6.2 learning the planche

Hi, I'm 6'2, 20 years old, and i have been working on planche for 6 months now, when i started i was able to hold the basic tuck planche. Basically, i started when i felt strong enough, i already learned wide back lever, straddle front lever, handstand and v-sit. So, after 4 months i did straddle planche for 3 seconds, arms straight, body tight, hips and feet at the same level. Now i work on my full planche, this is much harder process for me, probably because of my height, i can hold 80% of the full planche (80% in terms of body length, i'm pretty close).

But, last week i'm starting to feel wrist pain, all around the wrist, also in my forearm. Not muscle pain, but, something like pain inside the bone. I guess my wrist wasn't strong enough for leaning too much forward. 

This is not me, i can hold this exercise at the bottom for 5-10 seconds with perfect form;   7Tv5Tumk4Yw

So, my core should be strong enough to support full planche?

I guess my shoulders are weak, because i feel the pain only in my shoulders and in middle of my arm. And, i would give up from trying full planche after 6-7 tries because of that pain. But, when i was working on my straddle, i was able to hold it 10 times in a row (with some rest period)

I also feel how i lose my protraction a little bit after 2-3 full planche tries. 

Should i scale back to straddle planche, and build up more volume, or keep trying to slowly extend my feet all the way?

 

My last straddle planche training was like this: i hold straddle planche with good form 5 times for 4-5 secs, then i would keep my hips at the same level but drop my feet for like 2-3 inches and hold it 5 x 10 secs. Then i would jump on straddle planche push ups, 5x5. The rest of my training would consist of planche leans(fully protracted and tight body), lower back and abs exercises.

 

 

I will post a video in few days, i'm on my vacation right now, i know that would help a lot...

Sorry for my bad english...

a video would be nice. 

You should be holding straddle planche for much longer before moving to full planche. Sounds like you may need to go back to tuck planche if your wrists and shoulders are hurting.

For reference I was holding straddle planche for about 12 second consistently and could only do full planche for about 1-2 seconds.

I think you are right, i kind of lose my protraction as soon as i go towards the full planche. Too much pressure on my shoulders and joints.

Video coming later this afternoon.

It would be great to see a full planche at this height. Keep training.

I'm still feeling sore from my last workout, so i decided to rest for two-three more days. Usually when my muscles feel sore i cannot give more than 80%. But, my friend he is 16, height 172 cm, he wants to get his form checked by a professional. I think he should scale back to advanced tuck and build up on volume, but he is a still a kid, he wants straddle too bad...

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2m600sn%3E&s=8#.U6NRefmSypA

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=14vmbet%3E&s=8#.U6NS3_mSypA

GORIZONT said:

I'm still feeling sore from my last workout, so i decided to rest for two-three more days. Usually when my muscles feel sore i cannot give more than 80%. But, my friend he is 16, height 172 cm, he wants to get his form checked by a professional. I think he should scale back to advanced tuck and build up on volume, but he is a still a kid, he wants straddle too bad...

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2m600sn%3E&s=8#.U6NRefmSypA

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=14vmbet%3E&s=8#.U6NS3_mSypA

Im not an expert for checking form but his arms are not completely straight.

I daj video od svog plancha da vidimo jel valja. (just for gorizant)

Paf said:

Im not an expert for checking form but his arms are not completely straight.

I daj video od svog plancha da vidimo jel valja. (just for gorizant)

Yeah, his arms aren't fully straight, what about other parts (hips, shoulders, legs...). He works on planche only 4 months and it wasn't his best try.

We feel tired and sore these days. I will post our new videos on sunday afternoon.

GORIZONT said:

Yeah, his arms aren't fully straight, what about other parts (hips, shoulders, legs...). He works on planche only 4 months and it wasn't his best try.

I dont know, post these two videos here and i'm sure that somebody will tell you if something is wrong with your friends sPL form.

Hi again, i have few questions. One week ago i tried straddle planche, i was not able to hold it perfectly, then i scaled back, and did a 5x5 strength training for advanced tuck planche, 5 x 20-30 seconds, and adv. tuck push ups 5x5.

