There’s a solid, undeniable thread that runs all the way through the T-Tapp Wellness Workout.
One from which you launch any – and all – of the standing T-Tapp moves, or sequences. Or sets within sequences.
And that is the basic T-Tapp stance.
This is not news to those who are familiar with the T-Tapp Workout. Practice of proper exercise form is paramount. Yet as a T-Tapp Trainer, I note how common it is for students to slip in this one seemingly minor detail that is actually core to the T-Tapp Workout itself.
Which is why I’ve devised a strategy you can use to keep the powerful aspect of the basic stance more cleanly cemented into your T-Tapp Workouts.
T-Tapp Basic Stance
A quick review of the T-Tapp Basic stance is in order.
It’s simple, yet not always easy to achieve, especially to beginners. Yet it is approximation of this basic stance position that is the key to success and building a stronger, balanced body with this physical therapy approach to fitness.
With the T-Tapp Basic Stance, which is the groundwork for all the moves that unfold throughout the workout, you place the body in solid position:
- feet in parallel, directly below hip joints. This means right foot under right hip, left under left, your feet dead ahead as if you are on skiis. You know what happens when skiing if the skiis are slightly turned out or in, don’t you? Keep that in mind as you stay cemented to parallel. The number of moves in the T-Tapp Workout that deviate from this stance are few and far between, the exception rather than the rule.
- bend knees so that the kneecaps are stacked directly on top of the ends of the toes without going past. This is surprisingly difficult to maintain through your workout, as the immediately workload placed on the muscles builds as you go. Beginners or those with knee issues can go more shallow at first
- lift the ribs vertical from the hips
- tuck the tail under
- open the chest with shoulders back and stack the shoulders directly over the hips
- gently press the knees away from the midline of the body in the direction of the little toe.
There you have it. In a nutshell:
- bend
- tuck
- lift
- open
- press
This virtually launches every other move in the workout sequence
Second in the T-Tapp Workout sequence is plies. Guess what? It’s built on the same lineup as described above. As a matter of fact, I often have students get into basic stance to launch their plie sequence, then simply move the feet apart to the wider plie stance, and GO.
Same with T-Tapp Twist, Oilwells, Balance….and so on. They all build upon this basic position.
Next time you T-Tapp, try this trick:
Build every single sequence from the basic stance as described above. Actually put your body into position. Connect with the kinesthetic awareness of it. Then vary the foot position as needed for the next move.
And watch your exercise form throughout step up the intensity and effectiveness of your whole exercise session.
It’s the #1 secret to magnifying your results.
© Lani Muelrath 2009 All Rights Reserved
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Exactly what I needed to hear and work on, Lani! btw in plies, should the feet be ballet style or straight ahead. I’ve always done them ballet style, but I get the impression from your blog here that it would be better to be straight.
Thanks again!
-Paym
@Paym: Hi Paym,
Truth of the matter is, it is somewhere in between and different for everyone. The point is to be sure you are not turned out so much that you cannot connect with the knee-to-little-toe. In other words, if your foot stance forces your knees to roll to the inside of the ankle and foot when you bend into plies, your feet need to move more to parallel.
This also changes over time. When I started, my feet need to be nearly in parallel. Over time, hip flexibility and outer knee strength have grown makiing a wider stance with correct form possible.
A good rule of thumb is to place feet at 11:00 and 1:00 as on the clock face. Then adjust from there.
Try it!
Lani
YAY!!! the comment area is working for me again!!! – pb
Lani —
Great review. Question for you on KLT– When I press my knees out towards the little toe, my first two toes don’t have the same amount of contact with the floor. In other words, my last 2 or 3 toes feel FIRMLY planted on the floor, while the first toes (big toe, etc) are just LIGHTLY touching the floor. Is this normal…or should I be counteracting this?
Hope that makes sense. I am going back to my T-Tapp collection because the results are like no other!!
Thank you.
@Patricia: Thanks Patricia. Yes, it makes sense and your description is excellent! As a matter of fact, one tip for correct positioning is to press those last 3 toes more firmly into the floor, which takes noticeable weight off of the big and first toe. This facilitates foot position and knee position as well.
The only precaution is to be sure you are not rolling out so far that you deviate the ankle joint.
Nice work!
Lani
Thanks so much, Lani! Your timing is impeccable, I’m off to start my bootcamp right now and was hoping to have an answer. I just finished measuring and taking pictures of my starting point (and am out of denial, LOL). It can only get better from here!
Have a great day!
Patricia
@Patricia: what a fabulous attitude. You’re a winner in my book!
Keep me posted on your progress.
Lani
Hi Lani,
I wanted to report on my progress with T-Tapp. I have the BWO+, did my “bootcamp”, now I’m doing it every other day. I’m feeling great, and guess what? I have FINALLY lost some inches!! About 3 in. all together, in my abs and hips, this is great! If this keeps up, I might look into the T-Tapp TBW. I printed out the info on the “Basic Stance”, I do need to work on that.
Just a happy, happy update. Thanks Lani!! 🙂
Susan L.
@Susan Livengood: Susan, what encouraging news and nice work on persisting with your workouts. I’m so excited for you to experience these results! There’s nothing like being healthy, trim, and fit, and when we become more so our whole life improves.
Thanks for coming by to report in and tell me about this!
Keep up the good work and enjoy the Basic Stance article – it’s part of my Head Trainer’s notebook.
Lani
Lani, what a coincidence that you should write about this subject. I received SuperSlow a while ago and did it for the first time on the 1st, I think. Anyway, ONE of the things I walked away with was getting into the “stance.” Here are the steps I’ve been taking: Feet straight and hip-width; bend knees; tuck butt; lift ribs; roll shoulders, then tuck/curl the core even tighter. I never knew I could tuck/curl tighter, but making the mental note to do that, makes it happen.
P.S. Are you going to make your Head Trainer’s notebook available to all Tappers? Or just the winners of Tappy Holidays?
@Gwen Burnham: Hey Gwen, sounds like great synergy! Super slow is so effective – you can get so in touch with those muscles!
I’ll keep you posted on the notebook – I hope to make it widely available, we just have to check on legalities.
Thanks for coming in to share, it’s great to hear from you!
Lani
Hi Lani,
I started t tapping( BWO) in October this year. But unfortunately I had to stop due to existing muscle tightness and pain in right hip and leg. This is going on since 2009. But I loved t tapp and started again from today. My question is when I try to shift weight on heels after KLT i feel burning pain in top of the thigh just where knee starts. Also I feel bruising in inner and outer knee area. What can be possibly wrong. There has been no diagnosis of my issue so far. Physical therapy and yoga helps a lot.
Hi Sarika,
Thank you for your note and I am sorry to hear of your discomfort.
I no longer teach or train with T-Tapp, so best to contact the T-Tapp office for answers to your question.
All best and keep me posted!
Lani