PPP Form Check

I would like some feedback on this! specifically are my scapula protracted enough, and am I leaning far enough forward? I feel like i could protract more, especially at the end there. Be very nitpicky, I'm tired of having an epiphany and having to start an element over because I was doing it OK, but not perfect!

You're not going in a straight line up and down. When you push back up, you aren't maintaining the same amount of lean. An easy way to understand this is to put your head against a wall when you do PPPu. If your head isn't constantly in contact with the wall, you aren't maintaining the lean.


Also, if you want more planche specific strength, at the top, you need to round your back more.

Wow, I didn't even notice. I did it with my head to a wall, and it made it about 3 times harder. I have a lot of work to do on this it seems. I may grease the groove to get the proper lean at the top. 

Would you say it is better to over exaggerate the rounded back and then dial it down, in the interest of learning/developing strength? Or simply go for the roundness seen in F1 material?

I'd say go for the rounded back. It'll have a better carry over for when you start doing tuck planche push-ups and you'll have an easier time pushing back to the hollow position at the top.

Head against the wall is a great tip Cody - thanks 

It looks like some progress. I'm still not happy with it The alignment of my head to the closet door is very telling. I am having difficulty keeping my back rounded on the way up, I almost have to reset each time I get to the top. any tips to keep it round? or am I simply not strong enough yet?

Also, you're pretty piked at the hips.

Vincearoo said:

Also, you're pretty piked at the hips.

This and also, it does take some practice to get used to going back to hollow at the top. My advice would be to decrease your amount of lean and focus on perfect form. Use an amount of lean where you can get 4 or 5 reps and work on that for a couple weeks then if your form is perfect, start increasing the lean.

I think there was collective agreement in a previous thread on a similar subject that in order to keep your head brushed up against a wall, you need to be able to allow your feet to slide back and forth (furniture sliders, socks on hardwood, etc).  The other, possibly more recommended approach, was to keep your toes against the wall with feet fully dorsiflexed.

I'm getting conflicting information. Searching through the forums, I found that subject, as well as people saying that the feet should not move. In fact in the F1 video the feet do not move, and he is leaning farther at the bottom than at the top (his head is completely in frame at the top, slightly out of frame at the bottom). If the feet don't move back, it is impossible to keep my head in the same place without piking my hips. Is it true that your head should be in line in a full plance push up, but not for a PPP? It also does seem more challenging to keep the feet in place, as when I slide my feet back, there is more leverage.

Honestly, I'm not too sure about the feet thing. The amount of lean is all the really matters IMO. In any of the next progressions of planche push-ups, if you don't maintain the same lean, your body won't be horizontal. When I do PPPu my feet slide a little bit. Not a huge amount, just a little.


Also, a couple of the exercises demonstrated in F1 aren't perfect form. I'm sure you've seen in the forums what I'm talking about. 

 

Like speed skater squats... 

Here it is with less lean. This move is both easier and harder than I thought. Easier strength-wise, but harder technically. After doing it more, I can see that keeping the back round at the top will definitely take practice, its just such a different feeling. On the bright side, I can feel my pecs working more now, which is great, cause they are too small :,(

I am not worrying about my feet sliding or not. I am focusing on no piked hips, rounding my back, and keeping protraction. Not the best angle for seeing protraction though.

JasonDupree said:

Is it true that your head should be in line in a full plance push up, but not for a PPP? It also does seem more challenging to keep the feet in place, as when I slide my feet back, there is more leverage.

Your head will be pretty much in line in a full planche push-up. For the PPP, your head will pretty much be in line if you slide your feet back slightly as you descend, but if you don't let the feet slide then your head will be farther forward at the bottom than at the top. The reason it's more challenging if you keep your feet in place is because of the extra lean at the bottom. Both are acceptable, but you will get more out of the exercise if you don't slide your feet since most people don't start out anywhere near the full lean at the top so you can lean more at the bottom in the bent arm position to increase the difficulty.

B1214N said:

Both are acceptable, but you will get more out of the exercise if you don't slide your feet

Well I'm more of a "the best way is the only way" kinda guy, so I won't slide my feet. Thank you for the clarification. All of these suggestions have been really helpful!

I guess it also depends on how you look at it. One can argue that you are losing the lean at the top if your feet remain in place and likewise another can argue that you are not leaning more at the bottom. Since you can't reach the full lean yet at the top then you definitely made the right choice with not sliding the feet to increase the difficulty at the bottom. Basically, you want to lean as much as you can throughout the full ROM even if the lean will not be the same all the way.