into more advanced tools . To perform it, just grab a bar or stick with weight, relax your head, and allow your spine to curl one vertebrae at a time. Focus on mobilizing each one. At the bottom, reverse the movement and come back up the same way you went down. One vertebrae at a time . Progressions for this are a normal Jefferson Curl first . Next is a Snatch Grip Jefferson Curl . Next is an elevated Jefferson Curl with a normal grip . Last would be an elevated Jefferson Curl with a Snatch Grip! Move to the next progression when you have reached full mobility in the current one . How much weight should you use? Just enough to get lower than you could without it. Keep it light! . Try the Jefferson Curl progressions and get on the Mobility and Prehab gain train!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Oct 22, 2018 at 4:46pm PDT

Romanian Deadlift and Hanging Leg Raise

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#FlexibilityFridayMM: Pairing Loaded and Active . We don’t believe that you NEED to spend entire sessions DEDICATED to mobility work. In fact, depending on your goals, you may be able to get all the mobility training you need from simply performing full range of motion strength training. And not just normal mobility either. Active and usable mobility too! How? . Certain movements in strength training put you into a “Loaded Stretch”. This is where you get stretched WHILE under the weight of an external object or your own body weight. A perfect example of this is a Romanian Deadlift (RDL). When you perform RDLs, the load of the weight stretches your hamstrings at the bottom of each rep. Over time, your mobility increases! . A great movement to use along with the RDL is the Hanging Leg Lift (HLL). The reason is that the HLL will stretch your hamstrings in an ACTIVE way. Your hip flexors will pull your hamstrings into the stretch and help you develop your compression and active mobility! . Now you are getting stretched AND teaching your body to actively use that range AND making strength gains. Now THAT is working smarter, not harder. Why add more mobility work if you don’t have to? You can get it from your strength! . Give this pair a try and get on the strength AND mobility Gain Train! And tag a friend who can afford to save some time on mobility work by strength training a little smarter!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Jan 10, 2019 at 8:30am PST

MindfulMover on One-Arm Chinup Training

One-arm Hang

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#StrengthSundayMM: One Arm Hang and Pull-Ins . While things like Planches, Levers, Stalders and One Arm Chins are VERY sexy and awesome skills, we can’t forget some of the other less sexy ones that can help us ACHIEVE those abilities in the first place! You don’t want to focus on JUST the sexy exercises. You want to work on the ones that will also let HELP YOU perform the sexy ones as well . One of those less sexy, but still very important exercises, is the One Arm Hang. Another one is the One Arm Pull In. . The One Arm Hang is fairly self explanatory. You hang on one arm from a bar or ring or whatever else you can grip. A One Arm Pull In is similar, but instead of just hanging, you depress your shoulder downward and “pull it into their socket” to build strength! . These movements have several benefits! . One. Strength. Both the hang and pull in can help build grip strength and scapular depression strength! . Two. Assistance. Since you build grip and scapular depression strength, that makes One Arm Pull Ins GREAT for improving your Front Levers, Chin Ups, and One Arm Chins. Implementing these will allow you to improve those exercises! . Three. It opens doors. Being able to hang off one arm and pull in opens the door toward things like One Arm Chins, One Arm Leg Lifts, Meathooks, and One Arm Front Levers! . Plus it makes for a pretty cool Instagram picture and you never know when you’ll have to hang off a cliff with one arm while you hold onto something else like a jar of protein powder 😂 . By training these, you’ll develop the benefits listed above AND you’ll be working toward better Front Levers, OACs, and more! So train your One Arm Hangs and One Arm Pull Ins to get stronger and build toward higher level skills!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Jun 24, 2018 at 8:32am PDT

Progression to One-Arm Chinup

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#FrequentlyAskedFridayMM: One Arm Chin-Up Progressions . Of all the bodyweight pulling goals, the One Arm Chin-Up (OAC) sits at the TOP of the list by FAR. Gaining the ability to pull your entire bodyweight up with ONE ARM is a level of strength that probably exceeds whatever you’ll need in life and MORE whether it’s strength, useable mass, improved sport performance, transfer to things like Weighted Chin Ups, etc . But most people don’t need to be convinced to train the OAC. They know the gains are worth it. Most people have the problem of not knowing HOW to train the OAC. Many trainees will work up to being able to do 8-10 normal chins, then immediately start working on OAC eccentrics. They go from half bodyweight on each arm to full bodyweight on each arm and then wonder why they end up with tendinitis in a month 😂 😆 . Others try to go down the path of Weighted Chin-Ups but many people find the level of transfer is NOT what they thought it would be. So what do we prefer? We prefer the Mixed Grip Chin. Here is how to perform it: . Step One: Hang on a bar or rings with one hand facing you (working hand) and the other hand facing away (assist hand) . Step Two: Start pulling with the working hand FIRST by DRIVING the elbow back HARD like you want to elbow someone in the face behind you! You should be basically TRYING to do a OAC. You will get stuck at some point (maybe even at the beginning if you are new) and when you do, THEN will add the assist hand for help AS NEEDED to get you to the top. The KEY here is to pull with the working hand FIRST! Not with both hands right away. . Step Three. On the way down, remember, we are stronger when we lower than when we lift. So shift even MORE weight into the working hand and lower down with as MUCH load as you can. More advanced trainees can even perform a OAC eccentric! Some will even need extra load around the waist to make this part challenging enough! Alternate hands each rep . Perform these 3 steps with precision and you’ll be on the Gain Train towards Gainsville to pick up your first OAC! Give it a try tag, a friend who needs to do the same, and check the IG stories!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Oct 4, 2019 at 1:07pm PDT

