Having a little fun before the training started! haha
Myself along with first time regionals athlete Bianca Blair, throwing down with Ger Sasser and Emily Carothers while on their “Train-cation”
We were having a conversation while she was warming up…….(she was holding a handstand throughout the convo?!)
Over the last two weeks, two different female athletes I have been working with had that moment where everything clicked on their muscle ups with the hollow and arch positions. The frustrating part for me was that I have told them multiple cues for some time now. With that being said, I was able to take something away from it which is going to help me get you guys have a better understanding of these positions.
Let me state the point that these are both regional level athletes. I figured that if they are having problems with body awareness when trying to apply the hollow/arch, then so are others. By this, I mean applying it to all movements where it will be the most beneficial. The cue that worked on them was as simple…..”flex your butt” . As soon as I told one of the girls this, her arch position was perfect and she immediately felt the difference. Another cue used by one of my coaches was to keep your stomach flexed to where you feel it stopping your arch position at a certain point. What I want you to understand is that one of these things can happen without the other. When you get both parts engaged, you create power through with the stretch reflex of your muscles.
2 key points
1) Flex your butt in the forward and back swing of all movements with the pull-up bar or rings.
2) Flex your stomach to where it maintains tension and restricts a end-range of motion.
Below are two pictures showing the difference of having your stomach engaged on the muscle up.
This is Emily at the highest point of her arch swing with a disconnected stomach. It looks as if Emily has everything connected all the way down to her toes though(which is why this can be hard to understand). When you look at the picture below, you can see the difference in the positioning 100% due to her stomach being engaged.
At the highest point of her arch swing with stomach engaged.
Skill: post workout- Tabata alternating between hollow and arch holds. The goal is simple… get better with these positions!
Keep fighting the good fight,
Coach Poppa