How to Straddle Invert on Aerial Hoop / Lyra: Tips and exercises for Beginners
Вставка
- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- One of the most common worries my aerial hoop students express is that they can't straddle invert (get upside down into a straddle position) without jumping or having someone help them. This is perfectly normal, DO NOT WORRY!!! The good news is that you can build up the strength by separating the movement into stages, as I show you in this video. These aren't meant to be tackled all at once though - instead, identify which level you're currently at (only just able to hold your body weight on tiptoes before your arms straighten/ able to hold body weight with bent arms/ able to hold body weight with bent arms and lift knees out towards shoulders/ able to maintain shape while letting the arms straighten to invert) and build up from there by slowly increasing the difficulty until you're strong enough to manage the next stage. For body weight holds, build up from three sets of one-second holds to three sets of 5 seconds. For the other exercises, just aim for three sets of one to start with, slowly building up to 3-5. You don't need a hoop to do these either - gyms with pull-up bars, children's playgrounds, or a pull-up bar at home are just as good!
The next step is transitioning from Hocks Hang (hanging from the back of your knees) to sitting in the hoop - this can also be a challenge! My video 'All about the Straddle' covers this from 41 seconds in and provides techniques that help: • All about the straddle... . Enjoy!
Apologies for the poor sound quality and wind interference - this is my first spoken hoop tutorial, so it's a bit of a learning curve for me! I might re-do it if it's too difficult to hear my voice, so do let me know if it's helpful or not/ whether you can actually make out what I'm saying ;-)
Thanks Clare. You're right about moving quickly onto new tricks & not doing enough reps to master the invert. I can barely pull my knees to shoulders, but will keep working on it. Thanks for breaking it down.
You're very welcome Daria! Yes yes, keep working on it... you'll be amazed how quickly you can build up the strength if you commit to doing the exercises regularly and consistently - the body has such an amazing capacity for adaptation! Have fun with it ✨🙃✨ Cx 😘
omg thank you !!! finally someone who is explaining all the needed details to mount. i feel so bad when i can’t get on it because i really don’t know what to focus on. thank you 💫
You're so welcome! Thanks so much for your enthusiastic feedback and for taking the time to comment - I'm so happy to hear that it's been helpful for you! And NEVER feel bad when you can't get on the hoop... it's all part of the journey, and of building up strength! We all have to start somewhere, and the people who seem to do it effortlessly first time have often had experience and training in other disciplines... pole, gymnastics, dance, yoga etc... that mean they've built up a large part of the strength already. Never compare yourself to anyone else, you're on your own unique journey and the only useful comparison is with yourself and what you were able to do the day or a year before. Stick with it and you'll get there!!
This is so true! It's a lot of just 'doing it', whereas Clare breaks down each individual movement into a singular moment :)
Thank you so much!!!! This video has helped me make sense of how to do the straddle invert and I'm now practicing bodyweight holds at gym as well as in class so should hopefully be able to do this soon :)
Awwww, thanks for your comment Lilly - I'm so pleased to hear that you've found it helpful! Fantastic to hear that you're working on the bodyweight holds - if you can stick with them and keep building them up it'll really make such a difference. Consistency is the key... even when it feels like you're not getting anywhere, KEEP GOING, and I promise you'll see results! And once you start to see the results, you'll feel even more motivated. Very best of luck with it, and keep up the good work!
Hello, thanks for posting this! I wish the instructor today freaked this down the way you do in the video! Can you please answer me. I just took my first Lyra class today, I love it but I couldn't hang on it (frog inverted hang) the one you showed in the video, without assistance and I couldn't do the one leg hang even with assistance, I feel that my arms are very weak! when I go to the gym I never do a pull up or chin up or push ups! I feel a little bit disappointed but I don't want to give up. Can you please tell me if strengthening my upper body would help? Also, is the hoop being high (I'm short) a factor? would you recommend me asking the instructor to lower it? please advise!
