Shoulder Dislocates equipment

What do you recommend: PVC pipe or wooden dowel?

What diameter do you recommend?

Don't think it matters too much diameter wise. Just a comfortable grip. I would reccommend a dowel as there is no flex and you can add weight easier to it as you need. Just start as wide as you need to be smooth(as a buttered fox) and narrow very slowly.

You can always use a towel at first, or something else with some stretch in it.

I use a 10lb bar I bought in tesco for a fiver.  It's pretty good, but it's not very adjustable in terms of weight.

I've been using a resistance band for dislocates. But I tend to cheat with it. I recently started using a PVC pipe at my gym, and I find it to be far more effective than the band.

Hey everyone:

I've been using a 1" dowel for a while now, but after adding some weight plates, it broke. Has anyone found an acceptable solution for weighted dislocates? 

And by solution, I mean something to replace a wooden dowel...

I use metal pipe from the hardware store.  1 inch diameter and 5' long weighs about 5 lbs, then easy to add wt plates as needed.  I screw on end caps so it's a nice clean apparatus.  Could always fill w/ sand to make it heavier w/o wt plates if desired.  

If anyone is following this thread and ends up buying pipe from the hardware store, make sure you get the right diameter. Pipes marked 1" are larger than that on their external diameter. Probably obvious to everyone but news to me. 

take a metal pipe which has the same diameter of a wood bar.

What length of bar/dowel is everyone using for these? I am just starting out and have long arms. Four feet, the typical wooden dowel length, feels a bit short. Should I just hang out at 4' or look at something longer like the pipe mentioned? It makes sense in the future that will be plenty. I never gotten too far into the program and want to really give it a go this time.

Hey Scott,

Go as wide as you need for your proportions. The dislocate should not feel uncomfortable or forced. Weighted mobility should be steadily improved upon so if you need to begin wider than 4ft, go ahead and do so. The mobility exercises in the Handstand One course will safely prepare your shoulders for dislocates so if you work through those progressions first, you may not need a longer bar!

If you are extremely immobile , a band can be another option to reduce any associated elbow or forearm pain in in locates and dislocates while being more gentle through the top of the movements. This will also allow your shoulders to naturally go as wide or as narrow as they need to but keep them from going "too" wide.