Additional Mobility Training for Areas of Obvious Deficiency

If there are elements for which I am unable to properly perform the starting movement, is it appropriate to practice additional stretching/mobility to address these areas?

 

For example, with MN/PE1, I cannot quite bring my knees to my chest even for one repetition.  For SL/PE1, the arms simply aren't making it anywhere near to where they should be, even for the easiest 12sec set.  For both of these movements, it's not time or reps that limit me, but the last portion of the ROM to perform a given set/rep properly.  

 

I plan to stick with each of these basic moves until I master them, but is there additional mobility work that should be done to accelerate this process?  Is this sort of thing, generally, part of what will be covered in the Stretch series?

Yes, working on thoracic extension would help you on SL/PE1, and hip flexor/quad massaging would help you on MN/PE1

Do you have H1? The mobility work in the H series should help you with the shoulder flexion aspect of SL/PE1.

Could you post a video of MN/PE1? Perhaps there is a form cue that we could give you that might help you.

I do alot of Kelly Starrett wods on my worst areas.(http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnnB4zDBqZHhQ4uLTAX8eYA) 

Anybody have tips for thoracic mobility? I don't have a foam roller btw.

 

And I can tell MN/PE2 is gonna take me a LONG time. I almost feel like just going back down to MN/PE1 because I can't even get any decent reps in but I remember somebody saying they did that and wished they hadn't. 

Self Myofascial Release (SMR) with a foam roller or two tennis balls/lacrosse balls taped together can be helpful, if indeed you are unable to extend the Thoracic spine (have a Kyphotic posture) and are limited by soft tissue adhesions/trigger points.

That said, I personally have gotten far better results doing some of the PE's and iM's in the H1 course than I ever got doing SMR stuff for the T-spine. HS/PE4 has been especially beneficial (I've also done several modified versions just for mobility that I feel have helped me tremendously) for me in improving shoulder flexion ROM.