Hi there, thanks so much for your feedback and question - I'm so glad you found the video useful! First of all, don't worry at all and try not to feel disappointed - it's TOTALLY NORMAL to find the inverted hang position difficult at the beginning!!! It takes time - the same way we didn't expect to be able to ride a bike when we first tried it as kids, but it feels easy now! Hanging upside down isn't something we're used to doing in daily life, so our muscles need to build up strength and familiarity with it - plus our brains need to get the hang of it too!! Yes, strengthening your upper body with some assisted bodyweight work at the gym will really help with this - I recommend using a pull-up machine that has weights to help you (or a pull-up resistance band) and practicing lowering down from the top position as slowly as you can. The lats are another muscle group that is really important for this move, so anything that helps with those will benefit you too!! A high hoop will make it more difficult initially, but it will also force you to work a bit harder - and therefore build up strength quicker :-) Keep going, and don't forget to enjoy the journey!!! Hope that helps X
@@clarewatkinson Thank you so much for getting back to me and for your advice! I practiced today and I already feel so much better. Cheers :)
How long do you think it takes the average person to do this
Hi there! There really is no ‘average person’ when it comes to inverting - it depends on so many different factors, including body anthropometrics and movement experience (dance, ballet, gymnastics, pole, rock climbing etc). Some beginners get it immediately, others may take a year or so. But one thing I CAN guarantee is that doing the exercises and working on bodyweight holds, core strength and pull-up strength will get you there as quickly as your body is able! Committing to doing the foundation strength work, ideally a few times a week, may not seem as fun as learning tricks or poses but the rewards are HUGE and it will unlock so much more down the line, including inverts 😊 Hope that helps!!
Hi
✨🤗✨
Your WhatsApp no
🙌🏻✨🔥💛
Thank you so much! 😘🙏🌟
I've never had anyone really explain it like this! Thankyou just gotta find somewhere to practice
Hi Jenna, thanks so much for taking the time to comment! Thrilled that it's been helpful for you and wish you the very best in your continued practice (kids playgrounds are a great place to practice outside of hoop time by the way... lots of bars at different heights :-) Good luck!
This is amazing! Thank you! I've been practicing lyra for a few years and I struggle with this movement. Thanks for breaking it down!
You're very welcome Elisa! And thankyou so much for your feedback - I'm so pleased that you found it helpful 😃 You're absolutely not alone; most people without aerial/ gymnastic/ acrobatic backgrounds struggle with the invert, and often for a long time, because it requires an awful lot of strength - some people already have that strength from other disciplines (pole/ crossfit / gymnastics etc), but most of us don't, so we need to do focused exercises to build it up! Classes tend to focus on new moves and tricks though, so we can easily miss out on the strength-building exercises we need. You don't necessarily need a hoop either, as you can do most of these exercises in a gym with a pull-up bar, or even in a children's playground.... stick with it and you'll get there!! x
if i i am in the tucke position with my knees out towards my shoulders when i straighten my arms and my butt drops down what does that mean is that a lack of core strength to keep that shape as i extend my arms?
Great question, and something I forgot to mention in the video - thank you for reminding me! Some of this will be core strength, but a big part of this will be the strength in your lats. Imagine lying on the floor with your arms stretched up alongside your ears, so they lie flat on the floor too, palms up. Now imagine you're gripping a heavy weights bar in your hands, and trying to bring that weight off the floor, over your head and down towards your stomach while keeping your arms straight the whole time and without letting any part of the rest of your body lift off the floor. To do this, you'll need to tense most of the muscles in your body to keep your torso rigid and engaged (particularly your core of course) - this stabilises the whole body to provide a firm 'lever' to work against. But for the push against the weight itself, the muscles doing the work are the lats - they are the power-house of this particular hinge point in the body. When doing the aerial hoop invert, you're still gripping a bar, but the weight that you're pushing against is that of your own body. You can build this up gradually by trying to hold a little longer every session as high as you can, or by lowering down as slowly as you can from the top position (perhaps with someone to support you if you drop down very quickly, so that you have a chance to engage the right muscles and work on them). Hope that helps!
