susielovespink started this discussion ·
I am really struggling with superman. I can somtimes get it from invert. But it hurts and I end up letting go. its massivly frustrating as I know I am strong enough to do this but the fear gets me every time. any tips please? xxx
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Are you having trouble with the move like getting into it, holding it or getting out of it? The superman I think is one of the most painful moves. For some the pain never goes away. It once stopped hurting for me but that was when I practiced it very often for about a month. It still hurts today and I learned it over a year ago. I like getting into it from a scorpio. To do that I put one hand above the knee. I hook with the left knee so left hand goes above. The right hand goes below so you are holding in a split grip. I use the bottom hand to lift up so the torso is horizonal. Then I straighten the hooked leg and twis the body downwards to the left, let go with your bottom hand, push hips forward and squeese legs together and try to ignore the pain. Hehehe :P
Have you tried doing it from a pike? There's no twisting that way, just pushing. I find my hand holding on is much lower though so it's harder to manoeuvre to do anything other than jumping down out of it or doing a superman drop.
Unfortunately the best way to deal with the pain of a superman is just to do it over and over and over again. You can try the beginner* way to get into it (invert, handstand, slide legs down, reach one hand behind you, then you're in a superman an arm's length from the floor. If you're on a spinning pole, you can then push yourself around and play with your legs). Try adding this to routines and freedance, because the performance aspect may help distract you from the pain, and you can get into it more easily while building tolerance. I have no idea of your relative thigh size from a picture, but I found what really helped me and my large thighs was to grip the pole about halfway down my thigh, rather than right at the top. If I try to grip at the top, my leg gets "stuck" on the pole mid-flip, and my hand ends up too low. So maybe play around with where your thighs grip. Maybe superman has a "sweet spot" just like the knee hold? (By the way, by "beginner" I mean beginner at learning superman, not pole in general!)
Thank you ladies, I think its mostly mental. when I twist into it it hurts so much I just dont have the corouge to do it. I worry about hurtin my lady parts to lol. Thank you I will try all these tonight and let you know how I get on. I will tefinatly be trying it from a pike maybe if I could get used to gripping the pole there than I can be braver. thank you x
Thank you ladies, I think its mostly mental. when I twist into it it hurts so much I just dont have the corouge to do it. I worry about hurtin my lady parts to lol. Thank you I will try all these tonight and let you know how I get on. I will tefinatly be trying it from a pike maybe if I could get used to gripping the pole there than I can be braver. thank you x
One of the most important things is to get use to it...your skin can be desensitized. You can also help that process but increasing sitting on the pole, laybacks and planks. However if you're having pain from "twisting" into position that is remedied by changing how you get into it. Your leg needs to come slightly away from the pole as you "flip" over...not "twist" over. I find students constantly trying to twist or roll into this. Sometimes it's a matter of not knowing the mechanics of how to move your leg away and then grab the pole as you flip and sometimes it's not having enough arm strength to support your body as you turn so you are relying too much on squeezing with the thighs.
Yes flipping might be a better term. But isnt flipping same as twisting but faster? :: Hmmmm
What I see are girls who are twisting into it and then twisting their skin so thats why it hurts so much!
I can not find a good place for my thighs in this move. The standing joke is the world will end the day Aleatha gets me into this lol
It may help to open into a straddle (after your outside leg hang to Jasmine) before flipping over. Like Empy said, it helps me get my leg skin off the pole.
i second yogabeachbabe - it is much less painful if you open your legs into a straddle and support your weight on your lower hand and the thigh of your lower leg as you move your upper leg away from the pole and around, if that makes sense...
