HS/PE5

I have only filmed the dislocate yet:

How is my form?

I have a few questions:

1) In bringing the hand from behind the back to in front of the chest (second part of the movement), I start strongly retracting but I do not elevate the shoulders (or not much anyway), should I? By the way, this second part is the hardest for me.

2) Should this be totally noise free (my joints are quite noisy...), or is it fine as far as if I do not feel any pain/discomfort?

3) What is the mastery goal in terms of weight and hands distance?

As always, thanks a lot for the feedback!

Ok, I think I have found the answer to 3) on the forum: 2.5 kg with shoulder width plus one hand on each side.

Hi Guido, the form it is acceptable but still need some refinements:

-do not stick out the chest on the second part of movement (from back to front)

-asymmetric movement of the shoulders must be fixed especially from the back to the front. your left shoulder moves a bit differently.

Thanks Alessandro, I will work on those points.

In the PE, is it enough to clear the weight from the ground or should the opens be completely open (180)?

I imagine is the latter...

I treat this exercise as a floor handstand (except for the extended wrists) so I try to maximise PPT and the shoulder flexion angle.

And that's probably right! Mmm I may have to lower the weight a bit...

Here is a go at the PE

For the iM, is it fine to hear/feel any grinding? I sometimes do, but without feeling any pain. I do not have the feeling of forcing the movement much either. I will post another check soon, but form should be similar to that in the one I posted above. I am trying to  elevate shoulders before initiating the back to front movement, but for now it does not feel like it changes much.

Hey Guido,

For the PE:

Everything looks good from this angle. Post a video from the top so we can check to ensure the correct scapular postion. You want your shoulders to be pinching your ears. 

For the iM, go a little wider. You don't need to be pushing through a whole lot of grinding. It will also help you with the suggestions Alex gave if you go a little wider. Focus on symmetry and fluidity for now. A proper warmup for your shoulders should help you as well. Use sets of the previously mastered H1 mobilities to warm up.  

Nice work Guido.

film yourself also from the front in order to check that the bar it is horizontal.

Thanks Everett and Alessandro. I will film from front and top next time I do this then, and go gentler on the dislocates.

Happy 2017!

Here are a top and front video of PE5. I am shaking a bit - last sets, I definitely need to build some more endurance. But how about shoulders position?

Not sure if it is easy to tell if the bar is horizontal, the little tripod I used is one of the bendy ones... next time I will make sure to level the camera.

Hi Guido,

It looks pretty good. I would like to see you bring your hands closer together. The goal is to have the hands no wider than shoulder width apart.

Like you said, it is difficult to tell whether or not the bar is level. Please send in another video making sure the camera is level so we can give you better feedback. 

Keep up the good work!

Be sure to lock completely the right elbow, it has the tendency to move higher then the left.

Thanks again to both  I will work on those points. Indeed my right elbows goes soft more easily than the left one, I am working to correct that.

So, paying more attention I noticed that my right elbow is quite prone to micro-bending. With the left one when I fully extend I feel like a slight click as something goes into place and the arm fully extended feels stable. With the right most of the times I do not feel the joint locking in place, the position feels less stable and in fact the elbow easily micro-bends. It is not so much a matter of weight: it happens even with an empty dowel.

Besides paying attention when I do this and similar exercises, is anything else recommended to correct this? Thanks!

Hey Guido,

This will get better as your strength increases but it does help to think of squeezing your triceps in this PE as well as focusing on pushing the bar as far away from your head as possible. Maxing out your scapular elevation and keeping tight arms should help you develop the habit of locked elbows. 

Stretch your subscapularis before the handstand session, it should solve the problem.

Thanks Alessandro,

are these kind of stretches fine?

http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/Subscapularis/Broomstick.html

http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/Subscapularis/Doorway.html

Softness of the right elbow is improving, but I have got a doubt about the dislocates: For the back to front part of the movement,
when is the right moment to elevate the shoulders?

- no need to elevate the shoulders

- elevate the shoulders from the start of the movement, i.e. when the bar is still at its lowest point

- elevate the shoulders only after the arms have passed the point at which they are parallel to the floor.

Hey Guido, 

Those look fine. You can also perform the doorway stretch on the floor by laying on your stomach with your arm in that position and rolling to the side.

As for elevation, you should aim to hit full elevation before the bar passes overhead. As the bar comes over the top of your head shrug your shoulders high! 

Here is a new video of the PE. I levelled the camera this time, and the bar seemes pretty horizontal

My endurance on the other hand... the bar sadly sinks quite a bit in those 30 seconds

And here is the iM. Both weight (2.5kg) and width should be mastery level.

I was surprised to find out that once I got to the required width with 1.25 kg, performing the dislocates with 2.5 did not feel noticeably harder.

Hi Guido, from your front view I can see that your left pec and shoulder rom it is a bit more reduced.  I Suggest to increasing the grip in order to reduce the difference between the 2 hands.

the correct moment to elevate the shoulders it is when the arms are about at 45° over the shoulder height.

Thanks Alessandro, I will work to make this more symmetric. Do you recommend any particular stretch/isolation work for the left pec/shoulder?

So, I have paid more attention last time I did the dislocates, and indeed the motion of the left shoulder feels more restricted. I often dislocate the right shoulder just a moment before the left one, while I suppose I should dislocate them both at the same time.

I feel the limitation more in the left arm and elbow than in the shoulder or pectoral, which stretches could I do to improve? Thanks!