Sunday, September 23, 2007

More full circles.

No pun intended. When I first started swinging kettlebells it immediately reminded me of swinging gymnastics and I was hooked.The flow, the strength , technique all brought me back to pommel horse,parallel bars,rings and high bar.
Now that I have started Z movements with it's emphasis on precisely done joint circles done perfectly it again reminds of my gymnastics beginnings.
When we trained,whether it was skill work or flexibility the emphasis was always on getting perfect movements and totally controlling every part of our body, whether it needed to be loose, tight, moving,static , powerful or enduring.And every detail counted because the judges would mark down ANY movement or position that wasnt, well, perfect.So the emphasis was on perfect kinesthetic awareness( proprioception) and the ability to put your limbs and body where it needed to be at exactly the right movement.
Easy to say, very very hard to do.Especially every time, and on demand.
The Z stuff reminds me of that, breaking everything down to it's smallest movement and making sure that all parts of that circle are touched,with smoothness and lack of tension.Again, easy to say...
Very revealing

40 minutes of the full routine today and man did I need it.7th day no nsaids and yesterdays little play date with the 32 kg made the body very stiff and slow this AM.Not to mention the push jerks which my body still is no where near used to.
Really took my time and worked from head to toe.Rifga afterward and doing the Z first really makes the poses that much easier to get into and stay with. Very calming effect as well,which one would expect with such an emphasis on breathing and not letting any tension occur.Constantly shaking hands and arms out,even in the middle of reps, helps too. Standing quad shakes are also getting rid of leg tension from standing almost in one place the whole time.
My knee and ankle are still getting used to being in "new" positions and sometimes it aint the right one.
One of the problems with having hypermobile ligaments and no internal knee structures,lol.Things move around alot. Marbles in a sock is how I describle my ankles.But now the left one is at least moving.
Geoff is in tomorrow and can't wait to have him clarify tons of movements and positions.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rif,
If you are creating too much tension while performing all exercises standing, try playing around with the drills by lying down or sitting in a chair. Neutral stance and long spine still apply is these two positions and they create a lot less tension than standing.

Keep moving!

Brett Jones said...

Hey Katie,
Great tips - hope you had a safe trip back to Hotlanta.

Mark Reifkind said...

thanks katie, good to know that. its only my left knee that doesnt like standing in one place too long.good to know I can sub out.

155 x 3 x 5, 160 x 3 x 5, 20 kg swings 5 x 8/8, floor pushups 40, 35

 Thought about going back to 5x5 for a hot second then my left shoulder  reminded me why I stopped doing them before. It doesn't seem to...