Elbow lockout during plank/pushup/scapular shrug

Hello! 

I've recently started Gymnastic Bodies with a background in weights of a few years and calisthenics for the last few months. 

I seem to have a trouble locking out my arms, they do indeed lockout but it feels like a serious muscular effort in my arms, when I do pushups for example I often feel the area around my elbow the most, also when I do scapular pushups. 

I know it's a muscular imbalance and that I probably should stick to the basics which I am - even doing the incline pushups instead of regular ones despite being rather strong. 

However the PE1 for the straddle planche - scapular pushups - feels like I have little going on. 

The protraction feels like it goes through a bit of elevation too. 

Retraction doesn't feel like I'm retracting, rather collapsing between my straight arms. 

If I give my elbows a slight bend then I can feel the scapula retract and squeeze in the middle (when the skin bunches up) - obviously I don't do this but I believe this is how the straight arm should feel, at the moment I feel nothing with straight arms. 

When I do hanging excersies like pullups my scapula has a lot more control, but overall it is very stiff. 

What should my focus be? Is it the elbows or the scapula that makes the straight arm moves harder? 

Thanks for the advice 

Hi Avner, since the first rule of straight arm work is elbows conditioning you have to verify if your condition is tissue problems or if there is a bone structural problem. something that you cannot verify by on your own but you need a PT of an X-ray exam. once you know the source of the problem we can make more considerations.

In my country unless I break something or get into a serious injury I will never get an xray - no point trying for a sports performance issue if you are not an athlete. 

So basically I don't have access to having it examined with xray, I don't have any restriction or pain in day to day life and doctors in the Netherlands are very strict with assistance. 

However I've worked with physios in the past and they never said anything, if that matters? 

That said I don't think it's boney restrictions because I've had better control of it in the past, something feels tight along my wrist and inside my shoulder socket and it's not there if I slightly bend my elbows. 

Some days are better, if I do it with a band around my back I can feel it better (sometimes) 

I've included a video to show how it looks

http://imgur.com/a/dVr0nwM

Really it just doesn't move so much, with the slightest elbow bend the whole thing goes together I could probably crack a walnut there lol. 

It really feels like it needs to be mobilized

On 6/24/2019 at 12:21 PM, Avner Kluger said:

In my country unless I break something or get into a serious injury I will never get an xray - no point trying for a sports performance issue if you are not an athlete. 

So basically I don't have access to having it examined with xray, I don't have any restriction or pain in day to day life and doctors in the Netherlands are very strict with assistance. 

However I've worked with physios in the past and they never said anything, if that matters? 

 

That said I don't think it's boney restrictions because I've had better control of it in the past, something feels tight along my wrist and inside my shoulder socket and it's not there if I slightly bend my elbows. 

Some days are better, if I do it with a band around my back I can feel it better (sometimes) 

 

I've included a video to show how it looks

http://imgur.com/a/dVr0nwM

 

Really it just doesn't move so much, with the slightest elbow bend the whole thing goes together I could probably crack a walnut there lol. 

It really feels like it needs to be mobilized

 

Hey Avner, in this case there can be 2 problems, muscles tension that counterbalances extensions like tension in the bicep or brachioradialis. or maybe capsule adhesion. if the problem is only tissue adhesion you should be able to see improvements with this one

https://www.hep2go.com/exercise_editor.php?exId=11220&userRef=0