Partner pec stick stretch

[Dexter]

Morning everyone!

Could those experienced with this stretch give me some feedback on my form? No video but only a picture for now. I have this tendency to think I might be doing a stretch wrong when I don't feel the effects significantly. As from the picture my partner can no longer pull back any further, but I still crave more ROM. (Going to need that second partner to do the shoulder movement assistance).  Anyway, any problems with my form that could lead to feeling the stretch less?

P.S. my calves are making me feel bad , could someone give me some recommendations on exercises to gain size on them?

 

[Nathan]

Hey Dexter,

Hard to tell from this angle. Side would be better so that we could see the positioning of your shoulders, the partner's foot, etc. A couple of ideas:

-Widen your grip on the stick. With your arms so close together, there's less room for stretch before your partner is out of options.

-Make sure your partner has their foot high enough. Like I said, hard to tell with this picture, but the bend in your torso makes me wonder if their foot is not too low.

-Think about expanding your chest upward and outward. Accomplish this by rolling the shoulders back into position like we did at the workshop, and by breathing into the upper mid-chest.

-A cue that @jon.valentine gave me was to think about trying to bring the elbows together behind the back. This worked well... a bit too well for me at the time 

Don't worry too much about the calves... that's not an angle that favors them

[Dexter]

Hi Nathan ,

I started with a wider grip before this, and tried the closer grip to see if the stretch would be different. Will again try an even wider grip the next time I try this. I always think of bringing my shoulders down and back when doing this stretch, and also the breathing into the chest cue. Will also try the @jon.valentine cue you mentioned!

Much thanks :D.

[Francesco]

In addition to @Nathan's suggestions I'd say - if your partner cannot go any further he can try to stay more upright and push with the forefoot on your back (as if doing calf raises); I've found this to greatly increase the intensity and also slightly change the place where you feel it. Also, have your partner place both feet at the same height, and play around with the height - sometimes a small distance makes a great difference; I've also tried elevating the partner to change the line of pull and this works nice as well (though you need to have the sensory awareness to keep the shoulders down and back, as they tend to go up, and if your upper traps are dominant you'll only feel them). Finally, I don't think this is your case but if your shoulders are hypermobile you'll have great difficulties in feeling this stretch (my girlfriend can cross her arms behind her back, and to have her feel anything we have to apply all the cues I wrote above). Hope this helps

[Craig]

What you're showing here is stretching different tissues to what we are desiring to target with the stick stretch - this is closer to a German hang and in your case a German hang would be a better use of your time to develop this line. 

What you're looking for here is the point of the shoulder (you can see it where the seem of your shirt meets the line of the shadow) to get further away from the nipple. To achieve this you will need to make your arms much wider and turn the point of your elbows to face towards the ground, externally rotating the humerus. This will be a start but a skilled partner would likely be required, your body will too easily slip into your flexible lines otherwise.

[Dexter]

Thanks @Nathan, @Francesco and @Craig for all the tips and cues. Will definitely try them!

 

[Jim Pickles]

I entirely agree with Craig - for the standard stick stretch the line is wrong.

Another way to get it, is to grip the stick wider holding it directly overhead (palms forward), and then take your arms backwards down behind you. At one point, it will be most difficult. This is the direction you need to use for the stretch. I suspect that in the photo your arms are lower than this point, and, as Craig suggests, rotated too far inwards.

As for the calves - what is the issue? Is it that they look too skinny? You just need to work them hard. Stand and go up on tiptoe and down again many times. Doing one leg at a time will double the weight each calf muscle has to lift. Carry weights to increase the force if you wish. Try jumping on the spot, making sure you articulate FULLY though the foot - point the foot fully as you leave the ground (this can be difficult to learn), making sure you really push off hard with the toes, and when you land, land progressively through the foot so that the heel ends up touching the ground. Afterwards, do calf stretches to stop the calf muscles shortening. These are like the exercises that ballet dancers do and they have MASSIVE calf muscles. The simple rises can be done discretely and easily while you are standing around in daily life.