Parents Leg Lifts

[Ex member]

My youngest dd would like to do leg lifts on her pullup bar.

Is the a certain way she needs to do these?, she can lift her toes to the bar once or twice but that is it, also her legs look slightly bent ( she has nobbly knees). Dd has tried a straddle leg lift and can do those and dd has also tried doing legs lifts on the floor where she lays flat on the floor and holds a broom handle above her head on the floor and lifts her legs up so her feet touch the broom handle, she can do quite a few of these with no problems, she can even roll up to a candle stick and hold it whilst holding the broom handle.

Has anyone got any ideas of what else she can try?

 

[Flossyduck]

Just going on what dd was told:

Ask her to try and do them as slowly as possible - maybe by counting 'one gymnast' to 'five gymnasts' slowly to start with. That way she's making the muscles do the work and not relying on the momentum.

And ask her to try and lower her legs as slowly as she can as well, rather than just letting them swing down.

Also ask her to practice holding her legs straight out in front of her parallel to the floor, while hanging. I think it might be an 'L' hold? Do those while counting.

Those will all work on the right muscles much more than a few quicker ones so she'll make better progress and after that I think it's just practice and time to build up strength.

 

[Jenny]

The main things to focus on are straight legs (she might want to stretch her hamstrings before she starts by sitting in pike fold on the floor), make sure she keeps her head in all the time and make sure she touches her toe nails to the bar not her ankles. We teach up fast and down slow and don't allow her to swing her legs backwards before each one. You can also do them from L hold when you get stronger.

 

[Ex member]

Thank you, you have both given me some idea's to help her, she cannot hold a L hold with her legs completely parallel to the floor, it is just a little under and can hold these for around 10 seconds.

 

[twinklytoes9468]

I sometimes find young gymnasts don' really know what straight legs feel like.i get them to sit in pike , and push the back of their knees into the floor and try to ping their heels up,..If they can't do this it might be theit hamstrings are too tight

 

[Ex member]

I sometimes find young gymnasts don' really know what straight legs feel like.i get them to sit in pike , and push the back of their knees into the floor and try to ping their heels up,..If they can't do this it might be theit hamstrings are too tight

I don't quite get what you mean by that, I got dd to sit in a pike and pushed her knees to the floor and was able to lift her heels off the ground - is that what you meant? And is it a good thing that she can do that or does that mean her hamstrings are too tight?

 

[Jenny]

That is good if she can sit in pike and fold flat with her knees tight.

 

[Ex member]

She can just about get her chest to her legs when doing a pike fold, she was no where near that far down a few months ago, she did just get her nose to her legs last week or so but her dance teacher suggested trying to put her chest to her legs and hands round or past her feet as she could do the nose do knees and her pancake fold flat to the floor.

 

[BlairBob]

I would work the Hanging Leg Lifts as she can do the am. She'll probably need to do them fresh as 1 or 2 are her max.

Another drill to do more reps of would be from a Hang, tuck up knees to chest and try extending toes to the bar with head in, try to insert a 2-3 second hold at the hold and lower as slow as possible to the L position, hold and then slow to the hang.

You may have to focus on either the hold at the top or the L on the way down for now.

 

[Ex member]

I would work the Hanging Leg Lifts as she can do the am. She'll probably need to do them fresh as 1 or 2 are her max.

Another drill to do more reps of would be from a Hang, tuck up knees to chest and try extending toes to the bar with head in, try to insert a 2-3 second hold at the hold and lower as slow as possible to the L position, hold and then slow to the hang.

You may have to focus on either the hold at the top or the L on the way down for now.

Thank you for the drill, I am going to ask dd to try that next time she asks to go on her chin up bar.