Q: Help! My feet keep sliding when I perform Aussie Pull Ups and I need to practice them because I’m planning to attend the PCC and they are a required part of the women’s test!!!
A: Hurrah!!!! I am so glad you are coming to the PCC, and that you are asking me about the women’s Century Test. So far the ladies have been a little under-represented at the PCC and I’m on a personal mission to change that. I mean…. not going to complain, it’s really nice to be in a room full of cool, super fit men, but ladies it’s time to step up! Absolutely PROMISE that we aren’t doing 3,023,043 muscle ups over the weekend and of the three PCC Workshops where I’ve instructed, everyone seems to finds several exercises that they really do very well, and refine further.
Actually, at every PCC Workshop I’ve been to, each of the women in attendance seemed to surprise themselves with their own strength or skill… usually a bit of both. So let’s get it going, ladies… these exercises are super practical especially for busy women and their busy clients! No gym necessary, train people wherever, get into the great outdoors… you see where I am going with this… besides considering how many women are into yoga, adding in calisthenics is accessible and a great way to add strength training.
Calisthenics are great for everyone, but women can especially benefit from these powerful exercises which have progressions and regressions suitable for any fitness level (and you’ll learn these at the PCC). A lot of women are hypermobile (I’m not, but we know I’m weird) and working on strength as well as mobility can help with preventing injury in our lives by training good movement patterns and by strengthening our bones. The same is also true for men of course, but considering the demographic that normally shows up to the PCC, I felt it necessary to point this out especially for women. We can all be strong and have fun getting there.
Back to your question! The first thing to look at is your position under the bar, you’ll want to think of being under the bar so that somewhere between your chest collarbone comes to the bar, not your tummy. You want to be “down under” the bar (get it) not behind the bar if that makes sense. I recommend playing around with your position under the bar slide back and forth a little to see where you are most stable/comfortable. And keep your elbows close to the body. ALSO make sure the ground is not slick (or in the case of one time at the park, not a bunch of sandy slide-y dirt!). As in the photo above, I am also flexing my feet since I’m making myself into “one piece” like a plank. The rubber soles of my shoes further keep me in place too. At the worst case, if you haven’t yet found “your place” under the bar, you can have a friend stand so that they are keeping your feet from sliding until you do. Persistence and just playing with the exercise will do the trick though. Here’s more info on The Century Test for both men and women with the full requirements AND video demonstrations from some people you probably know…. 🙂
Besides, Aussie pull-ups and variations thereof are great fun. The one arm version is one of my absolute favorites… RARRRR!!!!
Q: So you have quite a few product reviews on your site, and all of them are positive reviews? What’s that about?
A: It’s a personal policy I’ve had since 1995–only post positive reviews. It started back when I was writing local restaurant reviews for my college newspaper. Our school was in a very small town and right away I realized… I am going to have to live here for 4 years… I don’t want a bunch of angry restaurant owners coming after me! That and why waste precious column inches on stuff that isn’t cool? This personal policy (that still persists to this day on here on Yelp, and on various websites) has led me to only publically review things, items, places that I either like, or totally love. I love trying new things and if I totally love something, I want you to know about it. There’s so much negativity out there in the world, in print, and ESPECIALLY on the internet, that I like the idea of making my site an oasis of “here’s some things that I think are awesome and I hope you think they are great too!”
Similarly, some of you who are real sticklers for details will notice that occasionally I will feature a “sponsored” product, or review something that a company has sent for my evaluation. Before I even agree to participate, I make sure to do plenty of research to determine if 1. It’s something that’s relevant to me (and hopefully to YOU) 2. That it’s something I will like. Sometimes by very very happy accident a company will offer to send me something that I have used in the past or am currently using and loving. Only on rare occasion has anything slipped through the cracks and become something that I was not comfortable reviewing (this hasn’t happened in a couple of years, so if you have sent me something in the past month and have not yet seen a review, don’t be nervous, it’s on the way!).
But the main thing is I like to focus on sharing the best of the best with the readers of this site. If I don’t like something, I move on to a better product. As Mercedes Benz says (and as I say when going through my clothes to look for stuff to donate) “The best or nothing.”
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