Nailing perfect chest bumps

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan of the United States celebrate after beating Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcelo Melo Brazil to win the Men's doubles final match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday, July 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan of the United States celebrate after beating Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcelo Melo Brazil to win the Men's doubles final match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday, July 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

As with any full-body exercise, the chest bump requires attention to proper form.

Tennis playing twins Bob and Mike Bryan are famous for their aerial chest bumping. The Bryans play doubles, and after defeating their opponents, for instance, at the U.S. Open, they run toward each other, leap into the air and bump chests in spectacular fashion.

Their secrets, they told The Wall Street Journal, include making eye contact before beginning to run, ensuring they have enough space to pull off the maneuver, achieving “good air” and timing their leaping.

Eye contact

A notable example of failing to make eye contact can be seen on the website of the Baltimore Ravens, which has posted a video of Ravens Coach John Harbaugh’s failure to bump chests with strong safety James Ihedigbo during a game in October. At baltimoreravens.com, search for “chest bump.”

In the video, Ihedigbo makes what appears to be aBob Bryan and Mike Bryan celebrate at Wimbledon after winning the men’s doubles at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships on July 6.

good interception at the sideline (the move was later ruled out of bounds). Harbaugh rushes over to give him the full-body gesture of teammate approval, but Ihedigbo walks off, leaving his coach hanging, as it were.

Equal weight

An episode of the Fox sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine,titled “Ebony Falcon,” includes an excellent example of a chest bump doomed by unequal leapers. Andy Samberg’s character, Detective Jake Peralta, engages Sgt. Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews), shouting, “Chest bump me!”

Jeffords says, “You don’t want to do this, man.”

But Peralta insists. Jeffords’ heft knocks him down.

Timing the leap

During a September NCAA game against Clemson University, University of Georgia wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while chest bumping running back Todd Gurley.

Gurley ran through Clemson’s defensive line and kept going 75 yards to a touchdown. Happy about that, Mitchell leaped at him for the bump, but their chests were not aligned, and Mitchell landed awkwardly, tearing his ligament.

Note that a simultaneous display of jazz hands is a less demanding form of celebration.

ActiveStyle, Pages 28 on 01/27/2014

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