What's up? Guys.
After learning the front roll, I decided to continue my calisthenics freestyle journey
by learning the muscle-up to standing on the bar because it looks cool and it seems doable.
Initially I thought a lot of pure push strength was required to push myself on top of the
bar, but I quickly realized that I could kick my legs and utilize momentum just like the
front roll to make it easier.
The timing of pushing with the arms and initiating the momentum with the legs at the same time
was hard to grasp.
After multiple attempts, my body finally started to understand it.
At the end of day 1, I was able to get up with one of my feet touching the bar.
On day 4, I was pretty comfortable in getting up with one of my feet touching the bar.
I decided to climb up the bar and get a feel of what it was like to stand on the bar.
It was pretty tough to balance, so I had to repeat this multiple times in order to feel
confident.
After that, I decided to attempt to get up with both feet and stand on the bar.
I was able to complete the entire movement by using the pillars on both sides as a crutch.
On day 7, I continued to attempt to get up with both feet and stand on the bar.
For the first 30 mins, I wasn't able to make progress and my movement was identical.
I always undershot and had to use the pillars as a crutch to pull myself up.
I thought I had to adjust my upper body to correct my balance, but eventually I figured
out that it was because I wasn't popping up high enough.
All the failed attempts were due to my popping up "just enough" to land both of my feet
on top of the bar, but my body wasn't in a good position to balance.
If I push harder with my arms and kick my legs harder to generate more momentum, I will
be able to pop up higher and land on the bar in a higher position, which makes it easier
to balance.
After a few attempts, I was able to do it successfully without touching the pillars.
Hoo!
Since I intended to muscle up and stand on the bar, it wouldn't look good if I pumped
multiple times and then stood on the bar.
Therefore, I started to practice popping up to the bar without any pumping.
It was a lot difficult to do it without the pump because it was very difficult to get
the right timing of the arm push and leg kick, and it was difficult to get the right amount
of force as well.
I started to not only undershoot, but also overshoot.
With a lot of attempts, I was finally able to do a few successfully.
Hoo!
Yo!
At this point, I was a bit tired, but I still decided to give it a try on the high bar.
I was completely paralyzed with fear.
I knew if I undershot, I could always drop back and catch myself on the bar, but if I
overshot, I might break my ankles at that height, so I decided to play it safe and call
it a day.
On day 10, I was prepared.
I brought my crash pad to the park, so I wouldn't be worried about overshooting because I could
land on my crashpad.
Initially I wasn't able to remember the right amount of arm push and leg kick and
find my balance, but after a few practice attempts, I was able to get it all back fairly
quickly.
After successfully doing it 3 times in a row, it was time for me to attempt it on the high
bar.
Not going to lie, it was terrifying to let go of my hands at such a high height.
I don't know if you guys have ever had this kind of feeling.
When you are really nervous, like taking a fate-deciding college entrance exam, or having
an interview for your first job, or even asking a girl out for the first time, your legs lose
80% of the power
There's even a Mandarin term for it, which literally means legs getting weak, describing
precisely this physical weakness to indicate psychological stress, and that's what was
happening to me.
It doesn't really matter that much if your legs lose 80% of the power when you are taking
an exam, or having an interview for a job, or asking a girl out, but it is a big issue
when you are trying to do the muscle-up to stand on the bar.
Sometimes I couldn't pop up high enough.
Sometimes I popped up, but I couldn't straighten my legs.
I tried to ignore the sense of fear my body is giving me and power through.
Eventually... Hoo!
Man, does that count? Hoo! That counted.
I was able to straighten my legs and do a complete rep, but without checking
the footage, I knew chances were high that this rep was not clean.
I should've stood on the bar in control for at least 2 more seconds, and dropped back
behind the bar and re-gripped the bar instead of landing forward in front of the bar.
Knowing how brutal YouTube comments can be, I knew I had to give it one more try
to get a clean rep, and this happened.
Unfortunately, I injured myself.
This video won't end with a happy ending like all my other videos.
I should've listened to my body and shouldn't have ignored the fear response.
I thought bringing a crash pad would eliminate the only possible way to get injured from
this move, but the lesson I learned is that when your body is pushed towards the limit,
there are countless ways to get injured no matter how prepared you are.
I had to walk home with a bleeding leg only to discover how severe the cut was on my leg
when I arrived home.
Unfortunately, I will have to conclude that I only kinda learned the muscle-up to standing
up on the bar.
I decided to reach out to Daniel again and told him what had happened.
After talking to him, I realized that learning the muscle-up to standing on the bar as my
second calisthenics freestyle move might not be the best idea.
Daniel has agreed to coach me regularly, so I can learn from him the right way to learn
calisthenics freestyle instead of trying it by myself and ending up having myself injured.
I am very thankful for Daniel's generosity
and that also means there will be more high-quality
calisthenics freestyle progression videos coming out in the future once I heal up, so
definitely stay tuned.
Make sure to like, subscribe and check out my website geekclimber.com.
See you in the next video.