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Started by Alessandro Di Sanzo, March 1, 2015 · 40 Replies · 1,097 Views
You need to do the ppt drills in H1, and once you are efficient with ppt, you may try hbr again.
Always, first engage in ppt and then raise legs and arms and rock!
edit: I just read that you can't keep your lower back pressed with straight legs on the ground, this means that your hip flexors are tight!
But my above post still holds.
Hollow Man said:You need to do the ppt drills in H1, and once you are efficient with ppt, you may try hbr again.
Always, first engage in ppt and then raise legs and arms and rock!
edit: I just read that you can't keep your lower back pressed with straight legs on the ground, this means that your hip flexors are tight!
But my above post still holds.
Tomorrow I'm going to post a video of my PPT, and another attempt of hollow body rocks, firstly egnaging in PPT as you suggested.
Gee, this exercise is really tough! But I don't give up! 
mauler said:Now I start to get to the point!
I'm pretty sure I can keep PPT on the ground with bent legs.
But With straight and close legs keeping lower back completely flat on the ground is impossible for me using only PPT.
I see that In the video demonstration the athlete can do that!
Screenshot_2015-03-14-20-07-30.png
I know that PPT exercises are included in HS one, but they are too advanced exercises, I've still been working on HS/PE1.
I will do as you said, I will focus on keeping PPT from the the PE1. But Should I keep my lower back even with straddle and close straight legs firmly on the ground only with PPT to consider those element as mastered, simply as I lay on the ground? As I said before, I'm quite sure I can't at all hold it with PPT with close legs, end maybe in straddle it is the same story.
That PPT position applies to most of the exercises, tuck-ups/straddle-up/v-ups/pushups/planks/planches etc
You'll probably have to go back all the way to PE1 and make sure you've mastered them all with PPT, that way you'll actually be sure whether or not you can do it. Even the straddle hollow body holds require PPT.
Just so there's no confusion, any exercises done in hollow position automatically includes PPT
But the V-ups doesn't require ppt as much as it would be nice to start in ppt! different
Hollow Man said:You need to do the ppt drills in H1, and once you are efficient with ppt, you may try hbr again.
Always, first engage in ppt and then raise legs and arms and rock!
edit: I just read that you can't keep your lower back pressed with straight legs on the ground, this means that your hip flexors are tight!
But my above post still holds.
Alan Tseng said:It's easy to get confused here since they both "look" the same since both gets your lower back onto the floor. However the difference is that Posterior Pelvic Tilt is a hip movement, and lumbar flexion is a lower back movement. So even though they look the same, it's actually completely different set of muscle activation.
What posterior pelvic tilt is, is that you tilt your pelvic bone posteriorly until the lower back is on the floor, rather than simply pressing the lower back down on the floor (which is what lumbar flexion is.) I think you'll probably need to practice this movement all the way back to PE1 to make sure you're using the right set of muscles.
Yesterday I tried to test my PPT.
Here's a video:
Firstly I lay on the floor, then I try to move my hips in PPT, with arms put backwards . It looks that my lower back is getting more closer to the floor, even though a bit of empty space is still evident.
I noticed also that if I move my arms outwards I don't see any empty space between my lower back and floor. I can see the same stuff as I put my hands at hips level.
Then I tried to follow Hollow Man advices: "Always, first engage in ppt and then raise legs and arms and rock!"
Here's an attempt:
How do you find it?
Besides, In the video description it is written: "Arms may also be placed down next to the hips, however mastery requires arms overhead".
So if you find this form still not correct, could be a good idea to practice hollow body rock firstly with hands next to the hips, then as I improve my PPT, I move on placing arms backwards?
Thank you!
Yes, placing your arms next to your body will make it easier to PPT because of the shoulder flexibility (and generally less weight gravity has to pull down making this exercise easier). You should focus a lot on quad and hip flexor stretch coupled with jefferson curls and doing ppt drills to really help you solve the problem where it is.
mauler said:
Firstly I lay on the floor, then I try to move my hips in PPT, with arms put backwards . It looks that my lower back is getting more closer to the floor, even though a bit of empty space is still evident.
I noticed also that if I move my arms outwards I don't see any empty space between my lower back and floor. I can see the same stuff as I put my hands at hips level.
The arms are a separate issue. Since you don't have enough shoulder flexibility, you need to arch your back to put them on the ground above your head. Since your upper back is rounded forward in this position, it's not a limiting factor in this case.
In your ppt attempt, notice how at around the six second mark your knees start to bend as you try to flatten your lower back? That's the tightness in your legs. You need to be able to keep your legs straight, tuck your butt under and tense it while pressing your lower back into the ground. Start stretching those hips and quads.
Unfortunately, you're not really rocking at all here. It looks more like a sit up while lifting your legs. Extend through your legs, lock your hips, and don't bend your back. If you were able to hold a perfect hollow body so that if somebody could push on your feet and your shoulders would lift up without any bending like you were carved out of a solid piece of wood. Be a human rocking horse. 
