6.2 learning the planche

I feel like this new routine is working very well. Last workout i did half straddle planche 6x10 seconds. But, more precisely, i start to lose protraction after 6 seconds, damn shoulders... 

I have a question about my new routine: Day 1: horizontal and vertical pushing, core; mostly planche and hanstand exercises.

Day 2: horizontal and vertical pulling, core; mostly front lever and pull up exercises.

Day 3: rest. Day 4: repeat Day 1 and ....

Is this too much, should i split some exercises? I recover very quickly...

GORIZONT said:

I feel like this new routine is working very well. Last workout i did half straddle planche 6x10 seconds. But, more precisely, i start to lose protraction after 6 seconds, damn shoulders... 

I have a question about my new routine: Day 1: horizontal and vertical pushing, core; mostly planche and hanstand exercises.

Day 2: horizontal and vertical pulling, core; mostly front lever and pull up exercises.

Day 3: rest. Day 4: repeat Day 1 and ....

Is this too much, should i split some exercises? I recover very quickly...

Depends on the total volume of the training day... Remember legs. It is common to feel soreness when adjusting to a new load; if it lasts more than 2 days, turn the volume down, if the soreness continues for more than 2 weeks do the same.

Did you master 5 x 30 adv. tuck?

Freshpro said:

Did you master 5 x 30 adv. tuck?

I did. 5 days ago, i decided not to do my typical 3-5 straddle tryouts, i jumped on adv. tuck instead, i did 40,35,35,30,25. Three straddle planche tries is enough to make my shoulders die in adv. tuck much earlier.

Another thing, i don't really work on leg strength, no squats anymore, my knees are messed up from high jumping...

But, i jog before and after every workout 10-15 minutes.

GORIZONT said:

I did. 5 days ago, i decided not to do my typical 3-5 straddle tryouts, i jumped on adv. tuck instead, i did 40,35,35,30,25. Three straddle planche tries is enough to make my shoulders die in adv. tuck much earlier.

Another thing, i don't really work on leg strength, no squats anymore, my knees are messed up from high jumping...

But, i jog before and after every workout 10-15 minutes.

You should just remain doing your half straddle planches until mastery. If you feel like it you can play make a try every month to measure your progress, but progress should only be exercised after mastery for optimal results (:

About legs; if it is not an unfixable injury you have attained you should still try to build your way from the bottom. You say your legs are messed from high jumping, is it tendonitis?

I had a knee injury twice, i was diagnosed with jumpers knee. I also had heel injury; plantar fasciitis. Several groin strains too. That was the reason i quit high jumping 3 years ago. Now i only feel discomfort in those areas, but i don't wanna take any risks and do heavy squats again. And because of those groin strains i'm not able to learn side splits without getting re injured. It hurts from time to time.

To answer your question, i will keep working on half straddle until i reach comfortable amount of time. 

My progress on other exercises is much faster tho. I learned spear flag, very wide back lever and dragon flag on pole. I feel like i have more than enough strength in my core to achieve full straddle planche, but i'm lacking in shoulder and joint strength.

I'm still working on half straddle, i'm starting to feel better protraction and shoulder stability. I made some progress on straddle handstand press.

I have a question about learning a side split. Since i very easily re-injure my groin, i don't know how to start safely. I'm very bad at side straddle, although i can do full front split, it is strange.

Other question, this is my first off creatine cycle, i have been using it for 3 months. Now i'm at 20 day, still need to wait another 10 days before getting back on creatine. I feel like i lost more than 30% of my strength. is that normal?

Here is my update, i'm getting closer and closer to a true straddle, my half straddle record hold is 17 seconds now before losing protraction. I'll keep working on it until 1.8.2014.

From there i will be back on creatine, my strength will increase, and hopefully i will be able to record a true straddle planche.

GORIZONT said:

Here is my update, i'm getting closer and closer to a true straddle, my half straddle record hold is 17 seconds now before losing protraction. I'll keep working on it until 1.8.2014.

From there i will be back on creatine, my strength will increase, and hopefully i will be able to record a true straddle planche.

