Manna PE 6

I am working through Manna PE 6.  This is the exercise done on the stall bars where you roll your knees to your chest, extend the legs and then lower the legs to last 10 seconds.  

I feel some pain in my shoulder.  It seems like the top bar on my stall bars might be too close to the other bars and it is not giving me enough space to move.  I tried doing this same exercise on my pull up bar and there is no discomfort at all in my shoulders.  If anyone has stall bars that can measure the distance from the offset top bar to the bars you rest your back on I would appreciate it.  

During this exercise should I be trying to pinch my should blades or should I try to remain in a neutral position?  

Your shoulders and back should stay as relaxed as possible as you focus on pulling with abs, obliques and quads with locked legs.

The pain in your shoulders and the lack of room for your head is probably because you're letting your upper back come off the bars. For hanging leg lifts the top half of your back should stay firmly planted on the bars with just your lower back lifting up. How well you can do this depends strongly on your pike.

When you descend, try thinking about pulling your ass to the bar but keeping your legs high, while tensing your quads hard with locked legs. Then once you've pressed your back into the bars as much as you can manage, slowly lower your legs.

https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/19917-l-sit-chinups-question/#entry183125
 

alex87 said:

this is typical when the internal rotation is far more strong and the muscles providing it are too tight. if depressor and rotator cuff are not enough strong a little impingement could occur. basically is similar to hanging leg lift when you feel discomfort behind the shoulders. forcing the range of motion when muscles are squeezed is less useful and more dangerous.

So what is the recommendation to resolve this problem?

It looks like Alex has examined this in detail; I'll point him over to this thread rather than hijack his answers

danandersen3 said:

So what is the recommendation to resolve this problem?

Like I said, the goal is to not use your shoulders at all. You're experiencing pain because you're probably pushing excessively with your shoulders to compensate for a lack of flexibility.

There are finer details as to why you feel pain when you use your shoulders in this way that Alex can explain far better than I can. And it's equally important to understand why that happens. But the most important thing to remember here is that in this particular move you have shoulder pain because you're using the wrong muscles to complete a rep.

Thank you so much for the advice. I am doing the exercise right now and there is no pain or discomfort at all. I had no idea that I was using my shoulders before. Thanks!

danandersen3 said:

I had no idea that I was using my shoulders before. Thanks!

You're most welcome.

It's a really common mistake, I started doing them like that too.