Lost Art of Hand Balancing

So which Professor are we talking about?

Professor E.M. Orlick. You’ve probably read the last few post about him and have wondered why his material is so great.

Here is an excerpt from Handbalancing Made Easy, which forms just one of many pieces of the new course coming out soon. This covers many of the benefits of hand balancing no matter your reasons for doing it.

“I honestly believe that handbalancing is one of the finest mind-body activities there is, and that everyone should learn something about this invigorating sport. I am also convinced that our national health, both mental and physical, would improve materially, if all of our people spent a little time each day in the stimulating upside-down position.

FOR THE GYMNAST, the ability to hold a perfect handstand is a must. This stunt, with its numerous variations, is used more often in gymnastics than any other trick known to man. Without it, you cannot become a champion gymnast, or even an accomplished performer.

FOR THE ACROBAT, whether amateur or professional, the handstand is of similar importance, because it can be used in such a great variety of ways and in such a multitude of different acts. The handstand belongs in the repertoire of every good acrobat.

FOR THE BODYBUILDER, and all others interested in building impressive, muscular, he-man physiques, the handstand is a natural. Not only does handbalancing help to build big, powerful muscles, but it also shows off the well-developed body to its best advantage. Furthermore, it proves to the whole world that your muscles are not a lot of useless bulk, because handbalancing requires a find combination of balance, controlled strength, and neuro-muscular coordination.

FOR THE WEIGHTLIFTER, and other strength athletes, the handstand serves a similar purpose, but does even more, for it helps to develop terrific pressing strength. All good handbalancers possess powerful triceps. I have yet to find one who could not press his own body weight over his head. Some can press much more, even though they have never practiced weight-lifting. Most handbalancers practice some weight-lifting to help them with their sport, and likewise, many weight-lifters do some handbalancing to help them improve their lifts.

FOR THE ATHLETE, no matter what his favorite sport may be, handbalancing is a wonderful, exhilarating, strength-building activity. It is particularly good for those sports which require strong fingers, wrists, forearms, upper arms, shoulders, upper back and lower back. However, it exercises all of the muscles of the body to some degree, is a good circulation stimulator, and a fine warm-up exercise.

FOR THE ORDINARY PERSON, who just wants a strong, healthy, useful body, which can serve him efficiently and enable him to enjoy a happy, exciting life, handbalancing is just the thing. Handbalancing brings into play every muscle in your body and has a beneficial effect upon all of your vital organs and systems. It improves circulation, respiration, digestion, elimination, and other important functions. It aids thinking and reasoning by bringing more blood to your brain, and more oxygen to your blood. It is challenging and exciting and has a beneficial effect upon the central nervous system as a whole. There is no better way to get fit and stay fit…mentally and physically… than through handbalancing.

HANDBALANCING is more than a series of stunts, more than a system of exercising, it is a way of life. To be a good handbalancer you need a sound mind in a sound body. You need strength of character, will-power, self-confidence, determination, perseverance, and the will to succeed. You need a mind free from worry, fear, and tension. You need a medically fit body, that is free from disease, injury, or infection. You need good balance, fine coordination and rapid recuperative powers. You need strength, stamina, and endurance; you need vim, vigor and vitality. You need mental and physical fitness of the highest order.”

As you can see Prof. Orlick was a huge believer that anyone and everyone can benefit from doing some hand balancing.

P.S. Why does it seem like all the best teachers of hand balancing seem to be professors or doctors? Maybe I should go get a degree.

If you are still unsure, why not just follow our lead and get your hand balancing skills in order.
We’ll even help you out by giving you a 50% discount til the end of 2016 to 3 of our Hand Balancing Products using the code: NEWTRICKS

Get one or all 3 of the books before 2016 ends.

Stay Inverted!
-Coach Jon

It’s almost 2017 and its pretty much the closing of a very interesting year. But no matter what environmental factors happen around us, we always have a choice to progress and be successful.

So, let me ask you a question.

What have you decided to in order to progress for 2017?

I’ll give you a second to think about that…

For many of us, the question hasn’t formulated in our heads yet, because we are still in “Holiday Mode.” For the ones that are going to kill it this 2017, the planning has already begun.

If you are still unsure, why not just follow our lead and get your hand balancing skills in order.
We’ll even help you out by giving you a 50% discount til the end of 2016 to 3 of our Hand Balancing Products using the code: NEWTRICKS

Get one or all 3 of the books before 2016 ends.

Stay Inverted!
-Coach Jon

Whats going on fellow handbalancers! This one is a bit of a rant lol.

If you remember from a few posts back I was discussing with you about flexibility. (PS if you don’t remember, just go here.)

Well here I am back at it again. The reason why? Its that I keep seeing the need for it in my daily life as a coach and/or trainer.(whichever you choose)

We are in a time when people are healthier than they have been in the past 5-10 years. We understand that we need to get our bodies strong and fit in order to elongate our lives but also to enjoy more of what if has to offer. All of the marketing and reality shows have probably helped. Although people are still getting stronger and faster, I still see a consistent issue. In fact its the top thing people have been coming to me for lately.

Flexibility. A typical situation is to have a new client call me up or email. The usual verbage is that they were working on their own or with a previous trainer and they hurt themselves. But they don’t know why but want to keep training without being inhibited. (Huge red flag for me) Awareness of your own body is key while your training. There are those cases where their movement patterns are off but that can be discussed at a later time. I do an assessment of their form and alignment and notice a few things. Maybe its overly stressed traps or tight it band causing irritation in the back. We get to work on a few flexibility protocols and in up to a few short weeks they are able to complete their programming without inhibited movements.

So why is this so important? If you have a muscular imbalance or tightness in certain areas of your body, it can cause not so needed stress to other areas as an effect. You can look at how the protocols for tennis elbow have changed in the past 3 -4 years to see what I’m talking about.

So do yourself a favor and get more flexibility! If you need a program, try the GMB Focused Flexibility Program.

Stay Inverted!
-Coach Jon

Do you want to stretch, get more mobile, or be more flexible? Whatever you call it, your goal is to increase the range of your muscles and joints in various positions to be able to complete whichever activity you’re training for.

Here’s an example. Say you’re into the martial arts like I am. Maybe you want to complete a cartwheel so that you can build out into something more difficult or impressive like an aerial( no handed cartwheel). An easier example would be in tying your shoes. If you don’t have the range to bend over (hips, hamstrings, lower back) you will probably strain your muscles or have to get creative to complete a simple task.

This brings out a bunch of choices in how to get the job done. Before I give you an obvious choice that we follow, here’s some food for thought from Jarlo at GMB Fitness.

As the argument goes, muscles don’t actually stretch; a fully relaxed muscle is up to 50% longer than a muscle in it’s typical semi-contracted state. Therefore, “stretching” a muscle doesn’t so much elongate its fibers as it simply trains them to hold less unnecessary tonus.

-Jarlo Ilano, GMB Fitness

So now to the obvious choice. I’ve gone through different protocols of mobility and flexibility in my time-frame as a trainer. The best protocol I’ve found is actually in the Focused Flexibility program from GMB. It bases its protocols on customization. The human body is not a static machine, it constantly changes. Focused Flexibility uses a baseline and then it works you through a series of static and dynamic stretches that are a variant of physical therapy protocols.

So if you want to develop your “flexibility, mobility, or increase your stretching range” pick up the GMB Focused Flexibility Program.

Stay Inverted!
-Coach Jon