Five days ago i went to park near by, i was feeling much better, i hold straddle planche 10 times for  3-5 seconds.

Three days ago, again i wasn't able to hold it perfectly, so i skipped it and did 5x5.

Yesterday i wasn't feeling sore, but i was tired, i had 5 hours of sleep, i wasn't able to hold perfect straddle.

This is strange to me. I have good and bad periods. Sometimes i have 5 training in a row, all good, on the other hand, sometimes five bad training sessions.

I think it is due to a week shoulders and joints, i'm 6,2... I can hold L sit for 40+ seconds, back lever also, handstand 5+ minutes. I think my core is not a problem.

So, is it normal for gymnasts to have these bad periods? Can muscle soreness reduce abilities from 100% to less then 70%?

What can i do about pain in middle of my arm, i have this after 2-3 planche holds, sharp pain. I feel pain through my entire arm.

GORIZONT said:

 

What can i do about pain in middle of my arm, i have this after 2-3 planche holds, sharp pain. I feel pain through my entire arm.

 

It sounds like you're working beyond your ability and need to scale way back. Your muscles can hold the position, but your joints and tendons are not ready yet. Do less intense, longer hold straight arm positions you can perform without any pain.

I don't know, i'm working with straight arm for only 5 months, maybe that's the case. And about that middle arm pain, it feels like my bones and tendons are hurting, not muscles, like you said. But again, it doesn't happen every time. Sometimes i can work out normally, but at the end of the day i'm going to feel that pain after half an hour. 

For example: I had a workout yesterday, i tried straddle planche 5 times, with 2-3 minutes rest periods. After second try i felt that pain through my entire arm, from that moment the pain only increases. On the other hand, 5 days ago, i felt that pain after 30 minutes and 15 straddle planche attempts. On both of these days i had no pain what so ever in my shoulders, lower back, or abs. Besides of middle arm pain and some wrist pain, i only feel some pain in my hip flexors, i'm not even close to perform static stretches such as straddle....

Maybe i'm wrong when i say that my shoulders are week, they never really hurt me. 

Muscles can hold straddle planche position, but the tendons and joints cannot. I'm one of a kind LOL.

"(...) Muscles can hold straddle planche position, but the tendons and joints cannot. I'm one of a kind LOL."

 

Actually I think it's not uncommon, there are a lot of people who have the strength to hold certain gymnastic positions like iron cross, planche, etc but are lacking the correct joint preparation.

 

If you can, check the latest podcast by Coach Sommer where he says that while you can develop your muscles relatively quickly your connective tissue takes longer and that many people make the mistake of assuming that they should train at the maximum level that their muscles can handle whereas ignoring the development of their connective tissue strength and that this is a sure path to injury.

 

In my opinion you should step back and build some volume on easier planche progressions in order to build that connective tissue strength. 

Thanks for advice, i will try to build up on volume. I was thinking about this: I will skip straddle planche for a month, first i will do 5x maximum adv. tuck planche hold, then 5x maximum adv. tuck planche push ups, after that i will try this new system i came up with:

3 x 3 minutes planche leans ( i will not lean too much, center of mass somewhere around adv. tuck...). Because i'm 100% sure, i'm lacking in joint strength right now, 9 minutes under tension should be more then enough. On the other hand i also work on straddle planche position by doing "negative Maltese board presses", i think that is how you call it. On my last training, where i did that exercise, i was able to hold full position for 8 seconds, and straddle position for 20 seconds. That probably means my muscles are ready for straddle, problem is, on that exercise arm tendons and joints have too little function compared to normal planche.

@ GORIZANT

A month ago you said that you will upload a video of your planche. Im still waiting for it.

Paf said:

@ GORIZANT

A month ago you said that you will upload a video of your planche. Im still waiting for it.

I'll post something tonight just for you

In the video that you posted of your straddle planche i didn't see a hold. I saw a steady lowering effect. This tells me that you need to spend more time on other progressions. You also should spend time on the bottom portion of the straddle planche to develop that straight body strength at the bottom of the move. Essentially you are rushing it. Being so tall you have much  more "structure" to you and it takes time to develop. For most normal human beings it takes up to a year or more to develop a straight body planche. Take it from me and the other athletes here ... slow developed strength is lasting strength. It may not look cool to be doing tuck planche but it looks really not cool to be on the rings and struggling to hold your strength moves. Or to hold a "planche" that looks shaky.