You should have 5 x 30 secs straddle planche I would say which would be an impressive achievement by the start of august.

A little update from me, I decided to take a brake from training. I was running, cycling, swimming, climbing, and it worked very well. 

My everyday skill training obsession is gone. I will try planche tomorrow, and if i do it right, i wll record it. 5 days ago, i tried straddle and my bodyline was straight, on ther other hand i didn't have good protraction, shoulder blades sticking out... I will upload a video once i think i have done a true straddle planche.

GORIZONT said:

A little update from me, I decided to take a brake from training. I was running, cycling, swimming, climbing, and it worked very well. 

My everyday skill training obsession is gone. I will try planche tomorrow, and if i do it right, i wll record it. 5 days ago, i tried straddle and my bodyline was straight, on ther other hand i didn't have good protraction, shoulder blades sticking out... I will upload a video once i think i have done a true straddle planche.

Dude, do not be so obsessed about achieving that skill. You should just complete your cycles instead of trying it out every time you can. It can really be hurtful for you to try and try again not being able to perform, what you everytime hope to achieve. Seperate it into smaller steps and enjoy every step being completed up until the great sensation. Do not put everything into a timed schedule. It is much healthier to structure around true progress than expected progress.

Hi again, i have been working hard to achieve straddle planche, and i did, but not with the perfect form, only thing i'm missing is a full protraction. I'm not able to protract in straddle as much as in adv. tuck. Maybe i don't need that much, but i like to have everything perfect. Last few days i quit on straddle planche, my groin strain is back. But, i have been working on full planche negatives, i'm able to lower my self down all the way, but i can't hold it any longer than one second. Once again, i will upload a video as soon as i do perfect planche...

Perfect form is good. Be patient  looking forward to seeing your results.

You need full protraction in straddle. Not getting full protraction here will limit full planche progress.

Daniel Burnham said:

You need full protraction in straddle. Not getting full protraction here will limit full planche progress.

That is a answer to my question. I never had that in straddle, i did few holds longer than 5 seconds, but when i watch the clip i can see my shoulders position, and they drop 3-5cm from full protraction, and i can feel that change. It feels like i cannot push any harder with my hands, on the other hand my core is much much stronger, it is like core=2*shoulder strength

For reference i could hold about 10 -15 seconds in straddle planche fore one or two sets and still was not able to hold full planche long enough for useful progress.

I went to my doctor 5 days ago, they did x-ray on my left groin, because they couldn't determine why i have that pain every single time i do straddle. It turned out i have a pulled groin 2 degree. They told me to rest and ice until the pain subsides, and to stop doing everything that causes pain for at least two months. So, last five days i was resting, i went 3 times to swimming pool. Today i was feeling amazing, my body has fully recovered. So i continued working towards the full planche, i haven't tried straddle since july.

Today i did half lay full planche, i was extremely surprised with the result. First three tries i did 5 second holds, my friend was there, he said i had a full protraction, and he said it looks very good. Last two tries i did 3 seconds than my shoulders start to drop, i lost protraction, but again i never did half planche longer than two seconds in my life, and last time i did that, i didn't have as much protraction as today. I also made progress on front lever, i did 5 hold half full front x5+ seconds.

Thanks everyone for your advice, i'm very happy right now, i will rest more often, and in four days is my next straight arm training i will upload a video of half full planche, i hope you will like it 

GORIZONT said:

I went to my doctor 5 days ago, they did x-ray on my left groin, because they couldn't determine why i have that pain every single time i do straddle. It turned out i have a pulled groin 2 degree. They told me to rest and ice until the pain subsides, and to stop doing everything that causes pain for at least two months. So, last five days i was resting, i went 3 times to swimming pool. Today i was feeling amazing, my body has fully recovered. So i continued working towards the full planche, i haven't tried straddle since july.

Today i did half lay full planche, i was extremely surprised with the result. First three tries i did 5 second holds, my friend was there, he said i had a full protraction, and he said it looks very good. Last two tries i did 3 seconds than my shoulders start to drop, i lost protraction, but again i never did half planche longer than two seconds in my life, and last time i did that, i didn't have as much protraction as today. I also made progress on front lever, i did 5 hold half full front x5+ seconds.

