I tried 5x10 hanging pikes today as a part of ABBH, and I couldn’t do 10 except maybe on the first set. But my abs weren’t the limiting factor, my shoulders were! I felt like my shoulder joints were going to dislocate from the strain at the top of the rep.
I think I’m doing them wrong, but I’ve done them as described…I lift my knees up, tilt back til shins touch the bar, and then lower slowly. How can I take the strain off my shoulders? If I’m doing them right, how can I work my way up to doing more?
I mean, if you’re just hanging there without using your back to support you, I’d guess that you’re putting more stress on your joints than you need to.
Kind of like keeping a slight bend in the knees when doing any standing movements, only backwards (if that makes sense).
Maybe try using your lats a little bit just to keep the strain off of your joints.
Or maybe you have shoulder weakness or imbalance issues. Are you doing alright with chin-ups or pull-ups?
I can do dips/chins fine 'cause I’m lean, low body fat (8ish%) at 170-175, and I like the idea of doing a little bit of a pullup beforehand, I think that should take the stress off my joints. I had been hanging dead.