Some movements I have tried over the quarantine period
This quarantine was a period with more time for self. This time gave me the privilege to try out some movements I have been not so good at. I may not have achieved my end goal, but I have surely progressed well.
I work in an IT start-up, where we did not have the tools to work on our office systems from home previously. We were getting the tools slowly, but due to COVID-19 pandemic, we had to roll out quickly. We did a decent job, but since it was first time for all of us to work from home, the tasks given were lesser comparatively. Later into the quarantine period, we got comfortable and work really got hectic.
There n new movements I have started learning. I certainly have not been training them sincerely, but I try to push myself to put in minimal efforts.
Wall muscle-up
I have been wanting to learn this movement but I have always given up easy, maybe due to poor technique. This quarantine was a good time to revisit this movement, and I did!
I found the right setup on my terrace, and I gave it a shot. Initially I couldn't, and it was very disappointing. I did not want to give up, so I watched a YouTube video which helped me understand the basics. This helped me do the wall muscle up. It was difficult initially, now I seem to have a hang of it. I still have to practice a lot to make the movement more fluid. My current wall muscle up looks like this:
Single hand cartwheel
This is a rather easy skill for me to master. I am good with cartwheels, but I do not attempt single hand cartwheel out of fear of failing. This quarantine gave me the time to test my fears. My comfortable side is towards my left.
I first tried to practice cartwheel towards my right. I got a bit comfortable with it, but I need to practice a lot. Then I tried to cartwheel with one hand towards my left. I first tried using only my left hand, this is fairly simple once your regular cartwheel is easy. Then I tried to use only right hand to cartwheel towards my left. It was bit difficult to commit to this movement. But slowly I got used to it. Now I can do it with ease. But the new issue was my legs were bent while performing the movement. This will only get better with more practice.
After this was aerial, the no hand cartwheel! This movement is very scary to commit, I always think I would hit my face on the floor, which I never have thanks to my fear. But after the right-hand only cartwheel, I dared a bit. I tried it! I felt like I did it, but it was just a butterfly kick trying to look like an aerial. Later I stumbled upon a video explaining how to convert b-kick into aerial. Here is the link.
I haven't progressed further as I could not practice recently. Will try to practice when I can find a spot or this COVID-19 issue is solved.
Pistol squats
This movement is not a new movement for me. I have done it several times. But this time it was different. Why different ? Because I have always thought of this movement as a pro-movement and restricted myself to not trying it very often but only doing it once in a blue moon. This quarantine period, due to my parkour gym sending in daily workouts, I could add pistol squats to my routine. I am doing pistol squats or shrimp squats twice in a week!
This movement was more of mental restriction I had rather than my physical restriction.
Headstand
If you had asked me about headstand before the quarantine period, I would have told I could do but I am too scared that I would fall or fail. But when I gave it a shot it was easier than expected. Sometimes, only thing stopping me from achieving is not trying. I am now practising to keep headstand for about a minute, which requires lot of mind control. The domain I lack experience is balance and mind control. I believe with more practice I shall improve.
I am currently practising leg lifts in headstand posture.
My current progress (June 30, 2020)
Backbend kick-over
I wanted to learn this movement since a long time. But as you might have guessed it, fear was the factor for not progressing much. I could use a wall and kick-over, but cannot do it without a wall. I will first share the video of my initial attempts during quarantine.
As you can see above, I am scared to even lift my legs. I used to get back pain, that feeling where you feel like it is your first time using those muscles, when I tried it. Then I started taking my friend's help to support me in doing kick-over.
After more practice, now, I feel my kick-over has improved but not yet unlocked! I am happy that I am at this stage, but very eager to unlock this movement completely.
Update: July 6, 2020
Finally I am able to do backbend kickover 😄. My mom witnessed it live too, that was the cherry on top!
Here is the video:
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