ballet warm-up<\/p>\n
conditioning:<\/strong><\/span> it was very cold today. at first the heater wasn’t on and I had goose pimples all over my skin because i felt really cold.<\/p>\n Technique practice:<\/strong><\/span> 2) extended butterfly prep<\/strong> (bullet into starfish into split grip inversion with knees gripping pole) x3: i was gripping quite strongly with the knees, so it didn’t feel like i was working my left (lower) arm very much at all. but it’s still a start, esp after the side planks we did for conditioning!! (my left arm was shaking quite badly when i did the left side plank, but less than during the last practice conditioning where we did the same move)<\/p>\n 3) half-flag<\/strong> x 8: B supervised me on this one too. her advice was as follows: i) really get a good armpit grip and tuck the elbow to the side of the body, ii) get a really good position on the lower (supporting) arm to dig into the side of the body, iii) bring the inside leg straight out as a guide before lifting the outside leg, iv) really keep the body facing sideways (the entire width of the chest glued to the pole) instead of facing diagonally downwards. i’m still struggling to hold it. need to continue practicing<\/p>\n 4) open-cup grip shoulder mount kicks<\/strong> (x 2 x 2, left and right) and tucks<\/strong> (x 2 x 2, left and right): these seemed kind of fine, but my shoulder mount attempts were dismal<\/p>\n 5) open-close cup grip shoulder mount attempts<\/strong> x 3: dismal, despite me lifting my chest, trying to think “pull down pole”. i managed to get my feet onto the pole, but didn’t feel secure enough to pull my hips and rest of the body up and tilt back. think it was just a mental block… need to tilt back next time!!<\/p>\n 6) climb, invert (caterpillar), cat ripples, split dismount<\/strong> x 3: i pushed away primarily with my left arm this time (i.e. left arm closer to the ground). my cat ripples are clearly getting much stronger and much more confident. i’ve managed to push away and (my bum) up quite confidently and strongly. yay me!! \ud83d\ude42 think this is good to strengthen my left (weaker) arm, especially in pushing away, which i really need for my handspring!!<\/p>\n 7) climb, invert (caterpillar), mermaid, thigh hold, split dismount<\/strong> x 1: mermaid was reasonably good and confident, although at the start my legs felt a bit unstable and towards the end my lower (pusg-away) arm might be sliding down.. but i think overall my form was good.<\/p>\n 8) knee holds<\/strong> x 3: multiple failed attempts from a side climb. i’m not sure if i’ve forgotten the technique \/ appropriate placement of the pole on the knee, or if i’m just being all wimpy because i’ve lost the inurement to the pain after not having practiced it for a while.<\/p>\n 9) outside angel, inverted pike, inside angel<\/strong> (usual side) x 1: was okay.<\/p>\n 10) hangback into pencil<\/strong> x 1: felt very insecure and unstable (maybe i was tired because i tried this towards the end of the night). and i basically didn’t release my pencilled feet from the pole and just scissor-legged down<\/p>\n 11) pencil mount<\/strong> x1 (right hand on top): this was fine and seemed quite stable and confident, although i’m still a bit messy coming down (legs are uneven). Tried pencil mount with left hand on top and FAILED miserably. i’m just not used to the body placement\/dynamics with that hand combination (strange and surprising how a tiny tweak can throw the body off)<\/p>\n 12) Ballerina<\/strong>: attempted a couple of times to get into ballerina from up on the pole. Failed!! am really struggling to get the inside arm through.<\/p>\n other conditioning \/ stretching:<\/strong><\/span> ballet warm-up conditioning: – front and side planks, reverse plank (30s each) – lift legs and back but with paddling legs\/feet (45s) – ‘dish’ pose but with paddling legs \/ feet (45s) – legs perpendicular to the floor, reach out … Continue reading
\n– front and side planks, reverse plank (30s each)
\n– lift legs and back but with paddling legs\/feet (45s)
\n– ‘dish’ pose but with paddling legs \/ feet (45s)
\n– legs perpendicular to the floor, reach out to the feet with the hands (as many as poss. in 30s)
\n– plank with ‘windscreen-wiper’ alternate feet sweeps (as many as poss. in 30s)<\/p>\n
\n1) superman<\/strong> x 10: tried this multiple times. managed to do it more or less successfully when B was around to supervise me (2x). but my attempts were much lamer when she wasn’t around… the first set of attempts (pre-B’s supervision) were clear failures, the 2-3x i tried after she supervised me, i managed to get into superman, but the form wasn’t great. but at least it’s a start. the key is to loosen my thighs a bit to let the bum drop, then really squeeze my feet together and lift my feet up, so my body is in the mini ‘dish’ shape. it’s also really important to transition quickly and not over-think it and get stuck halfway.<\/p>\n
\n1) scissor climb up the pole (left hand on top)
\n2) ballerina stretch on the floor x 3 x 2 (both sides)
\n3) sideways prep\/conditioning for ‘hangman’ or handspring deadlift x 2 x 2 (both sides)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"