Do Leg Raises Help In Mastering MN/PE2?

Hello All,

In my attempt to master MN/PE2 one day, I've been doing leg raises after the MN element. I'm doing 3 sets of 15 seconds.

Do these directly help in improving compression or am I better off doing something else?

I've also been doing those in the last couple weeks to improve my straddle ups. I remember a post where Adriano suggested doing them with the back flat against a wall (I find them much harder that way!). Hopefully they'll help us achieving new ROM over time

You may add these exercises to MN/PE2 - MN/PE2>iM :

• Bench Pike Squat
• Seated Pike Lift
• Straddle Jefferson Curl
• Seated Straddle Lift
• Hip flexor stretch

for the most average of people there are 2 problems:

-insufficient passive flexibility and hips flexor strength

-bad tempo.

especially the second one is quite relevant, the  upper body due to the major leveraged (upper body + extended arms) needs to be moved first at the beginning, the lower body follows after.

I'm battling with these myself, so I'm certainly no expert, but I would say the danger of doing leg lifts without your back against the wall is that you unconciously lean back, giving the illusion of increased compression. Putting your back against the wall would at least allow you to make measurable progress.

I agree with Alex, but I think the first reason he cites is the biggest problem for most people. Unless you have a background in gymnastics, martial arts, dance etc most likely you'll have some work to do in order to get the required ROM.

It's important to identify if you're passive flexibility is adequate, since trying to increase your range of  active flexibility beyond your current passive range can often be like banging your head against a brick wall. Previous threads have come to the consensus that ideally you need to be able to lower your chest to the level of your legs in a pancake, or at least be able to get your elbows on the floor. If you have the ROM already, then it's just a case of improving your compression. If not, then you need to work on increasing your passive flexibility and then chase up that new ROM with active work.

Just want to add that no amount of obsessing over mn2 is going to prepare you for mn6. So, whether you spend two months or two years on mn2, you'll still have to start from scratch at mn6. Personally, I've gained more active flexibility from mn6, but, mn2 is obviously a prerequisite.

Ravn said:

Just want to add that no amount of obsessing over mn2 is going to prepare you for mn6. So, whether you spend two months or two years on mn2, you'll still have to start from scratch at mn6. Personally, I've gained more active flexibility from mn6, but, mn2 is obviously a prerequisite.

This Totally this.

And for OP, Nash, I would do these pair with 15 seconds of reps. Coach wrote an essay (IIRC) where he says is better to perform leg raises for reps and seconds. Hold the position is not going to hurt you, but definitely try the other way too. 

By the way...

Ravn said:

Just want to add that no amount of obsessing over mn2 is going to prepare you for mn6. So, whether you spend two months or two years on mn2, you'll still have to start from scratch at mn6. Personally, I've gained more active flexibility from mn6, but, mn2 is obviously a prerequisite.

This again. Thiiiiiiiiiis!