planche goal

[matt=>]

I started training the planche a few weeks ago. Before gymnastic type training I lifted weights. Also right now working on the muscle-up, l-sits and handstands too. I've never been a flexible person AT ALL so that can be an issue, especially with planche.

I can hold the advanced tuck for 5 seconds, but my goal is to get to holding the straddle planche by my birthday, which is May 5.

I think I can do it but it might be a little far fetched. Any feedback/stories on planche progressions is appreciated

[Gregor]

Flexibility has nothing to do with planche!

You have alot material on this forum about planche, look for a sticky topics or usea a search button.

[Blairbob]

The only flexibility planche requires is some in the wrists and if you do straddle planche.

[matt=>]

With flexibility I'm talking about my wrists, but they're getting better.

Is two-ish months achievable for the straddle or should I progress slower so my body can adapt?

[Blairbob]

Who knows, that depends on a lot of the things besides the fact we don't know where you currently are.

[matt=>]

Currently I'm training planche 3x a week, every other day. Usually ~60 seconds of advanced tuck holds with a few sets of leans and/or pushups with my hands at my hips (pseudo-planche???). I also do some wrist stretching on these days for obvious reasons.

Sidenote: two or three other days a week is pull-ups, l-sits, and other core work.

[Blairbob]

what is max hold and what kind of position?

[norbeex3]

Sorry to hear this from me but I don't think you have a legit adv tuck planche from a few weeks of training even if you lifted weights before. Are your arms locked out? Are your hips in level with your shoulders? You don't have to haste your progress that much and even if you are strong enough your shoulder gridle is likely to be injured by this fast progress. Do some prehab. Make progress slowly. And don't take it as an offense. Just an advice.

[Joshua Naterman]

I did. It took me less than a month from when I started planche training with leans and all that to be able to hold a 5 second or so flat tuck. Four months later I was jumping into straddles, which was WAY too early, I hadn't build up nearly enough joint strength, and I got hurt. Ooops!

If you do have a legit, locked arm flat tuck, that's great, but be very, very careful before starting to extend out into a straddle. Build up to really high volume with the flat tuck first, and then do the same with the straddle once you train it before you try the full planche!

Edit: For me, the elbows were the weak link, and if you're a lifter like I was and haven't done any straight arm work, then right now you are headed full speed towards disaster. A good goal for you is a 15 second flat tuck(advanced tuck, whatever) by your birthday. You'll spend a long time in flat tuck, we all do. The straddle is pretty much the home stretch, and you will almost certainly hurt yourself just like I did if you try to do it on any kind of a pre-set timeline. Don't even TRY straddle until you can do 3x20s of flat tuck, at least.

[norbeex3]

Okay you did. :oops: But as you said your elbows were hurt and that's what i was trying to say. The joints have to accomodate to the pressure generated in straddle planche. Do a lots of prehab work and develop a high volume flat tuck planche and you will be fine 8)

[Joshua Naterman]

OH YEA, he will totally F*&K himself up if he rushes into it, but hey... that's his choice to make.

[matt=>]

Thanks for the tips guys. norbeex3, i'm somewhat surprised by my progress as well. My advanced tuck is legit because of strength from lifting and I'm also pretty light (5'8" 130lbs), but like slizzardman said injuries can and probably will come with too quick progress. I'll probably get my tuck hold longer and then try straddle in a few months

What kind of prehab should I do? I'll search it, but anything specifically for planche training?

[norbeex3]

wrist prehab exercies like wrist pushups. there is a whole topic for this. Forearm prehab is also important if you do not want forearm splints but i dunno if this injury threatens everyone or just some chosen few like myself. :? I'm currently trying to cure mine.

You can also do Ido's shoulder prehab(stability) and develop your planche leans but be mindful with it. As we said before, if you work up your volume it will somewhat protect you from injuries but I can't say it for sure. Good Luck

[Joshua Naterman]

The heavier you are, the longer you need to take. I'm 227 lbs, so keep that in mind. I try to make sure I point that out when I mention timetables, because my elbows simply have to be much stronger than most everyone else's here for straddle planche work, which just takes longer to develop! No biggie It's just the way it is.

You are pretty small, which will be good for your planche development. You may very well be ready for straddle planche by June, who knows? Just make sure you base your progression off of your ability, and not an arbitrary factor like what month it is or how long you've been training.

[matt=>]

slizzardman, good tips. I have seemed to be progress pretty fast, my advanced tuck gets better every time I practice it so we'll see what happens. The only thing that really seems to hold me back is wrist pain, but over time it should lessen. I've started wrist pushups/ stretching to help

[Joshua Naterman]

Moist heat therapy will drastically speed things up for your wrists.

[matt=>]

Sounds good cause my wrists are a huge weak point. I guess that's true for a lot of people though, especially with the planche

[cccp22]

Moist heat therapy will drastically speed things up for your wrists.

************ What is moist heat therapy?

Brandon Green

[Nick Van Bockxmeer]

HOT WATER

[Joshua Naterman]

@ nick!!!

[Richard Duelley]

I used to just microwave a wet washcloth. You only need to heat it for a few seconds. . . if you do too much it can catch on fire. . . not like I am speaking from experience here lol :roll: I actually only got one smoking a bit and it was WAY too hot to touch! Now I have these cool microwavable heating pad things that after you microwave them you put them back in their little cloth pouch with some hot tap water soaked into the pouch.

[matt=>]

heat therapy may be something I will try if it gets worse. Is it just me or do most people get messed up/sore wrists from planche training?

[Coach Sommer]

[quote name=matt=>]... Is it just me or do most people get messed up/sore wrists from planche training? ...

There are actually several interacting issues which can lead to an increased incidence wrist issues:

1) Beginning PL work prior to having a solid L-sit. This is key.

2) Failing to train with only 50% of your current PL static hold max.

3) Attempting too much intensity, too soon.

4) Insuffienct wrist prehab.

5) Insufficient recovery.

Bottom line; if your wrists feel as though they are not yet ready for PL work, they aren't. My recommendation is to refocus your efforts on developing a rock solid L-sit prior to engaging once more in rigorous PL training.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[matt=>]

Coach Sommer, thank you for the insight. I can hold a solid L-sit for ten seconds, but I have a feeling some of my wrist/hand soreness is derived from having broken my arm/wrist/fingers before and therefore being weaker in the left arm. I'm progressing slowly and not "over reaching" my boundaries, so hopefully that should help me avoid an injury

[Joshua Naterman]

I can definitely suggest that you try the microwavable pouches NOW, while your problem is minor. Trust me, you do not want to wait until it's worse. From experience, I'd suggest that you only use 2/3 of the time recommended by the manufacturer if you're going to use the pad moist. Water transfers heat around 30 times faster than air, which is why moist heat is GREAT, but the same temperature that is tolerable with a dry pad will be painful with a wet one. Just a word of caution for you.