HS-PE5

Should the belly touch the ground with this exercise? 

I really can not help you. Not there yet.

Just waiting for FredInChinas post "No, you shoud hover"

The focus points are to keep the chin and chest on the floor. Belly will end up touching the floor. To get it off you'd have to PPT but the demonstration shows a neutral spine.

Guys, as per Coach's advice at today's aus seminar; we're trying to replicate a handstand position and . Ie hollow/PPT, ribs pulled down and light pressure of the chest and was on the floor. If should only be shoulders flexing, no upper back moving away from the floor. If we do all the above correct then the weighted bar should lift gently off the ground as the scapulae move back and down. Your grip should be as wide as your arms in a freestanding handstand.

Thanks guys for the reply. I noticed a significant difference in the difficulty of the exercise when I lift the belly of the ground, while keeping the chest on the ground and pulling the ribs in. The traps need to work a lot harder and this made me wonder what the correct execution of the exercise should be. The back of the boy in the video wasn't straight, so I concluded that he wasn't using posterior pelvic tilt. Now I get back to work! 

James Hall said:

...we're trying to replicate a handstand position and . Ie hollow/PPT, ribs pulled down and light pressure of the chest and was on the floor...as the scapulae move back and down....

Man, you know, this just really pisses me off that it wasn't in the notes or video.

Video doesn't show PPT, certainly not even close to the PPT shown in the similar movement PE10 iM. And if we're trying to replicate a handstand position, why are the scapulae supposed to be back and down if Coach tells us to elevate in the handstand and handbalancer says to elevate and protract??? I'm extremely frustrated that the video doesn't show the correct form.

Aside, thank you for your clarifications James Hall.

Picture what your ribs, pelvis etc will be doing in a wall handstand with hands close to the wall.  This exercise allows active shoulder flexion using the traps.  Unless your feeling the work in the traps your spine is arched.  None of these exercises exist in isolation so why not add in PPT and feel the shoulders working.  This is the form we worked on in the Aussie seminar this past weekend.  Remember that the exercise in question is way below what the athlete is capable of so we as beginners need to work to achieve the position even if the video doesn't explicitly show it.  If more was included in the course then it would get confusing very quickly.  If you think about what each exercise is designed to do then you can find your own best posture.

I don't remember Coach saying scapula down and back. To do that the lower traps have to contract concentrically, which makes the upper traps relax. The upper and lower traps do not co-contract. To get the upper traps to work so much they almost cramp means the scapula elevate as they do in the handstand. Keeping the chin up so you can see the hands make this exercise harder as the upper traps are contracting in a shortened position. Coach recommended to do this to replicate the position of handstand.

Haha I'm sure I missed he important bits of his demonstration of this exercise. I think I got the main points. Does that mean scapulae should be elevated? I do remember him talking about ribs down and shoulders elevated is doing opposing actions. Anything I missed Mark/other seminar grads?

- The scapula will NEVER be down and back during a HS.  Always fully elevated.  Mark's comments are spot on.

- In a seminar environment I correct everything at once.  As far as the online course is concerned you will first work on shoulder flexion and then concern yourself with PPT.  

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

I am sure this is the exercise that is responsible for my upper traps being sore all the way up to my neck. Humbled by a wooden stick and 1.25kg that I couldn't lift off the floor!

Coach Sommer said:

... As far as the online course is concerned you will first work on shoulder flexion and then concern yourself with PPT....

But if we don't PPT in PE5 doesn't that mean we won't be working shoulder flexion in our maximum ROM?

Yes, however you must also keep in mind where you are in your training process.

As a beginner in the initial stages of HS training, your shoulder flexion will of necessity not be as proficient as it will become later. This is nothing to be frustrated about, it simply is what it is and is a natural part of the learning process.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach Sommer said:

- The scapula will NEVER be down and back during a HS.  Always fully elevated.  Mark's comments are spot on.

 

- In a seminar environment I correct everything at once.  As far as the online course is concerned you will first work on shoulder flexion and then concern yourself with PPT.  

 

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

This makes sense to me and it gives me an idea/suggestion for an extra mobility element in HS one, namely: after good shoulder flexion and PPT are achieved  (in my case PPT, apart from being upside down, has never been a problem) one should do HS-PE5 with PPT. 

Anyways: thanks for clarifying things up!

Thanks for highlighting that coach