Honestly, your previous videos looked a lot closer to the course video. You just looked a bit piked, lacked ppt and you were using your legs to move instead of your core.
Zach Armijo said:Negative. Your lower glutes should barely be coming off the ground. A point of reference when testing people is by telling them that their feet should not rise any higher than the height of their knees if they were standing. This will keep your control in check and make you engage more to feel the transfer of tension through the body in a rock.
This appears to be different from the course video. His glutes come completely off the mat and his feet look like they get up to what would be about hip height for him. Could you clarify what the standard is here?
Zach Armijo said:The video is a pretty extreme demonstration of a hollow rock.
To be clear, by extreme you just mean more difficult but acceptable? Or is it not acceptable performed this way?
I'm just wanting to be certain, as up until now the course video has been everyone's reference for this move.
An update of my HBR.
HBR form check:
I think you still lacking the rocking motion, your body is not moving as a single unit. Maybe you have a mobility deficiency, I can do Full PPT on floor with my legs and arms in contact with the floor. I don't know if my FL/PE6 is the right example but I uploaded anyway in order to help you and in that way you can compare my rocking motion vs yours.
chuchodani said:I think you still lacking the rocking motion, your body is not moving as a single unit. Maybe you have a mobility deficiency, I can do Full PPT on floor with my legs and arms in contact with the floor. I don't know if my FL/PE6 is the right example but I uploaded anyway in order to help you and in that way you can compare my rocking motion vs yours.
Thank you for the video chuchodani. I was watching it again and again [emoji16] , trying to.find the main differences between your form and mine. I would like to replicate your form, definitely it is much better than mine! But I still don't understand if my main issue is a lack of mobility, or strenght, or simply I still didn't get how I have to roll.
So far I found these differences:
Pic 1.
At the starting position, as you said, you can keep full PPT on the floor with arms and legs in contact with the floor. Unluckily I am not able to do that at all [emoji20] . if I got well.the point this is about a lack of shoulders mobility. Such mobility issue could prevent me from performing this exercise correctly?
I thought this exercise aims simply to reinforce my core, the lack of mobility is a problem that I could fix further, or in handstand one (I am still working on the first two mobility elements).
I ascertained that this problem is not present in the previous FL/PE elements, because simply my arms are put forward! So this is not a problem that I didn't take care previously, simply because This issue is present for the first time in this element.
Therefore My thought is that it is not strictly necessary to be able to keep full PPT with arms backward and legs in contact with the floor just like you. I know that If I put my arms forward I can do that. Anyway it looks like it requires a separate work from FL elements , maybe different from the aim of this exercise; of course at least I must try to keep it as best as I can. But it is only my opinion, without any knowledge basis. If my thought is wrong, correct me! [emoji4]
Pic 2 & pic3.
Here's I saw many differences.
1. your ROM of rocking is higher than mine.
2. Your rock speed is lower than mine.
3. I thought that as I lift up with my torso, my lower back should be kept in contact with the floor , but after seen your form and video demonstration again, this is not true! It looks whole back is off the ground, am I right?
4. In the third pic it looks like almost my whole back crushes to the ground, while your body is kept in tension.
Now, I want to fix all these stuffs once for all, but firstly I have to catch the main problem! I thought I could lower my speed of rocking, increase ROM, and focus on keeping my entire body rigid, working only on a few reps. Yet if it is essential I have to fix the mobility issue (so MUST keep PPT exactly just like you), then I think I could stop to perform FL/PE6 wrongly, and dedicate FL work with another element/ mobility exercise...
definitely my form is not correct, and I'm afraid that working with my form increasing week by week the reps could be only a waste of time. [emoji1]
What are your thoughts??
Any other suggestion would be appreciated!
Thank you!
One detail that I actually notice is that your legs doesn't look fully extended, contract your legs, hold your hand together and see if the motion improves. I have my legs fully contracted.
Thank you chuchodani! Great points! If I have see some improves I will post my form! [emoji4]chuchodani said:One detail that I actually notice is that your legs doesn't look fully extended, contract your legs, hold your hand together and see if the motion improves. I have my legs fully contracted.
One thing you could try to achieve the 'body as one unit' bit, is to get yourself in the middle position (the U shape) then stay rigid in that shape while someone rocks you by alternating a push down on your feet and a push down on your hands.
LateStarter@46 said:One thing you could try to achieve the 'body as one unit' bit, is to get yourself in the middle position (the U shape) then stay rigid in that shape while someone rocks you by alternating a push down on your feet and a push down on your hands.
I was actually thinking about that before you say it, like a kind of human rocking chair.
Sounds a great idea!! I will try! Thank you!! [emoji4]LateStarter@46 said:One thing you could try to achieve the 'body as one unit' bit, is to get yourself in the middle position (the U shape) then stay rigid in that shape while someone rocks you by alternating a push down on your feet and a push down on your hands.