Pro Tips- for the hips + more!
With flexed knees or straight, the Capitan Morgan pose is a simple and strong exercise to enhance your awareness of the hips and the capacity to tip, tuck, hike, and remain stable in movement as influenced by the core. Start simple, envision, and identify your punch bowl tendencies and limitations. Then, learn to move the leg within the hip socket for efficiency, strength and the longevity of your joints.
Pro Tips. For the Hips + More
There are cats, and cows, and the good news is — you aren’t either of them. Avoiding confusion to the metaphors of movement, imagine your hips capable of scooping, sloshing and stabilizing a bowl of punch as you set the table for your next holiday event, or as you warm up in your next training session.
At our first kettlebell certification in the UK, we met Jason Marshall, an instructor who first described the hips as being a bowl of punch. Among other cues like the Polish punch for engaged abdominals, and pulling the rings down from the ceiling during the chin up — visualizing the hips as a bowl of punch continues to be Lauryn’s favourite cue to stabilize and mobilize the hips for both new and returning students.
Stand with your hips slightly scooped to engage the glutes and abdominals. Sit with the hips gently tipped in the opposing direction to allow strong hip flexion, and to maintain tension on the hamstrings. Think in trends versus absolute positions, and learn to manipulate the positions of the hips for the training or leisurely tasks at hand.
Recently, Jason retired from his teaching position, and in a farewell letter to his students, he shared some other important tips to maintain enthusiasm and see results in your own training pursuits.
- Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
- Learn how to deal constructively with failure.
- It’s about the journey, not the destination.
- Focus on the process, not the outcome.
- Give more than you take.
- No one ever said, “You’re too strong.”
- Confidence under a load will translate to confidence in life.
- Consistency + Time = Results
This week as you sit, stand, and transition between your desire to stay in repose, or to rep it out in the gym— ask yourself, how can the position of your punchbowl power up your position with strength?
Take care,
Ian and Lauryn
Somethings change — Ian’s hair and beard may be a thing of the past, but over the years, the importance of level hips with the Capitan Morgan has intensified within the Barres and Bells practice. On your back, or on all fours, there are many ways to pattern this movement, but the classic Capitan Morgan is a simple way to create awareness and strength for the core and hips. But first, with isometric tension, learn to pretend…