HS/PE2>iM forever!

Hey everybody,

This mobility element is great, but has me stuck on my head for the past 6 months.  I've read many posts on this element and would appreciated any input on cues for this.

- retract shoulder blades at beginning of movement

- After that when the arms are raised elbow pits (antecubital region) rotate out.  This is contrary to advice given in this post.  To keep elbow pits down.

https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/14698-pe2-im-additional-work/?hl=%20elbow%20%20pit%20%20down

Am I doing something wrong?  

Also wonder how others are putting tension on the bar.  Are you guys trying to pull the bar apart as you lift or push your hands together?

I have not found a forum topic addressing this question, if I missed it somewhere point me in the right direction  .  Thanks all.

I've been on this for about 9 months (maybe more, maybe less) as I had very tight shoulders. I've finally gotten mastery ROM and I'm just finishing up the micro cycle.

Retracting definitely helps me but I don't worry about armpits or elbows, just concentrate on straight arms.

The foundation IM's also help a lot, so depending on where you are in the course you might get a lot of cross over.

For me ROM was gained slowly and diligently, no shortcuts or tips, just time and effort. Stick with it.

After hitting mastery for the head stand I started working on the yoga style elbow stand just the change things up, you could always find something you want to work on that isn't too intense?

Try to pull apart on the bar. And keep the elbows down. 

For me ROM was gained slowly and diligently, no shortcuts or tips, just time and effort. Stick with it.

Same here. Almost 12 months with it, and I guarantee you the recipe is exactly what Murray says. In fact, is the recipe for the whole GBodies curriculum. What's more, in life too, any aspect.

Now I undestand what Coach always said about that GST builds a character, an attitude in your life. This training has a lot of carryover to more things that skills and physique... food for thought.

Cheers! Keep training!

OMG !

Im scared now that im gona be stuck with this IM for Sooooo long, I hope I master it in less than 3 months.

But the IM mastery is like in the video right? The athletes arms are about shoulder width apart ?

Shoulder width is correct. I should point out that I started with very poor shoulder mobility. My first attempt looked more like an iron cross than an extension, my hands were so far apart.

This might not be the case for you, but if it is, it's worth every minute.

Murray, Duff and Adriano, thanks.

Not just for the cues and tips on technique, which are gold, but for reminding me of the context of how real improvements come about.

Y'know, I've been a long time lerker on these forums, and am speechless how supportive and responsive this community is.

Thanks again 

Darn! I just realized that the upcoming Live Q&A with Coach Sommer doesn't include material from H1!

I was looking forward to possibly getting a straight answer about that elbow rotation =(

I was making slow but steady progress with outward rotating elbows. However, I've made no progress so far with downward-facing elbow-pits. The passive flexibility is there, but the active flexibility doesn't seem to be coming...

how many of you guys have taken a lacrosse ball(or something along that vein) and massaged all along the collarbone and around your pec minor? 

spoiler: it'll sting....

I am excited to share that after trying this iM for 3 weeks I finally managed to get the bar to move 

The pole that I had been using turned out to be too short for my total zombie level of flexibility. I grabbed a broom pole and had my arms at either end (like an iron cross) with 2.5 kg, followed the advise in this thread and actually got the bar to horizontal. It's unbelievable how much I can feel the muscles working as the bar reaches shoulder height  compared to being fairly unsure of the main movers when I could barely move it. 

I suspect that I'm going to be stuck here for quite some time but that's Ok. Now that I've actually got a feel for the movement at least there's a tunnel of light to be seen in 

I'm going to try a lacrosse ball on my Anterior delts for next time to see if that helps, because I felt a strong pull/stretch o them.

Cheers

Ben

Well done mate. It's a tough IM but absolutely worth sticking with.

Edit: spelling

Very true Murray. I was jus saying to my wife today that I need to change my whole way of thinking with this program.... Those things I find most difficult are the things I most need to work on.

I'm really excited to be building a body that will last a lifetime of playing with my young sons and then onwards after they've outgrown that. Hopefully I'll transition to a role model for exercise!

Cheers

Ben

BenHack said:

things I find most difficult are the things I most need to work on.

 

This will be the key to success. Even though It´s the least fun for the moment, you´ll be so happy and it will open so many other doors for the future.

Thanks Mats!

I have had success with stretching before the iM, it makes a huge difference in ROM. Stretch by grabbing the pole behind you with hands both forward and backward (2 different excercises), find something to hold the pole in position behind you back, retract and sit down while 

the pole stays in place. 

Ask if you have any question.

Thanks Shaolintobbe. I'll have to give it a go.