Thanks everyone for your advice, i'm very happy right now, i will rest more often, and in four days is my next straight arm training i will upload a video of half full planche, i hope you will like it 

It is only a matter of time before your progress stall or you injure yourself again.

Your doctor says 2 months of rest, this is not only rest from pain but from any serious hip involvement, and full planche still taxes hips as a supporter then, you take 5 days of rest and start out again, with even harder planche training even though you have not completed straddle planche?!

Do you really think that in injury completely disappears after only 5 days, regardless of how you good you feel or regardless of how less you involve your hips? And do you really think that you magically can progress to half planche, I do not, and even if you are right skipping steps in progressions will only make your body prone to injuries in the areas you skipped. Progression is not a linear idea.

If you even ever get that planche with your 3 x 3 secs of half planche holds, will that be in some years time BEFORE you reinjure yourself or after you have injured yourself so many times that you will learn from it?

You have disregarded our advice and your doctor's advice only to feed your ego. We have all been saying it to you over and over, but you ask for our help and then disregard what you do not like to hear. It is very frustrating to spend time trying to help you only to be ignored. If you would just straight out say: I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP instead of asking us for advice and then follow only what you like to hear.

I'm sorry I may sound rough here, but we do really want the best for you, but if you do not care, then we do not care if you injure yourself. Over and out and best wishes from here.

Man, it is true that i never did true straddle, and that is only because of this injury, my core is extremely strong, this may sound stupid, but i'm going to upload something about that too, my core is much stronger in legs together position. I quit straddle, i don't try it at all. And today i had no pain what so ever, i have some discomfort when i try to split legs, but whenever i keep them together i don't feel anything. Because of that i HAD TO SKIP straddle planche, it is not because i don't like it, or i could take a brake from planche for 2 months, and not just from planche, and i cannot do that, i would rather kill myself. 

The training i did before this one, i worked on extending my legs just a little bit from adv. tuck, i extend for about 10 cm, i hold that position easily for 15 seconds, so i didn't skip that phase because of my ego. 

Isn't 5 second half planche actually a good start, something that tells you that you are ready?!

Anyway if you don't believe, that's normal, i progress to fast for my height, and ofc i need to upload a video. I could upload this today, but i know i can do this better, because, before i did 5x half plache, i did 5x from HS to half planche, i lost some strength there, next time, in four days i will do half planche first and i will record it, i should not have problem my groin.

I am going to try to be brief here.

First stop exercising and let the injury heal.

Next start rehab exercises for hips.

Then start up strength training SLOWLY.

Now if you are not being controlled by your ego you will do these; in the right order too. It is the only wise thing to do.

Now if you do not do this you will get muslular imbalances, your injury will never heal completely, you might reinjure yourself and your progress will stall.

You might be able to sprint for a certain time, but while you are standing on the sideline to catch the breath from every small sprint you make people will exceed you because they do not have stop, unlike you.

Over and out.

Well, i have this problem since my last year of high jump training. When i had this for the first time, i stopped training for a month, then slowly started doing rehab exercises, and i lost about 30cm from my vertical leap, i couldn't take that, i simply quit after that. Then i wasn't training at all for half a year, i was only playing basketball, one day i injure it again after a bad landing, so i decided to rest again, and i was fine after one month. That was 3 years ago, then i started to train in the gym, i wasn't doing anything that involves splitting legs. Then, one day, it happened 7 months ago, i saw few clips of people doing full planche, then i started to learn the basic progressions, i was able to do basic tuck after 10 days. That is pretty much why i don't wanna take a brake, i will re-injure this stupid groin anyway when i give my maximum effort on any kind of straddle activity. But i did follow all your other advices when it comes to protraction, depression, progressions, etc... Once again, i will rest until sunday, then i will try to record half full planche, and my groin is ok after my last training, no pain what so ever, it will go away completely, i just need to avoid splitting legs to much.

