Master Shoulder Flexibility: LIVE TODAY

[JoachimG]

What do we think about Cuban Rotations on this forum? When I say we, I mean the people who usually know something about this stuff. I know Ido Portal advices them for all his clients

[Salivanth]

I'm guessing from the content of the forums so far that at least a few people have Coach Sommer's Handstand One program, so I hope this isn't too narrow a question. Which stretches in this program should I focus on in order to master the first iM from this series? When I try and do it, my shoulders just go forward. For those who don't have H1, what I'm doing is essentially trying to pull a bar behind my head with my shoulders, while leaning forward in a lotus position. When standing, I can only hold it directly over my head, I can't go any further back. When seated, it's like there's an invisible line connecting my hips, my head, and the bar. If I lean forward, the bar follows.

[Keilani Gutierrez]

the question is, where do you feel the weakest at? for me it was definetely Trapz. so strengthening those with the iM's and going through the HBP iM's, and coincidentally, the pec minor stretch that Olivia does. it really helped get my shoulder to the ground in a 90degree bent arm position, improved my dislocates in leaps and bounds and my protraction/depression activation. long live C-R.

[Salivanth]

I'm not sure where my greatest weaknesses lie; all I know is that I can't pull the bar behind my head, even a broomstick that weighs next to nothing. Is there some way I can diagnose what's causing the issue?

[Keilani Gutierrez]

sounds more like a case of just not having done dislocates before my shoulders like to be warm when I do them, so i start at an acceptable width (much wider than my workin grip) and move them in to where i am finding that my warm up length feels comfy. thats usually after every set. so one set i'll start at about a foot woder than my workin length and as each set ends, i'll move it in a few inches each time, feeling it out.

i started with 3lbs but i get better at making the arcs with 5lbs.

just dont work these too hard. 5x5 reps is good enough and no need to rush things. if you do, you might piss off your elbow or shoulder.

[Keilani Gutierrez]

also, working on these specifically is really fruitful after getting iM's 1-4 upto snuff with at least 5lbs each.

[Tris]

I too find starting wide and working 1-2 inches in each set is a good way to do it. It's only by set 4-5 do I start feeling out whether I can take new ROM. At that narrowness, the last 2x5 is all I need before I start fatiguing and risking strain.

[SwissDanny]

I see a lot of people try and do dislocates with internally rotated shoulders almost the whole way round then externally rotating just towards the end when they run out of RoM.They are a lot easier if you set the shoulder in a retracted and externally rotated position before starting the movement.

Now my challenge is doing reverse dislocates (ie start with the bar at your back and holding the stick with the palms facing the front). I have the passive RoM if someone helps me, but there is no way I can actively move the stick more than about 30 degrees off my back.

[tigreton]

Hi all,

any recommendations on frequency (daily, weekly), set and reps on E5 (the strengthening exercise)?

Thanks!

[Keilani Gutierrez]

I'm doing E5 twice a week in my Handstand sessions as my warm up.

currently using this band set up(using the blue one right now. i have the yellow and red for the future) since I don't have a cable machine. warming up with 3 reps like Kit said. sometimes i get a little too trigger happy with it and end up twisting my torso or letting go of the physio ball i use, so i'll do an extra rep(with less ROM >_<) I'm surprised it creates such a sense of "omg omg omg omg, fight for that last centimeterrrrrrr" with this when im trying to go over 90 degrees.

I do two band routines(both for limber/warm up purpose not strength. the external rotator one is the only one i'm going to bump up the band Str on.) one is done MWF and the other is T-TH. Kit's external rotation exercise is in T-TH.

[Pyxida]

Hello all,

First time post here! I have been struggling with unlocking my shoulder's flexibility in extension. Specifcally there is a exercise from the Handstand 1 course where you lift a weighted bar to 90 degrees behind the back. It looks like the E3 stretch only you are standing and the hands are at shoulder width.

Besides E3, any recommendations on other stretches to gain this ROM?

In Stretching and Flexibility there is a stretch that mimics the Handstand exercise (sorry I don't have the book infront of me) that might work as well? The reason for the question is that from following ST system I have come to see that just stretching a ROM may not always work. Example would be hamstring stretches aren't always effective for pike as say stretching your calfs or piriformis.

[Keilani Gutierrez]

dig your fingers underneath the length of your clavicle, i found a lot of cobwebs there that instantly gave me mobility, also bicep stretches and the pec minor stretch that Olivia demos on the wall(i do a floor version, same cues, just on floor. i like using my BW to stretch since im a bit tired to use contractions after a few C-R after the workout of that day.

that bit of wisdom helped me, i hope it serves you the way it served me

[Emmet Louis]

Here's a semi odd one from yesterday (well at least for me). I have been working on my OAHS again, doing a lot of weight shifting, block walks etc and about a week ago I lost ROM in both sides in my wrists. Thought I'd over done it so held back for a week just to give things a bit of a break and try work out the tension. Yesterday I hit the pec stretch with the fascial dimension aiming to hit my pec and boom! Range instantly restored in the wrist on both sides.

[Keilani Gutierrez]

whoa. trippy. o_o

[mitch]

I have recently been trying to rehab a little bit of ulnar nerve entrapment that has come about I believe as a result of over-training.

When I do some of the shoulder flexibility exercises, for example E2 and E3, I notice a significant sensation in the affected area. Some minor tingling in the pinkie and ring finger, and just a generally powerful stretched out feeling down the neck and through my whole arm. After some time the sensation goes away, and my shoulders and arms seem to feel better.

My question is whether these exercises would be therapeutic to such an issue or over the long-term something to be avoided. I've read that some people feel rest is the only way to rehab nervous system issues.

