ABH - Max contraction or less?

When performing SL/PE1, should I contract my posterior chain as hard as I can to get every drop out of my current ROM as I can?  

Or is it better to hold a sub-maximal contraction and build ROM over time?

At max contraction and current max ROM, 12s is darn near everything I've got.  But I can hold a slightly less ROM with a sub-max contraction and hold it longer.

Whats the best way to proceed?

Your experience?

Thanks

Good question Steve I'm in much the same position. I've come back to SL/PE1 after realising my ROM was too poor on the ABR and 12 secs is what I can do at max intensity on PE1 just now. I have a horrible suspicion the answer is going to be contract as hard as you possibly can :'(

I think as t-spine mobility improves over time max effort will not be needed eventually. But as long as we have to fight gravity and mobility max effort is probably what is needed.

I'd say maximal contraction until you reach rom similar to the video or enough to do a rock. Once you achieve said rom build the time and reps from there so eventually it will not longer be ,axial contraction. If you already have that rom well the. You are good to go and improve!

Thanks gents!

Pain and struggle it is

don't forget to stretch those muscles that are giving you heart ache.

Aussew has got it - your goal is proper ROM. If that is a maximal contraction for you, then maximally contract for now. Eventually it should feel almost like a resting position.

Joshua Slocum said:

Aussew has got it - your goal is proper ROM. If that is a maximal contraction for you, then maximally contract for now. Eventually it should feel almost like a resting position.

Funny.

Hilarious!

I heard someone say that they start their arch body rocks with a glute contraction. Since during ABH I'm already contracting them as hard as I can, I know that I'm not ready to progress yet.

I've been on Arch Body Rocks for a few months now, and one of the things I'm learning in order to up my reps is to actually be more RELAXED within the same ROM, to be more effecient, to actually strip away all of the unnecessary tension that I've built up in getting the ROM. So I'm still maintaining the correct ROM but noticing only what needs to be contracted, and only the necessary amount of contraction needed (in other words correcting for my default reflex of always full/max contraction of all the muscles in the "region").

I'm distressed that ABSOLUTELY NO ONE gave me the answer I wanted!  To take it easy 

Ok so seriously.  If its best to give a maximal effort ROM-wise...is it then also best to take that to failure (can no long hold that ROM), or is it best to go shorter time, but remaining in that ROM the whole time? 

Put another way, if I hold an ABH for 12s, but I lose my max ROM at 8s.  Is it better to do holds for 8s, or to continue at a worse ROM for the remainder of the set

Hopefully I worded that clearly.

Steve Maher said:

I'm distressed that ABSOLUTELY NO ONE gave me the answer I wanted!  To take it easy 

 

Ok so seriously.  If its best to give a maximal effort ROM-wise...is it then also best to take that to failure (can no long hold that ROM), or is it best to go shorter time, but remaining in that ROM the whole time? 

 

Put another way, if I hold an ABH for 12s, but I lose my max ROM at 8s.  Is it better to do holds for 8s, or to continue at a worse ROM for the remainder of the set

 

Hopefully I worded that clearly.

It's only best to give maximal effort ROM-wise if you're not achieving sufficient ROM. As long as you're beneath that target, your goal is to achieve correct ROM. If you can not complete week 1 with perfect ROM, you may want to try doing some of the prerequisites listed in the big ABH thread. Or you could do weeks 1-4 with your current ROM, and then repeat them with slightly more ROM, until you've completed them with perfect ROM.

Good advice.  Thanks Joshua.

For this i do allways 5 times max and as I long as im in the floor again

I get more total seconds every time. Soon it is time to fight for better rom the whole way

Interesting Riku.

So if I'm understanding you...you do 5 sets of ABH, each for max time?  So to failure each set?

DAMN...that's hardcore.  

I read through most of that ABH monster thread, and it is brutally long and detailed.  Coach Sommer dropped in and called it analysis paralysis.

That said, here's a summary of that thread created by Wheezer..  That way you can skip reading the thread and just get on with the training, like Coach suggested in there somewhere.

Steve Maher said:

Interesting Riku.

 

So if I'm understanding you...you do 5 sets of ABH, each for max time?  So to failure each set?

 

DAMN...that's hardcore.

Yes. Like this. Works good to me!

There was a post at some point comparing someones first ABH set to their last one, and from that I gather than you're pretty much guaranteed to lose ROM by the end of it....

The nasty thing about static holds is that despite how it looks from the outside, full ROM is no resting point. I'm hitting this with F3 manna work at the moment. The only way to solve a dearth of active flexibility is the unpleasant method of seeking out and chasing down cramps, recognising them as signs of pushing your limits back just a little each time, and waiting it out with gritted teeth. This is difficult to work yourself up to mentally, but in practice is not nearly as unpleasant as you invariably psych yourself out to expect.

You *can* out-stubborn ABH, chin hangs, and negatives such as slow HLL. When the body fails it fails but sorry, cramping like a ba***** is not a valid excuse to call a set. This is what Coach in his matter-of-fact way refers to as 'discomfort.' More to the point, the sooner you bear down and finish it the sooner you can move on to something more 'fun.' What better incentive could there be?

KeilaniG said:

don't forget to stretch those muscles that are giving you heart ache.

Can anyone suggest some good stretches for this?

I must say that ABH has improved my glute activation which has helped my back. At the beginning of each set, I have to be careful to activate the glute first or it will hurt my back but it's been doing me some good.

I have to be careful to activate the glute first or it will hurt my back but it's been doing me some good.

Watch the video of the athlete.   In the first two seconds of the vid, he does exactly this. 

Jennifer said:

Watch the video of the athlete.   In the first two seconds of the vid, he does exactly this. 

For most people it probably happens automatically and they don't even think about it. I seem to have lost that but practice is making it easier.

The Hansenator said:

Can anyone suggest some good stretches for this?

 

I must say that ABH has improved my glute activation which has helped my back. At the beginning of each set, I have to be careful to activate the glute first or it will hurt my back but it's been doing me some good.

Kit Laughlin Solo and banded hip stretch has been my go-to for the past couple of months.