You need to tumble if you want to be a stunt performer

There are many requirements to becoming a member of the British Stunt Register. You can check them out here 
Its clear that for some, tumbling is an essential component: they really need  to learn how to handstand to forward rolls, back roll to handstand, cartwheel, round off
front tuck, back handspring, front hand spring.
The chances are, if you are an adult learner, that fear of going backwards will be a major stumbling block in your future career. At Crossfit london in Bethnal green, we have been running and adult gymnastics programme since 2008 . We have been teaching adult beginners how to do these skills for years.
Im privileged to be part of the tumbling teaching team, even though Im not one of the best ever tumblers.  Im now 58 so some of my demos are a bit wobbly, and at my age, I do like a bit of a comforting spot.
In short I know all about fear and what it does  to your form if you want to jump up in the air go backwards and land on your hands. I leave it to my younger colleagues to optimise your technique and string things together. For me, I know how great it it to nail that 1st handspring, that tuck, that flag. I got those, not when i was 6 or 8 or 16: i got those skills when I was in my 50’s
to be honest, may flag is still work in progress
here is my 1st ever unspotted  back handspring

We have spent our long teaching history building up drill to build your skills. We work almost exclusively with frightened adults !

If you want to check out my lessons in Bethnal Green E2 you can  look at our class schedule and book here.

At the moment, my classes are on Friday evening and Sunday afternoon at Crossfit London  If you want a better gymnast to lead your classes,  look for Matthias ( wed) and Tugs (sunday) . You should really check out our fantastic gymnastic strength classes: handstands, levers, muscle up, planches, the flag.

Loads of stuff for you to learn.

Bread: Lectins, Goo, Mucin, secretory IgA.3,4. and a big dose of spin

I have no idea if bread is evil. I know that I love it, and that my life without it is a misery. I do know the “vegetable lobby” is dead against bread. I thought it was because of the effect on the  Gylceymic Index (oh those happy early fitness instructor days).

As a hypertensive, I’m suspicious of bread because of  its excessive salt content: but there is, increasingly, lower salt bread available, and as I discovered in later life, I could always eat a slice a day, rather than the  loaf recommended by the state registered dietician  ( who knew!)

But apparently, its  Lectins, not Carbs are the real evil. Lets get skilled up and learn what lectins are. have a look at this article

http://www.krispin.com/lectin.html

So lectins are wolves in sheeps clothing, they sneak up on (gut ) cells, pretending to be , well sheep presumably, then they stick a dust buster into the cell wall, meaning it wants to hoover up every bit of sugar going ( so, a wolf, with a vaccum cleaner, disguised as a sheep in your intestines…..) .

So, every loaf of bread does that to every  intestine cell? ( Its, just that that’s a lot of wolves….)

No!

“Glucosamine is specific for wheat lectin and it is this specificity that may protect the gut and cartilage from cell inflammation and destruction in wheat (or gluten) responsive arthritis”

Doesn’t that mean that if you have Glucosamine, you are ok, and can eat bread?

But certainly many people tolerate these foods — why?

The answer lies in the balance of gut flora and a person’s immune system.  When you have adequate “beneficial flora” ( oooh, I sense a TV Advert) , it serves as a protective barrier against substances that travel through the intestines, including lectins.

But importantly, beneficial flora are needed to keep the production going in the intestines of two lectin-protective substances, mucin and secretory IgA.3,4.

Mucin, like lectin, is a “glycoprotein” ( use this word at parties) in the mucus lining of the intestines.  When lectins travel through the intestines, they should have mucin to bind to, rather than intestinal cells.  But if mucin is missing, lectins will bind to intestinal cells instead.  Secretory IgA also binds to lectins, preventing them from causing damage. (Buts JP, et al. Digestive Disease and Sciences. Feb 1990. 35(2): 251-56.)

According to  Cordian et al “the interaction of dietary lectins with enterocytes and lymphocytes facilitates the translocation( this is bad)  of both dietary and gut-derived bacterial antigens to peripheral tissues, which in turn causes persistent peripheral antigenic stimulation. In genetically susceptible individuals, this antigenic stimulation may ultimately result in the expression of overt  rheumatoid arthritis” (British Journal of Nutrition British Journal of Nutrition (2000), 83: 207-217 Cordain et al)

This is a useful source as it  reminds us that there are lots of things in your gut that you don’t want in you, which is why some stuff passes through us, others get “slimed”, and, more importantly,  that’s why you have a gut.

But it can break down in 3 circumstances

(1) disruption of ecological equilibrium which allows intestinal bacterial overgrowth,

(2) deficiencies in host immune defences, and

(3) increased permeability of the intestinal barrier (Berg, 1992).

Failure of intestinal barrier function resulting in the systemic spread of gut-associated bacteria has been termed bacterial translocation( I actually like this word and want to use it more at parties).

This is why, apparently,  its important to take some nice live yogurt every so often, if you are a pisshead/ fast food eater, every few days would be a good idea. Don’t fall foul of marketing. Food companies are still  the deceitful fuckers they always have been, so most probiotic yogurt is just a liquid sweet.  An interesting observation  comes from another blog writer  (http://www.good.is/post/is-yogurt-really-that-good-for-you/)

“The only problem: Some so-called probiotic bacteria don’t contain strains medically recognized as beneficial. As one expert told Tara Pope Parker, “To say a product contains Lactobacillus is like saying you’re bringing George Clooney to a party. It may be the actor, or it may be an 85-year-old guy from Atlanta who just happens to be named George Clooney.”

So just be careful, treat bread with suspicion( there’s still an addictive sugar rush, and you may be one of the unlucky ones), and eat a bit of live yogurt ( the plain boring stuff). Above all,  be conscious of the motivations of  the diet advisor. I know of  diet experts who fess up to being x vegetarians ( presumably fanatically so) and now all they can see is their mums arthritis, and they set out on a misguided mission to “save everyone” even those that don’t  need it. Mind you, if I knew someone had auto-immune issues, I’d suggest they knock out bread as a trial (but they need to have the auto-immune disease).

I was also surprised to learn that, allegedly, if you have dairy issues, its worth trying yogurt as its already partially digested and easily  available to your body.

Still, I think the real warnings are, “everything in moderation”. Notice patterns , because you could be one of those people who cannot take bread. Act on the info.  But also watch the “religious nutters” I’ve read loads of times about lectins. No one ever added the bit about how the body deals with them.

So that’s a bit “spun” isn’t it boys and girls

Any way, My name is Andrew Stemler, I work in London as a personal trainer and can be found in Bethnal Green E2  or the City of London

My love of wallbars

I think I got to use some wall bars in an early PE lesson, probably 45 years ago. Since then, wall bars were something that stood unused in school gyms.

It was a delight to have Alex Jerrom bring them back into my consciousness. We got a small set for Crossfit London at Bethnal Green E2 and now, almost daily. I try and do something on the wall Bars.

Many people are now discovering that wall bars are an essential part of developing body weight  exercise and gymnastics. Its great to see the Coach Sommer recommends them too.

I see lots of publications making the rounds, pretending to promote new and creative wall bar exercises. Im lucky to be an avid book fan, so rather than fritter a fortune on line on badly researched E-books, I get to go to my library.

I love “Gymnastik Atlas” by  J.G. Thulin. published in 1928. Im going to try and work through the  Wall bar exercises that are scattered throughout this amazing book

Here is  a great Hamstring stretch. It helps develop your pike. Notice how the gymnast has walked his feet as near to his hands as his flexibility can stand. The crouch position takes the stretch off, straightening the leg, puts the stretch back on

wall bar hamstring