4 Simple Gymnastics Drills For Strength And Mobility

Gymnastics strength training provides countless benefits to those willing to commit to the process. By focusing on bodyweight progressions, athletes have the opportunity to increase relative strength, strength endurance, mobility, proprioception, kinesthetics awareness, and more. 

Additionally, the intense full-body muscle contractions and significant time spent under tension lead to great gains in hypertrophy, lean muscle mass, and fat loss.

The Road to Gymnastic Success

The greatest benefit from gymnastics strength training is not directly related to either ability or physique, but rather to your mindset and approach. In the fitness industry, just as in life, it is all too common to encounter people who want instant gratification and immediate results.

“Stretching, high reps, and joint prehab. There’s no time for that,” they think. They just want to hold a handstand, climb a rope, or learn a back flip. The big problem, though, is that these people often end up injured, plateaued, or both.

Successful trainees are those who take gradual, consistent steps on the path towards long-term growth by prioritizing quality and mastery. Coach Sommer, the founder of Gymnastic Bodies, likes to compare this shift in mindset to the difference in maturity between a child and an adult.

"Successful trainees are those who take gradual, consistent steps on the path towards long-term growth by prioritizing quality and mastery."

A child wants things right away, and if a task takes hard work, discipline, or commitment, the child is likely to give up and shift attention to something new. As a person matures into an adult, they are more likely to realize the potential benefits of focusing on one task for longer periods of time, even if it does require significant amounts of energy.

Four Basic Gymnastic Strength Training Tests

Here are four basic gymnastics strength-training tests to get you started toward long-term growth. 

For many of us, modern lifestyle and one-sided training have stolen our ability to complete these relatively simple bodyweight tasks, so do not be surprised if these end up being a bit more challenging than you first presume.

1* Hollow Body Hold

The hollow body hold is a foundational position in all of gymnastics, and as such it is one of the first positions you should master. Begin by lying down on your back, with your legs outstretched and together. Completely straighten your legs by flexing your knees, and ensure proper form by pointing your toes as far away from your body as possible. Also reach your arms overhead, completely straightening your elbows and looking up towards the ceiling.

From this outstretched position, engage your entire anterior core by lifting your arms and legs off the floor. You should focus on pressing your lower back into the ground while squeezing your entire abdominal wall. Be sure that your shoulders are slightly lifted and your ribs are tucked in rather than protruding from your chest. Ideally your body shape should be smooth and round, almost like a banana.

Hold this hollow body position for a full sixty seconds. To ensure there is no cheating, use a timer, metronome, or stopwatch to count your minute. If you cannot hold the position with integrity for the full time, then you might need to start with a scaled version such as tucking your legs in towards your chest or bringing your arms down by your side.

2* Arch Body Hold

This is the complete opposite position as the hollow body. Where the hollow body works the entire anterior core, the arch body position will expose any weakness along your posterior chain. Additionally, many people are chronically tight in the front of their bodies, and the arch body hold will open up tight areas such as your chest and hip flexors.

"This should serve as a wake-up call for you to strengthen your posterior chain and stretch your chest and hip flexors."

To start, lie facedown on your belly with your arms outstretched overhead and your legs straight and together. As you can imagine, the goal here is to completely arch your entire body as much as possible, so lift both your upper and lower body as high as you can towards the ceiling. Focus on engaging your glutes and mid-back so you are not exclusively arching from your lower back.

If you are like most people who try to hold an arch body position for sixty seconds, you will begin to tremble, shake, curse, and drop to the floor before the minute has expired. This should serve as a wake-up call for you to strengthen your posterior chain and stretch your chest and hip flexors.

If necessary, break down the arch body position in a similar fashion to the hollow body hold by bringing your arms down to your side, bending your knees, or both.

3* Bent-Arm Chin Hang

So now that we have thoroughly tested (and trashed) your core strength, we move on to the bent-arm chin hang. The key phrase here is time under tension, as you will attempt to hold your chin over a bar for, you guessed it, sixty full seconds. Grip the bar with a supinated, underhand grip, and pull yourself as high above the bar as you can. Keep your legs together, make sure your body is not swaying excessively, and hold on tight.

"The key here is that training your strength endurance at slightly lower intensities builds more than just muscle."

If you cannot yet do a chin up, then this bent-arm chin hang might help you get there due to the amount of time you will spend holding on above the bar. If you cannot hold this position for any significant period of time, then you might need to start on an incline by holding onto a set of rings set approximately to shoulder height.

