Upper Limb Neuromuscular Characteristics during a Press Handstand on Parallel Bars in Young (10–12 Years Old) and Adult Male Artistic Gymnasts
(Bartłomiej Niespodziński, Jan Mieszkowski, Michel Marina, Andrzej Kochanowicz)

A press handstand on parallel bars (PHPB) is one of the fundamental gymnastic skills. While for adult gymnasts (AGs) this exercise is relatively easy, many young gymnasts (YGs) find it difficult to perform correctly, not due to the lack of muscular strength but because of poor neuromuscular control. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate muscle activity during the PHPB in YGs and AGs, and to compare the neuromuscular control of gymnasts capable of performing the PHPB with that of YGs not capable of performing the PHPB. The study involved 41 male artistic gymnasts. Twenty-five were YGs (11.08 ± 0.55 years), of whom 12 were capable of performing the PHPB (YGs-C) and 13 were not (YGs-N); the remaining 16 participants were AGs (24.04 ± 12.92 years). Upper body muscle activity was evaluated by surface electromyography during the PHPB and shoulder joint complex flexion in two positions: 80° and 160°. Almost all investigated muscles (upper trapezius, deltoid anterior, biceps brachii, infraspinatus, pectoralis major, triceps brachii, latissimus dorsi) showed significantly (31%–136%, p ≤ 0.05) higher muscle activity in YGs-C during the PHPB as compared with AGs, except the serratus anterior muscle. The serratus anterior was also the only muscle that exhibited significantly higher activity (p ≤ 0.05), reaching up to 63%, in YGs-C in comparison with YGs-N at 160° of shoulder joint complex flexion. Improving scapular control at 160° of shoulder joint complex flexion, especially by strengthening the serratus anterior muscle, can contribute to successful PHPB performance in YGs.