Jefferson Curl

Hi guys ! Please check my form, I just learned this exercise from the Coach Sommer and Robb Wolf podcast.

Here is the link if someone is interested: http://robbwolf.com/2014/10/14/episode-241-coach-christopher-sommer/

That's not how the exercise is done. im not really sure how much is allowed to be said since this is a Foundation exercise. Though you should look at video again to see exactly why your video is different and compare

alan tseng said:

That's not how the exercise is done. im not really sure how much is allowed to be said since this is a Foundation exercise. Though you should look at video again to see exactly why your video is different and compare

Thanks Alan ! I'm gonna try to replicate the form showed in the original video.

Since Jefferson Curls has been discussed during the Robb Wolf podcast episode 230.

The following is a description of how they should be done:

Description

*Add additional weight once every 12 weeks.

If you do them correctly a full repetition will look similar to the video.

Thanks Golden ! I'm going to follow the instructions step by step and see how it goes, even when I'm doing it with bad form I'm really impressed by the fact that after the soreness from the first time goes away, my ROM improves a lot. 

Updated !

chuchodani said:

Updated !

 

You are not curling enough, there consider the fact that from neck to lower back you must curl one vertebrae at the time and not just bend in the lower back. First you bend neck, next shoulders and next stomach - reverse on your way up. When going up first you straighten lower back, next shoulders, next neck - that was the cue that got me doing it right.

The stretch should be felt in the ankles, calves, hamstrings, abs and maybe shoulder, NOT much in lower back.

EDIT:

Keep the weight as close to your legs during ascent and descent, this way you might force your body to do it right

Alexander Egebak said:

You are not curling enough, there consider the fact that from neck to lower back you must curl one vertebrae at the time and not just bend in the lower back. First you bend neck, next shoulders and next stomach - reverse on your way up. When going up first you straighten lower back, next shoulders, next neck - that was the cue that got me doing it right.

 

The stretch should be felt in the ankles, calves, hamstrings, abs and maybe shoulder, NOT much in lower back.

 

EDIT:

Keep the weight as close to your legs during ascent and descent, this way you might force your body to do it right

I'm going to put my feet nearest to the edge of the chair, if you look closely the first motion I do is the neck curling. Do you think it is better than my first try ? I think it's a matter of practice and understanding the right technique maybe in a couple of months I will do the motion perfect. Mostly I feel the stretch in my hamstrings but not in calves,ankles or lower back. Thanks for your help ! I really appreciate your critique.

YouTube Video: Gymnasticbodies.com- Jefferson Curls

If you do Jefferson curls as described in my previous post. They will look like what is seen in the above posted video.

Rayne-William said:

YouTube Video: Gymnasticbodies.com- Jefferson Curls

 

If you do Jefferson curls as described in my previous post. They will look like what is seen in the above posted video.

I'm much better right now, what help me most to understand the movement is keep the bar near to my body, and in consequence I'm curling my spine much more and also vertebrae by vertebrae.

Go slow-errr.

Blairbob said:

Go slow-errr.

Yes, I'm focusing on improve my perfomance on this exercise. Thanks for your recommendation

Update 2.0

chuchodani said:

Update 2.0

 

Much, much better! Curling motion is good now. I do not know if you can lean back even further when you are "down"?

Alexander Egebak said:

Much, much better! Curling motion is good now. I do not know if you can lean back even further when you are "down"?

Did you mean like putting my face between my shin ?

chuchodani said:

Did you mean like putting my face between my shin ?

that would be the result, yes, by pushing your butt further backwards for a greater stretch in calves.

Alexander Egebak said:

that would be the result, yes, by pushing your butt further backwards for a greater stretch in calves.

I think I can lean a little bit more, I'm going to try it in my next workout.

How exactly should one program these??...it says start off with a 5ilbs but how do you work up to bodyweight per cycle?

HumanBIOS said:

How exactly should one program these??...it says start off with a 5ilbs but how do you work up to bodyweight per cycle?

Start out with more if you have perfect form. I would if I could go with 10 kg. That extra weight will help the stretch; too much will cause problems in your back.

In terms of progressing 2,5-5 kilo a month seems decent

it's a mobility element though, so ideally you should stick on a fixed weight for 3 months. I jsut want to know how much to increase by for every 3 months.

There is no set schedule of increase that applies to everyone.  Gradually and patiently is the key here.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach Sommer said:

There is no set schedule of increase that applies to everyone. Gradually and patiently is the key here.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Very patiently is key. Trying to approach mobility as you would do with other weight training is a huge mistake. I nearly wrecked my shoulder rehab trying to open its mobility too fast. When the load feels kinda light then increase.

Daniel Burnham said:

... When the load feels kinda light then increase ...

The excerpted quote above is key.  

The body needs time to go through the three stages of overload, load and underload.  The same load that used to be difficult in overload will now feel easy in underload.  It is in the underload phase where the body recovers and stabilizes the new developed strength/R.O.M.  Unfortunately underload is also the phase that most people tend to cut short.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach Sommer said:

The excerpted quote above is key.

The body needs time to go through the three stages of overload, load and underload. The same load that used to be difficult in overload will now feel easy in underload. It is in the underload phase where the body recovers and stabilizes the new developed strength/R.O.M. Unfortunately underload is also the phase that most people tend to cut short.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Edit: I feel like I could comfortably do double the reps (for all 5 sets) without fatigue, is this s good indicator?

Difficult to quantify time wise as it varies from person to person, however as a general rule there should be an underload period of at least several weeks were the load feels 'too easy'.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer