Strange Wall HS shoulder lock

Hello fellow trainers! I've been training Handstand a little bit more than a year. Now that I see HS one I realize that I have to start again, because if mobility issues aren't solved you keep struggle for nothing...

Anyway today I did some mobility/handstand training with chest to wall handstand and I noticed something "strange":

next to me was a mirror so that I could see my line. I kept playing with the pelvic tilt and opening my shoulders until I was completely straight....so far so good one would say... except...my shoulders were on

the verge of dislocating (just like HS/iM 1) and at this position I felt as if I could hold the wall handstand for a couple of minutes instead of seconds...(Today I didn't have my camera with me ;( to show you)

If I get out of this "almost dislocated" position I struggle again to hold the wall handstand.

 

Is this THE position to be in? Note that my line was completely straight so superficially the hs line looks ok, but what about the "almost dislocate" position? In this position I feel a "lock" and it doesn't cost a lot of energy to hold it. Does anybody have similar experiences? 

 

 

I don't know about the "almost dislocate position". If you mean your scapula are very elevated and pressed back, that's exactly what you want. But if your arm is rotated outwards at all (i.e. starting to actually dislocate), that's not right. The fact that you say you had a straight line and felt solid in the position is a good indicator. 

Thanks for the reply Hari!

What I mean with that position is the same sensation as the top position of

exercise I do. This feels like a "lock" (like in an overhead squat). In this lock I no longer feel tension in muscles and the wall hs seems "too easy". That's why I started to worry since there's no such this as a "free lunch". If stuff is still not clear I'll post a video soon (with and without this "lock")! 

That's actually pretty much exactly what you're going for. The ideal handstand is well stacked, meaning supported primarily through the skeletal structure rather than musculature. This is how you stand on your feet every day. It's much easier that way, though, because your hips are designed to stack without effort, whereas it can take a long time to learn how to properly stack the shoulders (and requires good mobility, too).

 

If you feel your shoulders "lock" and are no longer doing much work with your muscles that means you've successfully stacked your shoulders. 

 

If you feel like your shoulders could dislocate at any moment and have to actively resist to keep that from happening, you've gone too far. 

Thanks very much Hari. The position is too comfortable I didn't even know this existed! For more than a year the chest to wall handstand was my enemy #1 because my shoulders could not "open/lock" like this. Soon I'll post a video of my new line (I'm soo exited   !). 

That mobility work is ridiculously good, eh?

Ridiculously indeed! Here is a video I made today at home. The extra challange was to do it without a mirror. Note that I first search the "lock" by moving my hips forward. When the lock is accomplished I straighten my body out with the pelvic tilt. For me this is HUGE progress especially if I see

and video: in Coach Sommers words at that moment I could audition for a zombie role in I am Legend  ! Again: Thanks folks for the feedback and more feedback is always welcome!

 

P.S: I had to include

video also (watch where I come from!)

Yup, looks like you've got a nice clean shoulder line. Congratulations! 

 

 

It's going to take me a little while to reach that level of extension. I have 'bench press syndrome' pretty bad.   But between HS 1 mobility work and stretching work from Kit's Stretching and Flexibility, I'm hoping it shouldn't take too long. 

Me too Hari... I actually got in perfect alignment today after ~4 days of frequent (2-3x per day) of the first H1 IM and the moving version of it.

 

Granted, my hands are about 10 inches wider than they should be, but MAN does it feel different!!! It should be a matter of months before I have a super clean handstand, at least on the wall. I am really excited. I never thought I would feel that.

Rachid: That is, in fact, a really nice shoulder alignment. Congrats!

 

Edit: Just saw your June 2012 video lol... Let's just say I saw something familiar I too thought this was impossible!

 

You give me hope!

Joshua Naterman said:

Me too Hari... I actually got in perfect alignment today after ~4 days of frequent (2-3x per day) of the first HS1 IM and the moving version of it.

 

Granted, my hands are about 10 inches wider than they should be, but MAN does it feel different!!! It should be a matter of months before I have a super clean handstand, at least on the wall. I am really excited. I never thought I would feel that.

 

That's good to hear! I haven't actually done any Handstand 1 work yet because I'm focusing on skill/routine work for the next 6 weeks. I think I'm going to start integrating sets of H/iM work between skill sets, since that is one of my major deficiencies. 

Very nice alignment. I was a little skeptical about whether or not H1 would be worth my time/money. However, being completely self-taught, the peripheral mobility work that I haven't had much exposure to seems worthy enough on its own. My limited expertise in flexibility has probably hindered my progress in a number of aspects considerably, and I'm actively working to eliminate old habits. This is very enticing. Birthday in two weeks...

Thanks for the kind words guys! I'm also still far from near shoulder width with HS/iM1 but I'll keep working on this: it is a lot

easier to work mobility drills if you just know that they work  ! So let's put in some serious work and show each other

what's possible!

very good. i've tried it many times your position and of course is easier hold the handstand.

i found that from that position if you try to crawl your knees to the wall and reach the tuck handstand you have to generate a great active strength to maintain the shoulders extension and the face in contact with the wall...and of course cramps in my back every time that I have to lower the the inferior part of the legs!

Rachid, very good progress on that last video my friend. 

It's been said here but to say it again..

Do not train with the brakes on. If your mobility is holding you back, not amount of strength work will help you. Mobility before strength.

Hello guys! I noted that a couple of days after my "breakthrough" my rotator cuffs are messed up   . I did some search and noted that what I actually did to have that nice line was "wrong" according to

video around 3:57. This strange locked position is according to this video too open or hyperextended. At that moment I was warm and felt really comfortable but a couple of days later I got really sore in my shoulders. 

 

I wanted to warn you (the beginners especially) that this is NOT the position to be in. It took me several days to realize this (after learning some stuff about shoulder anatomy, and watching video's of people with good handstands).

 

I don't want to be a "party wrecker", I just want to keep it real!