Handstand push-ups Part two:
Let me start off with addressing the pictures with the hand placement from yesterday. There was one picture that was shown with the hands in a different place compared to the rest of the pictures. Yes, the hands will be further away from the wall because of the tripod position at the bottom. This is what you will have to play around with to see what is optimal for you. The pictures below will show the incorrect positions that we see daily.
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This is a perfect example of a disconnected position. The back is hyper-extended and the shoulders are loaded incorrectly. Fatigue will set in a lot earlier because of it. When an athletes back gets tight because of the HSPU, this is why. There is a lack of abdominal engagement causing the erectorsย in your back to overwork. Once they hit their capacity, everything starts locking up.
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Here is another example of what we see frequently. The hip is in a pike position and not aligned with the shoulders. Think about this movement as if he was right side up in regards to a locked out position overhead. We do all we can to stay away from that position when overhead so we definitely need to stay away from it while inverted. The hips need to be brought forward to be perfectly in line with the shoulders. A simple fix is to have the athlete stand and replicate this position. They immediately will see how this is incorrect. I then have them bring their hips forward aligning their body making them stand tall. Have them replicate this while inverted. Your butt should only touch the wall at the bottom of a kipping HSPU when your knees come down to counter balance your bodies drive back up as pictured below.
Skill: Warm up- 10x kicking up into a connected handstand and lowering yourself into a proper tripod position. Have a friend or coach take pictures so you can check your positioning. Coaches eye would work well with this too.
Fight the good fight!
Coach Poppa