Just starting - Problems with Deck Squat

I have been training with free weights for more than 25 years and am utterly astonished how weak and inflexible I am after reviewing F1.

I can do fairly heavy squats extending all the way to the bottom of the movement.  What shocked me was that I am completely unable to do 1 rep of SLS/PE1.

The problem seems to be transitioning from the forward roll to my feet.  I would be fine if I could get my feet under my arse and start the movement.

On the way down, I can get to the point where my hamstrings contact my calves and then there seems to be no further ROM.  I end up just free falling about 2-3 inches.

Any thoughts?

Stretch out achilles/look up other threads on here. Deck squats are pretty difficult for a lot of people.

Yeah there's some good advice out there.  Use the search function.

i'd film it and post it to see what we can do. (we can speculate all we want, but without a clear picture of how your deck squat looks, we'd just be guessing.)

I gave some advice on a similar thread here: https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/13823-rom-in-mobility-exercises/ (scroll down to my second post)

Ankle mobility is the key - youtube some videos on it and find some mobility drills/stretches that you like (Kit Laughlain http://www.youtube.com/user/KitLaughlin has some excellent stuff)

I've been doing stretches/mobility throughout the day; just things like rotating my ankles, flexing/pointing the toes, etc. I keep light but consistent. Learning the compress is also useful, you can practice this by lying on your back and pulling your knees to your chest (only using your leg strength).

Keep at it - I couldn't do them for 20+ weeks and now I can. I had really stubborn ankle mobility so it probably wont take you as long.

I appreciate the help and direction of everyone replying.  

The process that the Coach Sommers uses in his program in terms of recovery (training days per week), muscle groups trained, de-loading frequency etc seems to overlap with much of what Charles Poliquin has done in developing strength for Olympic and professional athletes.  Sommers is the only coach that I know of that also uses these highly effective methods.   

Any thoughts on this?

I don't know about that, I've seen it come up once before with Ross Enamait.  I just assumed they've all read Verkhoshansky....

Is it ok if you are doing deck squats with 10pound on weight in front of you since it helps me with balance too not fall back. I know it sounds bad but i can easy do 4x9rep so far with the weighted deck squats. Do i really need too start over and make them without weight? 

Jure Rakuljic said:

Do i really need too start over and make them without weight? 

Yup. 

Yah, eventually you're going to have to pistol without a weight, so.....

Jure Rakuljic said:

Is it ok if you are doing deck squats with 10pound on weight in front of you since it helps me with balance too not fall back. I know it sounds bad but i can easy do 4x9rep so far with the weighted deck squats. Do i really need too start over and make them without weight? 

You could gradually reduce the weight until there is none left, if dropping 10 pounds rightaway is too big a leap.

Joakim Anderson said:

You could gradually reduce the weight until there is none left, if dropping 10 pounds rightaway is too big a leap.

Yeah good idea will do that.  Damn i mean strenght is not my problem here with thise exercise since i add even more weight it is the flexebility i think. 

Sometimes I have to take a step backwards because I'm not super solid on my feet.  At least this helped me understand why gymnasts throw their hands out to the side when they land: it helps stabilise you laterally, so you only have to step forward or backward, not out to the side.