I can't do power scissors!

M

Michele S

Cathlete
I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but I CANNOT do power scissors. I feel as though my legs just can't move fast enough. Do these get better with practice? I'm 5'5" and have relatively short legs in comparison with my torso...could this have anything to do with it? (just hoping for some legitimate excuse;-) )

Thanks!
 
Do you have the CTX Kickbox workout? If so, I find that the power scissors segment in this particular workout are slower paced and "easier" to do for some reason. Probably b/c my lower body isn't as fried as it is in Imax. She does 4 sets of 8 twice with a "break" in between. And yes...practice does make perfect or at least will get ya closer to perfect...tee hee! Keep at it!
Angela:7
 
I would say it has something to do with developing your fast twitch muscle response. If you are good at power scissors, then you would be good also with plyometrics. A-Jock could probably give you some good feedback on this. Butt and quad strength are integral here I think. I am sure once she signs on Monday and sees "Power Scissors" she will be all over it!!:) Keep bumping...

Janice
 
I used to hate these, because it is hard for me to do them without feeling that the stress is going into my forward knee, and substituted for them often. I either did power heel digs, or scissors at half-time which I could control better.

Since speed seems to be your week link, I think Janice is right on the mark about plyometrics and developing the fast-twitch fibers. I've been able to do something similar to Power Scissors better each time in the P90X Plyometrics workout. Just takes practice. I recommend trying to do as many as you can at regular speed (maybe that's just 1 for now!) and doing the rest at 1/2 speed. Try to add on each time you do it. You can get more bang out of the 1/2 speed reps by concentrating on going low (while keeping the forward knee as close to perpendicular to the floor as possible)to hit the glutes a bit more (we always want to hit those, n'est-ce pas?).
 
I think Kathryn and Janice have the right advice for you. I wanted to chime in that if your legs are short, that would make it easier not harder, so you can't use that as an excuse! }( }(

Work on the fast-twitch fibers and glute strength, slow down the speed and you'll have them in no time. The ones in Kickbox are the easiest ones, I also agree.
 
Michele,
Try not to go so low. Maybe you are trying to lunge down too far. Remember, the deeper the lunge, the harder it will be.... Kickbox is easier cuz you have momentum working for you. I noticed with power scissors that the slower they are, the harder they are!! Good Luck in progressing!



Janice
 
I hear you, I find them the toughest. I posted something about it and got some great advice, http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?...ic_id=34187&mesg_id=34187&listing_type=search. I can do them, but not a lot of them, like the interval in Imax I. It does help not to go too deep, but then I feel like I'm not in good form. I've been working on doing more of them, and have improved a bit, but progress is so slow it's discuraging. I've been so frustrated with them that I've moved on to what is turning out to be a much easier challenge: running a half marathon! I'm still doing ImaxI about one a week for an interval workout and to try to get through that interval 8 as best as I can. I never miss the recovery after it (unlike the others), because I need it and the pep talk Cathe gives after that interval! I also add a few here and there whenever I feel like it. Good luck with them.

Elisa
 
Another thought: use your arms to help you up. As you start to jump, bring your arms up as if you're doing a long jump or whatever those jumps are that we used to do for the President's physical fitness test in High School.
 
Are these these same as power lunges? If not, what is the diffrence? On one tape they are called power lunges..in another power scissors but in both I am doing the same thing. By the way, these get to me too.
 
Hi, Michele! You've already gotten a lot of good advice here for "power scissors" (what Cathe now calls "explosive lunges" on the Legs & Glutes workout). IMHO, pound for pound power scissors /explosive lunges (which, btw, are a plyometric move) are one of the single best leg training exercises out there. So they're worth working on.

You certainly want to keep developing leg strength to enable you to do them, so make sure your strength training program entails plenty of weighted lunges and leg presses.

The best way to develop proficiency in power scissors is to do them. You may want to develop a Power Scissors Training rotation for 6-8 weeks that would incorporate the following workouts:

*I-Max 1 The Original (of course) (cardio)
*CTX Kickbox workout (cardio)
*Body Max power circuit segment (briefly brings PS's in)
*Legs & Glutes (leg endurance conditioning)
*I-Max 2 (although this does not have power scissors, it DOES have the interval in which you hop on one leg for about a million years before switching to the other leg, and THAT IMHO is great plyometric cross-training for PS's).

Do two of the above each week for about 6-8 weeks, incorporating them into the rest of your program. Then let us know how you've progressed.

HTH -

A-JOck
 
Two things. First you say you CANNOT, in all caps, is it really don't want to or willnot!!! Believe in yourself. If all the other suggestions here don't work for you, start out by doing back lunges also known as dips (alternating) without impact. You'll get the good leg work so you CAN do those power lunges soon!
 
I just want to thank everyone for taking the time to respond and for all your suggestions. Okay...so maybe I CAN do power scissors!

A-Jock, I will definitely give your ideas a try! Thanks, and I will let you know how my progress is.

Michele
 
Hi, Michele! Glad you can get some use out of my blatherings.

Another suggestion:

In your other workouts, including step, kickbox, and hi/lo, consider sprinkling in just a few power scissors here and there in lieu of other moves. I like to do this during the 10-10-10 hi/lo segment when Cathe is doing fast mambos or grounded travelling moves. But you can really pick any spot you want, and just do 8 (each leg) and go back to the choreography.

One of the things that makes the I-Max power scissor interval, as well as the CTX Kickbox power scissors sequence, so challenging is that you do about a gazillion of them all in an unbroken string, and that can be a real shock to the system. Sticking in just a few here and there in your other workouts can keep the legs "power-scissor oriented", and can serve to build your leg power for that move and others.

HTH - keep up the good work! I remember when I thought "I can't do these" in interval #8 in I-Max 1; now I can do that entire interval and add on 8 complete sets (each leg) at the end of that interval. Again, they're worth the effort.

a-Jock
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top