Hold On For Dear Life
We loooove isometric holds. You know you are doing one when you feel muscles start to cramp and ache, when sweat pours off you but you aren’t moving at all. Squat holds, plank, and the beloved hollow hold are among our favorites. But did you know there’s a few tricks to these babies?
-Better form is easier. A deeper squat or a tighter plank is easier to maintain than a wobbly mushy hold.
-Taking short breaths helps too.
-There’s usually a moment when the hold hurts so bad, you know you will break. But did you know if you manage to sustain past that moment, the pain subsides a little? Don’t let your mind give out before your muscles.
-Lots of people have mental tricks to take the hold a little longer. Some people imagine they are squatting or planking over a sharp object. Others try and focus elsewhere, like on the music or their neighbor’s labored breathing. Whatever works for you, find your special isometric place and spend some time there.
What hold do you need to work on?
Jess gave us the pleasure of some awesome one-arm overhead squat holds and other isometric ab drills that rocked our pretty worlds tonight. Such a love-hate relationship for me and I can’t thank you enough for the fabulous kick-ass class Mrs. Dibiase!!!
quite simply….all of them! my mind usually says”give me weights, anything but a hold”! sorry to miss Jess’s class tonight, but Annakari turned the big 5 years old today! Thank god her favorite foods are no longer mine!
Did I miss working out with Baby Mateo’s mama? Bummer!
I have a complicated relationship with the hollow. It comes pretty easily to me UNLESS I let my head take over. This is particulalry true when hollow comes after a gazillion other ab exercises. Then I have to get all meditative and follow my breath in and out. Which can usually drown out my screaming muscles and the voices in my head.
I definitely need to work on my L-sit.
That one-armed-side-plank thing was hecka hard for me this morning
Hollows. Hella.
“What hold do you need to work on?” Mateo. It gets progressively harder by the minute.
I am so sore …what a hard working class you guys were… nothing like those 1 arm squat holds you guys make it look easy!!! loved having mateo’s mama & papa in class!! what fun