Swivel hips and Scapular Shrugs form check

hey guys! 

filmed myself today during my workout and I need some advice on Swivel hip mobility. 

if you guys see anything off with sPL/PE1 and sPL/PE1>iM, let me know  

bump

It isn't shared properly - we don't have permission to view.

- Chris

derp. changed settings on it. funny cause it say's that there's already 30 views on it. #wierd

It still won't play embedded, but it let me watch on YouTube. Looked pretty good to me. Your left hip internal rotiation definitely seems tigher than the right, but I don't have any suggestions other than to play around with the iM more in your free time - maybe attach a band and give it a whirl that way.

- Chris

from between doing Swivel Hips(unassisted) and Reverse clams with a resistance band, plus the hip flexor stretches, I've only felt relief in the sense of a smoother end of range of motion in the Swivel Hips ROM. nothing else has significantly changed like the rest of the iM's or PE's. 

it quite literally has been at the exact same place since day one. 

I think I need an exorcism. hahaha

That sucks. I would start playing around with various things like the band distractions. Maybe somebody has something more specific to prescribe.

Out of curiosity where do you feel blockage when you hit end ROM?

- Chris

it just stops. it just litwrally stops right where you see it and i feel an ever so slight feeling somewhere on my thigh that i can't zero in on because it starts right after i feel a pressure on my knee from lack of movement

Interesting. I feel a definite sensation in the glute area, and often get a minor adjustment in the lower back area probably from my hip flexor pulling on the down stroke.

Have you tried coming at this from another direction by putting yourself in a shin box position and trying to work your glutes to the floor, instead of having your glute on the floor and trying to get the knee down?

My suggestion would be to experiment with a variety of streches/mobilizations and such - test the iM, do the experiment, and re-test. Sooner or later you will hit upon something that makes a difference.

- Chris

you mean this? make a box and then go through to get the glutes to the ground? 

Yup, that is a shin box. Up to you if you want to integrate the other components. Most likely your glute on the trailing leg will be off the ground - working to get that down may be helpful to the swivel hips motion.

- Chris

Chris, get this, I performed a few reps of shin boxes and what I found is that I feel the most amount of tightness in my tensor fascia late. ESPECIALLY at the hip region.

when i lowered into the sit position, i couldn get both glutes on the ground for the life of me

That is great news - having a sensation gives you a starting point. Have you tried rolling the TFL out at all?

Did you play around for awhile in that position, just moving in/out, doing small rotations, etc. etc.? If so did it help your swivel ROM?

One more suggestion for the movement is to put a block underneath the glute that is up in the air so that you are supported and just spend some time relaxing in that pose, and maybe play around with what ROM you have with it blocked. I know Kit recommends this blocking approach for one of the quad stretches, and I presume that something like this may require similar otherwise the body may just brace.

I have been gradually getting closer with my shin box between the F1 iM movements and the extra mobility work I have been doing. It has definitely been a mobility element hanging over my head for some time now though.

- Chris

1. I have rolled my my TFL but maybe my foam roller is just too soft (I feel it is. maybe i'll try a golf ball) 

2. i did, i was trying to see if i could sit, how i could get my femur around but nothin, i just stood proud with one glute off the ground (ugh)

3. i didn't check if it impacted swivel hips because i felt the same "wall" but it wouldn't hurt to give it a try before i drive out to San Juan tonight.

4.I just acquired a copy of Stretching and Flexiblity, so im gonna give it an overview and do his entire course once in the morning and once again at night before I go to bed and see what helps. at this point, there's so many things that have gone wrong with my body it might be an orchestra movement going on here. 

Good luck with the exploration. I would really recommend testing the swivel hips after each exercise you do though, time is limited and finding the minimum effective amount is the best approach IMO. Knowing exactly what is making a difference will be a big help in identifying where you want to spend time and in finding additional movements which may help.

- Chris 

http://deansomerset.com/2012/10/25/planks-are-the-magic-bullet-for-hip-mobility/

this resource finally put my doubts of anatomical knowledge to rest. I just need to work on the surrounding areas because my body is extremely imbalanced from injuries and lack of training in those areas. 

