FIGURING THINGS OUT

RESIST THE FORCE - SCAPULA PRINCIPLE

This document is created for you.

It aims to give you the understanding necessary to master the variety of upper body strength
goals you currently hold. The most important thing to note before digging into the specifics, is
that this idea is dynamic and must be used intelligently. Using it dogmatically and without
reasoning will not yield a positive outcome.We must always seek to combine intuition with
reason.

The Principle can be simply explained as follows; “When one would like to produce force
through the upper body, we must resist the force put upon the scapula in order to create a solid
base for the force to be applied.”

Here is the reasoning:

1. You cannot shoot a cannon from a canoe.
2. Newton's 3rd Law - Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Let's take a look at the first point: What would happen if one would try to shoot a cannon from a
canoe? Yep, a bit of a let down..

But why is this? The answer is explained in the second point,

by Mr Newton.

As the boy steps off the canoe, he exerts force down into it.
Due to the state of the water, the opposing force is not
resisted by the water, and so the canoe moves.

So how is this important to you and achieving the Stalder

press or HSPU? Well, the canoe is a metaphor that
shows you what happens to the Scapula when force is
applied to it. You see, the shoulder joint is very complex
and has two main parts. We have a shallow ball and
socket joint where the top of the arm and torso meet. We
also have the Scapula, or Shoulder Blade. These are flat,
wing shaped pieces of bone that are essentially sitting/
floating on the ribs. Their main job is to stabilise the
motion of the shoulder, and its use also plays a vital and
complexly related role in the flexion/extension of the
spine and the attached ribs. Many people get shoulder injuries, dislocations, impingements,
elbow issues etc. and seek to blame this is on an external problem. However, I would argue that
many of these issues would not be present with a little better understanding and use of the self.

 So, now you have the background information; how does this relate to you, your goals
and how to apply it?

Well, to begin with we should look at static strength skills that involve the scapula. This is
because the state of the force put upon the scapula within these will remain constant, and in the
same plane of motion.

Here is a series of basic movements of

the Scapula that you should understand.
The main 4 that we will focus on are:
Protraction, Retraction, Elevation and
Depression.

Here is an example of a static strength

skill; the Front Lever. I have found a
great photo of the almighty Simonster
demonstrating the point well.

In his own words “to optimize shoulder

stability and general aesthetics, the
intended scapula position should be the
opposite of what gravity would cause if
shoulder musculature was relaxed in
that position” - So if we take a look at
the bottom picture, we can see that the
upper back is rounded (flexed) and the
Scapula is in the Protracted position.
This shows us that the musculature
around the Scapula have relaxed or
failed under the force of the movement.
The top position is quite the opposite,
with a retracted Scapula and the
surrounding musculature fighting hard
against the force put upon it.

The principle becomes far more

complex with dynamic strength skills
however. Why? Due to the DYNAMIC
nature of the force placed upon the
scapula. The relationship between the mass and ground is changing. To show this, we will look
at the Stalder Press.

 Beginning with a Depressed and Protracted Scapula, as we drive out of the bottom of the
movement we will drive harder into protraction and gradually drive towards Elevation. The end
of the movement is in the HS position, which means we will be primarily in Elevation.

The first phase in the Stalder is the

Straddle L Sit. Here the mass/ground force
on the Scapula is mainly pushing upwards,
into Elevation. To resist this and produce
the outcome we desire, we must therefore
drive into Depression. (Directly opposing
the force put upon the scapula) However,
due to the complexity of this position and
the necessity for compression, we must
also slightly Protract and Flex the spine.

The next phase of the Stalder is the driving

out of the ‘hole’ (Straddle L Sit) and getting
the feet past the wrists. Once this is
acheived the Stalder turns into a simple
Straddle Press to HS. The Scapula has a
difficult job through this phase, as the body
mass moves in relation to the hands, and
gravity ensures that the angle of the force
changes with it. When we pass somewhat
of a planche position, the force on the
Scapula changes towards Retraction. This
means the individual must change the
Resistance from driving into Depression, to
Driving into Protraction in resistance.

Let's look at the final phase, where the hips

finally finish on top of the hands, and se
stack into the HS. Now the force upon the
Scapula is being driven into Depression,
again due to the position of the body mass,
and the ground. Meaning - yes, you guess
it - to resist this we must drive into
Elevation.
I am sure you will not be too clear with this
Principle, but this is ok. The way to
understand this principle is NOT to simply ‘
know’ it, but to experience and embody it.
In each and every movement of each and
every practice, focus on where the forces
are and how to resist them. This will apply
to much of the work you will look at, whether it be Front Levers and Stalders, HSPU or OAC,

 Toes to Bar etc. As I said at the beginning of the document, the most important thing to note
before digging into the specifics, is that this idea is dynamic and must be used intelligently.
(Physical Intelligence) Using it dogmatically and without reasoning will not yield a positive
outcome. We must always seek to combine intuition with reason. It is not a static position we
are looking for, but a dynamic effort to resist force. As you gain strength and control, the
superficial position will of course improve, but to begin with is not imperative. The intention to
resist the force/s is, as always, the most important.

To summarise:
- The shoulder joint is complex and the scapula and its associated musculature are a
major part, providing stabilisation and motion.
- The Scapula essentially floats on the rib cage, just like a canoe floats on water.
- You cannot shoot a cannon from a canoe, which basically means that the force from the
cannon is not resisted by the water and floating canoe.
- When we resist the force, by driving the scapula against the direction of outside force,
we in turn provide a solid base for the body to accomplish our bodyweight strength
goals.
- In turn, keeping healthy and well functioning shoulders, elbows and wrists.