Hi Brutes! Today we are going to talk about kipping pull-ups and giving you the tools to decide whether or not you should be doing them. If you shouldn’t be doing them it’s important you know why so that you can make the appropriate changes and get back to them!
Kipping requires that you have not just great shoulder range of motion, but strength and stability throughout it. The number one complaint that we get from athletes is shoulder pain. Aside from the fact that CrossFit programming generally has an abundance of downward shoulder movement and a scarcity of upward shoulder movement, we also see many athletes performing exercises (like kipping pull-ups) without having the requisite range of motion needed to perform them safely.
The shoulder is the most mobile, least stable joint in the body. That said, your body will do everything it can to protect your shoulders including making them “tight” and painful when you ask them to do something they should not. We hope you enjoy this video and more importantly we hope you perform the tests that are in it so you an make better decisions for yourself as it pertains to movement choices in the gym! Please remember, if you fail the tests badly, we are not telling you never to do kipping pull-ups again. We are telling you that you need to weigh the cost of pain vs the reward of fun you have when you come to the gym for a workout. Even if you fail these tests, you have great opportunity to improve your range of motion to get back to Kipping more frequently. Maybe your coach has some drills you can work on, maybe you have a local doctor you can go see, maybe you want to try our “Bulletproof Shoulders” program, whatever you decide to do, knowing why you are in pain is always more valuable than just being in pain. Go take the tests!
Let’s get movin’!
Dr. Sean and Dr. Jeremy
