Body Matrix Vid

[Natalia]

My attempt at it


Body Matrix or 'Finisher'


Lisa~

could you be so kind as to throw in the pointers you gave me on form here for the rest of the gang?

[realcdn]

You really make it look easy (although I know when I get to it I'll struggle a lot with it).

[BobbieK]

Hi Natalia,

Thanks for the videos....and You look INCREDIBLE. I cannot believe you were overweight at one point.

What is your view on the amount of food/calories in NROLW? I am coming up on 5mos. of NROLW ,I feel great but have only lost one pound. (Believe me I look the same,as far as fat!) Bobbie

[Natalia]

Bobbie, PM me with your questions, please. I'd like to keep this thread 'Body Matrix" only

[BobbieK]

Oops sorry! will do...Bobbie

[maggieandmommy]

Holy wow, Natalia! You make it look so easy! I especially like the way you do a little hop after that last lunge jump--like you could just keep jumping around! I could only do 3 or 4 lunge jumps at a time (nowhere near as pretty as yours!) and was nearly dead by the time I finished that part!

You give me something to aspire to! Thanks for posting the videos! You rock!

[LisaS]

on the lunge form - is that the form you use for all lunges or just in the matrix? And by form I mean specifically your foot spacing. Your down knee is quite close to the heel of the front foot. I was taught a much larger step-out (knee about a foot-length behind heel) and this looks like it would be a better fit for me.

[Lisa~]

Nat, the video looks awesome! Great job! You're energetic and your form looks good. I'd be very happy if everyone of us could perform that well on the matrix!

[Lisa~]

Originally Posted by LisaS

on the lunge form - is that the form you use for all lunges or just in the matrix? And by form I mean specifically your foot spacing. Your down knee is quite close to the heel of the front foot. I was taught a much larger step-out (knee about a foot-length behind heel) and this looks like it would be a better fit for me.

Lisa, I told Nat in an earlier PM that she does short stroke her lunges, but there's nothing wrong or bad about that. It's just what feels comfortable to her. It's a bit more quad emphasis, so I'm guessing that's a strong muscle group for her. Her chest/torso is upright and her technique is excellent.

It was even more interesting to me that she takes a longer stride in her jump lunges. Again, not right or wrong, good or bad, just interesting that she'd spread out her stride while jumping. Apparently it made her feel more stable to do so. It's all good.

If taking a longer stride works for someone else, then that's fine. It means they're relying on more hip strength, or at least a bit less quad strength. Sometimes just a person leg length will affect their choice of stride length. More importantly is to watch for an upright torso, good balance, no hip shifting left or right.

If someone was working to decrease quad dominance and wanted to specifically attempt a longer stride in their lunges, then that's a good choice too. It all depends on the person and what they want to focus on during a particular exercise. This hypothetical person might work on a longer stride for weighted lunges and not worry about it for the matrix.

Remember too that in a leg matrix, with only bodyweight as your load, that technique is a bit less of an issue. Just finishing at all is pretty impressive.

Nat, if you want to copy/paste anything else I said in my PM to you, feel free. I just don't feel inclined to pick you apart on the forum. You look great! You've accomplished great things! Your matrix is excellent and I wish mine looked that good!

[Tia]

Truly impressive!

You make it look like a walk in the park...can I be you when I grow up?

[Natalia]

Thanks for the kind words, y'all. I should have made my hubby record a vid of me doing the matrix for the very first time. Now, that was pathetic

Thanks, Lisa, for the 'OK' to use your PM to me here.




Lisa~:

Finishers are, by their very nature, not supposed to be with perfect technique. If I saw one that was, I'd probably think it was too easy for that person, lol. But I'm going to comment like you were looking for perfect technique throughout.

Your squat is just above parallel. You really could go lower on a bodyweight squat. Think of the Crossfit girls doing bw squats and how fast they are and how low they get.

It's interesting to notice that your lunge is very short stroke. There's nothing wrong with that really. I wouldn't want others who copy you to step out any less than that for sure. But your body is upright and your lunge technique is excellent.

Your lunge jump actually takes a longer stroke. How interesting. These look really good. You look energetic still and you never wobble. Excellent.

You look really energetic until the jump squats. I know mine aren't ANY better, but I notice that you're not very springy and you're not getting very high. I don't think I'd redo the video just because of that, but it's interesting to note that jumping isn't your strongest ability, lol. Even fresh I doubt you'd get a lot higher. I can see it in the way you land. I bet you just haven't done a lot of jumping in your fitness career! But overall they look good. I wouldn't try to get any lower for a squat jump. You get your best upward momentum with about that squat depth.

The pointers were very helpful to me and I am sure the rest of the gang here will benefit from them.

p.s. Lisa, I did update the vid's ending. Clarified the "put the hands behind their head" thing.

[copwife]

Excellent video!

I did the BW Matrix for the first time on Monday @ a respectable 2:17....sucking wind big time

Michelle

[Natalia]

Originally Posted by copwife

Excellent video!

I did the BW Matrix for the first time on Monday @ a respectable 2:17....sucking wind big time

Michelle

Cool beans! 'Sucking wind' seems to be the general side effect of this exercise

[Silly Sally]

You look solid, steady, and very, very fit.

Bigger gals are naturally going to take longer to get through this, especially with any kind of good form, I think. (I bet if I filmed myself doing this, the camera would bounce every time I came down, and then I'd disappear from the screen entirely when I passed out... )

[Tia]

OK, so I did the BW Matrix for the 1st time this morning....am I really supposed to alternate lunges and lunge jumps? I got the impression from the book that you did 12 lunges on 1st leg, then 12 lunges on the other (the same for the lunge jumps).

Any advice would be appreciated...

[Natalia]

Originally Posted by Tia

OK, so I did the BW Matrix for the 1st time this morning....am I really supposed to alternate lunges and lunge jumps? I got the impression from the book that you did 12 lunges on 1st leg, then 12 lunges on the other (the same for the lunge jumps).

Any advice would be appreciated...

Tia, have you tried doing 12 lunge jumps in a row on the same leg?

[Tia]

Originally Posted by Natalia

Tia, have you tried doing 12 lunge jumps in a row on the same leg?

Yep, that's what I did this morning...will alternating legs make that easier (hope, hope)?

[maggieandmommy]

So Tia were you just jumping up and then back down into a lunge on the same leg?

I did alternating legs, both for the lunges and the lunge jumps.