Shoulders stable with SL/PE1>iM? Looking up with MN/PE1>iM?

Two weeks into F1. And, absolutely thrilled with the fact that coach Sommer took the time to structure this course so I can start at the beginning with a clear path ahead.  As most of us I am finding the mobility elements the most taxing. And, as most of us, I am delighted that I can now include them in my daily routine without having to think about it. I found that especially asymmetries in hip and shoulder flexibility need attention and now will finally get that.

I have the following two questions on the hip circles (SL/PE1>iM) and windmills (MN/PE1>iM). Maybe someone can comment.

I noticed that the demo video on the hip circles show the gymnast counteracting his hip circle very strongly with his shoulder action. It is actually hard to see which of the two movements is the main one: his hip circle or his shoulder circle. I have always done hip circles with emphasis on keeping the shoulders relaxed and still. Any reason why I should not continue to do that?

For the wind mills somebody made the excellent suggestion to touch the floor in front of you instead of reaching in between your legs. That solved the problems I had with this move. Except, that I find it hard to keep my balance when I try to keep looking at the weight. So, I look down (or sideways) instead of up. That way I find it easier to focus on keeping my arm straight up while "wind milling" the weight. I expect that at some point looking up will become easier. Anybody else with similar experience?

Get your hips mobilized. With feet together your shoulder will likely move some, don't worry about it.

When you have a weight over your head in this position do NOT look down. If you're having a balance issue it is likely because you are not focusing on hip movement but on the bending. Use your hips, push it to the side as your body begins to fold over, keep thinking of pushing it out. Only go as far as you can while looking at the weight. That's your range of motion, increase it slowly from there.

You will actually get a better stretch with the hip circles by doing what the athlete is doing, as opposed to trying to keep the shoulders stationary. The athlete shown is simply letting his upper body mass move opposite to his lower body mass, which keeps his center of mass inside his base boundary (the box made by the outside boundaries of his feet). If he didn't do this, he'd fall over.

For the windmills, you can slide your arm along one of the supporting legs ( you'll know which one, it will kind of automatically go there) to get some proprioceptive input and start getting used to the balance while looking up. Over time you will need this less and less. Other than that, go with what Nic said.

The hand slide is how I actually teach it to beginners in person. Make sure to use the back of your hand. Using your palm along your leg will cause your chest and shoulders to close, limiting the movement.

Nic Branson said:

... Make sure to use the back of your hand. Using your palm along your leg will cause your chest and shoulders to close, limiting the movement ...

This is a very nice tip for beginners who may be struggling with the initial descent.  

Be sure though to leave it behind once you have achieved a reasonable degree of stability with this iM as continued reliance on it will reduce further gains in hamstring mobility.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Nic, Josh and Coach. Thank you for the tips. Doing the windmills with the back of the hand sliding against my leg is perfect (for the time being). Doing that, I found that pushing to go beyond my limited ROM for this move was causing my problems with balancing while looking up. So, now I can start working on increasing my ROM while staying on form. For the hip circles I will stop worrying about counter acting shoulder movement, which in my case is pretty small anyway.