I'll see Gant's poor man's fingal fingers, raise him my weak man's planche...

[Garrett Smith]

Took these vids on Saturday. Using 2 red (mini) JumpStretch bands to assist with supporting the legs in a full planche. The second video is the one to watch if you only want to see one--it shows the full set-up, along with my messy garage. This is cross-posted in my training journal and at GymnasticBodies.com .

Assisted planche training with rubber bands #1
Assisted planche training with rubber bands #2

From the little experience I've had with this method, I believe it will help with attaining the planche proper much more quickly than the standard planche variation isometric holds--this is a totally different animal!

Enjoy!

[Patrick Donnelly]

Garrett, you've got to slide your body forward more. Hands near the hips. If the bands weren't there, regardless of how strong you were, you would not be able to hold that position, since it simply isn't balanced.

Once you get the feel for the correct position, that will help you make good gains, though.

[Steven Low]

Your core is sagging a bit. You want to be even more rounded than that... exaggerated. And yeah, you need to lean forward significantly.

The thing with switching up exercises is that it's good especially if you've stalled IMO. But it's definitely not superior than tuck/adv. isometrics all the time....

"the best exercise program is the exercise program you're not doing"

[Garrett Smith]

Patrick,
Thanks for the reminder. I'll work on that.

FYI, regarding hands by the hips--my torso is so long that with my wrists extended (like a floor support) my hands barely reach hip level when they are right at my sides--so I'm guessing that my planche will eventually look different in regards to hips/hands than others, since it is anthropometrically impossible for my hands to be near hip level if they are anywhere in front of me (like in a planche). That is, unless my body is angled upward, like I see on many people's straddle planches (hips higher than shoulders).

For example, I have to be on fingertips and really flex my spine to do an L-sit on the floor at all. There's just no room like someone with longer arms and a shorter torso would have!

I have noticed in playing around with this that shifting the weight more forward definitely helps with being able to keep the legs higher.

[Garrett Smith]

Steven,
Several people I've talked to have noticed definite major stalling/plateaus on the isometric planche training, including myself. I've seen it also noted on the GB forum.

This would seem like a good adjunct to teach proper positioning, sort of like front lever eccentrics. I'm doing both dynamic and static planche work, it's not a one-or-the-other thing...

[Bob Overstreet]

Huh... that's a nice variation... something I might give a try.

[Andrew Meador]

Originally Posted by Garrett Smith

Steven,
Several people I've talked to have noticed definite major stalling/plateaus on the isometric planche training, including myself. I've seen it also noted on the GB forum.

I've seen the same thing in my training. IMHO, that's the way isometrics work. You'll receive the benefit of greater muscular activation in the beginning - that's the famous neurological adaptation and why you'll see improvement largely at a narrow joint angle range. The standard 3-5 rep max over a full ROM is still a better way to improve strength generally. In training for the planche, this can be achieved with dip, HSPU, and ball planche push-up variations. There are many such variations to keep us all busy. Imagine full-ROM V-sit dips on rings, for example.

BTW I'm a transplant from the CF forums - I've liked what i've seen so far in these forums.

[Blair Lowe]

Good to see ya over here, Andrew.

Garrett are you sure you're inability to do L-sit with flat palms isn't just hip flexor related to having your legs high enough?

[Garrett Smith]

Blair,
When I was at my first CF cert, Rip asked for someone from the audience with a "long torso". I knew that was me, so I stood up. As I was approaching the bar to demo, Rip said, "God gave you a couple extra vertebrae, didn't he?" When my wrists are fully extended and arms right at my sides, my thumbs touch my trochanters. This means I'm short an inch or two in terms of clearing the ground with my butt, unless I really flex my spine to shorten it that way.

Long torso + relatively short arms = crappy at DLs and L-sits on the floor.

I can do V-sits on parallettes for a couple seconds, so I don't think it is hip flexor strength.

[Sam Nutt]

Holy cow. I have a long torso too, but was given the arms to compensate. I assume you mean greater trochanters - because either of the others is a real deformity .