Scapula posture problem

Hello gymnasts!

I have already read lots of posts of people helping other people here on Gymnastic Bodies, and now I thought I'd make a topic myself, asking for some help.

So here's the problem: Even when standing up, feeling like my posture is right, I notice my scapula sticking out, also in a relaxed position. When I try to make my scapula not stick out, the posture I than get feels really unnatural. Is this in any way bad, and if so, what can I do to make it not stick out while keeping a good posture. 

Thanks in advance,

Adriaan

Pictures of both positions would likely help us to help you

Here are some pictures. As you can see, I have no trouble getting my scapula flat when protracted, but I do have a winging scapula standing up straight. 

Also, in this video I do a tucked bent planche, in which my scapula is terribly sticking out. A friend of mine afterwards also tried doing this and he did it with a completely flat upper back. 

Hey Adriaan, I also have some postural problems and the physio I saw a couple of months ago said my right scapula was winging a bit. My body is full of imbalances from old injuries and my previous job.

I spent a lot of time injuring myself and trying to assess/correct the problems with little success until I started using the F1 & H1 courses. In my limited experience both of these programs will help with the problems you're having... they'll help you identify weaknesses, get the right muscles firing and the weak links worked. For me they've been an excellent way to assess and start correcting my terrible mobility and kitten like strength. I'd highly recommend both courses and the mobility work alone is worth the cost.

There may be other stuff going on so it's worth seeing a professional to look at you... they may be able to give you more insight to the problems you're having. 

Just out of interest... when you try to make your scapula not stick out how long do you hold that posture for? Have you thought about going for a walk with your shoulder in this different position and waiting to see what starts to get tired? I do this frequently when I take my dog out and it can help you identify the weak spots while trying to reinforce better posture. What training are you doing at the moment?

Your YT vid is listed as private btw

Doesn't look winging to me, even if your shoulders are very much internally rotated on the second video.

You appear perfectly normal on the pics.

The video is private.

The video is private!

Richard Hamilton said:

Hey Adriaan, I also have some postural problems and the physio I saw a couple of months ago said my right scapula was winging a bit. My body is full of imbalances from old injuries and my previous job.

 

I spent a lot of time injuring myself and trying to assess/correct the problems with little success until I started using the F1 & H1 courses. In my limited experience both of these programs will help with the problems you're having... they'll help you identify weaknesses, get the right muscles firing and the weak links worked. For me they've been an excellent way to assess and start correcting my terrible mobility and kitten like strength. I'd highly recommend both courses and the mobility work alone is worth the cost.

 

There may be other stuff going on so it's worth seeing a professional to look at you... they may be able to give you more insight to the problems you're having. 

 

Just out of interest... when you try to make your scapula not stick out how long do you hold that posture for? Have you thought about going for a walk with your shoulder in this different position and waiting to see what starts to get tired? I do this frequently when I take my dog out and it can help you identify the weak spots while trying to reinforce better posture. What training are you doing at the moment?

 

Your YT vid is listed as private btw

Thank you Richard!

I will soon go to my doctor, to see what he has to say about it. However, I'm only sixteen so I can't really relate the problem to old injuries and previous jobs. This makes me wonder how it is possible. It might be my training. I do use F1 for some of the exercises but I don't keep a strict schedule regarding F1. 

I can hold the posture for quite a long time, only thing is, when standing up, my neck becomes uncomfortable. 

The training I do now is mainly focussed on (one-legged) L-sits, pike flexibility, for achieving the V-sit, and different kinds of pushups. I also want to focus on planche training, in which the arms are locked out and thus my upper back flattened, but due to some pain in my forearm, I am giving planche training rest for probably two weeks.

The video should be watchable now.

Thanks again for your helpful response!

You need to be spending time with the first few PE exercises for straddle planche in F1.

One of the most important things to learn is how to use your serratus anterior actively, and this takes a lot of practice. If you go to http://www.muscleactivation.com/find-a-specialist/ and there is someone in your area, I recommend getting them to help you with this specific issue.  

On your own, you can try using the following exercise:

straddle planche PE2, perhaps performed on the wall first. If the upper arm is not completely vertical with the ground, you may have trouble. If on the wall, have the upper arm perpendicular to the wall.

use this for several sets of 5 second contractions and ~20s rests, with the goal being to FEEL serratus anterior working (not to work as hard as you can... the purpose here is to learn how to actively use the muscle).  Here is where that muscle is: You can use google image search to find more pictures. When you feel this muscle, it may feel like lats a little bit, or it may feel like your rib cage is flexing.

After you can feel the serratus, try using PE1 for the specified sets and reps. Make sure you can feel this muscle working the whole time. You may find that it helps to do this in the PE2 position at first, which is actually slightly harder in terms of pure strength.