sPLPE1 form check

My shoulder stability show some improvement after 3 months of PE1, my right undeveloped right sarratus anterior have increase in size

I have few questions

1. Should I progress to PE2? I feel I have not rip all the benefit of PE1 since my right shoulder is still not very stable and get tired at the 4th and 5th set. 

2. Should I increase the number of reps if I stay in this step, sinceＩthink I can do 20 reps

Nice work Chris!

I'd recommend to refine the movement a little bit before moving on to the next progression. From the top view you'll see that you don't retract fully on every rep. I'd also like to see some more protraction at the top of the movement, make sure to squize your shoulder blades together at the bottom.

Your iM is looking good. I can see that you are stiffer on your left side. In this exercise you want to avoid letting your glutes come off the ground. If you look at the technical tip video, Wesley is showing a Stretch where you hold the bottle position while pressing down with the other leg. I'd reccomend to spend some time in this position on the last rep  

I would recommend to refine the movement before adding extra rep. Make sure you are protract and retract fully on each rep. Once you've mastered the movement for 15reps and moving on to the next progressions you can add 20reps of these into your warmup  

Hi @Chris Harvey,

Very nice attempt but I agree with Pauline. You should refine the movement first before moving to the next progression. When I was starting, my form looks like this too. A few things to consider:

1) always make sure that you look your elbows and knees

2) make your reps consistent

3) when talking about protraction keep in mind that we are hollowing the upper back. ("rounding" of the upper back) but this is not the same with rounding the spine. what we need is to lengthen the spine but at the same time spread the scaps on top of each each rep making it look like you are rounding your upper back.

I hope this helps and good luck with training.

27 minutes ago, Leo Trinidad said:

Hi @Chris Harvey,

Very nice attempt but I agree with Pauline. You should refine the movement first before moving to the next progression. When I was starting, my form looks like this too. A few things to consider:

1) always make sure that you look your elbows and knees

2) make your reps consistent

3) when talking about protraction keep in mind that we are hollowing the upper back. ("rounding" of the upper back) but this is not the same with rounding the spine. what we need is to lengthen the spine but at the same time spread the scaps on top of each each rep making it look like you are rounding your upper back.

I hope this helps and good luck with training.

1 hour ago, Pauline Taube said:

Nice work Chris!

I'd recommend to refine the movement a little bit before moving on to the next progression. From the top view you'll see that you don't retract fully on every rep. I'd also like to see some more protraction at the top of the movement, make sure to squize your shoulder blades together at the bottom.

Your iM is looking good. I can see that you are stiffer on your left side. In this exercise you want to avoid letting your glutes come off the ground. If you look at the technical tip video, Wesley is showing a Stretch where you hold the bottle position while pressing down with the other leg. I'd reccomend to spend some time in this position on the last rep  

I would recommend to refine the movement before adding extra rep. Make sure you are protract and retract fully on each rep. Once you've mastered the movement for 15reps and moving on to the next progressions you can add 20reps of these into your warmup  

Thanks Pauline and Leo

You mean my elbow and knees are not straight enough?

Also, is there any quick way to stretch the muscle around the upper back? I feel my rhomboids and traps are tight and it may prohibit me from

rounding the upper back 

I strongly suggest Thoracic Bridge Course to help with your upper back.

in addition to Leo's post I can say that Jefferson curls helped me a lot opening up my upper back - thoracic flexion that is. Extension is a different story  Thoracic Bridge course is also next on my list.