MN1/PE1 Tuckup Question - "completely flat"

So instructions for Tuck ups say "lay completely flat between repetitions". When laying completely flat should the lower back be flat against the ground? I can keep my back flat against the ground until my feet and hands are a couple of inches above the ground. In order for me to complete the full range of motion (completely lower my hands and arms to the ground) my back starts to arch off the floor. I think it may be because of tightness in my shoulders.

So my question is whether some arching of the lower back is acceptable? It's difficult to see in the foundation video if the athlete's back arches or not.

I realize a video of me doing it may help. I will try to post one this weekend.

For the tuck up, should we try to keep our legs and knees together during the tuck? or is it okay for them to be separated? I can't tell from the videos.

zeroender said:

For the tuck up, should we try to keep our legs and knees together during the tuck? or is it okay for them to be separated? I can't tell from the videos.

Together for this one. Tuck, then straddle, then full extension, gradually decreasing the leverage.

zeroender said:

For the tuck up, should we try to keep our legs and knees together during the tuck? or is it okay for them to be separated? I can't tell from the videos.

Feet look like they are together on the tuck up, but knees probably aren't quite together, but are close to it.

In Mn/PE1 the gymnast on the video is not in hollow body position at the beginning of the repetition. After lifting his arms to the vertical position the lower back starts to flatten out to hollow body. Legs are lifted also.

Or I'm still dreaming?

There's a topic somewhere in this forum where one member wrote that to increase the difficulty, he always starts in hollow body (FL/PE6). That means - arms and legs doesn't touch the ground. . I'm doing it also, because i'm waiting for my flexibility to improve.

In the video, it looks like the athlete is basically releasing tension and not remaining hollow at the bottom. (Resting?)

It looks like that to me as well, that's how I do it. But i still try to keep the hollow as much as I can on the way up and down.

Yes, there's a relaxation in the body after each rep. Whole body is in handstand straight line position. 

After rewatching the videos, i agree with the above posts that there does appear to be a release of tension at the bottom of the rep to achieve the "lay completely flat between repetitions" pointer in foundation. So i've stopped trying to maintain a hollow position throughout the entire range of motion.

Sam Carr said:

In the video, it looks like the athlete is basically releasing tension and not remaining hollow at the bottom. (Resting?)

The athlete's legs are straight and together, his toes are pointed, his hands, shoulders, legs, and low back are all flat against the ground, and his ribs are pressed flat. If he was resting none of those things would likely be happening. The athlete may appear to be releasing tension, but really he is well trained to hold a position that is actually quite hard for most people. Even people with adequate mobility will have to work at holding a perfectly straight body. For him it doesn't take as much effort so he will appear more relaxed. Also, note that hollow body and straight body are slightly different positions but are similar enough so it's easy to confuse them at first. 

As was already said, tight hip flexors, tight shoulders, and weak 'core' muscles will inhibit the straight body position. If my mobility was limited, and it came to a choice between pressing the legs, arms, or low back into the ground, I would choose to flatten the low back (along with the ribcage), as the PPT position is so integral to overall technique, and to these particular IM movements. All the while striving to flatten the whole back of the body against the ground. This exercise trains not only compression, but also the straight and hollow body positions- and the ability to move back and forth between them.