[Pyxida]

dig your fingers underneath the length of your clavicle, i found a lot of cobwebs there that instantly gave me mobility, also bicep stretches and the pec minor stretch that Olivia demos on the wall(i do a floor version, same cues, just on floor. i like using my BW to stretch since im a bit tired to use contractions after a few C-R after the workout of that day.

that bit of wisdom helped me, i hope it serves you the way it served me

Thanks Keilani,

I have been ignoring myofascial release as a technique for mobility. I'll apply this and report back. Loving the pain.

[agmemon10]

I was wondering if Kit and the gang or any of you guys could take a look at my stomach-to-wall handstand and recommend which exercises/limbers I should focus on to achieve a good freestanding HS

I have my head tucked in hard because I find that helps me keep good alignment through posterior pelvic tilt -- if I untuck my head, my back arches. Also, when I do dumbbell presses or HeSPU negatives, I sometimes feel a pinching/impingement in the back of my shoulder -- does anyone have experience with this?

[LorenzoV]

Hello everyone, I'd like your advice something, if you could. I've got this problem where my long head of biceps tendon (right) tends to get inflamed and swollen sometimes after swimming (but again, sometimes this happen with no apparrent cause at all) It's getting better in the past few weeks, the fist time it happened I was K.O. for weeks. I swim regularly 3/4 times a week.

My question is, given that my PT has advised me to do some light resistance band work to strenghten the rotator cuff, would the exercises in MSF help me in any way? I've seen that Kit has referenced previously on the forum L3 and E2A with internal rotation of the arm. I downloaded and tried L3 and it feels fantastic, but I'm unsure about E2. Is stretching the muscles connected to the tendon advisable, in my situation, or should I avoid it?

Thank you!

[SwissDanny]

Tip of the day for E10 Stall Bar Lat Stretch, or indeed any other grip intensive stretch.

Of course its good to work that grip strength at the same time, but if this is a limiting factor to the length of your stretching, use a weighlifting grip strap...

Happy lats!

[Rik]

On the subject of tips for stretching: try using a solid object for the single arm ring hang. I've been using a bookcase. This allows you to do additional contractions where you push into the object, so it's a little more adduction-oriented.

[Kit_L]

@ LorenzoV:

I downloaded and tried L3 and it feels fantastic, but I'm unsure about E2. Is stretching the muscles connected to the tendon advisable, in my situation, or should I avoid it?

In all similar situations, there is only one answer: you have to try it. I developed that stretch to help an identical injury (but caused by boxing); the internally rotated (thumb pointing down) version of this stretch is likely exactly what you need. The standing version Liv displays focus on pec. major; internally rotating the arm exposes long head of biceps tendon. Go gently in the beginning. Please report back. She demos the long head of biceps version on the floor (and which is my preferred version).

Side note on rotator cuff strengthening: these need to be stronger than most PTs think, in my experience. There are suitable exercises in MSF. And if this tendon is getting inflamed from a low intensity activity like swimming (low intensity compared to GST) then you need all the MSF exercises, in time: if you cannot position your arm/should perfectly in the water (where you have little effective mass to stabilise from, meaning that you need more active flexibility than for many land-based activities) the potential for shoulder injuries is increased—and long head of biceps tendon is THE most commonly injured "shoulder" muscle (not a muscle and strictly speaking, not a shoulder muscle, but still accurate).

[Kit_L]

@agmemon10: from the video, your lats and HFs are both tight (and this likely is why you need to tuck your head to maintain the tail tuck). No problem: there are many lat stretches in MSF.

Re, the chest to the wall HS exercise; IIRC, Yuri showed us a version which has helped many people open out the shoulder angle to a perfect position. Do the same exercise with the same sues, but a few inches further away from the wall—so a small pike is required (this decreases the tendency of the HFs to extend the lumbar spine, too) and then once you have pushed out as far as you can (scapular elevation) then you pull the chest to the wall; this is an active lat stretch (and active cue for the traps to maintain max. elevation). I have seen him use both pulses and held positions in this movement. And maintain your thumbs just in vision at the top of your visual field—because your hips will be piked, the extension will be eliminated. And work on your HFs in the meantime!

And re. Phi's advice above: I agree, and sometimes the little additional contractions in unexpected directions can make all the difference. I remind everyone that thinking of one's body is terms of muscles and tendons and bones is a limited view: literally all angles will need to be explored, depending on the individual and the tasks he/she wants to be able to perform.

[Kit_L]

I have been going though older posts now that we have moved; someone wrote:

Is this a coincidence or is this an implicit recommendation to put on long sleeve shirts in order to trap heat in the upper body?

Both—I had run out of the Jim McAirt Ts, so when I was thinking about what to wear, the blue long-sleeve one jumped out of the pile. When I am warming up shoulders, I almost always have a light sweater on over a T. Most people who know me comment on the brutalised state of my sweaters!

And to everyone who commented on, or experienced tingling or numbness in the fingers with some of the stretches—please be careful and do your initial exploration movements slower, way slower, than you think you need to. Only direct experience can tell you amount and intensity, and the variation in individual's responses is WAY more than any individual ever thinks it is. You can hurt yourself stretching; please keep this in mind!

[Ulman]

What are the stretching materials recommended for this? I've seen yuri bands and other things in these series.

[SwissDanny]

What are the stretching materials recommended for this? I've seen yuri bands and other things in these series.

The bands are just normal gym resistance bands (heavier than the light rehab thera-band) for example http://www.rogueeuro...onster-bands-eu I would get approximately 10mm(x2), 30mm and maybe 50mm to have a versatile selection.

A couple of varying lengths of wooden dowel or pvc pipe is used for rotation and self massage. Otherwise ideally access to stall bars and hanging rings, but otherwise you can improvise eg with a door frame.