planche troubles

[Wheelson]

I haven't made much progress in planche work, so I was wondering if there are any prerequisites that I should

definitely be able to perform before expecting any good progress with my planche holds?

my front and back levers have both progressed nicely, but my planche remains stagnant (I haven't moved on to tuck planche yet)

I don't have a solid free standing handstand yet, nor can I do handstand push-ups.

However, I know that coach emphasizes the importance of handstand work and press handstands in his book.

Should I work toward solid press handstands and handstand push-ups (more shoulder/pressing strength) before preoccupying myself with working on the planche?

[Hayden Whealing]

I think coach said that an L sit is a prerequisite for a tuck planche

[Wheelson]

Thanks for the reply. I can hold an l sit and v sit for a decent amount of time

any other suggestions?

[Blairbob]

Planche is much harder than the levers, imo besides requiring the ability to balance. Notice the value worth. Levers are worth an A on rings and Planche is worth a C on rings, B straddled while it's a B on floor and straddled it's an A.

You may need more bent arm strength for the planche progressions. Namely HeSPU and pseudo-planche pushups and dips. Planche leans may give you the feeling for how much you need to lean over but the balance, like free HS, is something else.

[Wheelson]

so I should probably train for more pressing strength before worrying about actual planche holds.

I'll start improving my pp push ups and planche leans. I'll concentrate more on building my handstands for now

as they will probably help me progress way faster than frogstand at the moment

[Blairbob]

Yes. In a similar thread (about frogstand>tuck planche), Coach Sommer advised working on some bent arm upper body strength for the individual. Fairly recent.

[Wheelson]

oh question.. I found out that I can hold a tuck planche of sorts with bent arms... would these serve as a good stepping stone to a real tuck planche?

[Charles Weill]

Sounds like you are more advanced than me in terms of gymnastics. Looking out for your joint health: I would advise making sure that your wrists and elbows are strong before pushing too far into the tuck planche. I know mine aren't. Have you been conditioning your wrists with wrist, dorsal, and first knuckle push-ups?

[Wheelson]

I just started wrist pushups, but any other variations to prevent injury are always appreciated do you mind elaborating, or sending me a link to the exercises?

[Charles Weill]

Sure thing. I found this topic last week, and it revolutionized my understanding of wrist conditioning .

Wrist Conditioning: http://gymnasticbodies.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2508

Also, get yourself a rice bucket.

[Blairbob]

Rice is expensive, sand is cheap.