If you can already do strict chin ups, then you may be wondering why bother just holding the top position for time? The key here is that training your strength endurance at slightly lower intensities builds more than just muscle. Your connective tissue needs longer to adapt, and as such you should spend time mastering the bent-arm chin hang before moving on to more advanced (and potentially injury-inducing) pulling movements such as muscle ups and rope climbs.

4* Standing Pike Stretch 

Finally, you get to relax and stretch. The standing pike stretch will assess flexion through the hips and spine, and those of you with tight hamstrings might struggle a bit here. Stand up tall with your legs completely straight and knees locked out, and completely fold over forward, placing your hands on the ground as fully as possible. Your goal is to reach your hands behind your feet to the point where you can press your bodyweight up onto your toes.

"The standing pike stretch will assess flexion through the hips and spine, and those of you with tight hamstrings might struggle a bit here."

If this position is unattainable for you right now, then try doing a partner seated pike stretch. Sit up tall with your legs outstretched in front of you, knees totally straight, and have your partner gently push forward on the middle of your back. Inhale and exhale with your partner’s pushes, and reach your hands towards your feet, all while pressing the backs of your knees into the floor.

Conclusion 

In any endeavor in life, you get out exactly what you put in. Impatient, shortsighted efforts will yield incomplete and poor-quality results, if not long-term injuries. On the other hand, a consistent work ethic, when paired with world-class programming and coaching knowledge, will allow trainees to continue to experience progress for months and years on end.

Chris Garay

https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/4-simple-gymnastics-drills-for-strength-and-mobility

SiMonster - Planche Tutorial

Great progressive explanation tutorial from SiMonster, making this look easy. He is one of my big inspirations, demonstrating so much control and strength in his movements. 

Planche is one of my regular exercise movements, still working toward full Planche though. Leave a comment if you have ever tried this. 

13 Legit Reasons to Start Bodyweight Training Today

"Getting fit doesn't have to be complicated"

Simple bodyweight exercises can be a great choice for achieving gains in strength, flexibility, and overall health. Best of all, they don't cost a thing and you can usually do them just about anywhere. Still not convinced? 

We've got 13 reasons why bodyweight exercises should be a key component to your workout regime.

Why Bodyweight Training Is the Best

1. It's a super-efficient workout 

Research suggests high-output, bodyweight-based exercises like plyometrics yield awesome fitness gains in short durations.   Since there's no equipment involved, bodyweight workouts make it easy to transition from one move to the next with little rest. And you've probably already heard that those short-but-intense HIIT workouts can yield major results.  

2. It can combine cardio and strength training 

Performing quick cardio sessions (such as 60 seconds of burpees or high-knees) between strength movements (such as a set of push-ups or lunges) will keep the heart pumping while still encouraging muscle and strength development.  

3. You can burn fat—fast

Just a few minutes of a bodyweight circuit training can have a major impact on the body's metabolism. If you've ever heard of the afterburn effect, you know that even when your workout is over, your body can still be revved for hours to come.  

4. At any fitness level, it's challenging

Bodyweight exercises are great because they're easily modified to challenge anyone. Adding extra reps, performing the exercises faster or super slowly, taking shorter breaks, or adding a ballistic movement (like a clap at the top of each push-up) are just a few ways to make the simplest workout tougher. And with each added modification, your progress is obvious. 

5. You'll gain core strength

Your core is more than just six-pack abs. In fact, at least twenty-nine muscles make up the trunk of the body, and many simple bodyweight movements can be used to engage all of them. Such exercises won't just give you tighter abs, you'll also gain better posture, relieve lower back stress, and improve overall performance.

6. It can increase your flexibility

Not everyone who does regular resistance training has to end up with tight muscles and inflexible joints. Bodyweight training can go hand-in-hand with building strength and flexibility. Completing bodyweight exercises through a full range of motion ensures your joints are moving freely. Plus, it can lead to improved posture and might reduce the chance of exercise-related injury.  Yoga, the fave no-equipment workout for many, is another great way to to improve flexibility while also significantly improving strength.  

7. There's never an excuse to not workout

 

Ask someone why they don't exercise, and chances are they have "no time" or it's "inconvenient." Luckily bodyweight exercises eliminate those common obstacles. When you only need a little space, it's easy to squeeze in workouts wherever you are. Exercising without equipment can also be used as a stress reliever whether you're working at home or on the road.

8. You'll achieve better balance

When it comes to this type of training, sometimes increasing resistance means increasing balance, too. For example, a normal squat can be ramped up by swapping in a single-leg squat (a.k.a. a pistol squat). Functional movements like that one can improve balance through increased body awareness and control.

