HS/PE1 form check

Shit  I mean HS/IM1 lol. Since I started gymnastics mobility has been the number one issue for me.  I've been doing more mobility work the last 2 months and plateaued here. 

It takes some time getting into it... I think I have spent 6 months on the first im cause I was so incredibly immobile. But finally I think it's okay.

For you, I would make sure to:
-tilt the wrists back (see left hand, pic #2 vs right hand same pic)
-shrug the shoulders up hard - for me, this makes all the difference in terms of how far I can move
-move each hand in about 1/2 fist
-not flex so much at the lumbar spine, try pushing your navel to your thighs as you lean in (Note: Do maintain PPT, I think the key is to have PPT, not flex at the spine - but maybe someone else can comment on that)

This should hopefully help you open more at the shoulders. You are at like 170 degrees now and should be able to go beyond 180.

Yes, the back should be straight from tail to the shoulders/bottom of neck. Looks like you might want to do some stretching/self massage around the hips/glutes/etc. to help you lean a little more/open up your hips which would also help the back straighten out.

 

As for moving the hands in, I would suggest just the opposite. AFAIK mastery is with the thumb side of your hand in line with the outside of your delts. So you might even be a little close. Regardless, if you're looking to increase ROM the general rule is to move the hands out a little and/or also drop some weight...which there is none .

 

Coach has stated that you absolutely need to do this w/ weight, no matter how small, to recruit the correct muscles.

 

So my suggestion is to add 3-5lbs, move the hands out until you are able to do past 180, then start moving in very slowly from there. And by very slowly I mean potentially millimeters per cycle.

I moved my hands wider and relaxed my lumbar area and tried to lean forward, my shoulders now move past 180 degrees, but definitely tight in my medial glutes and hips.  For the longest time I wasn't feeling a stretch even when I added 15 lbs.  Widening my arms, now i feel it.   I don't know what PPT and AFAIK means ^^;; haven't been able to find those terms in the handstand series.  Also mastery I'm a little unclear.  I put a picture with arrows for where my thumbs should be at.

 

-Thank you guys holy I've been stuck and frustrated with this,  I feel so dumb for not widening my grip lol.

PPT is posterior pelvic tilt. So think hollow hold, when you tuck your hips under and just the flat of your back is touching the ground. It doesn't really apply in the same sense here in that some people will have to tilt either way depending on their mobility issues. The main thing is that the back remains flat, whether that means you need to tuck under a bit or arch a bit.

 

AFAIK is just short for 'as far as I know.' Interwebz speak.

 

AFAIK the blue arrows are the ones you want your thumb side to be in line with. I'll track down the post where that was said in my Evernote database if anyone wants it.

Good to hear you made improvements, small things matter =) For me, just learning to shrug painfully hard up before opening the shoulders made a world of difference.

For the PPT in seated position, I tried thinking hollow body, my back looks pretty much the same.  I'm not sure if its because my glutes and hips are really tight preventing me from extending as much to get a straight back.  (in the photos i was thinking arch like sticking your but out like you would for a dead lift)  Or if it is something completely different all together.  

I think the problem is your lack of mobility in the hips that is causing the rounded back. No matter how much you focus on PPT, your upper back is going to round significantly to compensate for the lack of lean.

 

Here's another thread that might clear it up.

Ahh yeah it looks like arching gives the illusion of shoulder mobility.  I'll try stretching out my glutes and hips a bit more and see if that will help me get my back straight.  I'll post pics back in a few weeks.  Thanks guys, probably saved me many hours of frustration! 

How does this look now?

Back still looks a little curved in places. Try keeping your head up a little more, that helped me. Not completely chin up or anything but more looking ahead than down.

 

Some more lean at the hips might straighten out the back as well. Do you know what the limiting factor is in your lean...hips, glutes, knees, etc.? That would be the place to start. Some hip flexor stretching might help...it could even be the ankles.

I will try the lean, I'm not feeling much tightness in my glutes, i might have raised my knees up because I'm thinking a lot of pushing up as high as i can with our arching with a hollow chest.  I'm not sure where I'm seeing the curve in my back, because I have a bit of love handle around that area that developed since i started training at the club I'm at, and all of the male gymnasts have it for some reason loool.  I'll take pics again when I'm back in. 

It's not bad, just a little arch in the mid back/thorasic region. I'm not sure if that would effect mastery or not, just something to keep in mind. Think of it this way: If you put a dowel on your back starting at the bottom of the neck and have it go to your tailbone it should be pretty much in contact with the back the whole way without any gaps.

 

Again, I think the focus on this iM is more on the shrugging and pulling back using the traps though so I wouldn't perseverate on it.

Awesome thanks! i'll keep workin at it.  I also think I'll be doing the Pe2 Im because when I extend my shoulders back it is soo bad no where near 90 degrees.  I feel like my triceps flexing hard , stopping me from moving further up.