PE1—PE3 in 3 days?

I started this (super amazing) program on Thursday, 4 days ago. I have some basic strength from the gym and my sports, and also I was working on my own on the headstands before I discovered this program… so it felt pretty "easy" in the beginning, and I was able to achieve mastery each day, Thursday PE1, Friday PE2 and Saturday PE3. I took a day off today  (had my pole dance class) and planning to jump on PE4 tomorrow. I suspect very much that this one is going to be a challenge for me and it will take much longer to master that one… I want to make sure that it is ok to start with PE4 even tough I may be able to do only a few sets/reps (not full mastery 5x5) and then work on it the time necessary to achieve mastery… or shall I hang around PE3 for a while to get even stronger even though I already mastered it? Personally I'd like to start with PE4, so I can get really challenged, but not sure if I am rushing forward too much. Also, my dislocates are still pretty wide. I understand  it that I will  just keep working on closing them as time goes and I am getting more flexible? 

Before moving on we highly recommend to post a video of a couple of reps/seconds in order to see if everything it is ok.

SOmetime happens to see someone with a natural mobility, but it is very rare, simply because there are exercises which train muscles in a very uncommon way.

We've gone into some depth on dislocates discussion; if you search within my content i think I've chimed in on most threads concerning them

Alessandro, Jon, thank you for your comments. I did a few videos today of a few exercises for you to review. That's a really great idea, thank you. Mostly  because the description often doesn't say what is supposed to be done. Like for example in PE3>iM I was not sure if I should keep my shoulders/arms in one line with my body, or dislocate them. I think I read in some other thread not to dislocate, so I did both in my little video. The bar is about 15–18 lbs (7–8 kg). 

Here is my headstand HS/PE3  (I hold it shorter time for the video, but I am able to hold it 2–3 minutes). I did 5 sets of 60 seconds.

Here are my dislocates (this bar is not as heavy, but slightly heavier than a wood stick… maybe 2 kg, 5 lbs?)

Here is my PE3>iM (where I did not know whether to dislocate or keep it straight, so I did both). The bar is 15–18 lbs. 

And here is my wrist training PE3 on the knees. Pardon me that I messed up on the fists, I was in a hurry to finish so I make my next appointment on time. I promise that when I did my workout, I did it right and according to the online videos  :-)

So, theoretically, I have achieved mastery on PE3 and should move on PE4, but not sure if I am doing it correctly… thank you for all your kind inputs. So excited to be here and learning. 

Hey Suzanna! Here are my suggestions for each:

Forearm Stand: I'd Ike to see a bit more PPT. Keep tighter glutes and core. Check to make sure your knees are locked too.

Dislocates: Elevate your scapulas more at the top of the movement. You also want to avoid arching your back, especially on the way forward.

Seated Shoulder Flexion: You want a shoulder width grip for this iM. This is not a dislocate. Also, you don't need to lean forward so far but rather think of pulling the bar behind your head while sitting upright. Strongly elevate the scapulas here too, as if you're pushing the bar up towards the ceiling. 

For all of the wrist exercises, you will want to remove the pike from your hips. If that is too hard/intense, head back to PE1 or PE2. There is no rush with these.

Wrist Pushup: Keep your elbows completely locked. If it is too hard to keep them locked, you may need to go back to the wall. Remember that slower is better.

First Knuckle Pushup: Don't let your fingers come off the floor. Slow the tempo down a tad to help stop that. ROM was great!

Wrist Rock: Keep consistency on the order you move each wrist. The video shows forward>neutral with each hand individually and then backwards>neutral with each hand individually. 

Fingertip Pushup: Looks good! You want to go up and down with each hand individually on this one. This will allow you to focus more on keeping a straight fingers and a tight hand, which may be harder when you take the pike out of your hips.

Everett, this is so great!!! Thanks for all your tips (that I missed in the exercise description). In that shoulder flexion I didn't have an idea what was supposed to be accomplished. Even on the dislocates, I was consciously pushing the shoulders down, sort of to have a nice posture, ha ha. Ops. I will do it the way you suggest… Thanks for clarifying everything on all my videos. I will jump on it today, and practice them all the right way.

No problem Suzanna.

Everett, so I worked on what you suggested and below are my corrections. Hope I got it right this time.

My elbow stand, trying to have more PPT. Also pointing my toes, squeezing my quads (extending) and glutes. Knees and ankles are together. Not sure if it is visible. Is this what you meant? 

Here is my corrected finger tip push up: booty much lower (body in one line), keeping my arms completely straight. I did all the other exercises in this manner (booty low). I was able to achieve mastery on all but the first one, wrist pushup. That one my body position was not as low, as the wrists (going outwards) felt weak. I will keep working on that one. (shall I move on to PE4 on all the other that I mastered and keep working on this one, PE3?)

Also, please, could you check my form and possibly give pointers on PE4, the supine floor handstand flexion? As it is not so clear form the video. I was not sure if he had his feet off the ground, or on the ground. I kept them in the air, and the last few seconds I put them down so you can see that version too. Also it looked like he did not touch the ground with the hands, he kept them in the air, right? I'd like to have the form right before I start practicing on mastery.  THANK YOU!!! 

@Everett Carroll Hello Suzanna thank you for the updated submission, I will Everett get back to you on the form checking of your thread.

Hey Suzanna,

Great work. You still need to get your feet stacked more over your hips; you are slightly piked still. PPT looked good.

You are okay to move to PE4 for FTP after you make sure there is no space between your fingers. Squeeze them together tightly.

Feet down in PE4 is good and you are correct in keeping the bar just off the ground. Elevate your scapulas strongly (shrug shoulders up to ears) while in the one. Nice PPT.

@Everett Carroll Thank you for your input. I will make sure to keep my fingers together on FTP and scapulas elevated in HS/PE4 (I am not used to that posture, so I have to remind myself often). I will practice tomorrow again.

Also, I do understand what you are saying about the head/elbow stand and I will try to get my feet over the hips more. Only I feel like it will make me fall over toward the wall, no? If I still want to keep a nice PPT, it will move my center of gravity toward the wall and if I was balanced now, I will fall off balance? If I push my hips more forward to stay balanced, I will probably lose PPT… any thoughts on that? 

Hey Suzanna, hope you don't mind my 2 pence worth. I'm at the same place as you with the elbow stand. Since you're close to the wall you can experiment with the body positions and actually see that you can be straighter that you think before you start falling backwards. And if you do start to fall, just tap your foot on the fall and get up again. There's actually a lot of 'room' to correct your balance. Looking strong, good luck

@Katerina Sourkova Thank you for your tips and ideas. I will go and work on it today, trying to gets straighter and still keep my PPT. God bless the wall  :-) 

@Everett Carroll Here is my new version of my head/elbow stand PE3 where I am trying to get the feet above the hips. Contracting the glutes and quads as well. I was trying to keep my PPT, but not sure if it is PPT enough with the feet further behind me, or if I lost it. To me it looks better than the original video, but my eye is not GST-experienced like yours. Thank you for all your inputs and making me better. 

Great! Looks good Suzanna.