Trouble getting arms up by ears in ABH

Hi All,

I've just started looking at Foundation One, and tried a few exercises out.  One thing right off the bat is that I can't get my arms (especially the right one) up by my ears.  I think this is due to two things, some pretty severe atrophy and an injury I got when I was in the military.  Does anyone have a suggestion for ways that I can kind of modify the exercise, to make a little easier as I work towards getting those arms up?  Has anyone tried putting something like a stack of books or whatever under their fists to cheat a bit?  Please let me know what you think.  Thanks.

If you started not that long ago, don't worry about it yet. Sometimes a few microcycles does wonders for mobility issues/gets your body more used to the position. Others can probably give ya some more specific mobility work if you supply a little more detail about your previous injury.

I would use the books, but not for cheating. Sometimes "cheating" helps: A pull up with band assist for instance... but in this case I think you'd be reinforcing incorrect patterns. In general, for most exercises, go as far as you are able comfortably, work up volume, then up the intensity (in this instance, arm height).

Instead, set the books up at a height you can just barely get over(I suggest doing this for hands and feet) and keep it constant for the microcycle before adjusting again. This way you can adjust with as small of increments as a magazine if need be, and still have the mental benefit of actual, visual progress. This will also help when testing mastery/microcycle, as if you graze your surface while testing, you know mastery is still a few yards away.

Are you following Handstand One as well? That's probably your best bet for fixing your shoulders.

OK as far as the books are concerned that is what I was thinking too, and no I haven't been following Handstand One.  I'll look into that.  Thanks.

Eric Thomson said:

OK as far as the books are concerned that is what I was thinking too, and no I haven't been following Handstand One.  I'll look into that.  Thanks.

The courses are technically separate, but there's a lot of synergy between them. I also seem to recall coach saying more or less that his athletes with the strongest handstands are the strongest overall as well.

But even if a perfect handstand isn't your goal, the shoulder exercises are totally worth it.

Eric Thomson said:

Hi All,

 

I've just started looking at Foundation One, and tried a few exercises out.  One thing right off the bat is that I can't get my arms (especially the right one) up by my ears.  I think this is due to two things, some pretty severe atrophy and an injury I got when I was in the military.  Does anyone have a suggestion for ways that I can kind of modify the exercise, to make a little easier as I work towards getting those arms up?  Has anyone tried putting something like a stack of books or whatever under their fists to cheat a bit?  Please let me know what you think.  Thanks.

Like many of us, you have tight shoulders and need to work on opening them. A lot of us have had success with H1 with respect to improving shoulder mobility, but I should warn you that it takes considerable consistency and time, and therefore quite a bit of faith. Good luck!

Actually, I think he was talking about PRESS handstands.