Assisted One-Arm Chinup (with belt or similar item for assistance)

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#TechniqueTuesdayMM: Assisted One Arm Chin-Ups . One of the more advanced tools when working toward the One Arm Chin is the Assisted One Arm Chin! . With this tool, you take your working hand on the ring and your other hand holds a strap or belt (NOT a band) and you perform the OAC with assistance . This helps you spot yourself as you perform OACs and helps bridge the gap between where you currently are and the actual OAC. To do it, follow these steps . Step 1. Grab the ring the one hand and the strap with the other. In general, the lower you grab on the strap, the harder the movement becomes . Step 2. Depress your shoulder then pull your elbow back like you’re trying to elbow someone behind you with your working arm. After you begin your pull, THEN your assisting hand can help by adding the assistance as needed. It’s important that you stay mindful about the amount of help your assistance hand is giving. Don’t just perform your reps mindlessly. Think about how much help you’re giving yourself . Step 3. Lower down slowly with a 4 count. This will let you move toward eccentrics more safely later and for advanced trainees, it’s a good chance to reduce the amount of assistance since we are stronger eccentrically (lowering) than when lifting . Give the assisted OAC a try if you’re ready and get on the gain train!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Aug 7, 2018 at 8:32am PDT

HSPU Program Session 16

Prepare
Late start today, and my thoughts were influenced by Mindful Mover.  They don't seem to believe i warmups - not a great excuse on my part but it is what it is.

Practice

Lower Body circuit - 3 rounds with about 1-2 min. rest between rounds:
Beginner Pike Pull Through - 2-3 reps
Shrimp Squat (Knee to Ground, Arms to Front) - 3 reps
Hanging Leg Raise - 3-5 reps

Jefferson Curl with 16kg Kettlebell- 5 reps for 3 sets

Play
Cartwheel (lowest level)
Backward and Forward Shoulder Roll

Push
Waiter Walk w/ 16kg KB - 1 min/arm

Finish with Modified Pigeon, Half Pancake, and Brachial Hang

Ponder
Woke up with sore traps, which hasn't happened in a long time, and more shoulder soreness than usual.  It's probably because of the introduction of 4-count negatives to the Inverted Press movement.

Because of the late start, I decided to try only one of Jefferson Curl or Romanian Deadlift and went with Jefferson Curl, to see how my back would feel.  So far it seems to feel ok.  I tried it because it's one of the exercises various fitness personalities on Youtube and Instagram recommended to help loosen up the hamstrings.  It did give my hamstrings a nice stretch.  However, there seems to be controversy over the long-term effects of this movement on the spine.  Next time, I'll try the Single-Leg Deadlift with a kettlebell.

What I call the "beginner" Pike Pull Through was plenty challenging for me.  It's regressed from the full version in that the feet don't have to float and the hips only have to be pulled to shoulder height, not higher.  I don't have any plans to pursue the planche seriously right now, as the HSPU is about all I can handle but it'll be interesting to see how close it will actually take me to a tuck planche.  I decided to try it for the other promised benefit, which is that it will strengthen the core like the L-Sit does, and also improve hamstring flexibility.

Shrimp Squat with knee all the way to floor was easier than expected, though with the 4-second negative I still got a workout out of it.  I'll assess my performance for the next session - if I remember.

After a test set in which I was satisfied with how my shoulders felt, I decided to schedule Hanging Leg Raises for today's session in place of Top Position Knee Raises on rings.   I was encouraged by GMB Trainer Eduardo's Instagram post on "improper" form in the Hanging Leg Raise being worth practicing because even "wrong" hanging leg raises ("correct" form apparently means the torso should always stay perfectly upright - no leaning back!) still work the abs hard.  When you raise your legs from a hang instead of on top of rings or dip bars, you can use a pull to help pull your feet higher, and this increases the potential range for the negative (eccentric) portion of the movement. Unfortunately I forgot to do 4-sec. negatives this time.   On the positive side, I got my feet a little higher than my hips using the pulling cheat to raise my straight legs.

I thought I saw the Jefferson Curl in Pavel Tsatsouline's DVD course Resilient, so I rewatched it and found some interesting stuff I'd forgotten about:

1. For any back bend towards a wall, including the rotation into bridge movement featured in Vitamin and Ido Portal's website, squeeze the butt to protect the back.
2. The kettelbell windmill can be modified to emphasize shoulder mobility - thumb turned outward at the top, and turned inward at the bottom.  At the bottom position, squat to get lower to increase the shoulder ROM. 
3. Do hack squat for opening hips and conditioning knees
4.  What I thought was the Jefferson Curl was actually called a "Good Morning Plus".  With a KB to help pull your torso down, you hinge at the hips with straight legs (knees locked) as far as your hamstrings will allow.  Then you allow your lower back to lengthen.


