I was at a competition this past weekend and met Adrian who had previous years of experience in Capoeira. I asked him to demonstrate just a few basic moves and he obliged. Enjoy!
There are many different arts that incorporate hand balancing and acrobatics into them and each one is unique. If you’d like to see more about Capoeira here on this site leave a comment below.
In the past three posts you’ve got tons of ideas on training you can do with parallettes. But what if you don’t have a pair of parallettes to train with?
One, you can easily make your own pair for cheap.
Two, you can replicate the same training with a variety of other objects. This video gives you more details. Not exactly the same but close enough to gain 95% of the benefits.
There are just a few days left to save 15% on Gold Medal Bodies awesome parallette training course. Just go check out P1 here and use the coupon code ‘LEGENDARY’ before March 31st.
Ryan Hurst from Gold Medal Bodies is here to show you how to move forward with your parallette training. Click here for Part 1 and Part 2. This is the third in a three part series.
By now, you should have developed some foundation strength in the basic parallette press and L-sit. That’s a great start, but we started off this series talking about advanced exercises like planches, and maybe it still seems like we’re a long way off from there.
Though it’s true we’re still not ready for advanced work, we can prepare for it by taking these basic skills and combining them into a combination routine.
Anyone following Logan is not going to be a stranger to the concept of sophisticated skills such as handstands and bridging. You’ve also been exposes to the idea of building from simple variations to more difficult ones. One way we like to achieve this is by building combinations – what we like to call “flows” – that put the basic movements together in more interesting and challenging ways.
Today’s video covers a simple flow exercise you can do on the parallettes.
As you can see, we’ve added one more basic exercise, then put them together into a simple combination.
The routine goes like this:
1. Pushup
2. Swing forward to L-sit
3. Swing back to inverted press
4. Repeat
Perform this for 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 repetitions. Do this 3 days in a row, rest one day, then test your strength the next day to check your progress. We’ve included a sample two week program using this routine that will get you ready to begin serious parallette training – the kind that moves you toward advanced skills.
Download link for sample program
Of course, there’s much more to using parallettes than this. The possibilities are really almost endless, but you’ll need some basic strength and control before you can pull off the fancy stuff.
The program above is a starting point. Once you’ve given that a shot, we encourage you to check out our Parallettes One course, which takes these basics to the next level, building pressing strength and skill that will serve you well for any goal.
Gold Medal Bodies has a full blown course on Parallette Training. Until the end of March you can save 15% off the price of any P1 bundle by using the coupon code ‘LEGENDARY’.
Ryan Hurst from Gold Medal Bodies is here to show you how to build a training foundation with parallettes. This is the second in a three part series.
If you’ve been practicing your parallette push-ups, you’ve probably noticed that your arms and core feel a little different from what you’re used to. Maybe after a couple of days, you started to get the hang of it, and as your technique improved, you were able to perform the presses more easily.
That’s great, because it means that you’re ready for the next challenge: the most deceptively simple “abdominal” exercise of all time (that actually works way more than just your abs).
Enter the L-Sit
The L-Sit is a fundamental “hold” exercise that exemplifies the whole body tension generated by proper parallette training. Check out this video for a complete beginner’s tutorial on parallette L-sits:
The key point, as in the pushup, is the focus on bringing your elbow pits forward. This allows you to lift your chest up fully and pack down your shoulders. In this position you can bring your hips forward and lift your legs higher, which you’ll find makes the exercise much, much harder.
Strong core activation is initiated with an emphasized full exhale and lock out of the knees into the full L-sit position. If that’s too challenging to start with, you can begin by training the basic tuck position to achieve better form and technique. Try to keep your hips between your hands, or even further forward.
When you can hold the tuck for five reps at five seconds each, you’re ready to move on to the full L-sit.
To make the transition from tuck to L-sit, extend your legs out to a full locked position, fold back into the tuck and relax down. Instead of extending the feel, think of flattening the knees.
While holding the tuck for up to five seconds, extend into the L-sit for one second and return the the tuck. Repeat and gradually lengthen the time with your legs straight. Eventually, you want to work for 5 reps of 5 second holds.
Don’t get discouraged – the L-sit is tough!
You can practice this every day, but don’t neglect your recovery. Keep the volume low and remember to focus on technique above all else.
