Double Jointed Shoulders

bickler1077 started this discussion · 11/19/2015

I have extremely loose double jointed shoulders and I haven't had a single problem practicing pole moves in my year of training, until I got to the Ayesha. I can get into the grip upside down but once I start to put any weight on my shoulders/arms, my shoulders collapse and pop out of the sockets. I don't have any trouble with a twisted grip, but the elbow grip. Has anyone dealt with this or have any advice on how to overcome this? I've done scapular push-ups and maybe seen some mild improvement but I'm sad I might never be able to get this move!

6 replies

jsheridan · 11/19/2015
I have a student this happens to. She had to focus on building her shoulder strength, making sure she was staying pushed out. Take it slow, work on butterflys/extended butterflys, catepillar climbs, etc. It will take you extra time to build the strength because you need extra to stabilize than the average person.
Rachel Osborne · 11/19/2015
It happens to me. Sooooooo...I avoid Ayesha and all twisted grip moves and condition my shoulders and core a lot by doing a lot of head stands and elbow stands and forearm stands and side planks and planks. There is a lot of great pole moves and convos that don't involve or need Ayesha. Now and again I try it but it always feels unsafe.
Veena · 11/20/2015
Second what everyone else said! Strengthening is a must!! 💪🏻 If you'd like some guidance check out the lessons here, there are some nice conditioning exercises that would help! https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view_category/conditioning-exercises I have to be careful with my shoulders as well, they're not crazy flexy but I've struggled with stabilization the exercises and being aware really helps!
Mike Burns · 11/20/2015
I have the same issue. As a reference point, let me say that I can lay my arms completely flat across my chest and pin the crease of my elbow to the opposite deltoid. I love flexibility training and have great respect the folks who have it but this type of flexibility is not all it is cracked up to be. It first became an issue in a class where we did twisty grip and lowered into D or handspring position. If I didn't grab with hands very far apart, my shoulder would slip out. Elbow grip Ayesha was impossible. With rear deltoid and rhomboid exercises, I am much more stable but it's always an uphill battle. So much of pole requires front side muscles while so few engage the back at the same level. No one here will deny how important it is to go out of your way to avoid asymmetrical muscle strengthening. But, this means not just left and right (good and bad side) but ALSO front and back. The studio I train at does conditioning for 20min after warm up in the beginner and intermediate level classes. These include reverse fly's and other back strengthening activities. They use a tension band wrapped around the pole for most of it. Building up the rear shoulder muscles will result in shortening the muscles. This ends up holding the joints more tightly together and reducing unnecessary (dangerous) over-flexibility. The shoulder will be more stable and will keep the bones in place when in those troublesome inverted positions that place very unnatural stresses on them.
bickler1077 · 11/22/2015
Thank you everyone! I appreciate the advice and knowing I'm not the alone in this struggle!
Mike Burns · 11/24/2015
As fate would have it, we did elbow grip Ayesha in class last night. Watching the instructor, I noticed that the majority of the weight was being supported by her elbow which was not horizontal from the body but diagonal up towards the pole. The elbow is able to take a lot of the weight off the straight arm. This works even better if the body is not square to the pole but sideways to it. The hips twist to give the illusion of being square but this shoulder alignment lends perfectly to an elbow grip iron x. I experimented with both orientations but the squared off shoulder position seems to start with the shoulder already out of socket and probably is just tearing my arm to pieces. The upward angle of the elbow from the body combined with the sideways shoulders (bicep reaching over the ear rather than up towards the chin) gave me rock solid stability. I definitely recommend having a spotter if you try to work this one out. There's no sense in tearing up your shoulder and putting yourself out of commission just to land some move. What works for me may not work for everyone but perhaps this is helpful.