SLS/PE4 Mastery Check

Helloes!

Below is the last set of SLS/PE4.

Do you guys think it's mastery grade?

Nice work Nash!  Don't have the credentials to tell you yeah or nay, but this is where I am at the present time.  I keep the arms hanging down to help keep the chest elevated and back straight.  I point the toes, for one, everything in gymnastics seems to require pointed toes, also this ensures the knee, shin and top of foot land simultaneously.  Plenty of ankle flexibility and strength.  Way to go!  Keeping the arch out of the back on the iM?

I thought on this exercise you have to keep your torso up straight rather than leaning forward.

Obviously that makes it a lot harder, especially if you are struggling with ankle flexibility. When I try to keep upright my heel comes off the floor. I don't know what's more important though, heel on floor or being upright. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in

Can't say I'm any more qualified, but I might be able to offer a couple of insights.

I don't know if you saw this thread Nash, but it gives some clarification on acceptable form:

https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/17650-slspe4-speed-skater-squats/

We never really get to the bottom of how much counterbalancing is allowed, either from extending the arms out or leaning forward though.

Zach says a small amount of lean is permissible; I would say you are probably leaning too much. And Allan has his arms by his side in the course video, so that is probably the standard to work towards.

Your ankle flexibility looks decent, but you may well need more. Look how far Allan's working knee advances in front of his toes in the video (I'm aware that he lifts is heel of the floor, but that doesn't make any difference in terms of balance). Also, it may just be the angle of your video, but it looks like whereas your right foot points straight ahead when working, your left foot seems to splay out to the side a bit. This would indicate worse ankle flexibility on the latter side.

Why not try a few reps with your hands by your sides and with minimal lean. See how far you can lower, perhaps spotting lightly to begin with using either your non-working foot or your hand. You might surprise yourself with how close you are. I'd be interested to hear how you get on, as I'm at about the same level (although I haven't actually mastered PE2 & 3 yet).

To be honest I don't see any drastic problem there, movement is smooth and mobility/strength seem to be there.

I know usually on the forum we tend to over-analyse every single detail, but if you asked me, for mastery purposes, I'd say it's fine, considering you'll still keep it in the warmup part and still can improve.

Something you might want to try, just for strength purposes, when you lift from lower stance, is to first lift your foot off the floor, then initiate the movement and lift your body. This is not a requirement for the exercise, but I reckon if the effort and leaning changes drastically with that, then you might want to spend more time on it...

Just my 2c

Hey Guys,

So I stuck to this one with one change: elevating the heel. It was suggested on the facebook page that if I did so, different muscles get activated. I think that's correct because I feel more tension in the glute area and I had to start over in order to master it..

Mastery? Move on to SE1?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agC9_UufVcY

Zach Armijo said:

Arnold use to love doing squats with his heels elevated on plates as the focus was changed more to glutes. However awesome it may be, this unbecomes the speed skater squat. You will not always feel the same tension someone does nor should you seek out methods to find them.

 

I will say this here guys. The point of this exercise is to keep the foot and knee in sync when lifting off and coming back to the ground. Just like pistol squats, you will see the variance in someone who has the grace, strength and flexibility to do them with an upright posture versus those starting out or still working on them will require some lean to help them maintain the balance to push off. Your foot must remain flat with heel on the ground. Individual lean will vary but should strive to straighten over time.

 

When in doubt, start in the bottom position with your foot flat and knee close by your heel, a little behind is ok, and posture up as much as you can. From here, put enough pressure to begin to stand up. If you feel like you cannot, lean a little bit and repeat until you can find your acceptable amount of lean to be able to consistently complete your reps.

Thank you Zach. Always great advice.

I fell for the elevated heel recommendation mainly because the athlete in the video has his heel elevated. I wonder how his posture would've changed (if any) had he had his heel flat on the ground.

-Nash