I don't know if it's just me, but I find this one much harder then all of the other pre-fsp's. I feel like i'm not making any progress with it, perhaps even regressing. Any tips?
Why is the arch hold so hard?
Started by The Hound, May 24, 2013 · 17 Replies · 16,417 Views
How long have you been doing it? A lot of people find this one hard so maybe you just need to keep on trucking.
I have been doing for well over a month and I'm nowhere near mastery yet. I have seen improvements though.
To your heart's content:
https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/10481-slpe1-arch-body-hold-abh/
You're not alone.
gohei_ said:How long have you been doing it? A lot of people find this one hard so maybe you just need to keep on trucking.
I have been doing for well over a month and I'm nowhere near mastery yet. I have seen improvements though.
I have been doing it a couple months now
Ravn said:To your heart's content:
https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/10481-slpe1-arch-body-hold-abh/
You're not alone.
It says I do not have permission to view this forum
The more I work on this hold, I'm beginning to think that it's at least partly due to a higher body weight than many starting out. A lot of these moves are basic, but gymnasts are starting at an early age and working these moves often, so that as their body weight increases, their strength is always a step ahead. Those of us starting later, on the other hand, have a lower strength-to-body-weight ratio, so simple holds seem much more difficult because we are trying to hold up so much more. Of course, if we want to get to the "cool stuff," we have to get past these first.
I may be full of it with this explanation, but hopefully it helps encourage you to keep working at it. I just went from Week 10 back to Week 3 because my ROM was terrible and I couldn't hold the full time. Now I'm making sure to hold maximally during these shorter periods so that when I get back to 48s, I'm not crying. I would recommend what has been recommended many times: film yourself and compare to the Foundation footage. Consider trying to press the bottom of your rib cage and the top of your pelvis into the ground, then lifting your arms and legs as high as possible. Squeeze every last drop you can out of the shorter-length holds; it should help you.
Not gonna be easy, though... 
The Hound said:I have been doing it a couple months now
It says I do not have permission to view this forum
I'm guessing you don't have the Foundation Course? What goals are you working for in the arch hold? And is it your flexibility that's lacking or are you just unable to hold it long enough?
gohei_ said:I'm guessing you don't have the Foundation Course? What goals are you working for in the arch hold? And is it your flexibility that's lacking or are you just unable to hold it long enough?
I guess it would be a combination of a lack of flexibility and both endurance in holding it. I'm trying to get it so I can do a few solid sets of 60 seconds.
Well, I'm no expert but one thing that really helped me with getting a bigger arch is trying to curve up into a ball instead of just lifting legs and arms upward, and really engaging every part of my body. Give that a try if you haven't already.
Also, film yourself if you're not already doing that, it helps a lot to see what's going on.
Everything you're asking is covered in the product and the forum supporting it has valuable information from people as they progressed through their training.
I blame society for the difficulty in the arch hold. No really, consider that a lot of people nowadays spend an enormous amount of their time, both leisure and work time sitting down, probably slouching forward so it's no wonder that it's difficult.
I think of the movie The Matrix when doing this hold. Remember that part where they're rebuilding neo's muscles with some sci-fi acupuncture because they've atrofied. Unfortunately we don't have access to that technology so the arch body hold will have to do .
dritar said:(...) we don't have access to that technology so the arch body hold will have to do
F1 made that particular technology obsolete and redundant; remember, Neo did not have access to F1
ehh, I would typically say hollow is more difficult than arch
however, i will sometimes end up pulling/straining/cramping my calves during an arch hold.
Malik said:Should knees be together because I can't get mine together when holding this position
As i read recently knees should be together. It is funny how most of us cant put them together even in standing position, lol. 
Some people's knees may not touch when standing or performing the arch hold. Thus that is just the way they are built. Sometimes this is a matter of muscle mass in the thighs as well.
Paf said:As i read recently knees should be together. It is funny how most of us cant put them together even in standing position, lol.
Wait, most people can't get their knees to touch in a standing position? Maybe my mobility isn't quite as awful as I thought.
Malik said:So should does the knees together rule not apply to me? Or should I still strive to get them as close as possible even if they won't touch?
Yes, try to push them together as much as possible. I cannot make my knees touch either, but I get a better feeling by pressing them together.
Skinny yoga chick got's no legs, knees don't touch.
Some do, some don't. There is toe out but whether my toes are together or not does not affect how close my knees are in relation to each other.
More of some yes, some no.
Old time solider got some stick legs.
Mag 7. Again some do, some don't
Mine probably don't touch because I got fat legs. Or because I squat 190kg.
My theory is (at least partly) that the arch hold is so darn hard for me because my hamstrings and glutes are almost fully made of fast twitch muscle fibers, which means that I progress the slowest on endurance based activities.
Still, the major reasons are: weak mental toughness, partly inactive glutes, lack of training...