Beastskills tip on increasing shoulder ROM for HS

[Eric Heiden]

Hey guys,

I was checking out some of the videos on beastskills.com and came across this video tip for opening up the shoulder for a better HS:

dxY8fqgzeZc

Thought some here might find it interesting. I'm definitely going to give it a try!

[Aaron Griffin]

Is he rolling the lats AND serratus?

[Coach Sommer]

Very good idea for the use of a massage ball for cross friction across the lat, pec minor etc.

This following should not be construed as a personal comment against the presenter, but rather as a point of both constructive criticism and caution to others contemplating accepting technical advice from someone other than from an expert in this field.

People should be quite picky on whom they choose to learn HS preparation and technique from. While I appreciate the presenter's enthusiasm, this individual's HS line, even at the end of the video, is relatively poor; his hips clearly show anterior pelvic tilt, his ribcage is far too open (which creates the illusion that he has increased shoulder extension ROM) and the spine is arched. Anyone following his advice to learn a HS may well will find themselves in the same situation.

These type of faults, and the physical limitations they entail, are the result of improper physical preparation compounded with a lack of technical proficiency and are the primary reason that the majority of improperly prepared fitness enthusiasts seek to proceed to one arm HS work as soon as possible. This effort however is for naught; the ROM issue and consequent technical deficiencies still exist and will only be reinforced with the passage of time.

There are several excellent handbalancers here on the forum (handbalancer and yuri amongst others) whose advice I would recommend.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[Aaron Griffin]

Coach, do you have the same critiques of this picture?

(from this tutorial)

The presenter is Jim Bathurst from beastskills.com (also the model pictured in the Convict Conditioning books). I'm trying to figure out if his handstand has just gotten sloppy over time or was always poor by Coach's standards

[Coach Sommer]

... Coach, do you have the same critiques of this picture? ...

Absolutely. The technical errors are clearly visible even through the heavy clothing.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[Alessandro Mainente]

since i started to do a gymnastic course (also if it is not for competitive purpose) my hanstand is changed a lot, but i've never use the exercises of beastskill...the basic in my gym are wall hanstand and some tips that Christopher Sommer said as an added work... i have to say that before i was able to do handstand but i started my handstand approach from zero because i've learned a not correct pattern!

now i feel more stable, now my handstand is in this form and seems that every bones are aligned, i'm always searching for protraction and elevation of shoulders to make my back rounded. is more easy stay up.

btw my form is a little bit different from beastskill form..or maybe is only mine opinion

on the next months i'll started the course of FIG for level 1 coach, will be a possibility to learn more and more.

[yuri marmerstein]

Personally I am a huge fan of shoulder traction with a jump stretch band for opening up my shoulders and in general keeping them healthy.

since i started to do a gymnastic course (also if it is not for competitive purpose) my hanstand is changed a lot, but i've never use the exercises of beastskill...the basic in my gym are wall hanstand and some tips that Christopher Sommer said as an added work... i have to say that before i was able to do handstand but i started my handstand approach from zero because i've learned a not correct pattern!

now i feel more stable, now my handstand is in this form and seems that every bones are aligned, i'm always searching for protraction and elevation of shoulders to make my back rounded. is more easy stay up.

btw my form is a little bit different from beastskill form..or maybe is only mine opinion

on the next months i'll started the course of FIG for level 1 coach, will be a possibility to learn more and more.

Your line is pretty good, it looks the way it does because you are pulling your head in, and thus your legs have to lean a little past your hands to compensate. Do you always use this head position when you do HS?

There is nothing wrong with it, but the cues for balance are visual so when you do more advanced HS movements it will be easier to look at a spot on the floor.

It's a really good proprioception exercise to do HS and move the head up and down though, looking at floor, straight ahead, and toes.

I know I have an ugly self taught handstand and I am looking forward to the may seminar to destroy it and rip it apart so I can learn proper form.

I find that learning to balance is the hard part, it's the part you really have to learn for your self. The position you can and should always work on as it will make the balance easier, but cultivating the feeling of controlling your body in HS is the aspect that is hardest to teach.

