Importance of Relaxed Shoulders...Take 2

[colby41]

Take Two..

it never really occurred to me that i'm very inflexible in the shoulders and thus, my shoulders tense up at the plant. this causes my body and arms to lock together and move together at the plant, thus restricting my chest from driving up and getting into a appropriate C position. if this makes any sense to anyone, could someone explain the importance of relaxing at the shoulders. Is it bad to be overly flexible?

i also was wondering about posture at take off as some vaulters seem to maintain an upright pose, while others are slightly facing up.. thanks


and if your not befuddled enough, is static stretching of the shoulders more or less beneficial in increasing mobility over active stretching.

mucho gracias
-colby

[rainbowgirl28]

and if your not befuddled enough, is static stretching of the shoulders more or less beneficial in increasing mobility over active stretching.

mucho gracias
-colby

My unscientific opinion is that you are going to have a harder time seeing significant flexibility increases in your shoulders via dynamic stretching alone. Shoulders are a lot harder to stretch that way than the hamstrings.

[ifavault]

I often felt that when I was competing, the high level of flexibility I had in my shoulders often hindered my plant allowing my top arm to move well behind my head. I would suggest that at the extreme ranges, it would take significantly more shoulder strength to pull back out of it and I felt that was one of the technical flaws I could never overcome.

With tighter shoulder flexibility, I think one would have more force for pole bend sooner than someone whose body travels further toward the pit before shoulder end-range is obtained. I felt this had a significant impact on the timing of the remainder of my jump and my ability to get on stiffer poles.

I would suspect that those "in the middle" for shoulder flexibility would get the benefit of the hands overhead and the stretch reflex/whip swing, wheras there is less benefit for those on the extremes.

Keep in mind that there is a difference between capsular flexibility of the shoulder and something like musculotendinous flexibility of the hamstrings. My joints are a bit hypermobile throughout my body, but I couldn't touch my toes with my legs straight on a bet. In fact, I've often wondered whether perpetual hamstring tightness forces some vaulters to curl into a partial ball instead of swinging all the way up with a straight trail leg? A topic for another thread perhaps...

For increasing your shoulder flexibility you might help yourself a little by getting your scapula to loosen up from your thorax. When lying on your stomach and your hand placed behind your back in a fully relaxed position, someone ought to be able to get their fingertips underneath the medial (spine side) border of your shoulder blade and lift. Shoulder flexibility has as much to do with scapular mobility as it does with what is known as the gleno-humeral (ball and socket) joint. It's a combination of the two.

(Free advice from your local PVP message board physical therapist)

ifavault
www.inflightathletics.com

[jcoover]

the shoulders MUST act as shock absorbers at the takeoff and roll back letting the chest come through.... check it out.






enough said?

[powerplant42]

The tricky thing is though, is that all other muscles should be rigid and tight in order to keep energy from being lost in loose muscles.

[Lax PV]

As far as stretching ideas, I would seek info froma gymnast. We got a lot of information from them about static and dynamic stretching of the shoulders.

PS... muscle can be strong without having to be so rigid. The "shock absorber" idea is more of eccentric strength movement in my (less than expert) opinion.

[OUvaulterUSAF]

I did the samson stretch all summer before my workouts to work on shoulder flexiblity and getting my top arm above my head as high as possible.

http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/faq.html#Exercises9

Oh and on that website, look up muscle ups on rings for a really killer workout.

[vault3rb0y]

If you are completely rigid, you have no chance of stretching as far as you could into an inverted C. I believe you must use quick muscles the same way you do when you run, to finish your take off and stretch your quads, hip flexors, abs, etc... and that after you are fully extended, THEN contract with as much force as possible. You can only stretch your muscles to their farthest limits if they are relaxed.
I believe your shoulders need to relax enough to let your hands come over your head, and if you are hitting a free take off you will feel almost no pressure on your shoulders. That lets you relax right before you swing. As soon as that relaxation extends your C position to its limits, swing with everrything you've got. I think you only apply as much force with your shoulders as is necessary to keep your hands in their proper position.