MN: PE2 time to join the fun

I spent my deload week doing usual deload stuff and getting ready to start MN PE2. Since this skill has such steep curve I was trying to identify weak points and come up with the strategy.

What I noticed right away that it is much easier to control abs compression and keep legs at more than 45 deg angle keeping same slightly rounded back as the demo if I go very slowly eliminating all possible momentum and pausing for a couple of seconds in top position. I had time to completely straighten my legs, cramp quads and abs to the maximum and to minimize any feet down movement. With increased tempo everything was falling apart.

Compression did not feel excessively hard on abs but Hip flexors and quads need a bit of strength and mobility work to achieve 60+ deg angle. So I was wondering if starting with very slow tempo might be a good idea. And increase it as I progress forward.

Anyone?

I guess I will go ahead as planned above.

Thanks! Very good timely points. I felt it today during 1st practice. Loosing balance rolling from one glutes muscle group to another made me bend my spine excessively.

A vid would be lovely.

I also decided to join the MN2 fun, after seeing so many threads I started to question my mastery and took a vid today.

The thing that helps me is thinking about touching the floor in front of me with the hands while trying to have as much PPT ( without it I just kinda fall )

Uploaded Week 01 day 01 video. I will appreciate any feedback.

I was loosing balance and recovering in the beginning of first two reps.

Damn that's so slow!

I am not sure if it's important or not but in the  vid he starts with feet together and separates them as they go up . 

Yeah, I kept them apart on purpose for now. Less details to worry about but will definitely bring them together after top position is closer to what it should be.

But yeah SLOWLY is hard, hopefully it is just while it is still a new movement and too many things to pay attention to at the same time because I can't imagine doing it 5x15 with that pace.

Quads hurt today!

Assuming that PE2 main goal is to prepare us for PE3. And considering that the way PE2 is currently demonstrated in the course video is way harder than PE3 would it be safe to assume that close to 90 degrees compression is enough Rom? I have no problem whatsoever doing PE3 right away but making compression 60 deg in PE2 sounds like not something I should be required to do just yet.

RF_Guy said:

Assuming that PE2 main goal is to prepare us for PE3. And considering that the way PE2 is currently demonstrated in the course video is way harder than PE3 would it be safe to assume that close to 90 degrees compression is enough Rom? I have no problem whatsoever doing PE3 right away but making compression 60 deg in PE2 sounds like not something I should be required to do just yet.

I wish we didn't have to, but I think that a high level of compression is unavoidable. Otherwise you're just postponing the problem to the HLL progressions, which need even more compression. I've been guilty of this myself, and HLL is just out of reach for me at the moment, mobility wise, so back to square one.

How to accomplish this level of compression, however, is an entirely different matter. I am not qualified to answer that question.

Ravn said:

I wish we didn't have to, but I think that a high level of compression is unavoidable. Otherwise you're just postponing the problem to the HLL progressions, which need even more compression. I've been guilty of this myself, and HLL is just out of reach for me at the moment, mobility wise, so back to square one.

How to accomplish this level of compression, however, is an entirely different matter. I am not qualified to answer that question.

It's a tough one for decompressed zombies like myself. What I do is hold compression in the top position of a tuck up/ bent leg straddle up for 40-60s - I think it helps (because it's so uncomfortable!). Then hope for the hip region flexibility to catch up as quickly as possible.

I hear what you are saying guys and I think a lot can be learned from PE2. On the other hand just for fun I tried all PE up to PE9 and even though they are getting progressively harder I was able to crank out few reps of each of them. Granted years of L-sit practice and deficit DL helped a lot but I am still wondering if I would be better off spending months to come on more advanced PE than PE2 alone. What do you guys think?

RF_Guy said:

I hear what you are saying guys and I think a lot can be learned from PE2. On the other hand just for fun I tried all PE up to PE9 and even though they are getting progressively harder I was able to crank out few reps of each of them. Granted years of L-sit practice and deficit DL helped a lot but I am still wondering if I would be better off spending months to come on more advanced PE than PE2 alone. What do you guys think?

I think no, don't skip progressions or move on before you achieve mastery. If you can get at least a few good reps now, then that strength will definitely still be there (probably more even) once you finally master PE2. In fact, upon mastering PE2 you might even just breeze through the next few progressions.

As has been said by a number of the more advanced people, that's kind of how the program works; you find exercises that highlight strength or mobility deficits in your body and have to spend a while working through them, then on the other hand you are able to immediately perform mastery on other elements where you have no such deficits.

Remember that the program is designed to build and/or test the strength of your foundational athletic base from all possible angles. Most of us have things that we spent lots of time building and thus are strong, but also areas where we have been negligent and thus are weak. For many of us, apparently, straddle compression strength is one such area that many of us have been slacking.

RF_Guy said:

...I am still wondering if I would be better off spending months to come on more advanced PE than PE2 alone. What do you guys think?

Once I achieved mastery of PE2, PE3 was a breeze so I don't think you would gain much benefit there. I think you might the next two elements to be pretty easy so if you want to do some reps of these I would say go ahead (a position that would not be endorsed my most people here). However if you are struggling with compression I think you would be better off devoting that extra time to building up better pancake compression than building strength in future elements.