Once you’ve got a strong L-sit, you’ll have the core strength necessary to begin moving around on the parallettes. That’s what’s coming up in the next installment – so practice this technique and let us know if you have any questions.
Gold Medal Bodies has a full blown course on Parallette Training.
Back at the end of January I had the pleasure of meeting up with some new friends at a seminar they were hosting.
It was some top quality gymnastic strength type training information suitable for all levels.
It was a lot of fun and some of the exercises and drills were new to me. That’s saying something because I have a bit of experience in this field.
The best part though has to be the progressions. As you know training with balancing and bodyweight exercises it isn’t always easy to make the jump from one skill to the next. Progressions are the key that makes it work.
I’ve convinced them to give you some info to get started regarding training with parallettes.
In case you don’t know parallettes are mini parallel bars. The sizes can differ but they allow for some fun and unique training as you‘ll come to see.
Any pushup bar or similar setup can be used.
In fact in my book The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups I show you how to make them. But I’m not going to make you buy the book to get started.
Over at my friend Mike’s site he has a good tutorial on how to put a set of parallettes together for cheap.
And tomorrow Ryan Hurst will show you how to use them. Stay tuned.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
This video shows a tip for the Frogstand I came up with after working with a client on his handstand. Give it a try and see if it helps you out.
By placing your hands wider than shoulder width you can more easily support your body weight thus making the frogstand easier to hold.
On the flip side, if you wish to make it more difficult bring your arms in closer and/or straighten the arms in the frogstand position. This can add in moving forward with tuck planche work.
Want to get more tips like this that help you better to hold a handstand? Check out the new Secrets of the Handstand Quick Start DVD 2.0.
There are just a few copies left with the special deal for the new Advanced Bodyweight Training.
The 30 day challenge is over.
Just to recap, or for those of you that aren’t aware, this involved two parts.
The first was to practice my hand balancing in one form or another every single day.
To be honest, in this regard I failed. I missed a couple days at the end. This was a result of getting busy, putting off the practice and forgetting to do it later.
But I don’t think of this as a failure. What I did accomplish was to practice my hand balancing almost everyday. I’m back into it with renewed vigor.
Progress at gymnastics is coming fast. Back to tumbling with a fury. Gained back my old skills fast and moving onto the new. In addition I’ve begun working on the other apparatus like the parallel bars, pommel horse and more.
And I did see improvement in my one hand handstand and one arm half planche (my two big hand balancing goals right now) over the month. They’re still a long way off but no one said you could master these moves overnight.
In fact, most people say it’ll take years if you even ever accomplish the one armer.
The second part of the 30 day challenge was to post on the site every single day. While it was difficult at times I did accomplish this one! Lots of pictures, a wide range of videos and short helpful tips are all there to see.
Not to mention holding a sale and releasing a new training tool during this time. I would say it was a great success.
So what happens now?
I’m going to go back to writing to you once or maybe twice every week. And the good part is this will be a more in depth piece then what I’ve been putting up lately.
I will continue to practice my hand balancing regularly and report on my progress here.
If you did the 30 day challenge with me, I’d love to hear about how it went for you down below.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
I have seen some of these Indian Pole Gymnastics before but this video which was sent to me recently showcases the variety of skills quite well.
Although most people may not be familiar with this gymnastic art it is well known in the area. The skills are similar yet different from any other gymnastics event taking strength, flexibility and skill.
You even get to watch the flipping dismounts here. My personal favorite is the second man in this video showing that even bigger guys can do these kind of skills named Indian Pole Gymnastics.
I was back at gymnastics last night.
Instead of the normal routine of starting with a bunch of tumbling we did something different by working on the parallel bars. Besides a few dips this is not something I’ve much experience in.
We started off with swings. Going from a planche-like position with a hollow body to just the reverse. You keep your arms locked out the entire time and generate momentum while keeping the body tight. In the future I may try to get some video or at least pictures up of it.
It’s a fun move and can be interesting once you start to get some real height on the swings.
We also did a few other basic moves like shoulder stands and various rolls.
By no means did I pull of anything amazing but since it was my first real introduction I’m happy with it. And I’ll definitely be back, especially working on those swings.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
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