Conditioning:
– pole pull-ups x 4 x 2 (different hand on top)
– eagle x 3 x 2 (on both sides)
Technique:
1) Shoulder mount x 5: Lift chest, think about going into tuck first before lifting legs up, REALLY VISUALISE legs going UP and BEHIND, once the heel is hooked onto the pole, slide legs UP the pole
2) superman x 3: this was much much better than recent attempts. I was able to do it slowly and with control. tips include: i) slide lower hand lower down the pole, ii) keep hip bones on the pole, iii) slide upper hand slightly lower as well, iv) once the legs / feet have been brought together, let the bum slide down
3) combo: climb, caterpillar (invert), outside angel, starfish, superman, starfish, climb above, slide to stand x 2: was okay, although transition from outside angel to starfish was quite awkward and needs to be worked on. when climbing above (post superman, starfish) on my usual side, need to bring the left (outside) hand ABOVE the right (inside) hand
4) bow & arrow (on left leg hooked on the pole) x 3: we tried it once swapping arm placements, which was terrible. so after that, we just switched legs but kept my usual arm placements. was generally okay. the right hand needs to keep a normal grip around the pole, not a cup grip, and the elbow needs to be really tucked in. i was struggling a bit to roll up, so i need to use my left hand to push myself away and up from the pole
5) extended butterfly attempts x 4 or 5 (bullet, starfish, butterfly prep, and halfway-extended butterfly): i managed to kind of do the extended butterly (although I didn’t manage to fully straighten the leg on the pole because i was scared) with N holding my bum. but i don’t think i could have held it if she didn’t hold my bum. it is key to get the body aligned to (and facing) the pole first, before extending the leg that is hooked on the pole