Chest Flexibility exercises?

[dkpn]

Guys im looking for your favorite flexibility exercises for loosening up the chest & shoulder area? Im getting no range at all from my throws in these areas and have now started getting some elbow pain as a direct result! When I watch tape of my throws I can see that im using the arm far to soon. I'd really apreciate it if you guys could post up some exercises you do to achieve more flexibility here...


Thanks in advance

Rgrds

[wez]

I know excatly what you mean and this is what worked for me.

Put your hand knuckles up on a jav with the tumns facing one another, put them nice and wide apart and hold on tight, now pull the jav from resting on your upper thighs over your head until it rests on your hamstrings and take it back over again. Keep the arms straight and fully extended evenly at all times and repeat it 10-20 times all the time bringing your hands slightly closer together. Do this 3-4 times per week and you will make steady progress.

When i started this i could only do it with a grip width of 100cm and now i'm down to about 50cm which is my goal- so now i just do it once in a while to maintain flexibility and i keep a stick at home for it. Some coaches say you should get down to 10cm or less even, but i think that is nonsense (and risky) as long as you can do about your own shoulder width you won't have any issues pulling the jav through your whole range of movement -and a little tightness only ads to your elastic potential.

[slinger]

i don't think i can get less than 100cm...

still alot of ping in this old chest!

[dkpn]

HaHa, lol at slinger! When you have it.. you just have it hey!

Thanks Wez for the tip, believe it or not I actually started doing this last week. I have length of pipe that Ive marked from 90 down to 60 on. My aim is to get to 60 eventually but at the moment its about 90-95! Im thinking thats really bad but at the same time good to hear that you made steady progress and are now at 50. Did it take you long to knock 10 or 20 of it??

With my throwing at the minute im getting no chest strike and the right arm is coming in far too soon, hopefully this helps!

Thanks again lads, much appreciated

[wez]

Sounds similar to me, i got down to 80cm quite quick but the rest wasn't so easy. Be careful not to go to far too quickly though.

I started doing it because i just couldn't get the javelin to come anywhere near over the top of my shoudler, only if i wanged it over in a sort of loop at the impulse stride and even then it would have to be a just the right moment or it would already be out the side again for a nice short round armed throw. That ended up getting me very injured by the way!

Now i can comfortably hold the jav in position when i doing my x steps and it comes over the top with far better range.

I'm glad i did it and i have not lost any snap either if you are worried about that, if anything i am getting more than before. I was just so tight that i probably wasn't getting my elastic potential stretched out atall.

I've no idea how slinger can manage to throw with that kind of flexibility but he's always been a bit 'special'

Good luck with it

[slinger]

very special! haha!

i'm probably going to have my first throwing session tonight [if it's dry....say what you will!] since july just to well give it a go - i will try and get some vid and maybe you can see if i do get the jav up and over

[lusis]

What i did was to get a piece of rope and tie evenly spaced knots along the length of the rope and place my hands inside the knots and do the same movement as wez suggested, the knots stop your hands from slipping outwards and you can then progress inwards as your mobility improves, just be careful not to push it to far to soon, hope this helps

[doogiehowsermd]

how much would you force it?

I can if required move my hands closer together but it is not as easy to do - i would not say it hurts it just needs forcing

[lusis]

Just push it so that it hurts a little but gently, i swing my arms up to where they are over and slightly behind my head and then gently tease it the rest of the way, i did this about 3 our four times a day and made a lot of progress very quickly, you just have to learn when you are training it and not straining.