Though it does take some people longer than others to open up their shoulders.

[John Sapinoso]

I roll out in a similar fashion to Jim using a parallette.

Additionally, when my traps are tight from too much handbalancing (if you're practicing a gymnastic style fully elevated shoulder position, you'll probably be tight here too) I do this. I find that supple scaps allow for better shoulder line by pulling the shoulders open with more force.

n9bYQUHqhFc

[Alessandro Mainente]

Personally I am a huge fan of shoulder traction with a jump stretch band for opening up my shoulders and in general keeping them healthy.

since i started to do a gymnastic course (also if it is not for competitive purpose) my hanstand is changed a lot, but i've never use the exercises of beastskill...the basic in my gym are wall hanstand and some tips that Christopher Sommer said as an added work... i have to say that before i was able to do handstand but i started my handstand approach from zero because i've learned a not correct pattern!

now i feel more stable, now my handstand is in this form and seems that every bones are aligned, i'm always searching for protraction and elevation of shoulders to make my back rounded. is more easy stay up.

btw my form is a little bit different from beastskill form..or maybe is only mine opinion

on the next months i'll started the course of FIG for level 1 coach, will be a possibility to learn more and more.

Your line is pretty good, it looks the way it does because you are pulling your head in, and thus your legs have to lean a little past your hands to compensate. Do you always use this head position when you do HS?

There is nothing wrong with it, but the cues for balance are visual so when you do more advanced HS movements it will be easier to look at a spot on the floor.

It's a really good proprioception exercise to do HS and move the head up and down though, looking at floor, straight ahead, and toes.

I know I have an ugly self taught handstand and I am looking forward to the may seminar to destroy it and rip it apart so I can learn proper form.

I find that learning to balance is the hard part, it's the part you really have to learn for your self. The position you can and should always work on as it will make the balance easier, but cultivating the feeling of controlling your body in HS is the aspect that is hardest to teach.

Though it does take some people longer than others to open up their shoulders.

i do handstand in this form for several reasons

-i need head in position for breakdance skill such airflare, elbowairflare and other...someone here were a breaker so he can understand

i can stay more hollow in this position and it can help for breaking purposes

-with head in i can relax my lats so i never feel the lower back contracted

-i feel myself more aligned and i can focuse on how to stay on my palms and balance with them then with the fingers

i can do also the position with head between hands where i can look to the floor..but for the reasons i said i have to train also the other form!

[Mikael Kristiansen]

Simply being able to lift the shoulders into proper position when standing is usually not enough to be able to get good alignment. It is neccessary to build the scapular and trapezius strength to be able to lock the arms in the correct position when all your bodyweight is on them. You want your arms to feel like two pillars which attach to your shoulderblades and your trapezius are two tennisballs on the side of your neck. From there down, nothing or very little is ideally supposed to happen when you move legs or pike the legs into a press for example. The stomack to wall exercise can be good for this, as you do not need to focus on the balancing, but you can rather work on the position and muscular strength and stamina.

Getting the shoulders completely open is of course a must if you want straight handstands, and this can be very challenging for some. There are many different stretches out there, but a key point my coach always adresses is to stay hollow WHEN doing shoulder stretches. It is easy to let the chest out and think that its better since you go farther, but here we are looking for quality. One excellent stretch I always teach is to hold a stick with a supinated grip with both arms at about shoulder width, put the elbows on a table or the like and lean into the stretch. Remember also here the hollow position when stretching.

Alex87, for airflares it is much better to look at the floor. You really want to see the floor when you are on 2 arms before the throw. I actually never think about elevating the scapula when I airflare, I think more that I am in the back of a really high flare so protraction is more important because you have your arms a little in front of your body.

[Alessandro Mainente]

the problem in airflare is that i take the head off to much so practice with head in help me to stay in rigth way and take confidence of watching the ceilin in the muddle (jump phase) phase of airflare...for the rest take the head in for powermoves is only practice, i do elbowairflare always with head in because i had learned the elbowstand with head in, for the handstand the problem are years and years of horrible form