sPL/SE1 > iM

Absolutely!

I've been working on trying to get the balance for a few weeks now 

yep, this is a though one! luckily I'm not yet there, but tried few times and can hold only 2/3 seconds....

It does seem like such a crazy jump... especially unexpected because it's an iM that seems more like a PE. I do see that part of learning this is getting over a fear/reaction reflex that I have leaning into and down into it, kind of like my body saying "woah, there is no way you can do this! you're gonna smash your face" but slowly over time I'm seeing that I can KINDA do it... at least not smashing my face (yet).

Still, after my first workout with these, a sudden and very strong DOMS in my whole upper back and lats that I never had before with any PL element, which says something.

Guys, just saw a post by Zach that makes complete sense regarding this iM element. 

https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/15851-tpp-scapula-cues/#entry154186

He says in essence, that keeping your scapula protracted and depressed even as you lower is why this is mobility.  I have been just toughing out this iM and managed actually to get 5 x 10 seconds, but it's quite painful and hard.  I tried it again with real focus on the scapular protraction and depression, and trying to hold it all the way down, and whoa! if it didn't make it so much easier and more solid.  I was so excited I had to share.  Hope it helps you too.

I am also trying this mobility exercise but have problems balancing. I feels as if I could be able to hold this position for several seconds, if not the whole 10 secs required for mastery if my lower body (i.e knees) didn't keep me rotating and hitting the floor. Clearly I am lacking some strength in some part of my body but it "feels" like it's a balace point issue and I don't know how to improve or correct. Even if I move by hands further down by my hips and bend my lower legs as far back as possible my knees/thighs end up hitting the floor. I have even tried to "kiss" the floor the entire time but my body ends up rotating so that my knees end up back on the floor.

Any tips?

Arnold

sounds like you may need some more hip extension. Are you piked a little if you take a pic of yourself doing this?  I thought i was straight and i video'd myself and low and behold i was piked a bit and didn't realize it.  

Taking a selfie while doing this has proven to be extremely difficult. But I have verified my "attempts" by looking at a mirror and confirm that my body is not piked during this skill. It really looks and feels as though I'm "bottom" heavy and thus keep rotating to the floor. 

Are my wrists the problem? Arms? Shoulders? Core? It's hard to know what I need to focus on to master this skill. Any ideas?

Arnold

Any advice anyone? Still having trouble with this! Very frustrating and feel like im not making any progress! Help!

I would keep persisting. It would be best to keep a video diary both for instant feedback and to see if you really have had zero improvement over time. Sometimes progress will be slow - I understand your frustration, I'm on my third month with this one. How long have you been working on it?

After 4 1\2 months on this one I now seem to be on a plateau. I can do the exercise horizontally but am not getting much increase in the hold time.

I think I will go back and re-affirm and increase the planche leans and PPPs.

Hi LateStarter@46,

In this thread:

https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/14165-my-little-spl-se1-im-ba-spl/

I posted an example how I built up the strength for this exercise. Maybe this can help you?

Another option is to tie an elastic band around your waist and around your rings/pullup bar in order to reduce some of your bodyweight. This way you can continue training the same exercise but with a bit less weight to carry.

Thank you markp, those are variations that I will try. It will be good to have different ways of tackling this plateau. I'm looking forward to achieving this iM so much!

glad to see, there are a lot people with the same wall in front of them

so close to hold it in my last attempt, tried it right now my first time, but i already know that my wrists have to adapt a lot to do this better...

2 questions:

- i'm doing f7 twice a week and 2 x h1, is it better to combine this S1 sPL iM with my handstand days?

i would prefer it because i think my wrists need some prep/warm up, so h1 would be perfect right?

- is it ok to do this sPl stuff on parallettes? or is there any prob with it, except it would be harder for me to show my skills on the ground hehe

I just did mastery of this element (both PE and iM) this morning. Complicated, but I could handle it. Need some refinement but its OK.

I feel it as a bottom part of a PPP mixing with the previus iM's from sPL on a table. If you're strugglin with these, of course you will struggle with the iM. 

Adressing bottom strenght (PPP) and glute strenght (previous sPL mobility) is neccesary for this.

The funny thing is I also felt the iM as a PE and viceversa.

Cheers!

PD: First post on this forum. Nice to see you!

Good job Adriano, I am curious to know how much time you spent working on PPP? And do you think the inability to demonstrate mastery of  the iM indicates a lack of work on hbp/pe3

Nice one Adriano! :-)

Hope to join you soon.

Meras, this is my mastery for HBP/PE2 on June 21 2013. Righ away I passed to PPP. I got injured earlier this year on my left wrist so I had to go back and do the damm pushups again just for the sake of recovery, but when I healed (2 months ago I think) I came back to PPP.

https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/11066-hbppe2-mastery-form-check/?p=115855

Is curious how the exercises are correlated. This iM is in sPL elements, but to get it right you need bottom strenght, then you've to have your PPP check that is a HBP progression, and then, you cannot have a quality PPP if you're not mastered Planche Leans before, and you cann't have a great PL if you haven't build the correct scap position/body tension along alll the other sPL element. Funny isn't? And of course, checking a little reading for this forum and for this iM in particular, lacking of previous sPL/iM strenght correlated to poor glute activation in this iM. So maybe is not all glute strenght, but definitely you've to have a little to get those legs up!

