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Started by Jonathan Horowitz, February 11, 2014 · 13 Replies · 331 Views
Even though I want to...
Arch body hold (I started over because I got some form corrections this weekend):
Tuck ups. I start from the top position and try to come down and not release my pseudo hollow hold
Deck squats
As always, any help is greatly appreciated and will one day be paid back!
nice shoulder flexion, 2 tips:
1- take your legs togheter, one is elevated more then the second one.probably you have tight hips flexor from one side. combine both strength element with some mono lateral stretch could be a good thing
2-try to unlock your upper thoracic flexibility, while the lower is arched, the upper seems to be rounder. how is going you FL progression in terms of IM's?
Abh looks a lot better!
For the tuck ups try moving your arms a little faster with your body. They look more balanced now though. Legs still go down earlier than the upper body.
The deck squats aren't loading for me. Just remember to get feet under you as best you can. It will help to keep the arms out in front with bad ankle flexility so that you have a counterweight to pull you forward.
On the deck squats, try not to come out of the tucked position; you want to stay round so that you can efficiently roll back onto your feet.
In your Deck Squat you are unrolling your body, and that is why you are rolling up extra high, so that you get the momentum to get out of the roll by throwing your legs. If you are in a more tightly compressed ball you'll need less momentum to get back on your heels and your Deck Squat will be much smoother.
alex87 said:nice shoulder flexion, 2 tips:
1- take your legs togheter, one is elevated more then the second one.probably you have tight hips flexor from one side. combine both strength element with some mono lateral stretch could be a good thing
2-try to unlock your upper thoracic flexibility, while the lower is arched, the upper seems to be rounder. how is going you FL progression in terms of IM's?
My legs are definitely together, I lock them before I start the exercise. I think it looks like they aren't because the camera is elevated. I do have tight hips though so I am working on that.
I'm on FL>PE1iM, and don't have too much trouble. I can film it tomorrow and post to see though.
Daniel Burnham said:Abh looks a lot better!
For the tuck ups try moving your arms a little faster with your body. They look more balanced now though. Legs still go down earlier than the upper body.
The deck squats aren't loading for me. Just remember to get feet under you as best you can. It will help to keep the arms out in front with bad ankle flexility so that you have a counterweight to pull you forward.
Thanks man - you really helped me out. Do you mean move my arms down faster, or up faster? I'm trying not to let myself use my arms for momentum on the way up. I think I was just being too cautious on the way down since it's the first time I've done them that way. Deck squats I have the arms out in front like you suggested. Working on making it smoother!
Keegan said:On the deck squats, try not to come out of the tucked position; you want to stay round so that you can efficiently roll back onto your feet.
Thanks, I'm working on some much needed ankle flexibility!
Gavin S said:In your Deck Squat you are unrolling your body, and that is why you are rolling up extra high, so that you get the momentum to get out of the roll by throwing your legs. If you are in a more tightly compressed ball you'll need less momentum to get back on your heels and your Deck Squat will be much smoother.
^See above. Thank you for your feedback!
The Arch Body hold is a full spinal extension, which means extension in the lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spines. You have extension in the lumbar and thoracic, however your neck is flexed. So look up (cervical extension), not down (cervical flexion)
ewethestuff said:I think your tuck ups need to be a little tighter at the top, it looks like you're not squeezing out that last bit of compression. Could also be tight hamstrings/glutes/etc.
ABH looks on the right track
Deck squat a little jerky - be soft like a ninja
I don't have the flexibility for full compression yet, I'm working on it. Plus I have about 15 extra pounds just hanging out around my abdomen blocking me as well (also working on that).
Hmms said:The Arch Body hold is a full spinal extension, which means extension in the lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spines. You have extension in the lumbar and thoracic, however your neck is flexed. So look up (cervical extension), not down (cervical flexion)
I was trying to keep my head neutral and focus more on my shoulders, per Daniel Burnham's instruction.
Jonathan Horowitz said:I was trying to keep my head neutral and focus more on my shoulders, per Daniel Burnham's instruction.
Try this out: stand up tall and then lean backwards (You'll see that this is close to an arch body hold while standing up). You'll find that you end up with more thoracic spinal extension when you're leaning backwards while your neck is trying to also go as far back too.
The more thoracic extension there is, the more shoulder flexion there will be doing arch body holds (basically, shoulders will go higher up)
Update:
Deck squats still pretty jerky, but I tried staying in the tuck better. Also, I almost did a complete back roll on the 3rd rep in the 4th set. How do I avoid that? Just try to go down with less momentum?
Hi Jonathan,
I noticed on the tuck-ups you keep your legs & head off the ground, is that on purpose?
I would do it like the athlete in the video where he completely resets to the ground (making sure torso and legs touch simultaneously). You should be able to do that with PPT as well if that's you're after.
On the last set(s) I noticed you're using your arms to create some momentum. If you watch the athlete in the video closely he starts moving up after his arms are about 120 degrees. He's using 0 momentum.
I hope this helps.
Nash said:Hi Jonathan,
I noticed on the tuck-ups you keep your legs & head off the ground, is that on purpose?
I would do it like the athlete in the video where he completely resets to the ground (making sure torso and legs touch simultaneously). You should be able to do that with PPT as well if that's you're after.
On the last set(s) I noticed you're using your arms to create some momentum. If you watch the athlete in the video closely he starts moving up after his arms are about 120 degrees. He's using 0 momentum.
I hope this helps.
I'm doing it that way so that I maintain tension in my body the whole way through - it's one of the cues that Daniel Burnham gave me that he said would help speed these along. I don't think I was using my arms to generate momentum, but I see what you mean about the demo video. I'll do it like that next time to completely eliminate the possibility of using that momentum.
Update on the tuck ups. I'm getting better at doing them smoothly and making sure that I'm not using arms for momentum. Weeks 9-11 are where it gets really hard for me, but I'm actually looking forward to it!
Jonathan Horowitz said:Update on the tuck ups. I'm getting better at doing them smoothly and making sure that I'm not using arms for momentum. Weeks 9-11 are where it gets really hard for me, but I'm actually looking forward to it!
Better & smoother for sure. If you're positive that you're not using momentum then you're almost there (I think a bit more compression is what's missing).
From the video it seems like when you're close to the last reps your hands are becoming more active and helping a bit.
One thing that I did that helped me kill momentum completely, and you might want to try it in your next video, is to keep your arms 100% straight (not bent at the elbow) and your feet pointed. Just like the athlete does in the video.
Somehow, those two changes enhanced my tempo and made it obvious in my videos that no momentum is being generated.
/2c
