Archive for December 2, 2007

WOD - 3/5

Gymnastic work…

I’ve gone back and forth about working with weights a lot.  There are distinct benefits to some weight training techniques.  And, there’s evidence that building hypertrophy in muscles allows a person to achieve greater levels of strength than they could without.

But when I think about functional athletes, with the greatest level of power per pound of body weight, the best flexibility and dynamic range of motion, and the greatest balance/proprioceptive sense, I think of gymnasts.

And the fact is that gymnasts work almost exclusively with their own bodyweight, and very little with external resistance.

There are two exercises in particular that I’ve begun to work with, that are called the Planche and the Front Lever.  They’re both covered extensively in this article - http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/229/ which is the progression I’ve based my own work on.

Today, read the article, and start working on your own Planche and Front Lever.

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