Manna - An Advanced Static Strength Element

[Gokudmc1988]

Hi I can manage an Lsit and a Vsit but was unable to lift my butt and legs off the ground. Any help? I didnt quite understand the progressions. Can someone upload a video of them?

Thanks

[Ortprod]

coach has a video of one of his guys doing a manna

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rX4zPm95dAY

I have a video where I did a low straddle sit at the beginning

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zI7L2cXfCSY

try leaning back more

[Titan]

OK I am confuse how you progress to a Manna. The first one saids to elevate your legs and bent them. I don't understand. So are you hands pressed on the floor withe the fingers facing back but the legs will be bent in an L shape on the chair?

And the second one will I still be using a chair? And this time instead of my legs being in the L shape it will be straight?

And what about the elbow? The guy from the picture looks like his elbow popped out from the other side. I don't want to injure myself doing something wrong. Is it just him or do i have to do some kind of stretching?

Also what is a straddle?

[Titan]

Can some one show a picture of how to progress? I still don't see how to do it.

[JaredLLL]

I didn't realize this before now, but in the video, the guy's elbows are double jointed.

So after realizing that the hands point away from the body, i further realized my wrist flexibility for this is really bad. which looks like I wont really be able to work this skill untill im able to get a better backward lean..

Also, is it possible to hit the same muscles by lying on your back?
What I mean is.... Lie flat on your back, arms straight beside you near your hips, bring your legs up into the air straddled. From there try to raise your body up by pushing your arms into the ground while trying to keep your chest from collapsing and legs swaying..

[Blairbob]

just place your hands on a higher surface than your legs. set of parallettes or a chair or bench

He has what I call " freak " elbows. Basically naturally hyperextended elbows. Pretty common in gymnastics and amongst all young people. Also common in people who don't work out ( weak biceps ). However, in gymnastics, it's because of all the straight arm work.

[Coach Sommer]

The degree of hyper extension present in the athlete's elbows is NOT because of straight arm work, it is simply whether or not someone already has this type of joint. For an individual with this excessive range of motion in the elbows, it is more of a hindrance when attempting to progress with higher level ring strength elements rather than a consequence of working those elements. It can be done however; the 1988 Olympic All Around Champion, Vladimir Artemov, had the same same type of elbows.

There is also no wrist flexibility requirement for working a manna; you will simply need to spend some time to find your personal preference for hand position. If you find the fingers pointing backwards uncomfortable, experiment with turning them either sideways or forwards. If you find the flat hand uncomfortable, then experiment with either working up on the first knuckle & thumb or all the way up on the fingertips.

Yours in Fitness,
Coach Sommer

[Blairbob]

My bad. I thought too much straight arm work without the necessary bent arm work can lead to hyperextension in the elbows. I believe this was a topic discussed some time ago in another thread.

As for this gymnast, I dunno. As I stated, I have come across this in many juveniles, even adults.

[Coach Sommer]

Hyper extension in the elbows is a natural proclivity which some people have and some people do not. Much like most people are to some degree either knock kneed or bow legged; it is also relatively common to find a wide range of elbow joint variations.

Yours in Fitness,
Coach Sommer

[Daster]

A high manna is out of reach of all but a very few athletes in the entire world. Ironically, the athlete in the video is also capable of a high manna.

I tend to train mannas by blocks of time rather than for a particular static hold; by that I mean that my athletes will focus on the movement for 5-10 minutes, two to three times a week.

Yours in Fitness,
Coach Sommer

Hey, one question..If that is true..Why are alot of bboys able to do them?(not most of them but a decent amount)..but what i notice is that they do them with legs open.

[rambo5501]

A high manna is out of reach of all but a very few athletes in the entire world. Ironically, the athlete in the video is also capable of a high manna.

I tend to train mannas by blocks of time rather than for a particular static hold; by that I mean that my athletes will focus on the movement for 5-10 minutes, two to three times a week.

Yours in Fitness,
Coach Sommer

Hey, one question..If that is true..Why are alot of bboys able to do them?(not most of them but a decent amount)..but what i notice is that they do them with legs open.

I don't want to turn this into a bboy and gymnastic battle like another thread a not that while ago. But enlighten me and show me a picture of a bboy doing a manna. I think I have seen very few that can do a v-sit, but a manna?

[JoeSimo]

I've seen bboys sort kick their legs up into a manna position. But, then they just fall right back down. So, not the same thing by far.

[G00SE]

I think that bboy move is called a reverse hallowback-a regular hallowback being a backbend position with feet off of the ground.

Bboys usually go into it from a handstand and then kinda shift their body position into that particular position- it usually isnt anywhere near as technical or raised into slowly the way gymnasts do. Bboys are strong, no doubt, however gymnasts have to do their skills in a precise manner since gymnasts have to adhere to a code that says there is an exact way to do it or lose points-while bboys do not have to worry so much about technical aspects of their performance-its much more about artistic style and flow

[IvanPS]

Well some bboys can do a manna type thing and I'm not thinking of a inverse hollowback ( an inverse hollowback can be seen at around 0:54).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKQ83Bo9g3s

Check around 1:08 for the manna thing.

[George]

Gymnasts vs BBoys

Please note that this will not escalate into another discussion on whether BBoys or Gymnasts are best. They are different, end of story. They are not trying to achieve the same thing, nor do I imagine they would wish to. This is primarily a Gymnastic forum, and pretty much everything should be considered with that in mind. Similar movements/positions are just that - Similar. Please keep future discussion regarding BBoys' skills/abilities relevant to the topic in hand, and accurate, otherwise we engage in pointless discussion.

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Daster,
If you simply wanted to discuss the differences between a manna and the similar BBoy movement, then a new thread should have been started clearly outlining this. Questioning the validity of Coach's statement in that way was pretty likely to spark an argument. I assume this was not your intention, of course, so don't worry about it - just give it a little more thought next time.

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Having seem the manna-like movement in the link IvanPS posted, It might be interesting to note the differences. Firstly there is no press into position, the BBoy throws himself up. Pretty cool, but definitely requiring less strength. Once up, the wide straddle allows him to get a great deal of his legs' mass behind his hands, after which point it appears to be mostly a case of balancing.

Does it require excellent dynamic flexibility? High levels of strength and balance? Has it taken a lot of time, effort and dedication to achieve? Is it exciting to watch? YES on all counts.

Is it a Manna? No.

Regards,
George.