Biometrics of a Chopper - Inverting in gereral

[mjoywarde]

I noticed in the teaching video for ‘Biometrics of a chopper’ it specifically mentions to have the hands at approximately forehead height otherwise there isa ‘no where to pull’. How strict would you say this is? I have always been taught ‘inside hand at shoulder height and other hand just above’, which I have used as general rule for beginner and some intermediates, mainly because I have found at this stage they often don’t have the strength or control to invert with the hands higher, they struggle to get the hips high enough. Interested to understand if this would be considered incvorrect?

[MichelleQubrosi]

Hey Madii,

First of all, I absolutely love how specific you are — this is exactly how my mind works too. I’m all about those details.

That said, for the Chopper (and kicking up into an invert in general), I think it’s less about one exact hand position and more about a “green zone” where the pulling action is most effective.

I’d place that zone roughly from face height to just above head height. Within that range, students can usually generate the most effective downward pulling force.

A big factor here is the muscle length–tension relationship. When the hands are set too low, the arm muscles are in a more shortened position and the muscle fibres overlap excessively. When fibres overlap too much, they can’t contract as effectively. On the other end, if the hands are too high, the fibres are overly lengthened — and again you lose optimal force production.

There’s a sweet spot where the fibres have just the right amount of tension, and that’s where you can produce the greatest pulling force. From there, lifting and getting the hips up becomes much easier.

So essentially, you don’t want the hands too high and you don’t want them too low. You’re looking for that Goldilocks zone of hand placement — somewhere around face height to just above head height.

Hands at shoulder height tend to sit outside of that optimal zone biomechanically. While it’s a common cue, if you watch students closely you’ll often see them drop their body immediately before inverting. They’re instinctively trying to improve their length–tension relationship because their pulling strength feels insufficient from that position.

Really great question — thanks for sharing. I love getting this in-depth with technique, so keep the questions coming