Pike Tuck Jumps

Pike Tuck jumps

Here are some tips and steps to Pike Tuck Jumps !

Prerequisites: Make sure you are familiar with the ‘Pike’ position and progressions to the Pike tuck jumps

Remember that this movement is cyclical and rhythmic, so try to correlate your breath to it. The way up should be as clean as the way down !

Step 1: Set up from the heel squat position. Rock forward and up to Pike

Step 2: Bring knees/thighs towards the chest and heels towards your Glutes (bum!). Touch feet (and knees if you can) together.

Step 3: Control the movement the way down back to the heel squat position ready for another cycle

Key points:

Understanding the transition from ‘heel squat’ to ‘pike’ is crucial because as you rock forward you stack the shoulders over the wrist and jump as the hip is lifting up! Be patient with yourself and practice as this will take effort in co-ordinating your body parts which at first can be frustrating, but also is the exact reason why you should be practicing. The fact that your lower limbs (legs) are ‘tucked’ and in front of your body means there is next to no chance of you falling over backwards, therefore we eliminate the fear factor of falling and can concentrate on:

Developing your co-ordination + kinaesthesia/Proprioception via feedback points (mentioned below).
Your strength, conditioning arms/shoulders/wrists.
Your familiarity of being inverted (upside down). Preparing you more demanding movements later.

Keep the shoulders pressing through the hands all through the movement this is not only going to create a ‘protraction’ of the scapula but when we are ‘inverted’ (upside down) an ‘elevation’ this will not only insure stability of the shoulder but the movement!
Keep pressing down. Press through the whole arm, finger tips, heel of the hands, engage through the forearms and upper arms to shoulders! Press the the way up and press the way down! Press all the way through out the movement.

Feedback points: Feet (and knees if you can) touch. Feel the floor through the hands.

Hope you find this helpful

Great practice to you !