Brachiation ladders: Benefits and how to use them?

Brachiation is part of the primary human development (dragging, crawling, crawling, first steps and brachiation).

Bfacilitates the expansion of the thoracic cage, getting a greater development and maturity of the lungs, which essentially means, only one thing: MORE OXYGEN FOR THE BRAIN. So, if the user performs brachiation, not only will strengthen their respiratory structure for the benefit of their health, but also their intellectual development.

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The benefits of brachiationin the field are surprising: it develops manual skill, allows greater ease and dexterity when writing, improves eye convergence, develops laterality … but …

What are the 10 most important benefits of brachiation?

Next, we list the 10 most important benefits of the brachiation ladders:

1.- Improvement of intelligence. -> Extension of the rib cage. Greater thoracic extension means more oxygen for the brain.

2.- Improvement of breathing and oxygenation.

3.- Increase in the strength of the hands and arms.

4.- Help in the proper development of the back.

5.- Decrease in respiratory diseases.

6.- Better definition of the laterality of the brain.

7.- Better development of manual skill.

8.- Greater ease and dexterity when writing.

9.- Improvement of visual convergence.

10.- Optimal development of eye-hand coordination.

How to use well a brachiation ladder?

From the sensorial point of view, the brachiation ladder must be made of wood and never of iron, aluminium or plastic.

Also with the wood, the hands do not slip. If a child gets sweaty hands we can apply magnesium to gymnasts and it will not slip.

Furthermore, the child loves to paint his hands in white with magnesium !!

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It is very important that the bars of the bracer (the horizontal ladder where the child is brachiation) are not chipped so that the user does not hurt himself. The wood must also be resistant and of good quality.

Click here to see the various models of the brachiation ladders from Tamdem.

Next, we show a video in which our brachiation expert, Nicolás, performs the brachiation exercises in one of our Tamdem ET’s brachiation ladders. As you can see in the video, brachiation is a swinging movement, from front to back … although it can also be towards the sides and in a circle (for super-experts).

The user of the brachiation ladder first has to force the balancing and, when his body is going back, it is when he releases one of the two hands and prepares it to grab the next bar.

The moment his body is at the furthest point and starts the forward movement, his eyesight is fixed on the next bar and he reaches out to grasp it. This movement is what makes the eyes coordinate with the arms and improve the ocular convergence since the user fixes the vision in a point located in the next bar to which his hand is going to direct.

Once he has grabbed the next bar, the child will release the most backward hand. Then, his body will go back again and, when the body advances again, it will grab the next bar. And so on.

ATTENTION!! Never put children on top of the braker, as it is EXTREMELY dangerous. To perform exercises other than brachiation, there are other types of psychomotor skills Tamdem (click here to see them). A brachiation ladder should only be used to perform brachiation exercises (swinging, hanging with the arms …) and these are only done by hanging the user with the hands of the bars of the braker.

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1.- KIDS FROM 1 TO 4 OR 6 YEARS OLD

At early ages, for example, at the age of 1, it is enough for children to hang on the ladder for about 30 seconds; always helped by adults until we see their evolution (this evolution is seen from one day to the next). As soon as the child is able to endure 30 seconds, he will only be ready to start swinging.

After a time of daily practice, a few months in the most advanced and one or two years in the rest is when they begin to do the brachiation exercises. We advise to ALWAYS help the children by adults throughout the movement. They will hold the children from the waist with back-and-forth movements (that is why it is good for the stairs to have access from the sides), also helping the children when they release the bars.

It is very important that children learn to balance themselves on the ladder. During the first days of practice of brachiation, the exercises will consist of simply hanging on a bar with both hands and swinging for 30 to 60 seconds without advancing.

As the children evolve in their brachiation, it depends on each child and the regularity with which they have performed the exercises, they will brace themselves and skip the bars two by two, even three by three. That is why it is advisable that the bracer, that is, the horizontal ladder with the bars, be as long as possible. We recommend our 3 meter long staircase or ET-3.

IMPORTANT:

– Especially at the beginning, it is very likely that some children are afraid, and even cry. This is great because, with the help of an adult, they overcome fear and strengthen their self-esteem (children must be congratulated constantly when they do well, and above all, those children who have overcome that fear… much more!!).

– What happens if the child falls? Relax, there is a mat underneath. It is mandatory from the point of view of safety to place a mat on the floor.

– How many brachiation sessions per day are recommended by professionals? The more sessions and distributed during the day, the better. From 3 to 5 sessions spread over the day (morning, mid-morning, midday, mid-afternoon and late afternoon) and never in a row. It is important that children make an effort but that they do not injure themselves. Between sessions, it is important for the child to rest their hands.

– If the children have calluses in their hands, Excellent !!! That’s great, they’re doing it very well. A callus is a protection of our own body to keep brachiation with more intensity.

– Observe how children evolve from the first day of brachiation: in their writing, intelligence, mental quickness, physical strength, maturity and problem-solving.

– Never let users walk over the bracer as it is not the goal of the ladder and it can be very dangerous. For these activities, there are other materials.

2.- CHILDREN FROM 4 OR 6 YEARS OLD AND ADULTS

The brachiation exercise is always swinging, from the front to the back, lateral or in a circle.

The more the user weighs, the more it will cost to brace. So it is a good excuse to go on a diet and lose weight until you reach the ideal or recommended for each height.

We advise users to observe their physical and mental state before and after starting the brachiation activity (in periods of 5 days).

It is also advisable to make several sessions distributed at the end of the day, but without crushing the body. It is good to have calluses on your hands, but it is not good for blisters to come out (they occasionally come out, although you do not have to give it too much importance) or wounds; or injuring an arm or shoulder.

OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST:

• Psychomotricity activity as a solution of childhood obesity (click to read)
• How to set up a psychomotricity room (click to read).
• Benefits of Climbing walls (click to read).
• Technical help for handicapped people (especially for cerebral palsy) (click to read).
• What is the use of child psychomotricity? (click to read).
• Equipments for Early Stimulation rooms and their relationship with brain plasticity (click to read).
• Benefits of natural psychomotricity (click to read)
• How to set up a psychomotor room at home? (click to read)
• Unknown pleasures of psychomotor skills (click to read)
• Mats for psychomotricity, occupational therapy, early stimulation rooms and gymnastics (click to read)
• How to perform psychomotor activities at home (click to read)

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