I can keep it cool, implement Stretching and Flexibility  by Kit Laughlin and just continue with the F1 and H1 program with less anxiety. 

I'm sure by the time FL/PE's are more advanced and form has been ironed out in the earlier PE's, progress will skyrocket. 

Yeah, it was an interesting article. Makes for an interesting program though when one is stuck on the iM such as this but the exercise (side planks) which may actually be needed to help the range isn't until later on.

EDIT: Thought I had seen side plank in there, but a quick check and I don't see it now. So maybe I was just confused. Either way it seems reasonable to work it now if it helps the internal rotation.

- Chris

I'm gonna give it a go for a cycle and assess the changes by the time deload comes in. 

I'll be throwing in 3x15sec holds during my warm up and in my cool down. 1 minutes and a half daily x 4 times a week i exercise = 6 minutes weekly and 24 minutes in an entire cycle. hope this accelerates the process. 

starting today, already catalogued my thomas test results and will compare it to once the cycle is over. #crossesfingers

I have an interesting find to report, post workout. after performing the side plank with one leg extended, i could successfully get a better engagement of whatever internally rotates my femur, with barely any lumbar compensation. 

could have stumbled onto something helpful here. will report back after the cycle is over. 

Me too.  I tried it briefly last night and I did see a slight improvement.  I have no idea how it works but it does a little, granted my test was very quick.  Its pretty cool though and it now has me looking for other moves or exercises similar to this for other parts of the body. Does he have a program or book?  Stretching has never worked for me.  

jwalker497 said:

Me too.  I tried it briefly last night and I did see a slight improvement.  I have no idea how it works but it does a little, granted my test was very quick.  Its pretty cool though and it now has me looking for other moves or exercises similar to this for other parts of the body. Does he have a program or book?  Stretching has never worked for me.  

stretching is a delicate subject because there's just so much data pointing to so many different methods. what has been working for me has been focusing on mobility exercises and when the time comes, possibly static stretching but it won't be the main staple of creating flexibility. I've maintained my flexibility and it has improved a bit with jefferson curls for example and all the F1/H1 mobility is supercharging my shoulders. 

so it also depends on your goals. my goal right now is to assimilate as much gymnastic functional strength to then apply towards martial arts to express that strength with power. 

myofascial work has also helped me and golf balls are my choice for my degree of tightness and because i can take the feeling(it isn't so bad when you get there, it's beginning with all the tightness that sucks) 

posting progress of my Swivel Hips to see how it's going. 

I tested some mobility exercises to help accelerate my mobility bottleneck and comparing this to how I was in April is a relief. 

anyone could shed some light on what my eyes are still incapable of seeing, so that i can keep making it work?

Looks smoother, and more balanced to me but ROM doesn't seem to have picked up that much over the last 4 months. However, this movement seems very slow going as far as improvement is concerned so that may just be the pace that one can expect.

Are you still feeling like you just hit a wall? For mine there are times I feel it in the gluteal fold area, and other times it seems the hip flexor is really the limiter. Have been trying to work both, but even rolling with a lacrosse ball in that gluteal area has been pretty much useless. I can't seem to get the right spot, which is probably an indication that it is going tight because something else in the chain is pulling it taut during this motion.

My blame finger is pointing at the hip flexors at the moment as that seems indicative of everything that is wrong with my hip movements, but I really don't know. Thousands of dollars spent with professionals, years of time wasted, and at times like this I really feel no closer to solving these issues.

- Chris

thanks for your Feedback, Chris. it's much appreciated  

the "wall" is gone from the internal rotated leg, now im working on the external rotator strength and internal thigh flexibility. I started getting this feeling in my hip socket and my butt while i was mobilizing today and boom, this ROM....this iM is crazy, it's like it doesn't budge...then suddenly 4 inches....then suddenly what i had today. 

life is weird like that  

No problem. Sounds like you are heading in the right direction. It would be nice to have some guidance from people who have solved this particular issue, but unfortunately it looks like it is going to be those of us currently posting about their travails with this movement.

- Chris