KibboKift said:
Another idea I had was a weighted stretch where you would lie supine on a bench to keep your back straight, then you would hold dumbells and let your arms hang vertically. I haven't found anywhere suitable to try that one yet though.
That's not a bad idea but problem would be getting a bench or anything for that matter which is that high. Also, you would need to be at a gym unless you have your own collection of dumbbells, and you have no control on intensity of stretch once you begin. With the modified german hang I used, I kept my feet on the ground for the simple reason that the stretch was painful as it was, but also, it gave me more control of how much load and ROM in the stretch I could put on in the moment.
Be careful though as it's not only a question of hanging as your feet on the ground gives you a base in which you can therefore pull your arms further apart to make it easier. I did have to concentrate somewhat to make sure my arms were as close to shoulder width as possible, imitating the iM. So I would feel some activation in my traps with the stretch. Don't forget I done the stretch after my F4 work (FL,sPL,HPB,RC), not on my H1 days just simply because my rings would be up already so I might as well use them. This way seemed to work just fine though I don't know how it would differ if you changed it to H1 days. Also I done it this way considering that H1 half the time I would only do once a week. Thinking about it though, that might prove that the stretch is that effective then lol.
KibboKift said:
I am inclined to agree with you on this one. I know the usual advice is that some weight is necessary to achieve the correct activation, but I think if you're so tight that you are really fighting your antagonist muscles to get enough ROM, then that is resistance enough. Probably better to go very wide with a little weight than narrower with no weight though, assuming you can get your arms horizontal.
Never even thought of widening my arms haha. Just stuck with iM and my modified german hang stretch at 2 x 20 seconds. Of course maybe doing 60 seconds total time would be more beneficial of course. But I don't think anymore than that is necessary. In terms of training the right muscle groups, no weight for me would still leave me feeling it the next day. As I said, quite a bit of contraction required to lift my arms as high I could.