9. You'll never get bored

It can be easy to get stuck in a workout rut of treadmills, bicep curls, lat pull-downs, and bench presses. That's why bodyweight training can be so refreshing: There are countless exercise variations that can spice up any workout routine. Working with a variety of exercises not only relieves boredom, it can also help break plateaus and spark further progress.

10. Mixing up your workout is easy

Indoor excercise isn't for everyone. Luckily you can do these moves inside or outdoors, alone or with a group of friends. Think about adding some strength moves to your next park run, or finishing a swim session with a quick bodyweight circuit to keep things interesting.

11. It's free

Gym memberships and boutique classes can quickly add up—but bodyweight training is free. Experts cite the low cost of bodyweight training as key to its rise in popularity.

12. It can help with injury prevention

Injury is one of the main reasons people stop working out, so preventing those aches and pains should be a big priority. Bodyweight exercises are generally safe for any exerciser regardless of experience, age, or fitness level. Many simple bodyweight movements can actually be an effective option for rehabilitation, even for those with significant impairments.  

13. You'll see results

Bodyweight exercises get results partly because they involve compound movements—meaning numerous joints and muscles are engaged in each move. Compound exercises such as push-ups and lunges have been shown to be extremely effective for strength gains and performance improvements and research shows improved core strength (see No. 5 above) translates to improved strength gains throughout the entire body.  

BY DAVE SMITH

http://greatist.com/fitness/start-bodyweight-training

Johnny's Recovery - NO KNIFE

The Power of the right type of training system. Not only will it make you stronger but also rehabilitate any injury. In this case Johnny's injury, if asking a doctor would or resorted to immediate surgery to fix it! 

Let me know your thoughts and feelings on this video, it really inspires me to be better! 

Healthy Bones Need Vitamin D

Vitamin D is essential to helping your body to absorb calcium, which increases healthy bone density and calcium levels in the bloodstream. A vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets in children and osteoporosis in older adults. Many people take calcium supplements to help support healthy and strong bones. Without a good consistent supply of vitamin D, most of that calcium, along with calcium from natural foods, will simply pass through your body. In addition to supporting healthy bones, vitamin D also supports the immune system, cell regeneration and reduces inflammation. Vitamin D has also shown protective properties against colon cancer.

Many of us associate a good dose of sunshine with the best way to replenish supplies of vitamin D. When our skin is exposed to sun, we absorb ultraviolet B rays that the body uses to convert cholesterol into vitamin D. All you need is about ten minutes of direct, midday sun exposure when the sun is high to get a good healthy dose of vitamin D. Excessive cloudiness, long cold wintry days and concerns about excessive skin exposure to ultraviolet rays means we need to make sure we find adequate supplies of vitamin D in our diet. In addition, vitamin D is fat-soluble so it is important to make sure your diet includes essential fatty acids like Omega-3, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil and butter.

The best natural food sources for vitamin D are the fatty fishes including, salmon, shrimp, tuna, sardines and swordfish. The next good sources are dairy products including milk, cheese, yoghurt and eggs. Some fortified products, specifically juices and breakfast cereals, are boosted with vitamin D. The benefit of this may be more than offset by the amount of sugar or wheat gluten included in those products. Please read the label carefully before selecting such products.

Obtaining sufficient vitamin D from food alone may not be enough to support healthy bones. Add to that limited sunshine exposure and aging processes that alter the body's ability to absorb calcium, particularly in post-menopausal women, and vitamin D supplements are a good alternative. Many of these supplements are listed either D2 or D3. While both are effective, the primary difference appears to be that D3 is better absorbed in higher doses.

Absorbing vitamin D from foods or from sunshine will not create any risk of overdosing on this essential substance. It is important to observe the recommended daily allowances on the container very carefully to avoid taking too much. Too much vitamin D can become slightly toxic to your body. This can produce a variety of ailments including anorexia, weight loss, polyuria, and heart arrhythmias. High blood serum levels of vitamin D can also increase the levels of calcium in the blood, leading to calcification and damage to the cardiovascular system and the kidneys. This high calcium level may also result in kidney stones in some individuals.

The best solution is to get your vitamin D from all three sources, healthy fatty fish, sunshine and vitamin D3 supplements. Look at your diet and lifestyle and make a conscious daily choice to optimize your bone and calcium levels with a good supply of vitamin D.

By Patrick Smyth

http://ezinearticles.com/?Healthy-Bones-Need-Vitamin-D&id=9593616

Hannibal King Training

Making children's play areas a work out area, Hannibal King thrives in this dynamic use of simple equipment to train functional body moving training. While training people always comment on the training I do and ask if I have seen this guy.

Functional body movement training is the future, if you think anything else competes please leave a comment below.