Proper Overhead Shoulder Position

This is a re-post of a great article on shoulder position by @cirque_physio. Checkout her Instagram and Website where there is mountains of excellent information available for free including plenty of drills that will help improve your joint health and handstands.

“Engaged shoulders are ALWAYS down and back!! Spoiler- this is NOT always true. 
Alright - question for y’all. When your arms are overhead- whether you’re hanging from an apparatus, in a handstand , or stretching, what position are your shoulders in 💪? Are they down and back? Neutral? Up by your ears? Many of us use “shoulders down and back” as our cue for any overhead movement. However, this is actually *not* the optimal position for your rotator cuff- especially if you’re bearing weight in that posture (hanging, handstands). To help you understand why, here’s a quick bio-mechanics lesson. ⠀⠀
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For full and optimal shoulder overhead range of motion, you need 60 degrees of upward rotation from your scapula, and 120 from the actual ball-and-socket joint (glenohumeral joint). When both of these contribute as they should, and all involved muscles work properly, it keeps the rotator cuff in optimal alignment so it can best protect your shoulder from injury. 💪⠀⠀
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NOW- back to arms-overhead cueing: if you think “shoulders down and back,” you’re working against proper shoulder mechanics, and taking the scapula completely out of the equation. This forces the glenohumeral joint to produce more motion than it’s meant to, and does a few undesirable things: 1️⃣ brings your rotator cuff tendons into contact with the top of your scapula, potentially leading to impingement and rotator cuff tears 2️⃣ forces your elbows, wrists, and forearms to do more work, since your rotator cuff can’t contribute as much as it should when its being impinged.⠀⠀
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SO, what is the best overhead position⁉️It depends on what you’re doing, but the safe range is from the halfway point of a shoulder shrug, to fully extended (shoulders to ears).…basically, the complete opposite of “shoulders down and back!” Additionally, elbow pits should be facing each other, to promote slight shoulder external rotation. This position is where your shoulders are happiest and strongest 🙌⠀

WHAT ABOUT HANDSTANDS?

In my experience, this is less of an issue in hand balancers. One component of a technically correct handstand position is full elevation of your arms overhead, with an emphasis of the “shoulders to ears” cue. This puts most people in a nice, upwardly rotated scapular position, and keeps the rotator cuff happy. Another good cue to throw in for hand balancers is to think about rotating the hands away from each other, to promote slight external rotation and give the rotator cuff more space. One issue that I DO see in hand balancing is when fatigue sets in. In most people, the first fatigue-related compensation in a handstand is going to be a slow increase in the space between ears and shoulders- letting your shoulders depress, because your upward scapular rotators are getting tired. This causes the glenohumeral joint to take up the slack, and the rotator cuff gets compressed. Take home message for handbalancers-  if fatigue equals sinking in your shoulders, COME OUT OF THE HANDSTAND!  Same goes for training one arms- don’t get fatigued to the point of compromising technique, unless you hate your rotator cuff and want it to be miserable”

So there you have it. Some very sound knowledge to help you understand your shoulder position in handstand. Spread the good word.

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sundi pereira

Handstand Classes, Workshops and Short Courses Melbourne

For all things related to the wonderful world of hand balancing and handstands, handstand classes, handstand workshops and handstand short courses Suby Handstands has got you covered in Melbourne.

Whether you want to work in a group setting with Melbourne based handstand classes or Melbourne based handstand short courses or on a one to one basis with private handstand lessons you are going to experience growth in your practice.

Many people believe that the best way to progress their handstand is to repeat the same thing over and over again thinking that one day it will lead to some sort of miracle and finally click. I can tell you best way to progress is in fact to practice, but to practice the RIGHT things for your specific level, awareness and body. This is the way forward in your handstand training.

Participating in handstand classes or private handstand lessons is the best way to find the keys to unlock the gates to progress and stop experiencing frustration and fear in your handstand practice.

So you’ve mastered handstand at the wall and are ready to take it to the middle of the room? But every time you hop up, it feels like you can only hold the pose for a nanosecond. What gives? How can you learn to stick your balance in the center of the room?

If you’re looking to move your handstand away from the wall, odds are you’re already familiar with kicking up into the pose. Even so, starting with a solid, well-aligned foundation and kicking up with confidence can strongly increase your chances of balancing in handstand.

Press handstands are one of the coolest gymnastics/acrobatic skills out there

They are a demonstration of control, power and body awareness that can be done virtually anywhere.

Press handstand is a beautiful skill but one that is made up of many physical attributes. Flexibility, core strength, shoulder strength, skill and technique all equally play an important role. Having coaching to assess which area's you individually need to develop is vital to learn press to handstand safely and efficiently. I can help you put together a training plan to achieve your inversion, arm balance and hand balancing goals.

Tuck handstand is another awesome skill to work on.

As the name implies, a Tuck handstand is a bent leg position where the knees are pulling towards the chest, versus a handstand where the legs are fully extended with toes pointing directly towards the sky.

It helps to develop correct should alignment, shoulder strength, shoulder flexibility and is the gateway to many other cool handstand shapes. There is 2-3 amazing handstand drills that drastically help develop tuck handstand.

What about handstand pushups? A brilliant display of body control and raw power.

Just like you wouldn’t want someone performing a ton of kipping pull-ups when they don’t have the strength to do one strict pull-up, we don’t want someone doing a ton of kipping handstand push-ups if they don’t have the strength to do a strict handstand push-up. The shoulder strength required to complete a handstand push-up is great, and some may not have that strength just yet. Have no fear, I have created a simple training program to help you build your upper body strength to reach the goal of obtaining a strict handstand push-up. With dedication, patience and hard work, you too can successfully attain the handstand pushup.

As soon as you’re able to balance a handstand by the wall for just a few seconds without using the wall for support, it’s time to start adding some freestanding handstand exercises to your practice. BUT don’t leave the wall behind entirely just yet, it will still be one of the most useful tools for awhile to help maintain your conditioning and continue developing sound balance mechanics.

It can seem both terrifying and impossible to move your handstand practice away from the wall. Because what’s gonna happen if you fall? Some parts of the fear of falling out of a handstand are rational, others are entirely irrational.

let me help you address and overcome the rational fear of falling when you practice the freestanding handstand.

Learn how to handstand by learning :

How to fall

The benefits of going upside down

The muscles worked in a handstand

How to warm up before doing a handstand

Step-by-step directions for doing a handstand

Common handstand mistakes to avoid

As for how long it'll take you to master a handstand? It's pretty individual. Some will get it right away, while it takes a lot longer for others. Remember that it’s as much a mental discipline as a physical one and keep trying, knowing that you will get there.

So let get started. Click on the Handstand classes Melbourne page and take your practice to the next level whilst cultivating discipline and self understanding.