Inversions are one of those skills that can take quite a while to achieve and for good reason. Getting your booty overhead with ease isn't exactly an easy feat! Many factors need to work together, from technique to upper body strength, core strength, correct order of operations and more. In addition, breaks in training, injuries and pregnancy can cause inversions to come and go, which can be, well, frustrating!
If inversions are one of those hit and miss skill for you (or if you're a teacher, for your students), see below for four common inversion mistakes along with some simple solutions.
Mistake #1 - Kicking the silk out of the way to invert *typically happens when starting from Classic aka French climb
RESULT: You end up expending necessary energy and kicking the silk mid-air can appear sloppy. FIX: Circle the leg closest to the silk around it and turn hips to the side before inverting.
Mistake #2 - Plopping out of your inversion
RESULT: You haphazardly land with a lot of force and are cheating yourself out of building strength. FIX: Aim to retrace your path by pulling up. I know easier said than done!
Mistake #3 - Arms melt mid-inversion
RESULT: You have difficulty sustaining your inversion due to your arms tiring out mid-way.
FIX: Commit to and strengthen your bent arm position. The hang-time exercise in the video is helpful for both mistakes 2 & 3.
Mistake #4 Hips too low
RESULT: It doesn't make for a strong inverted position and can cause you to hook your knee on top of your hands when moving onto inversion climbs or catchers.
FIX: Draw shoulder blades together and widen collar bones as you lift your hips up toward your hands.
If you ever find yourself in a non-inverting season, there are plenty of aerial skills you can do that don't involve inverting whatsoever. I remember a couple of years ago, I had the worst stye on my eye and going upside down felt terrible. With inverting being a no-go, I had to get creative with loads of foot lock skills & belay entries.
Sometimes our aerial practice requires us to adapt to the season of life we're currently in and that's ok. A reminder to be gentle with yourself and give your body the appreciation it deserves!