Bobby Bogdanovski's topic SL/PE Arch Body Hold (ABH) has become like a river in a gold-rush: full of gold, but it takes a lot of sifting (22 pages as I write this) to find it.
For six months I've been meaning to go through the topic and make notes. I finally did, and thought I would share a summary:
Introduction
The Arch Body Hold (ABH) is notoriously difficult for a PE1. Doing the same hold on your back is equivalent to FL/PE5. It will "diagnose" and address a range of strength and mobility limitations throughout your posterior chain. For example: tight hips, tight quads, weak glutes and stiff trigger point areas will all affect your success with this element.
As adults, most of us have limited our ROM over many years - often decades - of unbalanced movement. It will take time to recover the ROM we have lost. For this reason, patience and persistance is a requirement.
It may comfort you to note two things. First: the development from other F7 exercises will carry over to your ABH. For example, the bridge elements for FL will improve your hip flexor mobility; which assists your glutes in extending your legs off the ground. Second: probably no SL PE will take as long as PE1. Right now, you are working on initial ROM problems that you have spent decades developing. Mastering this element will likely be your biggest hurdle all the way to an SL.
How To Do an ABH
Pay close attention to your form and the amount of arch you generate. Holding the ABH with good form is more important than holding for a good amount of time (and will help you progress quicker). Compare your arch with the model picture regularly.
Over time, you are likely to increase your arch as your posterior chain gets stronger. When you do achieve new ROM, you may need to go back some weeks (maybe even to Week 1) to maintain it. Increased ROM will add a lot of intensity. For example: some people can do 60s with low ROM, but not even 12s with better ROM.
General cues for ABH:
focus on making your body as long as possible
focus on trying to touch your glutes to the back of your head
squeeze your whole body and make it tense
push your stomach against the floor, and press with your abs
breathe with shallow and steady breaths from the diaphraghm
General cues for the upper body:
arch from the thoracic region
pull your head and neck back, and curl back as much as possible
as you curl back, retract the scapula and open the shoulders
keep your arms straight and your shoulders as open as possible
General cues for the lower body:
press the legs away from the hips to activate the glutes (instead of the erector spinae)
tense the glues and hamstrings
make sure the glutes are doing more work than the hamstrings (this will create torque in the leg)
push the insides of your feet together (whether your knees touch will depend on your build)
point your feet
lock your knees – focus on reaching up and back with your heels
externally rotate the hip slightly
What to Expect
As you move through the sets, your arch will gradually lessen. As you get stronger, you will be able to hold the arch with more ease.
Shaking is normal as the nervous system gets familiar with this exercise. It will stop as you get stronger.
The exercise will feel more pleasant and less gruelling as you do it more and more.
Arching with the glutes instead of lower back may decrease your ROM. This is because you are using the correct, less-developed muscles. Give it time, and the ROM will return again.
If you are arching from the lumbar area, your thoracic mobility is lacking.
Other Tips
To instantly know if your arch is dropping, place something block-shaped under your hands
If you struggle to breathe, breathe shallow breaths with your diaphragm
Finding a distraction for your mind can help
Males: wearing tight underwear can minimize pressure discomfort on the front-pelvic area
Having your feet just above your head is a good guide for achieving good ROM
Pre-ABH Strength Progressions
There are easier alternatives you can use to “work up†to the ABH:
isolate the lifting: lift just your torso, or just your legs, at a time
you can straddle your legs, bend your knees and/or reach arms behind you to decrease required leverage, therefore decrease required strength (this is a similar process to FL PE1-4)
-MR put together a program of variations to work up to ABH:
SL/PE0.1: Arms: stretched back towards feet. Legs: straddled and flexed at the knees.
SL/PE0.2: As above, but with a rocking motion.
SL/PE0.3: Arms: stretched out to sides (crucifix position). Legs: together and flexed at the knees.
SL/PE0.4: As above, but with a rocking motion.
SL/PE0.5: Arms: stretched out diagonally forward (between PE0.3 and PE1). Legs: straddled and straight.
SL/PE0.6: As above, but with a rocking motion.
Coach jokingly called this program Zombie Back Attack.
You can also use remedial times in between weeks to make progress more gradual. In other words, increase 6s at a time instead of 12s at a time. (eg. Week 2 5x12s, Week 2.5 3-5x18s, then go on to Week 3 3x24s)
Supplement Exercises
As well as strength, the ABH requires considerable mobility in the shoulder girdle and lumbar/legs. This mobility is known as extension, and the ABH uses thoracic extension (shoulder girdle) and leg extension (glues and hamstrings).
This mobility can be further developed:
stretching the hip flexors and quads will assist leg extension
stretching the chest and anterior shoulders will assist thoracic extension
foam rolling the quads, hip flexors, glutes and psoas in 3-5 inch areas at a time will assist leg extension
foam rolling around the scapular will assist thoracic extension
throughout the day, flex your glutes using Active Isolated Stretching to encourage relaxation of the psoas/quads
if you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk, use a stand-up desk
The cues in your course interface are just the minimum to get started. From there, the forum is fundamental for fine-tuning the element, progressing with it and mastering it.