Of the above 4,  I'm most likely to try 1 and 2 in the near future.

HSPU Program Session 15

Practice
HSPU Main circuit 
A-Frame Inverted Press - 20 second set - Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Modified Arching Pullup - 20 second set - Quality: Rough, Ease: Solid
Shrimp Squat (3/4 move) - 20 second set - Quality: Snappy, Ease: Relaxed
4 rounds with 2-3 minutes of rest in between rounds

Push
Inverted Press (bent legs w/ feet on stair landing). Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Bent-Arm Bear - 20 second set for 3 sets w/ 1 min. rest between sets. Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid

Finish with Modified Pigeon, Half Pancake, and Brachial Hang (posterior pelvic tilt)

Ponder
I came across the Mindful Mover Instagram channel and soon got so caught up in reading/watching posts on that channel that I used up my Prepare time.  One idea form Mindful Mover that I implemented was 4-count eccentric (negative) movement, 1-2 second pause between eccentric and concentric, and snappy (quicker) concentric movement.

Another idea I attempted to implement was the Modified Arching Pullup which Mindful Mover claims will help me improve my Bridge without direct work on the Bridge.  The only reason I want to improve my Bridge is my poor performance in the Vitamin session focusing on rotating between Squat and Bridge.  I've rarely practiced the Arching variation of the pullup, so it was a bad idea to try to execute the concentric movement quickly.  Next time I practice it I'll have to work on it at a slower tempo to get the feel down.

I think my suspect shoulder is letting me know that my choice of Next Progression exercise for a Trial Rep, per GMB's HSPU tutorial, might need to be regressed a step.  So for my next HSPU session, I'm going to do the Trial Rep at the A-Frame Inverted Press (floor) level, but with my feet up on the toes to try to get the hips as close to stacked over the shoulders as possible.

Next variation for Shrimp Squat in Integral Strength is #5, of which there are two versions.  Both versions involve setting the back knee on the ground - the difference is in one version, at the end of the eccentric you slightly sit back, rest your foot, then lift the foot and shift your weight back to the front for the concentric.  In the other version, you never set your back foot down.

After all the time spent on Mindful Mover's Instagram, I'm intrigued enough to tweak my exercise program.  Mindful Mover insists that there are only 5 types of exercise you need to do to get strong - Planche Pushup, Front Lever Row, HSPU, 1-arm Chinup, and some sort of squat.  If you just do these, you will gain other skills "for free" like Dragon Flag, L-Sit, etc.

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#MindsetMondayMM: Free Gains . Raise your hand if you have had the experience of feeling like there are a LOT of gains to make on a LOT of different exercises… but only limited time and energy to work towards them. You know what the cure to that feeling is? Our Big 5 Exercises . What’s our Big 5? It’s a group of FIVE exercises that take very SMALL amounts of time to perform and in exchange for that small time investment, you can make gains on those five exercises as well as many OTHER exercises WITHOUT doing the other ones . For example, you might work on the Big 5 and notice that your Deadlift goes up without any direct work. You may train the Big 5 and notice continual improvements on your Bench Press despite never having Bench Pressed before. You might work on the Big 5 and develop progressions like the Back Lever without even knowing Back Levers existed! . It makes it so that you don’t have to TRAIN everything to GAIN on them. You can leave those other movements in the background and check them when you want to see how they have grown without actually having to do them . In the picture above, you can see various movements the Big 5 can provide free gains on. And we are CONSTANTLY testing to find ways to tweak our Big 5 to give a WIDER range of gains or take even LESS time to perform! Some of you may have seen this list before, but we have updated it with NEW movements we found free gains on like the Pelican Pushup, Cuban Rotation, etc. And we will continue to find more! . Don’t worry if you can’t perform some of the ACTUAL variations listed. As long as you are working TOWARDS them, you can be making that wide range of gains and we have progressions for EVERY movement on the list . Give the Big 5 a try, get on the Gain Train, and look forward to being able to tell people “Oh I don’t even work on that” as you show off gains in exercises you don’t even train. 😉 . “The best things in life are free”. Check the IG stories to see more!

A post shared by Martina & Philip Chubb (@the_mindful_mover) on Jun 29, 2020 at 6:26am PDT

They also seem to like pairing push and pull exercises on the same day, and working lower body on a different day.

So this is what my new training schedule will look like:

M,W, F - HSPU and Modified Arching Pullup (until that last Vitamin session on Squat-Bridge rotation is done), Bent-Arm Bear, Bodyweight Arc Row

Tu, Thur - Shrimp Squat, Beginner Pike Pull Through, Hanging Knee/Leg Raise, Romanian Deadlift w/ Kettlebell, Jefferson Curl with Kettlebell

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