Fast Fitness - More Plank Chess and Success Photos
Friday, April 02, 2010
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Fast Friday Fitness - strong mind in a strong body - readers Paul J and son sent in their success playing their invention -
plank chess:
Paul J writes:
"This time we played a complete game.
"We had to hold the plank during our turn.
"Once again my game was not going too well, and after about 10min I lost my balance moving my Knight.
"Tonight I’ll work on shoulders so inclined plank and wall hand stands are in order.
"I wonder if I can do a wall hand stand push up yet ….only one way to find out, right?" : )
Holding a plank 10 minutes is great work:
1. Hold your plank during your turn:
2. Your collaborator (remember, we are not opponents in life) holds a plank during their turn:
3. You hold a plank again during your next turn:
I have played tournament blitz chess (bullet chess), where moves can't exceed 15 seconds (or other brief time). I have played battle chess with martial artists in historic costume, fighting a short match for each move, with move completion only allowed upon winning. I have played Arpanet chess with military buddies, transmitting a move to another base, disconnect, go back to work, then stop any experiment on the burner to receive your collaborator's next move. I have tried (and tried) "total recall" chess where only a referee has tangible pieces while both players move only from memory. Plank chess from Paul J and son is a great idea.
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Labels: children, fast fitness, mind, partner exercise, pushup, readers inspiring story
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Fast Fitness - Stop Common Source of Elbow Pain
Friday, March 19, 2010
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Fast Friday Fitness - Strengthen your arms while learning to change a movement habit that is a common source of elbow pain:
- Hold a pushup or plank position, handstand, or just lean on one or both arms.
- Notice your elbows. Check if you lock them straight, or let them hyperextend (bend slightly backwards) shown in the photo below.
- Instead, keep elbows slightly flexed (bent forward). You will feel an increase in arm muscle use.
The elbow joint is called a hinge joint. It is shaped to open and close like a door. Because of the shape of the bones, opening wider than a certain point - usually close to a straight line - is stopped by the bones, not muscle flexibility. You can try it yourself now, and feel the bony end point. Like a door, if you force the elbow joint open past maximum straight range, it yanks one side of the hinge and squashes the other. Don't try that yourself. That is a common injury in yoga because some forms of yoga teach to hyperextend the elbow under body weight.
People with flexible elbows, both men and women, have bones shaped to open slightly wider. They can hyper-extend the elbow so that it bends slightly backwards. That is not a disease or cause of pain by itself and does not preclude them from sports like archery as often repeated (will be covered separately). You can easily control elbow angle using your brain and muscles.
For leaning against a counter, bike handlebars, doing pushups, plank, yoga, and other leaning or arm balancing. Keep elbows slightly flexed instead of letting the joint open to or past maximum range.
Related Fitness Fixer:Random Fitness Fixer: Labels: elbow, fix pain, pushup
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Air Pushups
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Can you do air pushups?
Giuliano is a young Romanian boy living in Italy, trained by his gymnast father. Thank you reader Paul J for telling me about him.
Below is a link to the short video clip where I captured the above photos. I was not able to embed this movie, by request at the source. Click to watch 5 year old Giuliano do air pushups:
I used to teach air pushups in my yoga classes. Every class gave opportunity to see, try, and learn. I'd coach, encourage, even lift the students personally if it helped them try it, or feel the leverages needed. Were students excited? Inspired? Did they get strong and focused?
They might have if they tried it. They whine, stall, pout, refuse, and complain to management that my class is haaaard, and they had to connnnnnn-centrate. They didn't want any of that.
Each week new students arrive in my yoga class, holding expensive yoga equipment. Some are yoga instructors. They explain to me that yoga cures all back pain. I ask why they have come and they tell me all about their back pain that they have for 4 years and they do yoga every day (not curing anything evidently). They say they do yoga all the time and know all about it and how it gives you peace and love and concentration and good posture and strength and balance. Then they sit in terrible posture waiting for class. They get indignant when I tell them to sit well. They correct me that "class hasn't started yet." In the first minutes of class I teach standing on one leg. They topple over and refuse to try again. I have them stand on the other foot and they are flabbergasted that we are doing it again when they just spent all that time insisting to me that they can't (instead of trying). We do simple planks and they sag their back and lock their elbows. When we start hand balancing to learn the basics of air pushups, some of these yoginis have thrown full-out tantrums.
Then the next week, a new crop comes to class explaining to me that yoga gives you love and acceptance and peace and good posture. So I teach them air pushups.
Giuliano also does The Flag - To be covered in the future.
How To Start Learning Air Pushups:
Random Fitness Fixer: Labels: abdominal muscles, arm, balance, chest, children, endurance, handstand, pushup, strength, upper back, video/movie, yoga
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Fast Fitness - Can You Do Plank Chess?
Friday, March 12, 2010
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Friday Fast Fitness - great concentration, body strength and endurance for almost everything, healthful family fun, and improving your chess game, all at once. Reader Paul J wrote in with this:
"Dr. Jolie,
"Have you and your husband ever tried to play chess and do the plank at the same time?
"Well, my son and I tried last night and my plank failed first so I lost.
"Plus, my opening moves were bad , so I ended up losing the game twice.
"Not quite Chess Boxing, but easy to try at home.
PJ"
Give a try:
- Face the board. Hold a neutral spine push-up position called the plank.
- Hold while you play, at least for your turn.
- Winner can be determined by moves alone, or the player who maintains their plank.
Paul J wrote:
"I was thinking doing the plank for the whole game may only be possible by a few people.
"However it should be possible to do the plank during your turn and the opponent gets to rest.
"This encourages faster play (my original intent) and of course exercise and working at concentration."
I wrote back asking Paul J and his son to get some photos. While they do that, readers please try it and send in your own - of Chess, other board game you like, or other great ideas that you have.
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chess pieces Image via Wikipedia
Plank photo by Mike B.
Labels: children, fast fitness, mind, partner exercise, pushup
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Fast Fitness - Mobilize and Strengthen With Serratus PushUps
Friday, December 18, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Friday Fast Fitness - Strengthen and learn to use the often forgotten serratus anterior muscles and learn a good mobilization for your shoulders so that you don't get stiff, and become stuck round-shouldered when driving or typing.
"Serratus" muscles wrap your chest below your armpits. Their sections fan out like your fingers, looking serrated, giving the name. They wrap around your sides to the front, so are further described with the word
"anterior." Muscle names are often descriptive, and can be easy and fun to understand. They are important for keeping your shoulder blades in place - but only when you use them to.
My student Yash demonstrates:
1. Hold a push up position with straight not locked arms. This is often called a plank position. Keeping your arms straight at the elbow, let your upper body sink under your weight so that your shoulder blades roll back and squeeze together - photo 1.
2. Correct that problem by pulling your upper back to a straighter position - photo 2
3. Do as many repetitions of sinking and pulling upward to correct the winging that you can at once. Improve by increasing the number and speed you can correct.
Coming posts will describe the serratus more and what it does, more on winging scapula, more fixes for it, and more on understanding muscle names and uses. Understanding, rather than memorizing, will help you know if claims for exercise fads and machines will help or not, and to not feel like an outsider about your anatomy and health. No medical degrees needed to understand your own body.
Related Fun Fitness Fixer:Random Fun Fitness Fixer: Labels: arm, chest, fast fitness, posture, pushup, scapula, serratus anterior, shoulder, strength
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