Today, a muddled selection of guys training with friend(s) or who have obviously trained with their friend(s) before taking time out. Some great physiques, some lean sporty types, and one or two weird ways of doing things.    

After today's earlier posy on GYMNASTS , it seems appropriate to follow up with acrobatics - specially hand balancing. The art of this - at least as told by us - is what you do with the rest of your body. Nothing can be limp or loose - every muscle needs to be tense and to hold your body completely still once balance is reached - and then you can stay there! Two hands, or even just one. Ideally, you move slowly into the balance position because any sudden lunge or jerky movement can throw you off balance and result in the need to take a 'step' to regain it - or end up with you rolling out of it or, (better) turning your shoulder so that you can see the floor and then landing on your feet. We'll begin in the company of a young gymnast from the south-west of England who has made handstanding his life's work! One hand or two? In particular, look at what his fingers are doing, and how straight and tense he holds his body. Although you can't see it in these pictures,

A mixed bag today of guys dedicated to their sports and to training for them, equipping their bodies for endurance in various ways - and then, for lighter relief, a few fun things we've come across. A shorter post than usual today, but we have quite a few extra posts recently. Start with a young Muay Thai enthusiast on a training camp in Thailand and enjoying (?) some of the traditional things that go with that, starting with a traditional oil massage pre-fight: ...training with his Thai friends in high temperature and humidity after the oil session...   ...and not forgetting ice bath at the end of session... Talking of which: But why use your tub on a sunny day if you can put it in the snow? ... ... Gymnast Yevgeny works on his extreme shoulder flexibility (we gymnasts call this 'Elgrip')... More fighters now: our Azerbaijani friends first: All fighters need strong abs: Snow outside? Don't you want to be IN it? Yes, it's always fun to be shirtless in the snow: Here