Daily Maestroism
DM #129
Thursday, September 29th, 2016
DM #129: I do a lot of posts about squatting, so I figured I'd flip it upside down for this one. I absolutely love working on handstands and have been getting much better at them thanks to @garagegymgirl. What this improvement means is that I am able to spend more time upside down, which allows for more observation and assessment of my positioning.
One of the things I've noticed is that I love keeping my neck in a super extended position. To help work on this I've been doing wall facing holds. First thing I noticed while doing them was how tired my neck got. I've always had a weak neck, and believe that it is at the core of many of my dysfunctions. Cervical extension uses muscles that are stronger for me (and most people) which is why I like to keep my neck in extension when doing basically anything.
My girl @juliavery hit me up today, talking about some persistent left sided mid-trap/levator scap tension, “trigger pointy” stuff. She told me that it acted up most recently while doing…wall facing holds! Julia, like me, doesn't have the best anterior neck strength and motor control.
A more neutral head and neck position, as emphasized with wall facing holds, forces you to tuck your chin in. The deep neck flexors are responsible for this movement. When you're inverted, they have to work that much harder (as compared to say standing up) because they are now working against gravity, not to mention the increased shoulder girdle demands.
Additionally, hyperextension of the neck can make it more difficult to engage your abdominal musculature, which is imperative for maintaining a handstand. Just give it a try. Stand up and tighten your abs. Now lean your head all the way back and try to tighten your abs again. Not as easy as when you're looking straight ahead. Don't hold your breath!
So, if you don't have the “strength” (could be a motor control issue) in those cervical muscles, you're going to steal from somewhere else. You may steal it from synergistic tissues, or antagonistic tissues. Either way, you're getting it from somewhere else, and don't be surprised if that area starts hurting.
Now, how to “fix” this is a whole different story. ?
#maestrofied