Problem with abdominal compression

So I have a problem with not being able to improve compression in my abdominals. For example, I can hold a decent L for about 45 seconds, but I'm nowhere close to even beginning progessions towards a V-sit. Oddly enough, I can hold the advanced L easier than the regular L, as flattening my back reduces the need to compress to get the legs in position, if that makes any sense. With a hanging L on the stall bars, it gets even worse, and I struggle to maintain even an L for 10 seconds. Trying to hold a straddle L is completely out of the question.

 

I want to increase this compression (I don't know if that's the right word. I hope this makes sense though) to be able to do hanging leg raises at the very least and a press to handstand as a realistic goal.. But I have no idea how to improve it. I do those exercises (again, don't know what they are called, sorry for the newb-ness ) where you sit, as if in an L, and put your arms to your side and raise and lower your feet. The closer the palms are to the feet, the more compression you need to get your feet off the ground. I have been doing those for months, in both a pike and a straddle position, and have seen little to no improvement. Any tips as to what I could do? 

 

Thanks in advance!

It sounds like you are wanting to improve your "Pike Compression".

The first thing you must understand is how to a 'Posterior pelvic tilt' (or tucking the pelvic under).

(the first video I just found)

 

You need this pelvic position in order to get maximum compression. If your pelvis is tilted the other way (Anterior - butt sticking out),

It will limit your range.

 

Also you might need to spend time stretching the muscles of the pike individually.  Try stretching your glutes, calves and hamstrings and you will notice a difference in your pike right away.  If you don't notice a difference, then you likely have some other bio mechanical issues.

Jules, first of all, thanks for a quick response, I appreciate it. Coming to the pelvic tilt, I do understand that concept. To me, this also applies when I'm doing something like a hollow hold. To get a flat back and prevent arching, the pelvis has to be in good position, which I tend to achieve by activating my glutes. As for lower body stretching, I do spend significant amounts of time stretching my glutes (the piriformis stretch in particular helped me a lot), hamstrings (with different amounts of rotation at the hip, as different positions stretch different areas of teh hamstring), calves, quads and hip flexors. You are right, when I first started off, my lack of pike compression was from lack of sufficient flexibility in these areas. But now, it seems like it is a lack of strength in the antagonist muscles.

 

That is to say, I can hold a pike with my nose touching my knees and my arms holding on to the arches of my feet easily enough, but I cannot hold that position using my core strength alone. So while I am ''flexible'' enough, I cannot actively hold those positions without external forces. 

 

Another example would be if I am attempting a press to handstand (focus on the word ''attempting''. I am not strong enough to do it yet, I am jsut using this as an example to explain my problem), I am not able to bring the legs close to the body while the feet are lifted off the ground. 

 

Similarly, I can do some ugly hanging leg lefts on a high bar using my lats and cheating, but on the stall bars, I can barely manage to bring my legs to an L position. Make sense?

If you can't bring your legs to an L but you can do a pike then it is most probably a strength problem. Start training hanging tuck holds (thighs at 90o), and also tucked leg lifts.

 

Also just some other notes:

- Make sure you're not squeezing your glutes during the leg raise.

- When initiating the movement of a leg lift, or tuck lift etc, think about the pelvic rolling under and the spine scooping.

   The abs should engage first, flatting the back and tucking the pelvis, then you may continue with the movement.

 

A quick video taken from the front and the side would be super helpful and we could probably see what's happening (or not happening).

What you said about the pelvis rolling under makes perfect sense. It is pretty much how I try to visualize the movement. I can do hanging tuck raises and hold a hanging tuck for 3x60s with some effort. I even try to extend my legs little by little or try and hold single leg extensions (while the other legs remains tucked). What I'm worried about though is that there is almost no carryover with extended legs. 

 

Yes, I will try and get a video as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I don't know if it will be of respectable quality. I will try to make sure it is good enough to analyze form though.

Sweet, i'll wait for the video. Don't worry about it to much, it doesn't need to be in HD

Sorry, I vanished. I had a back injury soon after this post, and had been on bed rest till a few days ago. I won't be working and intense (for me ) abdominal exercises for a while unfortunately. Hope I can get a video soon. The one thing that I did notice though was that even with a floor l-sit, I tend to lean back, and this gave me the false impression of being able to hold an L. if I straighten by back and nullify the lean, I am unable to bring my legs upt to parallel. My quads start cramping immediately. So it certainly is an active flexibility and strength issue. For the strength, I have taken a step back and started to hold tucks with no lean. I have no idea how to work the flexibility aspect of it.