HandStand One PE1 extra mobility exercises.

For PE1 in the Handstand One course,  the mobility exercise is to hold the bar above the head for shoulder flexion while seated cross legged. In addition to holding the bar for 10 seconds, I swing the bar up and down 10 reps then do 10 pulses (holding the bar at max height while trying to pull the bar past maximum).  So my routine is 10 rep swing, 10 second hold, 10 rep pulse.  Do you think it is a good idea to do these swings and pulses for PE1?

When I took Adult gymnastics classes my coach had us do beam kick drills where we held onto the wall and did leg swing, holds, and pulses for active flexibility.  Since these (kick/swing, hold, pulse) drills work for hip flexion and extension I decided to try it for the shoulder drill on PE1.  Is there any reason why I shouldn't do these?  Do you think swings and pulses would help to achieve shoulder mastery in PE1? 

Also I cannot do the PE1 sitting cross legged because I can't keep my back straight and bend over far enough.  Is it acceptable to do the exercise on a chair instead?

Here are some videos that show examples of theses beam kick drills:

How is your ROM on this? The swings won't really help develop what we're trying to develop - active mobility using the traps to pull the arms back. They would just stretch the armpits. There's better ways to develop the passive range of motion.

The pulses are done later in the course.

We don't work around our weaknesses, we fix them. So to move on, cross legged is the standard. Stretch your butt, groin, and piriformis to improve. The middle split course is excellent for this.

PS, nice name

My range of motion is about 60 degrees out of 90, so I'm still far from mastery.  About a year ago, I was doing PE1 consistently for about 2 months 4-5 times a week and I saw no improvement in my ROM.  Now I'm trying it again. 

There is a certain point where I start to wonder if I should be doing other stretches or exercises to open my shoulders and that maybe PE1 is not working for me at this time.  Perhaps I have other unknown mobility issues that prevent PE1 from doing what it is supposed to do.

Everybody is unique, and since my flexibility issues might be unique, PE1 might be the wrong exercise right now and maybe there are prerequisite and substitute stretches I should be doing instead.  Maybe a Physiotherapist or Chiropractor could identify the mobility issue that might be unique to me.  I am skeptical that holding the bar for 10 seconds is the only and best solution to achieve this level of flexibility, but I hope it works. 

I should learn cross legged, but how does cross leg sitting help achieve a better, safer and proper handstand?  Why is this required and how would my handstand development benefit or be hindered if I choose to or not to sit cross legged and use a chair instead?  I understand we should fix our weaknesses but some weaknesses may not affect a handstand, so how does sitting cross legged affect anything? 

I wish the H1 course was more thorough in explaining the logic behind the exercises and gave more tips and pointers.  The forum explains many things, but I have so many questions, I'm just very curious and eager to succeed at this.

Thank you for your reply. 

PS, Of course, we both have a nice name.

The vagueness of the course was meant to get you involved in the forum, it's a part of the course, so welcome!

You are absolutely right in that you need extra mobility work. Tight lats, chest, shoulders, etc. will hold you back. Cat stretches, dead hangs, dislocates, etc are all your friends. These are what I meant by there are better exercises than swings out there. 

The other thing to consider is improper form. Have you posted a form check? Insufficient elevation of the shoulders is a pretty common problem. We could see that and other problems with pictures or video. Before we worry about unique problems, let's see if you have any common ones. This level of immobility is not as uncommon as you think. 

Technically cross leg sitting won't help a handstand much. It will hold you back in press handstand. Inability to sit forward cross legged is a pretty severe compromise though. Unless all you want is a handstand and the rest of your body can wither away, I'd work on that mobility. 

Good Idea. I'll try to get form check pictures or videos up. I will work on that cross leg mobility. You're right, cross legged sitting is important regardless.

Thank you for replying to my questions.