Locking upper arms with lats? Correct or Wrong?

In most cases i see people performing back lever, bent arms planche, hollow back press, etc. with their upper arms locked with lats. I also do this when i do bent arms planche. I can easily hold it like this for 10+sec but I can barely hold it for 2sec when my upper arms are completly separated from lats.

What is correct form, locked or not?

Lats are hugely important stabilizers in these skills. But from the way you put it, it seems you mean resting on the Lats? In back lever specifically this is a no no, in planche your arms don't touch your Lats period. I don't have much experience with hollow back press yet so I'll stay silent on that one. Can you elaborate exactly what you mean by locked, or better, show examples?

Jason Dupree said:

But from the way you put it, it seems you mean resting on the Lats?

I mean this exactly. Resting arms on lats and using them as support. Sometimes even resting them on upper oblique. Sorry for not being clear enough.

No worries. Except for planche, arms will come into contact with lats, but there is a difference between contact and using them to "cheat". 

Yeah, this reduces the rom or length of lever and makes it quite dramatically easier. Naturally this shortchanges strength gains and isn't (usually) going to magically evolve into the same skill done correctly

Can it be used or should I avoid it? Something like: It's ok to use a little bit of kipping for first few muscle ups but eliminate kipping later when you become strong enough.

mrpraktic said:

Can it be used or should I avoid it? Something like: It's ok to use a little bit of kipping for first few muscle ups but eliminate kipping later when you become strong enough.

Not really in this case. You take the pressure off the weakest links, which require the most development. Unless you are remarkably conscientious and a bit lucky it's a good way to get dead-ended on the cheat version.That's not to say it's completely useless, but there's no comparison with working up through easier variations done right

mrpraktic said:

In most cases i see people performing back lever, bent arms planche, hollow back press, etc. with their upper arms locked with lats. I also do this when i do bent arms planche. I can easily hold it like this for 10+sec but I can barely hold it for 2sec when my upper arms are completly separated from lats.

What is correct form, locked or not?

 

 

This would be incorrect.  Do not press the arms into the lats.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer