I remember being at the top of the wall.
It was at least 8 feet tall. I'm trying to under-guess. I don't want to fall into tall tell story time... haha!
This was during a Spartan Race... so of course I was soaked and caked in mud.
I was flipping my second leg over the wall so I could hop down...
Suddenly... my hand slipped and I was falling.
I can't remember where I learned... but I had learned how to fall.
When my legs hit first... I let the rest of me crumble. I was not trying to stick the landing.
I reached my arm under me and to the side. I wanted to land and roll to my upper body behind my shoulder.
I did and then continued to roll on the ground... with the momentum of the fall.
It worked perfectly.
I even got compliments from other racers who saw. They were like...
"Whoa!!! That was a nice fall!"
Most of us don't know how to fall.
Most of us don't know how to land after jumping.
In fact... when it comes to training women (and men)...
I Advise DON'T JUMP!
This can be tough because there are so many amazing exercises that require jumping.
-
Burpees
-
Box jumps
-
Box over burpees
-
Lunge jumps
So why no jumping?
Mainly because most women don't jump.
Think about it... when was the last time you were actively jumping in your normal... day to day... life?
And because most women don't jump... most women don't know how to land safely from jumping.
And this opens you up to "stupid" injuries.
big idea
A "stupid" injury is an injury that is easily preventable. You get stupid injuries because...
Because you think you can do something when you know deep down you probably should not be doing the thing you're about to do.
In short... a "stupid" injury is an injury caused by overconfidence.
Over Kindal and mine's more than 25 years of combined training...
We've seen:
-
Ankle
-
Shin
-
Knee
...injuries due to jumping or attempting to jump.
Ankles... surprisingly from jump roping... but also exercises like lunge jumps or lunges with a hop.
Shins... all from the fascination for box jumps.
Just one brief moment of trepidation and BAM... shin into the corner of the box and the blood is flowing. (Even Kindal has a pretty gnarly scar from when she started box jumping way higher than she was ready for in her early twenties!)
Knees... mainly from doing step ups that are just too high for the person. Think about it... coming down from a high box is similar to landing during a little jump.
While... I'll attempt to help you jump and hop below...
Ask yourself these questions:
-
Do I consider myself coordinated?
-
When was the last time I actually jumped outside of a fitness experience?
If you answered:
-
I am not coordinated...
-
I can't remember or I don't think I've ever jumped outside of a fitness experience...
As a trainer... I recommend - at least for the time being... you should not jump... or start VERY basic if it's something you want to do.
You're Not Missing Out On A Fitness Secret
Jumping is not a magic fitness secret.
Jumping falls under the plyometric zone of training.
And YES! Plyometric training is pretty great. But it's not something that's vital for the everyday woman or man.
If you're a professional athlete... you need it.
If you're not a professional athlete... you probably don't need it.
You can still train plyometric explosiveness without actually jumping.
Just so you know...
The only types of training you should put nearly all of your focus on are:
-
Strength training
-
Flexibility and mobility training
-
Cardio (running, biking, etc)
How To Jump From A Non-Expert
Let me say... I am not a jumping expert.
Mechanically... I am sure I am about to miss a lot of major points about the "correct" joint positions.
But as I say... you can't be perfect. You just need to be good enough.
It's About The Landing
It's about the landing.
Let's look at a couple exercise examples...
When you're coming back down from your jump, I've seen many women land hard - like their stomping bugs aggressively - then go into the next rep.
When you land hard:
-
You make it harder to "roll" or "collapse" out of mis-landing
-
You rattle your joints and add tons of impact stress to them
-
You ruin the flow of the exercise
You want to land softly, or as I like to say "have a ninja landing"... and as you land you're immediately going into the next rep.
And as you're going into the next rep... you're engaging your muscles so they can activate and complete the rep.
I call this "accepting" the landing.
-
You don't rattle your joints
-
You burn out your muscles keeping them engaged in the exercise
-
If you land funny you an collapse out of the exercise easier
How To Collapse Out Of An Exercise
Collapsing out of an exercise is essentially just falling to the ground in a special way.
Similar to how I fell during in the Spartan race.
Now... there is not "real" science of testing this but here's what I always do...
I don't stiffen my joints.
If you've ever been on a large bridge... you'll stand there and feel it sway and bounce as traffic goes over it.
This is because a stiff bridge will form cracks in the foundation and break.
Same with your body.
If you stiffen up... you'll break bones and/or injure joint ligaments.
Rather collapse down almost like a rag doll.
As you land... I always try to find the back of my shoulder so I can roll a little.
The back of your shoulder is pretty robust and by rolling you're dispersing the momentum of the fall.
This drastically decreases the chances of injury.
Do You Want More Expert and Non-Expert Fitness Training?
Haha!
Kindal and I are experts when it comes to metabolic strength training.
This is the high intensity strength training that produces the best results.
If the style of training in our programs...
One of the things that make Fit Women's Weekly so different is...
We train our clients and members.
Of course:
-
You get training plans
-
You get amazing workouts
-
You get LIVE streaming workouts
-
Custom designed workouts
But more importantly... in my opinion... you get personalized coaching.
-
You'll learn to exercise smarter
-
You'll discover the reality of building a workout habit
-
You'll get answers to questions specific to you
-
You won't get dragged down in a workout rut
Because we train our members... our members:
Get results.
Get far better results.
And because you'll get results... you'll fall in love with strength training (if you're not already in love).
So come join Kindal and I and let's get STRONG!
Make sure you follow Kindal on her social accounts. She's always sharing good tips and tricks to make your fitness life more fun and far more productive.
