Girlfriend Form Check

So I've been getting my girlfriend into the program and she's been having a lot of trouble. She's not in horrible shape, but she's never done any sort of weights whatsoever.

Here's her form for FL1:

Her shoulders don't look far enough off the floor to me, but she says she can't lift them any higher. So what should she do? Keep holding it like that until she can get the correct form?

Same for straddle planche... her back isn't nearly arched enough, but she can't lift it any higher. What should she do?

She also has problems with squats. She can't do a single regular squat without lifting her heels from the group and leaning far forward. Here's her trying to do a squat, lol. That's as far as she can go before her heels lift.

I'm not actually convinced this is a strength issue rather than her brain just not letting her do it for some reason. Should she just keep doing mini squats until she can go all the way down without her heels lifting?

Thanks for any advice!

Patience Mr Kossop, patience...

Her goals may not be the same as yours, but she is showing up and giving it her best shot. Her main asset is to keep showing up - this is not easy! - the rest will come naturally.

Therefore, your job is to create the conditions that she like to do it.

In this regards, encouragements, pats on the shoulders, congratulations & celebration of each little win will do more than anything else

I would say

FLpe1 is not so bad just have her concentrate on pressing the lower back into the floor just keep repeating the first micro cycle till she gets it .

Splpe1 a lot of sagging going on maybe try it elevated like HBPpe1 or on the knees for a cycle

SLSpe1 I don't know what to say there but work on that ankle flexibility with pe1im . Can she do a deck squat with heels coming up? I would just do them full range and work the mobility till she gets it .

I thanks for the replies.

Yes I have patience with her for sure... I'm just trying to help her. And yes she's doing her best and I'm proud of her for trying .

And yes there's some mid-section sagging in sPL... on the knees is a good idea. Ankle flexibility could be the problem for SLS because she mentioned it hurt her ankles. And no she can't do the deck squat at all.

I would think if it hurts there might be something wrong . I have very poor ankle range due to a broken ankle but it doesn't hurt at all so I do full range trying my best to keep the heels down. Maybe just do the skiers as deep as she can go with no pain . They are pretty hard if you do them right .

Too much high heels   Get her fivefingers and get walking, everyones ankles like that.

Actually, try this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvAto6yIGLY and then proceed to squatting. Also get calves and hips well warmed up and stretched.

For SPL your back isn't really supposed to be arched. It usually has to arch a bit to get the maximum rom in the scapulae but you should aim to keep hollow as long as possible.

I definitely agree with Fred - patience and encouragement is by far the most important thing at this point in time.

FL/PE1 and sPL/PE1 both look ok for a starting point.  I wouldn't worry about the sagging in sPL and just focus on the scapula retracting and protracting as much as possible.  Keep repeating those first 4 weeks focusing on slowly improving her form.

For SLS/PE1 it looks like she's trying to squat simply by bending her knees.  

Try getting her to simply sit down on a chair.  She should notice and feel the difference in how she sits back with her hips and also leans forward slightly to balance.  A squat is basically the same movement pattern so that's a good place to start.

Dan John's door knob squat (buried in the following article) is also a pretty good way to teach the squat movement.

http://danjohn.net/2009/12/the-front-squat/

Try both of those and see how you go.

Good luck and remember to keep it fun!

FL PE1- What does her Cat/Cow look like? She may have very tight lumbar erectors or hip flexors which are not allowing her back to round properly. Try having her roll out her back (get a couple tennis balls, tape them together, and haver her either press back into them against a wall or lay on them on the floor and roll up and down the lower back), stretch her lower back and stretch her hip flexors/quads prior to doing the exercise and see if that helps with ROM.

If her iM looks good, then it may simply be a strength issue and should improve with time and simply performing the movement.

sPL PE1- I second the idea to try this from an incline Push-Up position so that she gets the feeling for how to properly move her shoulder blades (which at lot of people don't know how to do properly) and lessen the load that she is using. Once she understands the movement better, then have her try again from the floor and start building up her reps.

Squatting- As Craig said above, her mental/proprioceptive picture of what a squat is is completely off. Using a depth marker (like a chair, or better yet box that she can straddle one of the corners of) is a good teaching tool. Just make sure to tell her to only touch the marker and then stand back up rather than actually sitting down onto it and standing up (which most people who don't understand the mechanics of squatting will do completely differently).

I'd also have her start doing some Glute strengthening exercises as many people who squat the way she does have weak or inactive Glutes. Simple stuff like Glute bridges and side lying clams (or band resisted horizontal hip Abductions) should get her started.

Hope this helps

For the squats have her stretch a bit in the bottom of an air squat. Instead of using the deck squat position with feet together knees forward, have her have a wider stance, like shoulder width, feet like 30 degrees out and have her lower down and stretch by actively using the elbows against the knees. Something like this

I'd have her get confortable getting into this position before doing any kind deck squats.

Regarding the squats, can your girlfriend sit upright in a chair with her feet planted?

If she can, instead of squats you could have her just stand from an upright seated position with feet planted and straight, progressively lowering the seated position.

For eg, you could start with a bar stool, then a dining chair, then a stool and so on.

Been busy this past week with exams... thanks for all the replies, they're very helpful.

She told me that as a baby she had ankle problems, which is probably what causes her inflexibility now, and problems with her squat.

dritar said:

I'd have her get confortable getting into this position before doing any kind deck squats.

 

 

I'll give this a try with her, but the problem is I don't think she could even get into this position.

kwm said:

Regarding the squats, can your girlfriend sit upright in a chair with her feet planted?

 

If she can, instead of squats you could have her just stand from an upright seated position with feet planted and straight, progressively lowering the seated position.

 

For eg, you could start with a bar stool, then a dining chair, then a stool and so on.

Hmm this is a good idea... I'll get her to give this a try.

Keegan Y said:

FL PE1- What does her Cat/Cow look like? She may have very tight lumbar erectors or hip flexors which are not allowing her back to round properly. Try having her roll out her back (get a couple tennis balls, tape them together, and haver her either press back into them against a wall or lay on them on the floor and roll up and down the lower back), stretch her lower back and stretch her hip flexors/quads prior to doing the exercise and see if that helps with ROM.

Her cat cow isn't great but it's not bad. It definitely could be due to inflexibility, but it could also be lack of strength.

I guess my main question with all of this is how should she work out? Should she just keep doing the workouts until she gets proper form? Say she can do 5 x 5 sPL but her form isn't great. Should she keep moving up in the cycles until she gets to mastery, then restart with proper form?

I would suggest she just continue to do the workouts but keep the volume to a manageable level while she really focuses on attempting to use as perfect form as she can. I would also strongly suggest that you purchase Kit Laughlin's book Stretching & Flexibility and have her start going through the lesson plans laid out therein to address her mobility issues.

The problem that I see with building lots of volume with poor form and then trying to build back up with good form is:

1-practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent. Only perfect practice makes perfect. In other words, if she practices the movements incorrectly she will only be serving to cement improper movement patterns and muscular recruitment patterns into her neuromuscular system.

2- she is going to have to build up the requisite mobility and strength to perform the movements correctly at some point anyway, so why put that off for a few months rather than address it now?

This is of course just my opinion and personal experience, your/her mileage may vary.

M K Mossop said:

I guess my main question with all of this is how should she work out? Should she just keep doing the workouts until she gets proper form? Say she can do 5 x 5 sPL but her form isn't great. Should she keep moving up in the cycles until she gets to mastery, then restart with proper form?

Keegan is precisely right here. For exercises where form is lacking, stay on the first mini-cycle until it's been perfected. There's little use in practicing incorrect patterns of movement.