Master the basics. That's the fundamental.

LateStarter, thanks!

Yes I have noticed that everything is interrelated, even with H1 compliments everything and vice versa. 

Nice write up of the common problem with the element! The element is VERY new to me and right now it seems to also be a challenge on the mental level, if that makes sense. Like you said, there is a lot of correlation between the exercises and on this particular element a lot of them come together. Here you have to keep balance while suspended in air, extend the hips and prevent arching of the back and lat support all at the same time.

Currently I can do it for 5 seconds at a time but after that I sometimes touch the ground seth my quads or start arching. So just curious, were you able to do 5x10 on first go? That would be most impressive.

I tried Mark's (markp) suggestion of using bands to assist with the balance point and strength development today. Found that my hands are at and below the level of my iliac crests. I haven't been doing PPPs at this ?extreme angle so I guess I should go back and re-do the push ups and leans. Feeling like I'm on a giant Snakes and Ladders board :-)

Once again Adriano, nice one! Have you got a new nemesis now ;-)

I'm still in the process of mastering PPP and I'm still in sPL/PE6 but I have been playing with this element.

In my opinion one mistake is to try to get into the position the same way as Coaches athletes do it. If you're having trouble try to enter it from a bent arm tuck planche. So place your bent arms on the floor protract and depress as hard as you can (this is fundamental), in this position "spreading" the floor is a cue that works for me and slowly lean till your feet leave the floor naturally. Now lean more and as your lean spread your legs into the 1/2 straddle. You'll need to push with your glutes, so you'll know if you have been slacking off in the previous iMs. This way I think it's easier to build volume into it as the bent arm tuck planche is easy to hold and you'll get some practice with the extending the hip into the half straddle, rather than try to replicate the practiced ease into which Coaches athletes get into this position.

Personally I'll be on HBP PE3 till I'm able to hold this position as I've been told that it's a good way to gauge if you've really mastered HBP/PE3. 

So just curious, were you able to do 5x10 on first go? That would be most impressive.

Yes. I said it needs some refinement because sometimes I lose balance for a moment, but it was overall good even if the first try. I make an emphasis on the fact of PPP and previous sPL iM's for the development of this iM.

Once again Adriano, nice one! Have you got a new nemesis now ;-)

Sincerely I won't with this iM same as I was with others in F1, so, no nemesis for now

dritar said:

I'm still in the process of mastering PPP and I'm still in sPL/PE6 but I have been playing with this element.

 

In my opinion one mistake is to try to get into the position the same way as Coaches athletes do it. If you're having trouble try to enter it from a bent arm tuck planche. So place your bent arms on the floor protract and depress as hard as you can (this is fundamental), in this position "spreading" the floor is a cue that works for me and slowly lean till your feet leave the floor naturally. Now lean more and as your lean spread your legs into the 1/2 straddle. You'll need to push with your glutes, so you'll know if you have been slacking off in the previous iMs. This way I think it's easier to build volume into it as the bent arm tuck planche is easy to hold and you'll get some practice with the extending the hip into the half straddle, rather than try to replicate the practiced ease into which Coaches athletes get into this position.

 

Personally I'll be on HBP PE3 till I'm able to hold this position as I've been told that it's a good way to gauge if you've really mastered HBP/PE3. 

I will try this next time with spreaded legs, should make it a little bit easier, leverage haha

What is it about extending the hips, i mean it just means straight body for me, or am i wrong?how can you do this without extending the hips, wouldnt this end up in a rounded back?

maybe i miss the point

yesterday i had my second session with this im, the pe is really simple of course, i trained on sand, my wrists had to work very hard on this.

in some trys i could hold my self like 1 sec in the air, it felt like its no strength problem for the upper body, just the balance stuff. i'm not sure if just training it over and over again makes me better in getting the right technique.

feels like my hands must be way under my hip level to counterbalance, but the athlete isnt.

so i tested a lot and i think, the biggest problem is, if you try to get into position like the video guy you will go in this movement with a lot of momentum and this just comes back of course and you cannot hold balance, you are a human swing in that case, your arms are the rack.

theraband sounds pretty good, but i will try to get in position like you said, without the swing and hope this works.

i like this im, because even if its hard and takes a while, it will surely bring some nice strength gains with it

Agree. I'm using a band suspended from a barbell such that it just holds my hips off the floor, then with my hands at the same level of the band (way way down!) I push up so I come off the band and hold for time. Once I get to 10s+ I'll go back and work on the entry movement.

The easiest way of getting into the position is to start with the knees and hands on the floor while the body is already in a half straddle and then bend and lean forward with the arms while simultaneously trying to lift your hips off the floor. That way you can enter into the position right away and you shouldn't really have to make any adjustments.

The hardest way (strength wise) to enter the position is to push up into it from prone position.