Thank you very much! You are very helpful! I love this sport! But AM totally a mess :D Thank you again
Thankyou for your lovely feedback Marella - I’m so happy that it’s been helpful for you! The ‘messiness’ is a wonderful thing and all part of the fun... the same reason it’s such a joy to watch little kids as they learn to walk (wouldn’t it be dull if they could do it straight away 😉?!) Enjoy!!! ✨😘✨
Thanks for this. On e the legs are hooked over the hoop, is there an easy way to pull oneself up to sitting on the low bar? I find once I'm hooked over it, it is very heavy to pull my body up.
My pleasure; I hope it was helpful! 💖 Ah, great question 🙏 I recently posted a video on techniques that help with coming up to sitting from the Hocks Hang - it’s called ‘A look at straddle | BEGINNERS AERIAL HOOP!’ and should be in the ‘Aerial Hoop / Lyra: Beginners’ playlist on my channel. I’ll post the link here too: ua-cam.com/video/Nol2LIW_1dQ/v-deo.htmlsi=DXfLJph7LS4uL4P7 . Basically it’s all about using the legs to lever you up (pushing the down against the bar, while your arms stay straight) rather than trying to pull up either your arms. The relevant section in the video is from 41 seconds in. Let me know if that helps, and keep going - it’ll come!! ❤️
@@clarewatkinson Thank you so much!
@@Tigerspencerstrawberry My pleasure :) 🥰🩵💕
I’ve been to about four lyra classes and the teacher was like “let’s do straddle invert” and I am not strong at all so it went very poorly. Thank you for breaking it down like this! It was super helpful
You're very welcome! I'm so pleased to hear that it was helpful 😀 Keep going with it and you'll discover you really ARE strong... it's just a matter of training the brain to connect with the muscles in a way they're not used to. Eventually the muscles catch on to what it is they're supposed to doing and start adapting - not only do you become stronger, but muscle-memory starts to kick in and you find you don't even have to think about it anymore. It just happens, yipppeeeeee!!! 🤪 C x
IS IT easier with a Higher or lower hoop?
Great question, thank you! It varies from person to person (and people's preferences are often just guided by what they're used to), but as a general rule for beginners I'd say the optimal height would be where your elbows are bent at a 90 degree angle when your hands are on the hoop. This is the strongest starting point to be able to hold your own body weight, as your biceps are already contracted and don't have to pull your body weight through the entire range. Too low, however, and it gets really awkward - and won't be as helpful in building up your strength! Hope this helps :-)
@@clarewatkinson thank you very very much . 🙏
Lovely explanation! I kept throwing myself over but I can see to stay more tucked :) thank you!
Thank you so much for your comment Rachel Clare - I’m so glad you found it helpful! 🤗🙏😘 Yes, start out nice and tucked and gradually build up your strength and control. A great way of doing this is to try and slow it down as much as possible as you come back OUT of straddle, lowering back down to the ground - this will really help build up the right strength 😃💪 Keep going and it will come!! 🌸🦋🌈
@@clarewatkinson oh bless you for replying!! I meant it, you're clear and you edited the video to make it visually easy to understand.
I'm no expert, but I would consider investing in a mic to catch the sound outside better, and will level up the quality of your excellent content :)
I like your channel, I'm heavily considering making more of a vlog journey of aerial hoop, less 'technique' and more 'hey guys, omg today was challenging etc etc' what do you think? 🤗 Have a great day! x ps. you can find me on instagram with the same username :)
You’re so welcome! 💕🤗💕 I so appreciate you taking the time to feedback with such positivity ✨🙏✨ And thank you so much for your suggestion about the mic - I will definitely look into that! As for your idea about doing a Vlog journey, yes yes YES!!! Go for it!! ✨💪🦋 I think people really appreciate seeing the journey itself, not just the shiny end-products, on social media - that’s what it is to be human after all, always a work-in-progress, learning and growing! 😊 It helps us feel connected, inspired and encouraged. Also, you’ll find it’s a great tool for your own aerial hoop adventure, allowing you to look back and see how far you’ve come! 😃 I’ll look you up, and am very excited to see the vlog come into being ❤️ Enjoy!!
@@clarewatkinson oh my goodness, I got a tear to my eye reading that!!
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you! 😊❤️😊