Before / After Invert, OLH, ILH and chin up
How did it look feel/function before?
Invert before: I needed a bit of momentum, my hands are slightly high and can slide down once the hips go up to help open the chest, perhaps looking towards the inside shoulder, I’m so focused on the invert that I didn’t think to flow in or much out of it until the second side (coming out I did a bit). This was an early afternoon.
Chin up before: palms away: right side activates before left and slight shoulder shrug up. Palms to the face: equal engagement, I was focusing a lot on keeping the whole body engaged and as little sway as possible. It was harder which is surprising since palms to the face are typically easier. This was an early afternoon
OLH and ILH from the floor: ILH : need to increase flexibility and strength of the heel to booty and squeezing the pole activation. OLH: felt doable from the floor.
How does it look/feel/function now?
Invert: It has come a long way from waist hold, standing invert to finding my inversion combos. There are still moments that I feel I could bend the bar just a bit more and drive the elbows down or puff the chest slightly. I tend to take my videos at the end of my classes post teaching for 3 hours so I’m interested to see the difference of going in fresh and taking some freestyle vidoes and compare!
Chin up: activation is more balanced, shoulders are further from the ears, chest puff is improving and passive/active hangs longer. I did it without the band but practice my multiple, controlled ones with the yellow band as I’ve graduated three band resistances from most to least supportive! Yay!
The OLH is going well and working on the foundations of the ILH because I still don’t feel that I have found an entry that works for me just yet so that is a work in progress. It’s difficult to keep the leg in a more closed position with my tilted pelvis and internally rotated hips while being on the waist hold and wanting it to go more side and down the back when my hips don’t open and the stopping point being a more bone on bone. Like in a butterfly sit I am the person with high knees because they don’t lie flat. Even in a laying down, floor ILH its painful on my joint. So it’s something to explore without creating injury.
Overall they all feel like a world of difference. I’ve gained a lot of awareness, curiosity and interest in my own body. I know where my strength and flexibility is at and where I need to work and improve it. I feel like as an instructor I am more confident and knowledgeable in making adjustments and training my pole peers / members on how to accomplish safe inversions.
What changed?
My posture, strength, flexibility, confidence, knowledge, and my INVERSIONS! After so many years of being injured (rib, hip flexor, and low back pain from inversions) and being told the “textbook” way on how to invert and then coming into this and having so many options and variations has brought a new spark of joy into pole. I honestly didn’t know if I’d be able to invert after having my toddler, my body has changed so much from the inside out and I’ve had to work around internal things (my grapefruit sized fibroma and rebuilding a strong pelvic floor). I think having this start basic was fantastic since the foundations are so important! I totally would take this again, inversion flows, and would be curious if I’d be able to take an even more focused training in other beginner-intermediate inverts because I’m sure they have progressed throughout the years and new knowledge of how to prep and execute them properly for myself and others. I love learning all the new things, even if my body says no, my mind says “give me all of the information because I’m sure I can find a way to bring that closer to the floor.”