Conditioning for firetwirling

Can anyone think of a sport that has similar movements to double staff spinning?
eg. waving the arms all over, twisting alot and pumping hands open and closed? (yeah great description i know)


No seriously. I'm trying to figure how to take training to the next level.

I'm studying basic exercise phys at the moment and learning about the ATP-CP and lactic acid systems and the role of the aerobic system in sports events of 1-5 minutes ( Mystery Zone )


I already know a couple of tricks to improve short term performance:

basic creatine (CP) supplementation before training will increase available blood levels of CP allowing the ATP-CP system (explosive energy) to recharge quicker

Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) supplementation can help buffer the acidizing effects of lactic acid buildup (the burn in muscles) letting you go a bit longer before your forearms are on fire. BiCarb performance enhancement


But if i can find a sport that has similar movements theres bound to be further research, tips and tricks on specific training and enhancement.

Any ideas?

get heavier staffs, play more? how is that not enough? (they call it obsession )

I can't think of one. I could say that poi, CJ, 3 ball tricks, would have similar movements, but they aren't sports. Also some forms of dance, make heavy use of the motions you describe, again not sports thou.

Seems to me that staff spinning uses mostly your shoulders and arms. (and a little bit of grip) Any racquet sport would help develop those muscles, but would mostly teach you the movements for that sport, rather than for double staff and certainly only for one arm.

Hammer throwing and gymnastics would probably build up the strength of your arms / shoulder / back, but at the expense of them being quite vigourous sports with a high injury rate.

Maybe lacross would be close, but your mostly holding onto the stick with both hands, making the motion more symmetrical than double staff can be.

Kung fu...

Its not a sport...

but it is hardcore...

Despite the rather dodgy looking sites, these guys have some good ideas:

http://www.clubbells.co.uk/
http://www.rmaxinternational.com/home/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=383

There are sometimes great videos on the forum...

i thought this thread was gonna be about solutions for paraffin making your hair dull and lifeless

pantene: because you're worth it!

Thanks for the feedback, some good ideas mcp, I've been doing some gymnastics (and have to stop for awhile, too much too quick, extremely high impact)
The clubbells look pretty cool too mo-seph. I think I'll try to make a set.

 Written by: Mr Majestik


(they call it obsession )

for sure but... (major ranting dribble warning!)
What we do can be intensely physical and compared to other movement subculture forums (e.g. www.trickstutorials.com) there's very little discussion on training to get the most out of it.

Granted many don't take twirling to these sorts of intensity levels (physically that is, some of the technicality displayed here is amazing) But I like to think a few others would be interested in pushing that edge.

The heavier staves idea is a good one and I have played with that, but when trying to train for high speeds can increase the risk of wrist injury.
Specificity is always good (e.g. to get better at twirling, twirl!)

But when sweating it out there on stage, finishing a 2nd heavy implement, lighting a third and hitting the 6 minute mark I find myself thinking "fraggit I'm stuffed" wtf, I've spun more than this?

I always go harder on stage than when just spinning. I also personally think the whole 'massive sheets of fire burning up all the oxygen around me' thing plays a factor in getting puffed quick. So some conditioning routines that are not just recreational spinning seem to be called for. Aerobic to utilise oxygen better and anaerobic to recharge and clear lactic acid faster.

The reason I'm trying to get so serious about it is I've got a 2 min. spot on a TV show in a month and it's expected to hit the 6-10 million viewer range here in Oz. (trying not to think about that too much) I'd just really like to be in top form to make the most of this opportunity.
Also got a couple gigs in China coming up that could lead to bigger things so... yeah feel justified in getting a little obsessive
(I mean to a degree isn't every mad juggler an obsessive freak?)

I don't know much about staff, but I do know that flags are an excellent poi conditioner. Because they are light, you can move slower and they don't put huge forces on your joints, but they have an *enormous* drag, which makes them quite hard work to spin, I really start to feel it after a while. I guess it's like contextual resistance training!

How about swimming?

The clubbells are rockin I reckon.

But for specificity: Either adding drag (flags, fluff, other stuff) to the ends of the staff, or weight. Then devise some sort of drill which uses all of the most shoulder instensive (or insert other muscle group / joint rotation move here) movements that you do, to faster music than you'd normally spin too (not just for fun, so that you spin faster) and that is continuous for say ten minutes.

So in other words you have to spin difficult to maintain moves with heavier / harder props, for a long time, faster than normal.

I would do it a couple of times at the end of a practise session, just so that you properly destroy your muscles. Maybe building up the number of times you do it at the end of a practise session.

I think you must know how to build up aerobic stamina, but spinning while on a treadmill would be a funny sight...