"fling-ups"?

October 21, 2006 7:30 AM

What are "fling-ups," exactly, and how does one do them?

I once read a book about a British soldier in the SAS who was working out in a motel room one morning, and the book mentioned him doing "fling-ups" as some sort of calisthenics. I've always been curious what those were. It's been a very long time since I read the novel, but the impression lingers that the soldier did this exercise from a prone position. I'm American, and something we do over here called "jumping jacks" (a/k/a side straddle hops) sounds superficially similar: It involves moving up and down and flinging one's arms, but obviously one does that from a standing position vice a prone one.

posted by pax digita to grab bag (9 comments total)

Maybe that's what you call those push-ups where you push hard enough to lift your hands off the ground with enough hang-time to clap your hands once before you put them back down?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:47 AM on October 21, 2006

I read another book about a man in the SAS, and I got the impression that they were a combination of a jumping jack and a pushup, where you start on the ground and push yourself up and then jump. Like you though, I'm not too sure.
posted by christinetheslp at 9:20 AM on October 21, 2006

Was it a burpee pushup? (Otherwise known as the prison workout.)
posted by RibaldOne at 12:46 PM on October 21, 2006

Burpee pushup:


posted by ikkyu2 at 1:06 PM on October 21, 2006

I always called that (burpee pushup) a squat thrust.
posted by nekton at 2:24 PM on October 21, 2006

The burpee pushup is different than a squat thrust in that when reaching the standing position, one then explosively jumps straight up, lands, and then goes down to squatting position again.
posted by exlotuseater at 8:16 PM on October 21, 2006

From your description, Thorzdad's guess immediately came to mind, but I admittedly have no precise knowledge of the term.

There is also the move (no idea what it is called) where one balances on left foot and right hand, while suspending right foot and left hand, then hops vertically to land on right foot and left hand while suspending left foot and right hand, repeatedly alternating.
posted by vanoakenfold at 9:33 PM on October 21, 2006

Huh. Well, some interesting ideas, and not sure what to award the golden checkmark(s) to. Grateful for all responses, of course. You guys rock!

The Burpee pushups remind me of what I do when I'm having trouble with my morning 45 (which is usually, at my age) -- I "recover" temporarily as follows: hand-walk backward from full-rise push-up until fanny in the air and arms at full extension as if I were doing a mil press, but at approx a 60-degree angle to the deck, legs straight, like I'm trying to be two sides of an equilateral triangle with the deck as the third side. No flinging involved, just a couple quick breaths, hand-walk forward, and drop-&-begin again.

Something I didn't post initially but wondered about:

When I used to watch The Goodies in high school, one espisode the guys were doing calisthenics, and one of them did these things where he went from prone, all four relaxed on the deck to sort of a "skydiver" flex -- all four up, rocking on stomach; shoulders & pelvis off the deck, arms and legs out, flexed and rigid for maybe a three-count, then back to prone. I wonder if that sounds familiar to anybody? Dunno if it's a "fling-up" or not, but about thirty of them are a great back workout, damn betcha.
posted by pax digita at 11:02 AM on October 24, 2006

pax digita: in my fitness class, we call that exercise "the superman". My physiotherapist recommended doing supermans to treat my sciatica. A good alternating exercise is v-sit ups.
posted by RibaldOne at 12:38 PM on October 27, 2006