SPL PE1 Can I tie 2x4s to my arms at the elbows?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-umKQ8LyoU

My title is only half serious but I'm really feeling frustrated with my painfully slow progress with maintaining depressed scapula and straight elbows. 

I digressed to doing these from my knees.  Thought I might be getting progress, but after a cycle at block 2 the same problems were evident to nearly the same degree.  

That made me think I need to digress further to against the wall.  Here is a form check of an attempt.

Even here elbows bend and shoulders creep up.  Why is this motor pattern so hard?

Is there anything else I can do? 

1. I'm considering strapping something to my elbows while i do these unloaded.
2. or hanging from a bar with legs on a chair to get partial bodyweight and trying to do reps of like a reverse shoulder shrug.  Any comments?

You could try tape (k-tape or climbing) down the back of your arm, this will give you sensory feedback during the movement if you start to bend your arms.

just taking a crack at it, because I did do wall pushups for a while before hitting mastery on incline pushups. incline pushups were another story, so dont be discouraged.

i started these with a tad of a wider grip and brought it in due to similar issues. i learned at the GB seminar that the arms, when held in straight arm elements are held with tension to extend the elbow. we played a game during the planche portion of the seminar where while one person held a plank the partner would press on the lower back, obliques, upper back, etc to get you off balance and holding PPT, protraction, arms straight, etc. i was surprised how strong you have to contract to avoid someone tugging at your elbow crease with two hands to keep shape and balance.

give these time. if you benefit from working these on the wall or on your knees, just give it time and repeat cycles. only go down as far as you can maintain straight elbows and increase overtime or negatives is another thing you can attempt.

in what numbers of sets / reps have you been stalling on?

Thanks far the suggestions and encouragement. 

Interesting tip on the tape Murray it might solve one of my frustrations, which is doing sets of reps thinking they were pretty good then I do a video on the last set which feels the same as the perceived good ones and seeing bending elbows and forward shoulders at the bottom. 

I've been using block 2 rep scheme for a long time trying to improve form.  I don't feel stalled on any rep, I'm very strong at doing bad reps.

Hey Ryan,

As Keilani said, don't get discouraged. You can also get away with performing the movement a bit faster. You do not necessarily need to pause for so long at the top or bottom of each rep. Do a single set of 10-15 reps from your toes every single day for a week, and see how you progress. Frequency can be a potent stimulus to overcome strength endurance plateaus and develop new neuromuscular movement patterns.

Best,

Chris

Second more frequent, lower rep training if you need to learn the movement.

Shrugs in every position. Support, hang, front support. A quick circuit is a great addition to your warmup or midday stroll

Sorry Jon I'm not totally sure what the position terms mean you used.  Can you elaborate or post a link to a resource I can refer too?

Support as on parallel bars or a dip station.

Hang self-explanatory

Front support - pushup position

When comfortable with the simple shrug add in some protraction/retraction. The 'shoulder loops' on the FB page, look like circular scap pulls from hanging, are excellent, and I have enjoyed doing them in pbar support too.

Thanks for starting the topic and thanks for all the tips from people here, I am having the exact same problems as Ryan.

I believe that especially the shrugs Jon suggested will be very helpful.

Make sure to point the elbow pits forward (away from your toes). This locks out the elbows.

Maybe part of the problem is I can't fully open my elbow joint.  I've gained a few degrees since starting GST but I'm not at 180 yet. 

Ravn said:

Make sure to point the elbow pits forward (away from your toes). This locks out the elbows.

this. this this this.

Ryan, how is your shoulder girdle mobility?  What has helped me tremendously with scap shrugs and hinge rows is stretching my pec minor, biceps, delts. and traps.  The first half of the Thoracic Bridge Stretch Series covers all this.  I also use a lacrosse ball to massage these muscles on a daily basis.  What I think was (and still is) inhibiting me was tightness in the anterior shoulder girdle combined with weakness in the muscles of the posterior shoulder girdle.

Ok plan of attack is - 

1. stop making excuses and do the Stretch Series in the evenings
2. Shoulder shrug circut as a warmup
3. k-tape on the backs of the arms.

Thanks for all the suggestions and encouragement.

Ryan Reynolds said:

Ok plan of attack is - 

1. stop making excuses and do the Stretch Series in the evenings
2. Shoulder shrug circut as a warmup
3. k-tape on the backs of the arms.

Thanks for all the suggestions and encouragement.

Sounds like a pretty solid approach

Btw, +1 for another mid-30 y/o with kids & a desk job progressing through F1/H1/etc. Your concerns are relevant to my interests. 

https://youtu.be/S8mbjKcuOXw

I thought I'd give an update for those who might be interested.  After doing my sets off the wall yesterday, I did a few reps off the floor just to see if there has been any improvements.  I'm proud of the improvements since August 12.  I was even camping for one of those weeks so really only trained two weeks out of three.

As far as the plan of attack went:

1. Evening excuses are still getting in the way of the stretch series.  After my two rest days I will try doing the series in the mornings.  Evenings obviously aren't a realistic option, especially now with the kids' school and hockey starting this month.
2. The tape on the back of the arms, though hard to get in place in a empty gym was very helpful in correcting the movement pattern.  
3. The warm-up shrugs while hanging from a bar and from a dip station have been a good addition to work on shoulder depression.

Thanks again for the help, I think things are back on track.

After adding in the shrugs for warm-up and regressing to an against the wall position, I finally feel I'm making some progress, although the whole exercise feels very, very different standing up.

Would it be acceptable to turn my fingers slightly back to help me lock my elbows?