Back Lever Problem

Hello fellow gymnasts,

I have been training gymnastics according to the "Btgb"-book for about 8 months now and have mostly been working on the fundamental exercises of static holds. Since then i've been making some nice progress in my perspective. Just to give a impression of the current strength level: L-sit 30 sec. V-sit about 8 sec. (altough im still trying to push the legs a little bit higher, but this will become better when flexibility increases), 15 sec tucked planche, about 6-8 seconds with a straight back (altough its quite hard for me to raise the hips higher than horizontal), and about 4 muscle ups on the rings.

I read that being able to perform a solid back lever is a prerequisite for performing a planche. Last week i decided to start working on that back lever to build core strength. I took the position of the german hang and tried to estabilish a back lever with the legs tucked. When i placed my arms the back lever position and started pulling something went wrong. I think i have been straining my arms too hard. My arms went numb and after training my squeezing power was gone. The next day that squeezing power came back thankfully, but it still feels like i've hit my elbows and my bicep contracts involuntary in my left arm (spasms).

I've taken some rest after that, and i think this has something to do with the ulnar nerve. I was quite sceptical about going to training next week, but i tried it, took it easy and it actually made it feel a little bit better.

What would be the best way to go from here? Going in the back lever position is quite hard on my arms. But building the core strength required to improve my advanced tucked planche will be hard now. Is there any other way of building that specific core strength? (the back lever seems like the ideal core strength builder for planche). Or should i carefully try the back lever again?

Tuck BL Negatives starting from an inverted tuck position.

Seek out some trigger points maybe?

I have also been trying this exercise, since it also simulates a planche hold for as core strength is concerned:

I can lower a little bit, but then just come crashing down. I assume that it is my core strength wich is making it happen. Or maybe, i haven't yet figured out how to engage the muscles in the core when going in that horizontal position.

Eventually i want to try to go into back lever tucked from inverted, but for now, some time off for my arms in that position seems like the best thing. But till then i'm looking for some good exercizes to simulate the planche position for the core muscles. (thanks for the tip Blairbob)

I've already been doing a exercise to strengthen the lower back (i dont know what it is called; but it involves placing the upper body on a pommel horse and then raising the legs to a horizontal position; maintaining that position and straddling). This is going well, but as soon as i have to support the weight of my upper body as well, like in the above video, i can not hold.

How do you know it is core strength that you are lacking in the planche instead of shoulder or chest strength?

@ B1214N

Like i said, this is a assumption. I could be wrong about this. The reason why i think it is core strength is because me falling down when performing the maltese negatives like in the video and when trying advanced tucked planche it is always the lower part of the body that comes down, while i still feel like my arms are going strong.

Anyway of testing the weak spot?

I did try a planche with a wall assist. I did notice then, it was really difficult in the shoulders, chest and forearms to start leaning while keeping the elbows locked out. Is it more common that those are the weakspot when trying planche?

I got My backlever from:

German hangs

Tucked backlever

Realy slow backpulls

block malteses are bloody hard. harder than bl

User556 said:

@ B1214N

Like i said, this is a assumption. I could be wrong about this. The reason why i think it is core strength is because me falling down when performing the maltese negatives like in the video and when trying advanced tucked planche it is always the lower part of the body that comes down, while i still feel like my arms are going strong.

Anyway of testing the weak spot?

I did try a planche with a wall assist. I did notice then, it was really difficult in the shoulders, chest and forearms to start leaning while keeping the elbows locked out. Is it more common that those are the weakspot when trying planche?

That does not necessarily mean your core is the one limiting you as it could be your arms and upper body, but if you say that you feel that your arms were still going strong then that may not be the case then. Most people's weak spot for levers and planches are in the upper body and arms rather than the core. Were you doing the block maltese presses with tucked legs? BL is not really a prerequisite for planche, but it is recommended to have it before planche. Also, keep in mind that BL requires the same amount of core strength as in a planche so keep working on your reverse hyperextensions or RLL with additional weight to make it harder.

There's a really high chance that your core isn't your problem. Its almost definitely your shoulder strength that's the problem, since the planche is almost entirely shoulder.

As for the back lever, its a relatively easy position that would only help if achieved.

I've experienced the numbed feeling, and the loss of grip before. The worst thing that's caused it is when I try a pelican. The strain on my biceps along with forearm flexing to maintain the false grip, it causes some sort of blood draining from my arms. I don't know what to do about it, I just avoided doing anything that causes it.

Ok. I'll change my belief in what seems to be the weakest link when achieving planche. I'll try to build more shoulder strength, lean forward more and maybe the hips will automatically rise with that.

I was really stupid when the numbing feeling occurred. I said to myself that it was just the muscle getting used to the new position. I should have realised that i was somehow preventing blood circulation or compressing the nerve.

I can actually do the pelican thing when my feet are supported. And also have a decent german hang and shoulder flexibility. Wasn't expecting this at all.

Thanks for your reply