Shoulder Stand

From Wii Fit Forum Wiki

Contents 1 What is this? 2 Benefits 3 Equipment required 4 MET 5 Time 6 Levels 7 How to do it 7.1 Initial Position 7.2 Set-up 7.3 Holding the Position 7.4 Unwinding 7.5 Repetitions 8 Scoring 9 Problems

What is this?

This is a yoga position, sometimes called the Candle, that works the back, abdominal muscles, and the legs.

Benefits

Shoulder stand:

• Strengthens the back.
• Strengthens the abdominal muscles.
• Aligns the legs.

Equipment required

This exercise does not require the use of any equipment.

MET

Shoulder Stand has a MET of 2.5, meaning that it is a light intensity activity.

Time

Shoulder Stand takes 2 minutes.

Levels

There is only one level of Shoulder Stand.

How to do it

Initial Position

The initial position is lying on your back with your feet together and your arms by your sides.

Set-up

• Keeping your legs straight, lift them up to vertical
• Curl your back until your legs are horizontal, passing above your head. Keep your arms straight on the floor, palms down.
• Lift your legs up until they are pointing straight at the ceiling. As you do this, put your hands in the small of your back.
• At this point, your weight should be shared between your shoulders and your elbows.

Holding the Position

• Keep your legs straight.
• Point your toes up at the ceiling.
• Keep breathing.

Unwinding

• Lower your legs back to the horizontal position.
• As they get there, put your arms back on the floor.
• Uncurl your back so that your legs are back in the vertical position.
• Lower your legs to the floor.

Repetitions

• There is only one repetition of Shoulder Stand.

Scoring

There is no score for this exercise.

Problems

• The ideal is that your legs are straight the whole time. This may be difficult for some people:
  • The initial lift will be difficult unless your "core" strength is good. That is, if your abdominal muscles are weak, lifting the legs will be very hard work.
  • People who lack certain kinds of flexibility will find this hard, especially if touching your toes is hard.
• The second part of the set-up may be difficult for people carrying a lot of weight in their belly, because the bulk will get in the way.

The solution to the problems of weak core muscles is to do more work on this. As you do this more often, your core muscles will become stronger. Bending your knees slightly will reduce the amount of force needed to lift your legs, but keep your legs as straight as you can. It will also help with reduced flexibility, but this exercise is not ideal for improving your flexibility.

The solution to the problem of excess bulk is to, well, lose the weight...