Can't roll into bottom position of SLS/PE1

I'm having trouble getting up on my fee for SLS/PE1.  I can do air squats till the cows come home with narrow feet and good form.

I'm missing about 10 degrees of ankle range -- could this be the big hindrance?  If so, what could I work on while I improve my ankle ROM?  SLS/PE2?

Any good ankle ROM exercise recos?

Thanks!  Glad to finally get started with something different!!

- Jeff

If you can post a video, that would help. However, without that, here are some tips that have helped others that may or may not apply to your situation:

- make sure you are rocking all the way back to your upper back for increased momentum.

- roll forward again as fast as you can.

- throw your arms forward as you reach the squat.

- try to keep your heels as close to your glutes as you can so that you aren't trying to stand with your centre of mass behind your feet.

If you extend your legs at the bottom of the roll and then tuck them as you come forward you will increase momentum.

Doing them on a yoga mat with your feet coming off the edge on to the floor can give you a lot of assistance.

Are you sure it's an ankle mobility issue? If you can squat with your feet flat on the floor it's very likely that you simply try to stand up too soon. The easiest way to correct this is to break the deck squat up in two portions:

1) sit/roll back, come forward again and stop in the squat position.

2) Stand up from squat position.

Then it's simply a matter of decreasing the time between squatting and standing up until it's one fluid movement.

Bipocni said:

If you extend your legs at the bottom of the roll and then tuck them as you come forward you will increase momentum.

 

Doing them on a yoga mat with your feet coming off the edge on to the floor can give you a lot of assistance.

If we are extending legs to create momentum can we still consider that mastery for this exercise? I usage that technique to get me up to week 8 then started over at week 1 to master the exercise while trying to stay Ina tucked position for the entire range of motion.

Jerry Mangona said:

If we are extending legs to create momentum can we still consider that mastery for this exercise? I usage that technique to get me up to week 8 then started over at week 1 to master the exercise while trying to stay Ina tucked position for the entire range of motion.

Yeah, it's not exactly mastery.  I found by the time I was getting up to week 11 I didn't even need to extend the legs anymore.  It's a crutch, like regressing arch holds by keeping your hands by your hips.  It shouldn't be considered mastery, but it helps if you can't even do the first week.

You should search the forum and read some of the Deck squat threads. Many have had problems with this exercise and a lot of helpful suggestions have been made, e.g. working with an elevated platform, stretching calves, hamstrings and quadriceps and ensuring that your body knows which muscles to contract when. Maybe one of those suggestions can help you as well.

+1 for using a yoga mat. I started these off on the bare wooden floor, and I just could *not* get up. A yoga mat, even a fleece laid out on the floor, makes a big difference.