@channel7 100% agree.
I'd add this: In skilled athletes, I think the biggest and most dangerous compression on your neck does not come from a failed eccentric, but from the unload of the kip. Skilled athletes are often very careful about the eccentric (for good reason) but miss an even more dangerous moment in the movement.
When you close your hips (loading the kip) you draw all the weight into your head and hands. Three points. When you unload, (when you kip) you're putting the full power of your kip into those three points. Even though you're attempting to put that power into only your hands, it's inevitable that for at least a moment, up to 1/3 of that force will run through your C-Spine -- unless you're lifting your head off the ground before you unload. For a big explosive athlete, the kip produces many hundreds of lbs of force. Even if it's a fraction of a second, even if it only happens on some reps, in the wrong WOD on the wrong day for the wrong person it eventually adds up.
I've watched lots of athletes end up with intermediate neck and upper-back/shoulder injuries from repeated exposure to this momentary compression. I've literally never had anyone injure themselves on a big STRICT HSPU day.
I'd also add: As much as I hate it, I won't be able to completely eliminate kipping HSPU from programming until they disappear from the competitive CF world. As long as people see kipping everywhere, they want to kip.
Source: Manage/coach 1000-athlete gym
I'd add this: In skilled athletes, I think the biggest and most dangerous compression on your neck does not come from a failed eccentric, but from the unload of the kip. Skilled athletes are often very careful about the eccentric (for good reason) but miss an even more dangerous moment in the movement.
When you close your hips (loading the kip) you draw all the weight into your head and hands. Three points. When you unload, (when you kip) you're putting the full power of your kip into those three points. Even though you're attempting to put that power into only your hands, it's inevitable that for at least a moment, up to 1/3 of that force will run through your C-Spine -- unless you're lifting your head off the ground before you unload. For a big explosive athlete, the kip produces many hundreds of lbs of force. Even if it's a fraction of a second, even if it only happens on some reps, in the wrong WOD on the wrong day for the wrong person it eventually adds up.
I've watched lots of athletes end up with intermediate neck and upper-back/shoulder injuries from repeated exposure to this momentary compression. I've literally never had anyone injure themselves on a big STRICT HSPU day.
I'd also add: As much as I hate it, I won't be able to completely eliminate kipping HSPU from programming until they disappear from the competitive CF world. As long as people see kipping everywhere, they want to kip.
Source: Manage/coach 1000-athlete gym