Cheers

Ben

Murray,

You say you spent 9months on hs/pe2>Im, did you just carry on including this into the rest of your handstand work even though you had achieved mastery for hs/pe2?

Hope this makes sense.

RossyL said:

Murray,

 

You say you spent 9months on hs/pe2>Im, did you just carry on including this into the rest of your handstand work even though you had achieved mastery for hs/pe2?

 

Hope this makes sense.

You don't move on from HS/PE2, until you've mastered HS/PE2>iM, the same applies to every other exercises

I have found the following is helping me in this:

Find a squat rack / weight bench.

Put the bar at shoulder level

Grasp the bar with the correct grip for PE2>iM and use this as a static stretch assistance exercise.

I have also found that slowly bending my knees whilst keeping the arms straight also gives an additional stretch which is definitely increasing my ROM.

Hope that this makes sense?

While is a good stretch and for sure it will help, you guys have to remember that HS/iM2 sometimes it is not just lack of flexibillity but lack of specific strenght.

Yeah, I know that it sounds silly don't have strenght to hold 2/3kg, but assuming the position and the forces applied, is just not easy.

Even more, if you want to know if is a lack of strenght rather than flexibility, do this (that is the same that prob1 has suggested)

If you can do it without issues and with a good body position, then is time to improve the strenght! 

Hope it helps.

Thanks Adriano

I'll have to give this a go. I'm definitely finding that stretching my anterior delt and chest is having good benefits any way but I know there's also a strength component as well. I mentioned in another thread earlier this week that I think there's a motor pattern training component to  this iM as well. I've found that immediately following the iM I can move my hands closer together and do 5 reps more easily than the initial lift. This seems to go away before I come back to the iM again. With any luck adding these extra 'reps' in will help me 'grease the groove' of the correct muscles and start developing strength in the right places. I will conquer this iM and I know that my shoulders will love me for it.

Cheers

Ben

I limber up for a few breaths with this on H1 days. first with a wide grip(hands all the way to the ends of the dowel), then with a shoulder width grip. same idea behind Adrianno's stretch, only im hanging. i like to hang out.

tucking the tail and breathing into my upper chest is what i shoot for here. i put a bit of tension into my pecs while i inhale and exhale, i sink to the bottom and actively open my chest. then i relax. repeat. it's like a baby german hang.  

I have been working on this iM for about 9 months with, as far as I can tell, 0 progress...

I have, dare I say, very good passive flexibility in the extension (no problem emulating Adriano & Keilani's pictures), and am only a couple of inches away from mastery on overgrip dislocates. I can even perform this iM at about shoulder width if I lay horizontal on the ground. My undergrip dislocates aren't quite on the same level as overgrip, probably because I am lacking in the extension strength.

Strength is clearly my issue, but "just time and effort" don't seem to be doing the trick. Any suggestions? Could there be something I'm missing?

Edit: Note, my width on Undergrip dislocates is still waaay better than on shoulder extensions, just a bit behind overgrip. For whatever reason, it is much easier to lift the bar with the elbow tension & shoulder rotation.

the first iM, helped expose me to overhead movements period, so engaging my trapz was hard at first but progressively became easier, including stretching out my Lats and pecs. (more my lats in this case)

the iM2, my issue was poor pec and bicep mobility. doing a prone chest stretch with my arm out in T and then in a Y position helped get my chest loose enough but there'd sometimes be this looming tightness in my bicep that only relinquished it's grasp from working on the iM and stretching. 

how do you put your hands when you do a reverse plank? maybe doing a test of where you feel the tightness will shed some light on your weakpoint. I'm tight all over, so i felt it in my chest and my bicep. now i feel it more in my bicep. 

NoHiddenCosts said:

I have been working on this iM for about 9 months with, as far as I can tell, 0 progress...

I have, dare I say, very good passive flexibility in the extension (no problem emulating Adriano & Keilani's pictures), and am only a couple of inches away from mastery on overgrip dislocates. I can even perform this iM at about shoulder width if I lay horizontal on the ground. My undergrip dislocates aren't quite on the same level as overgrip, probably because I am lacking in the extension strength.

Strength is clearly my issue, but "just time and effort" don't seem to be doing the trick. Any suggestions? Could there be something I'm missing?

Edit: Note, my width on Undergrip dislocates is still waaay better than on shoulder extensions, just a bit behind overgrip. For whatever reason, it is much easier to lift the bar with the elbow tension & shoulder rotation.

Can you do it with just the dowel? Try a lighter weight? I was using about half the weight used for IM:1.