In this issue:

• Movement of the month 🪝Meathooks - Part 2
• Online coaching 🌞Summer availability for new + returning students to do rope +/or sling lessons
• Breath and Butter 🧈 did you catch my talk about how to use breath for buttery beats at the Unravelling the Myth of Flow summit? Today is the last chance to grab a lifetime access pass to ALL the presentations!

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Welcome to the June newsletter! Big news is that I'm trying to get less wordy these days (bear with me!) because wow is there an overwhelming amount of content out there. These newsletters used to be jam-packed with tutorials, videos, musings, blog and now I'm streamlining to bite-sized: same content, but a little more spacious.

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So, while I'm itching to tell you about my summer project (I'm taking a break from dynamics to learn how to spin in ALL THE WAYS with @aerial_firebird and wow is it humblingly HARD for me because 🤢😵‍💫) and what it's teaching me about the importance of doing things that turns us back into beginners, that will come as a blog in a separate email. Today let's focus on practice!

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Meathooks - Part 2​
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Last newsletter we started looking at meathooks. That classic, asymmetric and (typically) one-arm position: hard for some, easy for others. We asked what do meathooks want from us? as a way of understanding the necessary engagements. Let's recap! In a meathook we have to :
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🪝find cross-lateral balance by stacking the top hip over the opposite shoulder = placement + proprioception

🪝reach the supporting arm across the body without collapsing in the chest = shoulder retraction + elevation

🪝keep the hips glued to the forearm so they don't drop away from the pole = side flexion + compression
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In other words we have to remain muscularly active in lots of subtle ways to resist flopping out OR feeling the 'rib compression of death and droopy booty' 😖

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Last time we looked at three drills to help explore some of these engagements without being in a full bodyweight meathook (so definitely check these out first if you're new here!):
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📽️Stacked squeezers (rope or sling) for scapular retraction and elevation with bodyweight symmetric/two arms
📽️Standing side leans (ground) for scap retraction from standing/one arm​
​📽️Hip curls in hip key (rope or sling) to explore connection between stabilising shoulder and top hip + find side waist and hip engagement to keep the hips locked into the pole.
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​Now let's explore a supported windshield/windscreen wiper variation that explore the transition from straddle to meathook with varying degrees of support. I've recently heard this called 'meaty hips' (PJ has some good names) but I just call it 'hipkey windshield wipers' 🤷‍♀️:
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Full details in the video description and we'll be returning to two more drills next month to help out with some spots that can feel sticky here!