Bend back in pike for zombies?

As the title suggests. With straight knees and straight back, I can't close the angle between my legs and torso to less than around 100 degrees (that's less than halfway down). The models in the videos all have good enough compression that they basically reach their legs without needing to bend their back. So what should I do? It gets uncomfortable much quicker when I bend my back for too long.

None of this is official, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt. Coach is the final word on the subject, so he might not approve of some (or all) of these.

You could try:

1) sitting on an elevated surface (cushioned plyo box, chair, even against the wall) and performing the stretch using a yoga strap to pull your shoulders towards your feet. The semi supported position and lesser angle to the floor will mean that less load will be placed on the back.

2) placing your hands on an elevated surface (a plyo box, a chair, 2 chairs, yoga blocks, etc...) so they can help support some of your weight as you perform your standing pike stretches

3) bending your knees as much as needed to place your hands on the floor without having to flex your spine to the point of discomfort and then working to straighten your knees as your flexibility improved until you could start to work on a standard standing like stretch

My vote would be for #2, but theoretically all 3 approaches could be used to scale down the movement.

Hope this helps.

Thanks so much for the thoughtful reply. All your suggestions sound sensible. To clarify, it's uncomfortable in my back only when it's very bent forward for a long time, but when it's straight it feels fine but tense, and keeps the stretch in the hip and hamstrings.

Hopefully a coach can chime in on this!

Would really like to hear from a coach about this!

How does one pike with very poor compression??

orangutan said:

Would really like to hear from a coach about this!

 

How does one pike with very poor compression??

Elevate the hips to increase ROM.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Is there a corresponding way to increase ROM in a standing pike?

orangutan said:

Is there a corresponding way to increase ROM in a standing pike?

Unnecessary.  While standing upright your hips are already open to a 180 degree angle before you even start.  

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer