Workout Wednesday Series: How to Learn Gymnastics Splits - easy - Beginner through Advanced

How to learn splits with easy, effective stretches (and yoga blocks). Whether you're a beginner or a retired gymnast who's lost your splits, these drills will help you get all the way down in front L/R and middle splits.

Thanks to my Patrons for making this video possible - become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/GreenEyedGuide

NOTE - The annotations I made (form notes, tips and comments) are not showing up for mobile devices (sorry!) so I've copied them as text below this video. Enjoy!



ANNOTATIONS:
[00:09] 1. Hip Flexor Lunge - This works the back leg of the split
[00:16] 2. Pike Lunge -- This works the front leg of the split
[00:31] Floating Hip Flexor Lunge - This is like Position 1, but a little closer to being splits than being a lunge. NOTE the straight line from back ankle to front knee.
[00:47] 4. Pike Lunge with Front Flex -- Like Position 2 but flexing the foot stretches the front hamstring even more
[01:05] 5. TIGHTEN and relax intervals (10 sec each) - Each time you tighten, lift off the floor. Each time you relax, sink lower into the split
[01:43] You should feel your splits getting lower and lower with each TIGHTEN/relax cycle
Do 3 cycles total
[02:51] Yoga blocks will be your BEST FRIENDS when you're learning splits...
[02:57] WHEN YOU'VE GOT YOUR SPLITS DOWN, TRY OVERSPLITS
[03:12] SAME TIGHTEN / RELAX CYCLES 3 x 10 sec each -- Lift and squeeze --> relax and sink!
[04:38] This is how you "REST" between splits stretching sets
[05:00] Now do this sequence on the LEFT side: *** I'm going to speed through it, but hold Position 1 - 4 for 15-30 sec each ***
[05:25] NOW WE WORK SIDE SPLITS
[05:28] Side Lunge 1 -- Works splits on the straight let
[05:50] Side Lunge 2 -- Kneeling one-legged side split (a little closer to the real thing)
[06:44] MIDDLE (straddle) SPLITS -- socks on a slippery floor are HIGHLY recommended
[07:36] Rest and Recover  with straddle-sit stretch and side-sweeps
[08:02] READY FOR ROUND 2 -- Already a little bit lower
[08:29] Your legs may feel stuck...so just crank them back together!
[08:42] How to bring feeling back to your legs in between split sets (also good splits simulations for BEGINNERS)
[08:59] READY FOR ROUND 3!
[09:15] Rocking back and forth helps stretch the muscles from different angles.
[09:45] Straddle-Through -- Another way to work your straddle splits
[11:26] DONE!!!
 

 


 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Energy Drink of the Month -- June2015: Spider Energy Mimic

I'm a sucker for puns, platitudes, alliterations and bold, symmetrical logos. This month's pick has it all. Moreover, summer is the best time to try new things, whether it's exploring a new city or sampling new food. This month's pick is a drink I wouldn't normally choose, for reasons I'll explain later, but I just HAD to try it, for reasons I'll explain later. 

The Energy Drink of the Month for June 2015 is Spider Energy Mimic 

Learn (1) What's in it and why, (2) Who and what is this for, (3) What's special about Spider Energy, and (MOST OF ALL) why this energy drink is not for everyone (meaning not for all energy drink consumers):
 Green-Eyed Insight on Spider Energy here -->

 

You Know You're a Quality Assurance - Food Scientist When....

This is a series of posts in which I share snippets of what it's like to be a food scientist. As a product developer for dry powder shakes, there are some lessons I never learned in school and some challenges I never saw coming. 

You know you're a food scientist in quality assurance when...

THIS makes you slap you head

"SHOULD BE absent?" Okay, but IS IT? Note the asterisks

 

THIS makes you smile

 

They answered all my favorite questions!

THIS makes you nervous

 

When you've seen too many recalls and know too much about certain food, like sprouts

THIS makes you roll your eyes

 

·         Add to the picture above, any time a scientist is wearing goggles but not gloves; any scientist in the movies or TV shows who takes off their gloves with their mouth, any time a scientist mouth-pipettes...and so on. This is why I love the sites http://thatsnothowyoupipette.tumblr.com/ and PHD Comics

 

THIS makes you sigh with frustration

....and finally....THIS is your mantra

http://www.redwineandapplesauce.com/2014/05/01/formaldehyde-chemophobia-ewg-and-the-most-important-thing-to-know-about-toxic-stuff/

 Related Posts:

• • What Consumer Testing is Really Like 

  • Quality Assurance and Parenting

  • The Xanthan Gum Disaster

    Ingredient Testing and the 5 Most Surprising Risk Assessment Discoveries

   

LEG TONING with Padded Weight Bar (Like A Gymnast)

New drills for the padded weight bar -- this 5 minute demo focuses on the legs: quads, glutes and (especially) hamstrings. All moves are gymnastics-inspired drills, but no gymnastics training is required. Give these moves a try and let me know how it goes!



Part of the #WorkoutWednesday, #LikeAGymnast series:





More FOOD SCIENCE videos coming, I promise...

--- Green-Eyed Guide

Comments on BevNet's "From Wild to Mild" article on energy drink marketing

Finally, an article that talks more about the "energy drinks in disguise" than the doom-and-gloom ("All Energy Drinks are Lethal") perspective.

I love how this article covers much of the nuances around the changing market of energy drinks. For example, Hi-Ball's coffee editions are a great example of an energy drink brand crossing over into new markets, but Monster and Rockstar are also trying to reach a new target audience with their Muscle Monster and Rockstar Protein editions, respectively. It's fascinating to watch the evolution of energy drinks.

Even more exciting is the variety of new "energy drinks in disguise", like Runa or Avitae Caffeinated Water. Both of these products were featured on GreenEyedGuide's Energy Drink of the Month series, and exemplify cleaner versions to the stereotypical energy drink. I hope those brands do start to creep up in sales, and pop up in more gas stations and convenience stores. 

More importantly, I hope those cleaner brands and energy drink cross-overs will start to decrease the number of news articles that read along the lines of "(All) energy drinks are deadly." (See the recent NY Times article  ***and also see the the GreenEyedGuide RANT1 and RANT 2 on how the energy drink G-Fuel is targeting gamers).

Panera KNOW - No List — Part III: Meet the Color/Flavor Enhancers

There’s nothing inherently wrong with a food company making a commitment to a clean label, as long as there’s some effort to explain the WHY. WHY is Ingredient X coming out? WHY was it in there in the first place? WHY do people prefer Ingredient X to Ingredient X-prime?
In this post, we continue deconstructing Panera’s No No list. [For Part I, Overall Response, and Part II, Sweeteners, see previous posts]. For each ingredient, you’ll find a brief explanation of its purpose, safety concerns if any, and whether a natural counterpart can perform as well or better.

Part III of V – Colors and Flavor Enhancers

(click the title to read the whole article)

 

Shape Amazing Arms with a Padded Weight Bar (Like A Gymnast)