Revisiting PE1... need guidance

Hi, like a lot of other people, I'm questioning myself if I really mastered elements that I moved on from. I compared more carefully my tripod with the video from the course, and I see some big differences.

The upper back of the student in the video is pretty much flat, while I'm all...curvy. See pictures:

How bad is this? Should I address this difference and if so, does anybody have some suggestions, because I tried to get into the same shape as the athlete in the video and I wasn't able to...

Can you straighten your back in PE2? I was going to suggest to try lifting your butt more directly over your head so your back straightens but that means your knees won't touch your arms anymore which would make the PE more difficult than it has to. In PE2, your butt is/shoud be more in line with your head anyway, so if you can do that, I think there's no problem. Could be wrong though.

I have come across this issue before and here are my thoughts:

Perhaps you need to learn how to protract without rounding the upper back. Can you do F1 sPL PE 1-3 correctly without thoracic rounding?

It also looks like extend the neck too much, perhaps to compensate for the shifting of balance which happens when you round your back.

My girlfriend has the exact same problem as you, but she does not train regularly so I have not been able to figure out how to correct the flaw myself.

Perhaps it is not even a flaw, but simply your anatomical proportions which plays here. I will let some of the more experienced members comment on that one.

However, if it is possible for you, try to experiment with things like the neck position, the angle in your elbows, the knees placement, triangle width... and film yourself or have a spotter to tell you what is happening.

Thanks Briac and Alexander for chiming in. I am a little confused on how to go about this. My HS/PE2 is pathetic, that is one of the reasons I went back to revisit PE1. I'll take a picture of it and of SPL/PE1 (I'm still working on it) and post it.

In the meanwhile, I would really be grateful if one of the GB coaches would give his opinion. If I need to stay on PE1 until my back is straight I'll happily do that, but right now I'm a little stuck on how to proceed, move to PE2? stay on PE1 and somehow fix it?

All right. This is my SPL/PE1, pretty rounded, if you ask me:

and this is my HS/PE2, as of today:

A lot to work on to get it straight at the hips, but my back is not as rounded as PE1

Thanks for all the help!

sPL PE 1: You need to reduce the rounding. Serratus anterior is activated easier when you round your back, but at the same time weaker. I would say that you need to straighten out before going any further. Try working the position with a mirror to watch your form.

HS PE 2: You have too wide shoulder stance and your head is too close to your hands. Form a right-angled triangle. And if I remember correctly you should only be able to see your hands barely out of the corner of your eyes.

Giovanni,  the angle between your forearm and upper arm is close to 135 degrees, the guy in the video has his at 90 degrees for the tripod.  

If you think it's a good idea, bring your hands closer to your head until your arms are 90 degrees and see it that flattens out your back.  

I believe The distance between elbow and floor is longest if you have your arms at 90 degrees and shorter outside that angle.   Since the 135 degree brings your elbows closer to the floor, I think your back is curving because you need to curl your back to reach knees to your elbows.  If you have your forearm angle is at 90 degrees, then the elbows should be slightly further from the floor, so you wont need to curl your back to reach knees to your  elbows.  

Since you have a flat back on a normal head stand, why not also try starting in a head stand (PE2) and slowly lowering your legs into a tuck and placing them on the knees into the (PE1) tripod.  Take a video and see if or when your back changes from flat to curved and see if there are any clues why that is happening.  Also try the reverse, from tripod (pE1) lift the knees slowly up off the elbows and straighten the legs into a full headstand (PE2) and see if and when your back straightens. 

These are my suggestions, but keep in mind I am a beginner with limited experience and I am not a coach, so I could be wrong.  These are just some ideas I have tried.

Finally,  If you want to know for sure,  try emailing one of the GB coaches directly and asking them if you need to address the curve back in the tripod or not.  Who knows, maybe it's not an issue. 

On 01/04/2016 at 6:00 PM, Giovanni Garcea said:

All right. This is my SPL/PE1, pretty rounded, if you ask me:

and this is my HS/PE2, as of today:

A lot to work on to get it straight at the hips, but my back is not as rounded as PE1

Thanks for all the help!

Your sPL/PE1 is too arched as above Your headstand is fine there/

For future reference, Foundation checks in Foundation course forum please