Hand position on planche progressions?

[Nick]

Is any one better than another? I simply use hands pointed forward, but obviously I've noticed that when trying other positions, such as pointed to the side, that my holds are weaker. Should I vary hand position to build strength in a wider variety of positions? Or just stick with any position?

[powersnake]

Well, hand positions is combination of both personal preference and wrist flexibility, yet there is a difference in difficulty.

If you check common positions you can see pros and cons

1) Fingers pointing foward - allow you to balance yourself more easily, but very taxing on the wrist. Bicep is less involved.

2) Fingers pointing backwards - more shoulder and bicep work, but harder to avoid falling foward (that's why you need more shoulder strength). This is the ideal hand position when performing planche on rings.

3) Finger pointing sideways - kind of a middle-difficulty, something between state 1 and 3.

(This is my own personal experience, of course the same muscles will be involved in each position)

Coach Sommer preference is to point your fingers 45 degrees forward, which reduce the stress on the wrist, and is better for beginners. He uses planche with fingers pointing backwards with more advanced athletes.

I suggest you to try each position, and see what's comfortable for you. In addition, don't forget to work on your wrist flexibility.

[peja16_roller]

Pointing my fingers slightly to the side allows my hips to become more aligned with my shoulders because I get more wrist flexibility from this position. However, I have less control in terms of balance and I get more of a burn in my deltoids and triceps.

With fingers pointed forward my hips end up being slightly higher than my shoulders, but I have more control.

You could also try fingers pointed forward but elevate the heel of your palms off the ground so that only the balls of your palm and fingers are touching the ground. This will allow for greater wrist flexibility and still have control in your balance.