Ryan, that's not me, but anyways, thanks for pointing that out for my friend. 

GORIZONT said:

Ryan, that's not me, but anyways, thanks for pointing that out for my friend. 

Oh... well replace you and your with your friend!

 

Are you going to put up a video?

I will, but i'm not sure when, i injured adductor muscle on my left leg playing football one week ago. It hurts so bad when i try any kind of straddle. I can only work on advanced tuck right now, but once the pain subsides i will record it. So, i'm not going to say in two days, in three, or whatever, lets say in near future. And, i didn't open this thread to show off, i had few question that i wanted to be answered. So, i'm sorry if you were expecting straddle planche video, it was my fault saying that i will post it these days. So many bad things happen to me in this month, but i'm almost back on track, starting to feel good and waiting for this injury to heal. 

On the other hand, i can try full planche tomorrow and post that, i cannot do it, but whatever, just to post something. Or if my leg heals straddle planche. I will do that.

Here is my update, i said i'm going to upload a video anyways today. My left leg is still injured, i cannot give more then 70-80%. I on the other hand, i have been working on holding adv. tuck last 10 days. I'm a muslim, and it's ramadan, i cannot eat or drink for 18 hours, only time i can work out is at midnight, i hope you can see clearly on this video. Straddle planche for 2 seconds, this is probably 70% from my maximum effort: http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2rm8d3m%3E&s=8#.U7sn__mSypA  

My wrist pain is gone, which is a good thing, but i'm still feeling pain in middle arm section when leaning to much forward.

Feel free to critique my form, should i protract a little bit more, i can lower my butt for 1-2 inches, but then my lower back activates, maybe thats a bad idea.

Current workout, 3 straddle planche tries, 5x adv tuck 20-30 seconds, 5x adv. tuck push ups, some lower back and ab exercises.

Here is a update from me. Since noone has replied on my last video, i will upload a new one tonight on digital coaching. 

My leg injury has healed, i'm feeling way better, no more soreness. I'll give 100% tonight finally.

Ok, my leg was fine, i was hoping that i'll finally do a true straddle planche. On my last video, my hips were 2-3 inches higher then parallel. So, i decided to try lowering my body down. And i failed. The key change was center of mass. In order to get more parallel to the ground i had to lean more forward. As i lean more forward, more pressure builds up on my shoulders, and shoulders collapse. 

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2nqs68m%3E&s=8#.U78pOfmSypA

You can see, i get in the straddle in the same way, but then as i lower my butt down just for 2 inches, i lean more forward. At that point, i lose protraction, my shoulders cannot support that position yet. I had 10 tries all looked pretty much the same. So, i should keep working on advanced tuck, and keep trying to lower my butt down on straddle tryouts, at some point i will get strong enough to do it.

Such a small difference in position can change everything. Hardwork...

GORIZONT said:

Ok, my leg was fine, i was hoping that i'll finally do a true straddle planche. On my last video, my hips were 2-3 inches higher then parallel. So, i decided to try lowering my body down. And i failed. The key change was center of mass. In order to get more parallel to the ground i had to lean more forward. As i lean more forward, more pressure builds up on my shoulders, and shoulders collapse. 

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2nqs68m>&s=8#.U78pOfmSypA

You can see, i get in the straddle in the same way, but then as i lower my butt down just for 2 inches, i lean more forward. At that point, i lose protraction, my shoulders cannot support that position yet. I had 10 tries all looked pretty much the same. So, i should keep working on advanced tuck, and keep trying to lower my butt down on straddle tryouts, at some point i will get strong enough to do it.

Such a small difference in position can change everything. Hardwork...

You are completely right! I would recommend a 3-phased steady state cycle where you first master advanced tuck, next half straddle planche (legs bent, but horizontal bodyline) and then finally straddle planche. About half a year of training would get you there I think. Good luck.

Thanks a lot, i have never been thinking that way, it is much more important to hold horizontal bodyline.