SIDE LEVER

i started training for the side lever about 3 months ago and i can now hold it for about 6seconds or more but my only problem is that side lever is injuring my shoulder. I had to take 2 weeks off because of a stupid shoulder injury that i got while holding the side lever (human flag). is there anyway to prevent shoulder injury while training the side lever?

This is stating the obvious, but you are probably not strong enough to commence side lever holds.

First, did the injury occur as a result of pulling (upper arm) or pushing (lower arm)? Identify this, and work on strengthening the muscles involved in that action.

I like to jump to a completely inverted, vertical position and then lowering slowly into side lever. Gives more control, and also gives you the ability to stop before your strength fails you and then pull back up to inverted, thereby letting you train the transition for reps. This can be done in tuck, straddle, half lay, full lay.

There are many exercises that can be used to train for the side lever, and most of them can be scaled to suit your present level. However, if you haven't already, I suggest you get the Foundation series, doing that + hard work will give you the side lever + six other hard strength moves.

my lower arm got injured and i think i have enought strength to hold a side lever but it looks like my shoulder joints are weak becasue im felling pain on the joint not on my muscles

DiTi said:

my lower arm got injured and i think i have enought strength to hold a side lever but it looks like my shoulder joints are weak becasue im felling pain on the joint not on my muscles

"...i think i have enought strength to hold a side lever..." 

As Coach would say, your shoulder disagrees. It's probably not that your joints are weak per se, but that the musculature and connective tissue which supports that joint in a high-force situation is not yet developed enough to support the joint adequately. You need to develop these structures before going back to side levers. 

An analogy: If you couldn't squat 100 kilos solidly for reps, would you get under the bar with 250 kilos and expect not to get injured? Not only is it foolish, it is dangerous for your body, and in the worst case you may suffer an injury that you'll never recover fully from. The shoulder joint is highly mobile, and the price for this mobility is instability. If you don't spend time strengthening the shoulder in all conceivable angles, embarking on higher level strength moves may have pretty grim consequences.

The cheapest, yet most comprehensive way to accomplish this for an amateur is to get the Foundation series. Alternatively, learn from someone who knows what you need to train. However, such people can be hard to come by, and getting tuition from them is seldom cheap.

By the way, I am not trying to be condescending, just honest. Be safe and productive! 

DiTi said:

i think i have enought strength to hold a side lever 

cit : "your shoulder does not say the same thing" 

back off and look to foundation, it will build steel shoulders.

DiTi said:

my lower arm got injured and i think i have enought strength to hold a side lever but it looks like my shoulder joints are weak becasue im felling pain on the joint not on my muscles

You have enough strength to hold a side lever. 

That is not the same as having enough strength to train side levers. If you were strong enough to train side levers, you would not be injuring your shoulder by holding them.  

If you want to become strong enough to train side levers without injury, you need to take a few steps back and shore up your weak points. As mentioned, Foundation is the best way to do this. 

I strained my rotator cuff a year or so ago in a similar fashion training bent arm tuck planches.  I was strong enough to hold it, but not strong enough to fall into the position from straight arms (attempted a straight arm tuck planche, which I was not strong enough for), which is what happened on that occasion.  

So I would follow Ravn's advice, and start from vertical and lower to a level you feel comfortable holding.  This may be completely horizontal, but at least now you're easing into the hold, not jumping straight into it.  

On that note, does anyone have advice for getting into the vertical position?  Is it similar to a one arm handstand for strength requirements?

I think the Foundation Series (even better combine it w/ the Handstand Series) will get you to the Human Flag when you're ready and get you there w/ out injury.  But if you persist (and I can't say I would blame you if you did because the Human Flag is cool), just keep in mind that way too many people never fully recover from shoulder injuries so hopefully you will sort out the issue that caused the injury in the first place before making it worse.

I bought an X-Pole dance pole for my apartment so I could train the Human Flag at home (http://xpoleus.com/store/xpert-set-50mm-titanium-gold-p-629.html) and it awaits me when I'm ready.