Correting Imbalances

[crossfic]

When correcting imbalances would you want to gain strength or muscle in the area thats weak?

[Nic Branson]

Think movement imbalance. Stop thinking in terms of muscle mass or strength. First gain proper movement, then work on proper movement with more difficult patterns (ie. progression). The muscle size will sort it self out in most cases. If you have an imbalance you're not correcting it with 1rm type of loads so you'll get the reps and tut naturally.

Movement comes first.

[alec_ar]

I know it's never black and white but if, for instance, you have shoulders that tend to protract somewhat when at rest, is this typically indicative of over developed posterior muscles compared to anterior? I know my serratus anterior muscles are strong so I assume this isn't the issue.

[Nic Branson]

Shoulder protraction at rest can just be lazy posture with no inherent problems causing it. Could also be tight anterior musculature and inactive posterior musculature. Rhomboids are a big one so are traps.

[alec_ar]

Thanks. It's hard to spot imbalances, let alone address them.

[Joshua Naterman]

Shoulder protraction at rest can just be lazy posture with no inherent problems causing it. Could also be tight anterior musculature and inactive posterior musculature. Rhomboids are a big one so are traps.

It is also easy to confuse downward rotation and anterior tilt with true protraction.

 

For the casual reader (not Nic, he already knows this): There can be many issues, and you can't always tell the difference between problems with activation and a maladaptive muscle length issue without performing specific strength tests throughout a joints range(s) of motion, while manually observing the bones.

 

That's why we always tell people to go see a professional! They may not catch everything you've got going on, but they are much more likely to be able to do so than any of us on the internet, You can't do the strength tests by yourself.

[alec_ar]

Yes if I were concerned or uncomfortable I'd see a doctor, but I'm not. I was just curious because I do a ton of rhomboid and trap work, as well as rear delt so seeing some protraction (could be downward rotation) I've been weirded out.

Might be all from all that Victorian work that I used to protract on

[Antonio Boyer]

hey i was wondering if anybody here listens to yo eliot? I was going to start a thread about it but i figure ill just post it here. a while back ago he wrote this article about how gymnasts have bad posture and I would like to know what others think about it http://www.hulsestrength.com/gymnasts-bad-posture/

 

In his youtube videos he advocates doing front squats and dead lifts to correct imbalances and fix posture. 

[Nic Branson]

Likely just lazy posture to be honest. If you have been that way for awhile then your body has simply learned to be that way when at rest. How are they when your training?

Your nervous system learns patterns, learn a bad one and you'll repeat it over and over.

[alec_ar]

I attempt to really balance scapulohumeral development, as well as things like anterior-rear delt development. My scaps never act up when I train so I'm gonna shrug it off, like you said, probably a pattern of laziness.

[Joshua Naterman]

A lot of gymnasts DO have kyphotic postures. They tend to spend a lot more time hollow than arched, and it shows.

 

The advantage of gymnastics for fitness is that we can choose to take a more balanced approach.

 

Neither front squats nor deadlifts will help you unless you can achieve the correct posture for the exercises, but if you CAN then yes, they will be good. So are the superman holds we do, which we call arch holds.

[Hanuman]

i used to spend a lot of time strength training before i  switched to gb and i often did a lot of weighted dips and weighted  pullups but virtually nothing for my shoulders. i have sustained several shoulder injuries from this lack of training and as a climber i often notice that in certain positions  where the entire upper body is engaged my shoulder seems to move up in the socket as though it is being squeezed up by my back and chest muscles. if i trained handstands so that my shoulder strength increased would it stabilize my shoulder in the socket? i.e. would there be a thick enough layer of muscle to hold my shoulder against the corresponding pressures of the rest of my upper body?

considering i can chin and dip half my own bodyweight but not one handstand pushup my shoulders must be incredibly weak no?

[Hayden Whealing]

hey i was wondering if anybody here listens to yo eliot?

 

 

I do. I think it's one of the best health and fitness channels on youtube.

[Connor Davies]

hey i was wondering if anybody here listens to yo eliot?

More than I'd care to admit.  I hated him at first but the more I watch his videos the more I think the guy might just have his head on straight...

[Karl Kallio]

A lot of gymnasts DO have kyphotic postures. They tend to spend a lot more time hollow than arched, and it shows.

 

The advantage of gymnastics for fitness is that we can choose to take a more balanced approach.

 

It seems to me that the female artistic gymnasts that have started swimming with me tend to tense up into a hollow neck and shoulder position as soon as they tighten their abdominal muscles.  Its like they have one predominant motor pattern that activates from cocyx to cervical  It takes lots of drills and development of the arching/opening muscles to train in alternative habits like arch the chest open but tense up the lower abs or keep everything tight but neutral. 

[FREDERIC DUPONT]

It seems to me that the female artistic gymnasts that have started swimming with me tend to tense up into a hollow neck and shoulder position as soon as they tighten their abdominal muscles.  Its like they have one predominant motor pattern that activates from cocyx to cervical  It takes lots of drills and development of the arching/opening muscles to train in alternative habits like arch the chest open but tense up the lower abs or keep everything tight but neutral. 

 

This is great to have points of view from different activities; very interesting

[Joshua Naterman]

It seems to me that the female artistic gymnasts that have started swimming with me tend to tense up into a hollow neck and shoulder position as soon as they tighten their abdominal muscles.  Its like they have one predominant motor pattern that activates from cocyx to cervical  It takes lots of drills and development of the arching/opening muscles to train in alternative habits like arch the chest open but tense up the lower abs or keep everything tight but neutral. 

There's no reason for them to be any different than lifters who start GST in this respect

 

For a lifter, as soon as their abs tense their glutes and lower back tenses, and this makes gymnastic elements that require abdominal compression completely foreign, because their body has only learned one reaction to abdominal work

 

They train that pattern all the time, so it is their reflex. It takes, as you have noticed, a lot of consistent practice to teach the body how to do more than just the one pattern, just as it took a long time to create that automatic shape that they have now.

 

Eventually, with practice, we can learn to choose which pattern to engage at will.