Stuck at SLS - SE2

Hi everyone,

Last week I mastered SLS-SE1 and now I tried the Static Single Leg Squat(SE2) and I fall backwards. I can't even hold the position for 1 full second.

Any recommendations?

Note: I used a 5lb. plate for counterbalance.

Thanks a lot guys!

Just have a few seconds, but sounds like maybe a slightly heavier counterweight along with some ankle mobility work in WU might help. Slizzardman mentioned a while back that some people are just built unable to do the SLS w/out a counterweight due to leg length/physics/stuff I forget.

TANSTAAFL said:

Slizzardman mentioned a while back that some people are just built unable to do the SLS w/out a counterweight due to leg length/physics/stuff I forget.

I can accept that some proportions would require more ankle flexibility, but to say it's simply impossible for certain people seems highly dubious to me.

thecolin said:

I can accept that some proportions would require more ankle flexibility, but to say it's simply impossible for certain people seems highly dubious to me.

I'll see if I can track it down. I don't want to be full of dubiosity.

Also reminded me of this one:

"There comes a time in the life of every human when he or she must decide to risk 'his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor' on an outcome dubious." -Heinlein

TANSTAAFL said:

I'll see if I can track it down.

 

Thanks, I'd be interested to see the argument.

At first blush it just feels like the usual misguided comments about gymnasts just being gifted. And the squat is such a natural movement, way more than something like manna. It's just really hard to get back once you've lost it, so it probably seems impossible.

Couldn't find it. It was super old...like mid WOD style old. Anyways, I wanna say it had something to do with tendon/muscle length and the attachment point. It wasn't an every other person type thing.

TANSTAAFL said:

Couldn't find it. It was super old...like mid WOD style old. Anyways, I wanna say it had something to do with tendon/muscle length and the attachment point. It wasn't an every other person type thing.

Thanks anyways. I guess I'll have to remain dubious. 

just started learning this position too. I need to foam roll the entire lower body, then do a couple rounds of deep air squats and several sets of previous SLS work. Big difference between hold time with 5 lb. vs 7.5 lb. I find the slightly heavier weight is much easier for balance. A tough exercise for my weak hip flexors.

I've always tought that the bottom position of a squat and a sls are such natural positions....now I feel very lucky.....

Use a heavier counter-balance. I started with 25#, working the first few weeks... currently at 15#... will see how it goes. I have very springy achilles (i.e. tight) and have always had issues with SLS due to that... I hope to work down to a 5# counterweight before progressing onto the longer holds, but I might need to work with heavier weight and then come back to shorter cycles with the lighter weight. But, that's the general idea I'm working with for now.

extra work on ankle mobility will go a long way.  sit in squat position with feet pointing straight ahead as much as you can during the day. if that's hard for you, sit in front of your stall bars or something else, squat, and pull yourself forward, keeping your heels on the ground.  hold for at least a couple minutes, ideally 5.  work those ankles loose.

I'm going for 5*30s with 2.5 kg tomorrow morning...

The movement was pretty tough for me at first too, but you should learn to balance on the arch of your foot (see Kit Laughlin's anti-pronation exercise; using my arch really helped with my balance) and I kind of "pushed" the plate forward on my descent. It wasn't really excessive protraction, it's more like a feeling, just forcing some of your body weight forward.

I think this is such a productive hold for the lower body, especially when it's a completely unfamiliar exercise. I want to milk all I can from this one.

The demonstration video doesn't show a face forward view. I'm going to assume that we need to square the hips as much as possible and keep the counterweight as close to the centerline of the body as possible. My tendency is to hold the 5lb weight in front of the supporting leg and just to the left or right of torso center for better balance (or is that O.K.?). Focus on torso center seems to engage hips/abs a little more for balance.

Excellent leg progression so far. Finally able to do one full pistol squat, and I've still got weeks to go with SE-2. Big baby steps.

I had to use a 10# counterweight at first for this movement. Now I hold it for ~10s with no counterweight as part of my warmup for SE3. 

If ankle mobility is an issue then you can always temporarily put something underneath your heel too; this should at least help you to focus your actual work on the hold itself.   Don't neglect your ankle mobility though as that is key!

After multiple ankle injuries I had to start with a combination of elevated heel and counterweight.  Over time I first reduced the elevation of my heel until it was flat on the ground, then secondly I worked towards lowering the counterweight.  

My SLS form is now pretty solid and no prior warmup or mobility work is required to get full ROM, but it did take a lot of patience.

Good luck.

Ankle mobility is the key for sucess. The more flexible your ankles are, the more are you able to bring your knees in front of your toes.

A little side question here for some of you. What has been the most effective way for you to improve ankle mobility? I tried using the ones that Kelly Starett suggests in his book "Becoming a supple leopard" however they don't really work for me:/ I can hold the bottom part, however not without counterweight, so I was wondering what else might work - besides sitting in the bottom of the SLS of course.

The bottom position of a calf raise on a stair maybe? Really push your heels down

Joshua Slocum said:

I had to use a 10# counterweight at first for this movement. Now I hold it for ~10s with no counterweight as part of my warmup for SE3. 

Did you find doing them unweighted actually improved your ankle mobility? Or did you just need more strength at the bottom?

I find unweighted SLS a great way to build active flexibility as you're working tibialis anterior pretty hard to pull your knee forward over your toes. Using a counterweight in comparison feels a little like cheating for me.

thecolin said:

Did you find doing them unweighted actually improved your ankle mobility? Or did you just need more strength at the bottom?

A combination of PNF stretching and mastering the previous SE with a counterweight was sufficient for my ankle mobility needs. Holdinig the static as part of my warmup helps me feel the right position before trying to lower into it. 

I had trouble with my left leg when starting out. Here are two things that helped me get started.

1. Heavier counter weight, as mentioned.

2. An "abbreviated" single leg deck squat. That is, roll up from your back into the Static SLS position, hold for 1-3 seconds and roll back down to your back and repeat. I did this on my left side to teach it the right muscle activation, etc.

These helped get the ball rolling, and I'm now working towards mastery with a 5lb counterweight.

You can also flex you glute med. of the working leg really hard 

TANSTAAFL said:

Couldn't find it. It was super old...like mid WOD style old. Anyways, I wanna say it had something to do with tendon/muscle length and the attachment point. It wasn't an every other person type thing.

Here's a video he just uploaded. 

From the little experience I do have, I find it weird that if you've covered SLS PE3 that you wouldn't be able to accomplish SE2. The reason I say this is because I can do SE2 no problem but I'm about to move on to PE3 and found I couldn't plant the sole of my foot on the ground without falling over. So I'm stretching the PE3 position by grabbing onto something as I do it. Initially it was my hamstring that was getting stretched the most but its now my ankle and groin for sure! To get the full deepness of PE3 with foot planted fully is by far harder than SLS SE2 in my experience. What do you think or what has been your experience?