Clasping hands behind the shoulder blade - Worth achieving?

[Mikkel Ravn]

I've never been able to clasp my hands behind my back like this.

 

Is this worth spending time and effort on, and if so, how do I train for it? I would imagine that holding on to a towel and pulling/stretching one arm into position with the other could be a viable option?

[Colin Macdonald]

This is something I have in mind to achieve. I personally think that working on strengthening and mobilizing any weak or stiff area is worth your time, even if it doesn't translate directly to a gymnastics move.

 

A towel can work, or you can do it with a partner and have them pull your hands together which will allow you a much higher degree of relaxation into the stretch.

[Cody Ward]

I can only do this on my left side, lol

[Richard Hamilton]

I can only do this on my left side, lol

At least you can do it on one side Cody!

[Connor Davies]

I've never been able to clasp my hands behind my back like this.

 

Is this worth spending time and effort on, and if so, how do I train for it? I would imagine that holding on to a towel and pulling/stretching one arm into position with the other could be a viable option?

It's a good triceps stretch I suppose, as well as an overhead shoulder opener.  Whether it's worth achieving depends on what you're really trying to achieve.  The reverse prayer position is a more effective retraction stretch, and I prefer lord-of-the-fishes to stretch my triceps because it works my entire lateral chain (so I reckon it's more efficient)  The stretches in F1 should be more than enough for your overhead mobility.

 

Then again, if you can't do it, you should probably work on it.  It's not a particularly difficult stretch (I mean compare it to a bridge or an oversplit lol)

 

Using a towel is a great way to start training for it.  Just slowly inch your hands closer together each session.

[Kate Abernethy]

Yes!

 

I could do this in my twenties and have lost it. Working on getting it back again - lots of shoulder stretches will get you there.

He-who's-name-I'm-forever-repeating has the exact stretches in his book.

[Christoph Pahl]

I know this mainly as a test of rounded upper back - I could do it before I started to climb so much, and now I'm miles away. It's certainly better to fix your rounded back than to do some very specific stuff for this very specific test. A rounded upper back also causes forward head posture, and so is discussed at the moment in Has anyone here had success in fixing forward head posture?

[Mikkel Ravn]

Ok, Ill check that thread, although I think my back is fine

[Eric Baum]

I can do this so easily on one side, while at the other it is not even close