Twisting Squats

I finally mastered deck squats (yay!) and am loving the Cossack squats. I have bad knees so it has taken me a long time to get to this point. Started week 1 on the PE2 and doing them really slowly to start just to make sure I have the technique/form correct before I concentrate on the tempo. All looks good and then I get to the iM.

These are harder for me than the strength component@! Anybody got any pointers or tips for these?

Got through the first 4 weeks and was hoping I'd be better at them by now but I keep dropping like a rock once I get close to the bottom of these, not sure where the point of failure is yet but I think I'll take a video for a form check when I get the chance next.

You can use a chair, bucket or whatever and over time use a lower and lower object.

I'm a martial artist with very good flexibility and lower-body strength, all done through bodyweight, so I figured I'd ace the SLS progressions quickly.  Instead, it took me nearly a year to get through the first two progressions.  Twisting squats were my most pathetic movement.

I stacked six textbooks and squated on them.  I barely moved two feet up and down.  Over time I took books away and got lower and lower.  I got down to three textbooks fairly quickly, but then it started taking longer to progress.  I think my long legs played a part here, as the leveredge gets worse at the bottom.  Once I got to the ground, I then had to build endurance to get all five sets without developing cramps or mentally giving up.

It's worth it, though.  My kicks have always been strong, but now they've gotten even stronger, and my legs in general just feel so much happier.

I will try the books as I can get pretty low before It fails, did you have any problems with hitting/knocking the books over while twisting around? I find it hard to keep my feet anchored in spot when I get to near full rotation without adjusting them some

Trevor Lewis said:

I will try the books as I can get pretty low before It fails, did you have any problems with hitting/knocking the books over while twisting around? I find it hard to keep my feet anchored in spot when I get to near full rotation without adjusting them some

Actually, good point.  The books frequently slid backwards, so every few reps I had to straighten them unless I wanted to play a real-life version of Jenga.  I used books just because they were all the same size and hardcover, which meant a non-mushy surface.  You can use anything of which you can adjust the height.

That said, I made sure to always control the motion.  If I'm crashing down the last inch or two, it means I'm going too low.  Find the spot where you can control your descent but it's still work.  Once that becomes easier, you can go lower.

Thanks JP, I'll give it a shot next time I do them and let you know how it works out. Loving these movements, I was worried at first that my knees might not be able to take it. After four weeks they feel a lot better than they have though.

My journey through the first 2 SLS progressions was very similar to Sensei's.  Deck squat mastery took forever and then, like you, Trevor, the twisting squats were a major problem for me.  Total to get through these 2 progressions:  about 14 months.  

One other suggestion I'd add to Sensei's thoughtful advice:  keep deck squats and skiers in your warmup.

WrldsGr8testDad said:

My journey through the first 2 SLS progressions was very similar to Sensei's.  Deck squat mastery took forever and then, like you, Trevor, the twisting squats were a major problem for me.  Total to get through these 2 progressions:  about 14 months.  

 

One other suggestion I'd add to Sensei's thoughtful advice:  keep deck squats and skiers in your warmup.

Good Advice! I was really glad to be 'done' with these but they have helped my knees out so much they are worth keeping around

Im still rocking them from a year ago. I have a noticeable deficit between Left and Right. I can already do a 'ok' pistol squat but my left wants to collapse inward(valgus). Swivel hips, Twist squats and the F1 core work have helped it to a good degree.

It takes a while but if i fix this injury(and its compensations) i will be set for F2+.

Keep trucking along.

Thanks StrongZombie! I struggle with some of the other exercises but these knee ones take the most out of me.

As an update: I added in a couple skiers and deck squats this week and I managed to do these twisting squats without books or buckets by just slowing down the movement and feeling for where I would normally drop. If I leaned forward just a bit or balance with my hands out front and did them slowly I could lower myself the whole way down (had a couple reps at the end of sets that were sketchy but it was usually cause I tried to speed through them, I could correct them if I slowed the tempo down again) Looking forward to the journey with these as I was completely gassed after each set of iM and enjoyed the 'break' of doing more cossack squats  

If you are like me zombie with strong legs than it is all about flexibility. I was stuck at PE2 for a year until I incorporated Stretching courses in my routine. Then few weeks later I passed PE2, PE3, PE4 one after another. One of my friends MMA fighter with very good hips mobility was able to do beautiful twisting squats non-stop on first try.

Mobility is the key component with these. Stretch series will definetly help. I Also like to sit with my legs crossed to improve the ROM.

The SLS im elements should remain part of your warmup more or less indefinitely. They do a lot of good over time even after demonstrating enough ability to pass them