HS-PE7 and iM - No progress past 24 sec and also poor left shoulder mobility

Hi! 

I am getting stuck at 24 sec for a few weeks now and not sure I got the form right in the first place. I have a not very mobile left shoulder . would you please review the 2 angles (front and side) in the video? 

Also I realized thanks to someone videoing from the good angle that my mobility is really asymmetric.  At the end of the video you can see my left shoulder is not moving properly. I would like advice on how to correct it. 

Thanks for your advice as i am really keen on handstand. 

Currently doing twice a week.  

Isabelle 

Hi @Isabelle De backer,

On the first video, it seems like your elbows are not fully locked and micro bending your elbows. To build solid strength make sure that your traps are elevated on your maximum range of motion while also maintaining fully locked elbows. On your second video(side view) you are moving your head too much. Your mobility seems that your dislocates are uneven. I will suggest decreasing weight on the mobility and revisiting the earlier mobility for your handstand.

Thanks for taking the time to review Leo. I Have started HS-PE7 again from Step1 while paying attention to your comments. Thanks to the current handstand challenge I can keep my head in the right position too hopefully. I think I will need to revisit earlier mobility while at the moment also doing some exercise recommended by my therapist. I'll post the result again in a few weeks.

Yes the GB Handstand Challenge is awesome @Isabelle De backer  im still doing the challenges too. I always make sure to warmup properly and also to review and look back at the earlier HS iMs.

Hi Isabelle,

Definitely follow Leo's advice. 

I had a good form but was stuck on 24s for a long long time. I tried various things to make it easier: added a minute or so rest time between sets; jumped down instead of walking down. That helped in building a bit more stamina. I slowly took these advantages away, and then began adding seconds to my 24s, sometimes just 1s every week. It look a long time but I did get comfortable with 5X30s in the end. 

Good luck!

That is good news @Samin Ishtiaq!!! Thank you for sharing your experience.  Keep us posted with your progress. 

HI isabelle your problem it is very common and I had something very similar. if you have the thoracic bridge course I can tell you on what you can focus to solve the problem.

Hi @Samin Ishtiaq thanks for your word of encouragement. I will not give up

@Alessandro Mainente yes I have the thoracic bridge course. That would be great if you can indicate some very relevant exercises from your experience as i can include them in every session!

Thanks! 

HI Isabelle  I highly recommend to spend Daily 5 minutes in the elevated cat using one arm each time. the focus must be symmetric position, no twist in the body, elbow locked all the time. begin with the tight side, one set for arm , repeat 4-5 times and end with a set of the tight arm and also  capsule stretch.

On 27/01/2017 at 10:51 PM, Alessandro Mainente said:

HI Isabelle  I highly recommend to spend Daily 5 minutes in the elevated cat using one arm each time. the focus must be symmetric position, no twist in the body, elbow locked all the time. begin with the tight side, one set for arm , repeat 4-5 times and end with a set of the tight arm and also  capsule stretch.

Alessandro are you suggesting to stay in the stretch for a solid 5mins one arm then switch arms repeated 4/5 times a day  . Or is this broken down to for example 5 sets of 1 minute (each arm) throughout the day 

IT depends on your experience, the less you are experienced with stretch the less time must be held the position, so in this case 5 sets of 1 minute.

@Alessandro Mainente one more thing if I may

ive just done the single arm stretch for 1 minute each arm

if i place my knees further back than my hips (as I would in the usual elevated cat stretch with both arms ) i have to support myself with my other hand on the ground a little as the stretch is too much. Is this acceptable or would it be preferable to bring my knees forwards than the hips and not have one arm on the ground supporting me 

many thAnks 

leigh 

This way it is not suggested in case of restrictions, put the knees under the hips.

Thank you will do

Hi

@Alessandro Mainente I am in progress with your recommended stretches. It is true that it is very intense with only one arm!!!! I had also a couple of ART + shockwave therapy on my bad shoulder and it gets better a little bit. 

I am also thinking of just restarting the whole handstand series. Maybe there's some exercises I have overlooked. 

And finally I make sure to do my thoracic stretch series every week. 

So ill have an update in a month (April) to let you know how well it works!!!

Thanks again for your help and encouragement ! Great community! 

Hi @Isabelle De backer, that is a very good idea to restart training.  do you also incorporate Foundation Series to your training?

Hi @Leo Trinidad!

Yes I do incorporate Foundation. I usually train 3 times a week Foundation (part of it)  + Handstand + a stretch one. 2 to 3 other days are for skill training (pole dancing and lyra). A bit less since January as i was taking my time off for shoulder treatment (a old pole dancing injury not very properly taken care of until now). 

I have restarted all upper body series 2 weeks ago considering my somewhat healed shoulder (I wasn't really far anyway). It is the HBP-PE2 that actually highlighted my shoulder issues. 

So I may as well restart handstand (and rejoice at how much better I am than when I had first started hahaha ;)) 

Thanks! 

That is awesome @Isabelle De backer, I felt the same way when I restarted. I felt much stronger and in more control over the exercises. Good luck with training and keep us posted.