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Craig's Hanging Series


Craig

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  • 2 months later...

Craig, I noticed a strange thing. I've incorporated Hanging in my morning routine for the last few weeks. Trying to accumulate a couple of minutes in the hands forward position. Just read your article and decided I want to try the more "mindful" approach of really hunting for tension and using this not so much as a conditioning thing but rather a relaxation exercise.

 

I've been hanging with feet in the air, but today I tried putting my feet down softly as you suggest and the feeling in my lower back changed noticeably. When hanging with feet in the air I feel noting special in the lower back, but with the feet down I can feel some tension and "stretching" there, so to speak. Nothing unbearable or worrying (actually eager to explore it), but have you had this happen to you? I thought is was counterintuitive that relieving the traction (by using the feet) increased the sensations on th lower back.

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Yes, this is a pretty normal experience. 

 

Holding the feet in the air actually requires quite significant tension through most of the posterior chain, which protects the parasitic tension by hiding it.  when you put your feet down, you can relax all of this tension, left over will be only whats parasitic.

 

The tension in the lower back for me initially was quite painful.  It's to do with the hipflexor/illium/psoas complex (psoas connects to the lumbar vertebrae).  I've been (very slowly) releasing this strange tension, using both hanging and draping over the mother whale with my hips on top.  I'm reasonably convinced that what this feeling is is extreme tension being parasitically held in the psoas, and that to relax it would probably be highly beneficial - but also quite difficult!

 

You could try doing a big partner hip flexor stretch and then do your hanging and see how that feels different. I have been doing 2 - 2.5 minutes of two handed hanging and 21 deep breaths on the whale and its slooooowwwwllllyyy getting less tense in this region! 

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  • 5 weeks later...

Hi Craig, I have bought the series and so far watched the first two episodes - really good especially as I have been hanging off doorframes for a while in my flat now because it felt good, but I didn't realise hanging is an "exercise" per se (ie that other people do this for the same reason) so all this makes total sense. Now have a proper bar set up (I never fully trusted my door frames and also could only get finger tip grip). Found the vids good, clear instructions and the right length. Thank you

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Hi Craig and AndewL.


 


First of all, here is a link to a video of Yuri Marmerstein for Craig. You may want to add the  hanging circular movement, demonstrated by Yuri, to your hanging series (assuming that Yuri does not mind). 



 


I have started to add that exercise to my active rest between handstand practice. It adds a nice wrinkle to my handstand practice, and, maybe, it will do the same for other folks who are into "hanging".


 


In the past six months, I have spent about 15 hours cumulative standing on my hands (5 to 10 minutes a day, 5 to 6 times a week; sometimes 30 x 20 sec., sometimes 5 x 60 sec.; but, between reps, always stretching my wrists, back and shoulders "hanging"). The results are not spectacular, but, without a doubt, my wrists (back and shoulders) have stayed whole, thanks to the "hanging".


 


With the resulting gains in strength, I have now been able to start the same protocol, but with most of my weight shifted onto one hand and the other supporting hand on a parallette -37 cm high-; feet just barely brushing the wall. Sometimes, I use just the fingers of my supporting hand to balance, but I don't like that as much as using the parallette.


 


I have no illusions of ever getting into a one arm handstand (I do have visions of it though). I just like the feel of it all. And all this thanks to "hanging".

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Thanks Fritz! Simon taught me a concept called circles which I was hoping he will release as a vimeo program that will cover this movement Yuri demonstrates and many many more circles around the body in different positions. I left it out of the hanging series because it needs a bit more explaining to get the concept across than just showing the move and also would blow the program out to be far too long. There are lots and lots of other good exercises to be done from hanging as well, I may do a follow up program that includes more variations at some point. Too many and it gets confusing for beginners!

Thanks for the suggestion and also writing back about your progress, very interesting!

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  • 3 months later...

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

 

I am going to be leaving Vimeo due to complications that have arisen with their service and shifting to a new (better) platform. 

 

If you have purchased my programs already please make sure you download a copy to keep.  There is a download button on every video. You will have to re-purchase them on the new platform if you do not! Vimeo will remain online until New Years Day.

 

I will post some more details of the new service when I know them myself.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Cheers,

Craig

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  • 1 month later...

I just got here and read about an interesting tutorial hanging series for shoulder.

 

But I cant see it available in the new website, while you are creating the new one as you say.

 

How can we see it now? or the new one it is going to be very different in content?

 

Thanks!!

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  • 1 month later...

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