Shoulder Extension - Why?

Everywhere that I've read about handstands, and I do mean everywhere, people say to extend the shoulders so that you're touching your ears.

What I've never understood is why? Wouldn't having the shoulder back against the rib cage be a stronger and more stable position? I can understand training with extension for the strength aspect, as that movement is very important in gymnastics, but why is shoulder extension so important for handbalancers? What does it accomplish?

Like anything there are some shades of grey with this, the gymnastics HS is very extended, the HS as i was taught is a bit less so, handbalancers also have a range of scapular elevation, usually a bit less than the gymnastic version. This is due in part to the fact that the holds are longer so the stable extension is harder to maintain.

However, there is a VERY good reason and simple for the elevation of the scaps. The more you elevate your scaps the more you can rotate your arms back to open the shoulder angle!

Mr Brady said:

The more you elevate your scaps the more you can rotate your arms back to open the shoulder angle!

While we're discussing this, I keep hearing about "open shoulders", and I *think* I understand it, but have never seen a real definition or explanation. Is it simply a rotation of the shoulder so that the armpit faces more outward?

It's important for balance too. The shoulders play a huge variable in balance and if you can lock them out it makes balancing from the wrist a lot simpler.

This is actually a mistake I've been struggling with for the one arm stand, because I am fairly strong I can get away with bobbing my shoulder a bit and keeping balance. However this is wrong, and the balance ends up looking a lot sloppier.

At a yoga studio I went to here, all the instructors told me they were taught to sink the shoulders in and keep their chin up to their chest in case they call forward.

I told them "no wonder none of you can hold it without a wall".

Ouch, BURN!

yuri said:

It's important for balance too. The shoulders play a huge variable in balance and if you can lock them out it makes balancing from the wrist a lot simpler.

This is actually a mistake I've been struggling with for the one arm stand, because I am fairly strong I can get away with bobbing my shoulder a bit and keeping balance. However this is wrong, and the balance ends up looking a lot sloppier.

At a yoga studio I went to here, all the instructors told me they were taught to sink the shoulders in and keep their chin up to their chest in case they call forward.

I told them "no wonder none of you can hold it without a wall".

I was taught something very similar, and i agree its a big mistake in the long run. That's why we started inviting folks like Handbalancer to the studio, and what a difference it made.

it certainly pays to put personal bias aside and learn from those who know, there are so many things i was taught that i've realized could be improved upon. My poor students, all the things i've had to go back on and re-teach.

In gymnastics a lot of the skills are based off of the handstand and a lot of those skills require you to have the "open shoulder angle" (looks cleaner and creates better technique) so the gymnasts learn the handstand very shrugged.

My own hand balancing took a huge leap forward when I began implementing a proper open shoulder angle (still not completely there but ten times better than compared to before).

open shoulders are the solution to all problems

This is probably the fastest and most extensive reply I've gotten from this forum. Wow.

Thanks everyone!

I don't think shoulders are the solution to shoulder problems unless the rest of your line is perfect and your just planching a bit. Since it's quite easy to have a massive arch (neutral posture) it's often literally impossible to fully open the shoulders and find yourself in a straight HS.

I don't think shoulders are the solution to shoulder problems unless the rest of your line is perfect and your just planching a bit. Since it's quite easy to have a massive arch (neutral posture) it's often literally impossible to fully open the shoulders and find yourself in a straight HS.

Actually the issue of too much arch will be self correcting if the correct shoulder angle is employed; as when the shoulders open unless the arch is reduced the person will simply fall over.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

I agree. After focusing on opening my shoulder angle, I kept overbalancing. This forced me to tighten up my abs to correct my other problem, a slight arch. First free standing handstand, held rocksteady until my forearms cramped (~45s). Such a small change made a world of difference.

I usually hold handstand for 6-25 secs and after I tried this I held it for 40 sec with ease, thanks for the tip