SLS PE1- Deck Squat technique questions

I've been working on deck squats and watching the course video.  Mine aren't nearly as pretty.  I don't have time to record a form check today, but I have a few theories on what is going on:

1.  Legs crossed or knees spread.  This could be a lack of hip mobility, especially internal hip rotation.  As I roll up, my natural inclination is to cross my legs.  If I can avoid that, I often end up with one foot overlapping the other and my knees spread wide.  It could also be related to the next issue.

2.  Thumping hips and shoulders from a poorly-rounded lower back.  I'm guessing that this is due to a lack of abdominal contraction.  I need to build a stronger posterior pelvic tilt.  I think that the thumping is slowing me down enough that I lack the momentum to get my center of mass up and over my knees.

 

I come from a powerlifting background and have always practiced "knees out" when squatting.  Squatting with my feet and knees together is pretty difficult for me.  I also have spent a lot of time practicing to not round my lower back ever.  I stand straight with balanced hips, but I experience stiffness that makes posterior tilting difficult.

 

I probably need to work more on arch body holds, and maybe even just practice smooth rolling back and forth for deck squats.

 

Do these things sound reasonable?  Any other suggestions?

 

Thanks.

J.

I cant suggest much with the squatting without a video, but i'll chime in about the rolling. 

 

I think the Cat/Cow is going to be your bread and butter for a while, Getting used to the rounding of the upper and lower back (including the Posterior pelvic tilt). It should help to warm up with some back and forth rolls before you start. I quickly googled and this is the best video i could find in a short time to show what Im talking about

 

1.  Contracting the abdomen as I start to go down so it flattens / hollows (probably some transverse abdominis action involved) before I hit the ground helps to round the lower back and minimize thumping.  I don't have to consciously do this so much anymore, but I find if my rhythm is off a bit and I start doing this it helps. 

2.  Pulling the glutes in tight to the feet as Coach's point 2 in the course suggests is also helpful.

3.  The athlete in the  video seems to be using some momentum to bring himself back up so I don't sweat it if I use a little momentum; although I know a girl that can do these w/ "0" momentum.  She's built just right for these, but I am not.

 

When I started these I couldn't do even 1, now I'm doing 5x9 (Week 7) so I see 5x15 on the horizon...hang in there and it will happen.

^^^Good tips that have also helped me with these.

Also how close you can keep the knees pulled into the chest helps to keep your body round and gives you a smaller rotational access (meaning less effort needs to be used to roll).

When I first started these I had the bad/incorrect habit of wanting to try to throw my legs out in front of me to gain momentum. Unfortunately all this does is to "disconnect" the upper and lower body, turn your body from a "ball" into a "brick" (long relatively flat shape), and make it harder to get your feet under your center of gravity as you transition from the roll to the squat.

Now I keep them pulled in tight (improving my compression in tuck-ups has really helped with this) and I can do them with almost no momentum.

I have also found that ankle flexibility (specifically Soleus flexibility) can be a big determining factor of how efficiently you can transition from the roll to the squat, so if you are lacking there I would put some time into that as well.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, everyone.

 

I did some more work with it and, as predicted, found a few things:

1.  Keep legs tucked tight and rock back and forth a few times.  This keeps form better than kicking out to build momentum.

2.  Ankle mobility is less than ideal right now.  See point #3.

3.  A slightly raised platform fixes the issue.  The gym has ~3" rubber mats with sloped transitions down to the floor.  Setting myself up so my feet land on the transition (or even just beyond it) makes it easy.  I'm quitting that gym, but now I can figure out something similar where I will be training in the future.

Okay, maybe I'm the only one but I'm 44 years old, have been fairly athletic (weightlifting, sand volleyball) and my weight has gone up and down for a while but now I've been down for 6 months and keeps going down albeit slowly now (currently at 255, down from 347). There is no way in hell I can get close to this one yet without using a hand to stand back up. Is there a series of movements to use that will lead me up to being able to do this one if I can't right now?

Begin from an elevated surface and then gradually reduce the elevation needed over time as you improve.

 

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

EDIT: I have a decent alternative to panel mats: compost bags!

 

What kind of increments have you used in reducing the height of the surface, Coach?

How much momentum are we allowed to use?

As much as you need to get up but try and slow it down and minimise momentum as you get better.