SL/PE1 Arch Body Hold with Obnoxiously Large Thighs

I'm having trouble doing the arch body hold as described. I'm a big guy: 250 lb olympic weightlifter, 520 high bar squat and 30" thighs. If I try to keep my feet together, I can't flex my hamstrings and get my feet off the ground at all due to the pressure on the muscle. To put it another way, I can easily hold the position with six inches between my feet, but once elevated I can't bring my feet together despite squeezing with all my strength. Note that I'm not talking about losing the position after moving my feet together; I mean that once my hams are engaged, I cannot get my feet to touch, period. I even tried having a friend push them together and tried to hold, but they just bounced back.

Some of this mass is fat which I'm on my way to losing (down from 300 lbs 16 weeks ago) and that should help, but for the time is it "ok" to do the hold with my feet as close as I can get them instead of touching?

Pictule!!!

No but seriously.. Yes you do the best that you can always. Maybe it´s gonna go closer over time.

Definitely go check out the new SL PE1 sticky at the top of the page, it has some tips which answer your questions.

Also, it should be your glutes lifting your legs off the floor, not your hamstrings. That you are feeling the movement primarily in your Hammies suggests that you lack Glute activation/strength and should definitely work on feeling the exercise there first and foremost, regardless on degree of straddle.

Definitely check out that sticky. Personally I would keep the feet together and focus on activating the glutes. Whether my feet got of the floor or not wouldn't be an issue.

You could just as easily go the other way and bring your feet together gradually, but I always like hit as close to perfect form as possible and go from there.

The cue to get the glutes into it is to point my feet but reach up.and back with the heels. This.may work for you

Can you touch your heels together in standing? They are big thighs so if your soft tissue wont let you get there you will have to try to get them as close as possible and work with that range.

Keegan Y said:

Definitely go check out the new SL PE1 sticky at the top of the page, it has some tips which answer your questions.

Also, it should be your glutes lifting your legs off the floor, not your hamstrings. That you are feeling the movement primarily in your Hammies suggests that you lack Glute activation/strength and should definitely work on feeling the exercise there first and foremost, regardless on degree of straddle.

Yeah I checked out the sticky. I'm definitely lifting with both my glutes and my hamstrings. Fully activating my glutes requires my leg to externally rotate *around* the inner thigh mass, since it won't go straight back. Essentially I have to pull the backs of my thighs together, which prevents my toes from touching.

Jon Douglas said:

The cue to get the glutes into it is to point my feet but reach up.and back with the heels. This.may work for you

I ended up doing this. I can just barely touch my heels together, but my toes flare out quite a bit. I think this is the best I'm going to be able to get.

Mark Collins said:

Can you touch your heels together in standing? They are big thighs so if your soft tissue wont let you get there you will have to try to get them as close as possible and work with that range.

I can touch them relaxed, but if I have to externally rotate the leg fully contract the glutes. If I'm flexing my hamstrings then I can't get them together.

Thanks for the advice all!