Maltese vs. Cross, tendons and joints

Hi!

In the past, some guys at my club (me including) had problems with the biceps tendon from learning the cross. And that eventhough all of them could do a rings handstand and a planche, at least straddled, at that time.

All of them, me including, were quite young when they learned the cross, about 14-15 years old. So, we thought, that our tendons might be just not strong enough because we were in puberty and were still growing.

That's why we decided to wait with crosses until the gymnast isn't in puberty anymore, so at least 16 or older. For myself it worked, I'm 16 now and started doing crosses again, and I can hold it now without any problems or pain.

Now, we have a very strong athlete who's 13 and a half at the moment. His overall strength is impressive, especially his planche is really strong. But, we don't want to start working crosses with him, because we are worried that he could also get problems with his tendons and joints.

Now we were thinking about teaching him a maltese instead, which might take a lot longer than a cross, but might be healthier because the pressure on the tendons is not as high as with the cross.

What do you think? Is a Maltese less demanding for the tendons and joints?

Its still hard on the shoulder girdle. Working just the maltese progressions where the shoulder or elbow is supported is probably much safer.

My recommendation would be to do preparatory work, but to hold off on actual maltese work until the athlete reaches 16.

Allan's younger brother was capable of holding a cross when he was 8 years old. :shock:

However, other than for fun, he is not allowed to seriously train either crosses or malteses until he is older. He is currently 11 years old.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach Sommer said:

Allan's younger brother was capable of holding a cross when he was 8 years old. :shock:

Coach, I got a question for you, how does it feel like to be surrounded by beasts everyday?

seiyafan said:

Coach, I got a question for you, how does it feel like to be surrounded by beasts everyday?

Just another day in the jungle. 8)

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach Sommer said:

Allan's younger brother was capable of holding a cross when he was 8 years old. :shock:

That's crazy!

Another day in the jungle, indeed... crazy jungle out there

A cross at 8 years old, that's amazing!

Thank you for your advice coach!

I thought a maltese would stress the elbows and biceps tendon more than an iron cross would? I remember Coach saying to preferably have a straddle planche on rings before beginning iron cross work, but how does a full planche on rings also compare to an iron cross in terms of stress on the biceps tendon or inner elbow?

What about doing the half cross pull-ups starting from high position with the feet on a block and a spotter? That's how I started training the cross when I was 12, and it was the same for all the guys in my club. None of us ever had elbow problems.