I failed...

I went to olympic pool yesterday, i decided to not just sit all day, and i tried many different swimming styles, today i had a little upper back pain, my core was also a little bit sore, that wasn't much of a problem. On the other hand 6 hours of mixed swimming, sauna and sunbathing sucked all energy out of my body. I had to rush training today, my sister is getting married tomorrow. I was holding something in between half planche and adv. tuck planche 5x5 seconds, i felt like sh**. 

But, i know when i feel tired and hold something that is good, it means i can do probably 30%+ better then this. 

I learned something from today, i should rest completely day before straight arm training, then i can expect better results, so i will try to rest and give my best on friday or saturday and record half planche hopefully. About injury, it feels way better, i didn't try straddle today, but i feel comfortable splitting legs without putting too much pressure.

My friend didn't know which position i was supposed to hold one week ago, it wasn't half planche, i thought i can do it, but i cannot with full protraction, here is my tryout http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=1sdzya%3E&s=8#.VAiuwfmSyW4 

Then i did 5x4 seconds of something in between half planche and adv tuck with much better form, my groin is fine, i have no problems, but i will keep avoiding straddle for at least one more month.

Here is my second video:  http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=f2u5is%3E&s=8#.VAiv3PmSyW4

I feel big difference in pressure on shoulders in between these two positions i tried. I'm not ready for half planche yet, so i will keep working on this second attempt, i'll try to build up to 10 seconds.

It was a rainy day, horrible weather, high moisture, but i'm happy with the results, i hope i'll learn half planche by end of september.

Here is a video from my previous training, 4 days ago, i can already see small improvement, i think it is more about getting use to this new position, remember this is my third half planche training, step by step:

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=330699y%3E&s=8#.VAiy6vmSyW4

I also added some weight training for planche strictly. New video coming after 7 days, i have a new program schedule, so big rest from straight arm planche.

Just wanna say you are a strong dude. Straddle planche at 6'2 is no small feat so congrats on your progress so far. Getting there.

Wanted to ask - you're still using the SSC protocol for this right? How many times a week did you train straight arm planche pre-injury?

Cheers and good luck with the injury.

I'm actually not using any protocol, i always like to collect all the information from different sources and make my own training system.

Right now i'm working on half full planche. I'm not ready for it yet, but i can say i'm not far from it. My goal for this month is trying to extend my legs a little bit more every other training, but still my another goal is to reach at least 30 seconds of total straight arm hold.

I usually warm up and try to make one solid attempt on half full planche. After that, i can feel how far i'm from it. So my 2-6 attempt will be 4-6 seconds of 50%+ half full planche hold (actually 50%+ between adv. tuck and half lay full planche, my second video on my last post). I can tell half lay full planche is two times harder than the straddle planche, at least for me, i feel enormous pressure on my shoulders, you can see when you compare my last video and the video of my straddle planche( not 100% correct) how much more i have to lean forward when i try half lay... I'm also protracting much more these days.

Then i do some other exercises, but the most important change in my new training system is adding some weight training. I lay on a bench and grab two dumbbells, then i try to mimic planche and maltese press with straight arms and with full protraction, i also engage my core. I feel like this new exercises will help me a lot.

Before i injured my groin, i didn't have a true routine. One week i would train straight arm planche every single day, then i would make a break and start another routine. Planche on 1-3-5-7. Then i changed it do 1-5-9. I got this injury when i was doing planche on 1-3-5-7 days, it was too much, i didn't have time to recover properly. 

Right now i train straight arm planche once a week, but i also work on FL,BL,Human flag,Spear flag,One arm pull up, muscle up, dragon flag, german hang, HS and ...

Thank you for saying that, i get a huge motivation every single time someone says i'm progressing. Eight months passed since i started my planche training (i was able to hold basic straight arm tuck for 10 seconds at the beginning, but with horrible form, i had no idea what protraction was at that time...). 

I will continue to post videos, and i hope i'll learn full planche by the end of 2014. New video when i come back from vacation, probably on 15.9.2014>>