Twisting Squats - I can't take it anymore

I have been in the program since February and have been progressing in most areas, except single leg squats. I have been doing SLS/PE2 since April 20th and still cannot do one Twisting Squat from the ground. I do them from a step but each day try to do it without and can't do one from the ground.

 

The 5 x 10r of Cossack Squats is no problem but I can't move to the next stage because of the mobility movement.

 

I have been doing H7 three days a week in the morning. Some weeks I can do a PM session 2-3 times and always do more Cossack Squats.

 

Still no progress. Even my dog is getting sick of watching me do this!

 

What can I try to work more on it from another angle?

 

Depends on what the sticking point is for you. Where do you find trouble? It could be stress on the knees in the angle of sitting 'indian-style' and to then transitioning up into the squat; it could be flexibility issues in the hip/hamstring in the initial lift-off from having weight on your glutes to having the weight on your ankles in the squat; or it could a lack of flexibility or strength in your ankles because it is an intense angle they are placed under throughout the integrated mobility. It's hard to say what your issue is without having a corresponding note on where you feel issues if you have that much kinesthetic awareness or an accompanying form check video upload.

Have you tried to slowly lower the height of the step/box/mat you're sitting on? So that the change isn't that sudden and big

I second what Edoardo recommended above. also, you may need to do some supplementary work to progress this since it's clearly a weak area for you body.  try some hip mobility and piriformis/upper hamstring stretching.  squat frequently and sit indian style frequently. avoid chairs when possible.  I'm guessing it's your mobility and not your strength that's holding you back.  video would be worth a thousand words...

Where is your upper body when you attempt to stand up?  If it is too far back, you won't be able to stand without rockets strapped to your hips.  I can stand up easily if my chest goes near my feet as I begin to stand, but if my back is straight up perpendicular to the floor I can't do it.  

Luke, hang in there.  I started twisting squats in early October 2014 and didn't master them until July 3, 2015. You'll get there.  

 

I say "amen" to the suggestions from Edoardo and MT Nordic and Wolf with One Ear.

 

I started by lowering to 3 gymnastics mats. Couple months later, 2 mats, then 1, etc.   My progress accelerated when I started doing front split and middle split series religiously in late February.  (Brief digression if you haven't bought them:  they might seem pricey -- think I paid $270 for the package deal on all 3.  But I'll be doing them every week for the rest of my life.  And I plan on living forever, so, from that perspective, they are absurdly inexpensive.)  

 

It's gotta be flexibility that's the issue.  Post a video and the very-helpful, knowledgeable folks in this forum will steer you straight -- they've done so for me numerous times.

I have much the same problem as Luke.  I haven't been trying as long, but I feel it could take me years to get these, if ever.    I just can't get my weight far enough forward.  I had a similar issue with SLS/PE1, but I solved that by learning to generate a lot of forward momentum.  But that isn't an option with PE2.  The irony is that I don't have any problem with single leg squats themselves.

If you can put up a video in Form Checks.

 

Can you sit cross legged on the floor?

 

I'm also a fan of the gradual lowering when practical.

 

Also, assuming you can sit cross legged on the floor, you can work from the bottom up, rather than top down.

 

Finally if you have elastic bands handy, you can try using one as a (temporary) support.

Thanks for all the great reply's. I will take a video tomorrow and post it in form checks.

 

The problem is getting the umph to get off the ground and come up. I have no problem sitting cross legged on the ground, but don't do it much. 

 

When I come down from the top I end up falling at the end and can't keep control. I have lowered down the bench but will try some stacked mats as a mid way height.

sounds like tight glutes to me. hamstring could also contribute but im interested in your glute flexibility.

on the note of posting your twisting squats, how's your swivel hips?

 

If you are not already doing this, the stretch series might help. Last year I tried to perform some twisting squats a couple of times and could only manage to do them if I sat on a platform that was about 40-50 cm high. There was just no strength in my feet anywhere below that level and the compression felt in my ankles was too much to bear (it felt too close to injuring myself for comfort). This year I started doing the 3 stretch series and after a couple of months (4-6 maybe?) I decided to try doing a few twisting squats again, and now I can actually get up off the floor. It still doesn't feel very safe, so now I perform these on some blocks (about 20 cm off of the ground maybe?), however I was surprised by the progress I had made without even doing the exercise.

I'd like to put in my 2cents. The biggest hurdle for me for these was how to put force through my feet into the floor. For the longest time I felt like I was hanging on ankle tendons to try to get up and it wasn't smooth at all. I'd also very quickly tire, thus exacerbating the inefficiencies.

 

What changed for me is learning the proper way to put force into the ground, sit w/ me for a moment:   Sit in the starting position with your left foot in front of your right. When you get up your body will turn to the right so you want to put force in that direction instead of stand straight up. That also means that your front leg, your left, will not be utilized as strongly as your right. To initiate the motion there is a rock back and forward to lean up and over your bodyweight over your feet. Use that momentum to push as hard as you can with your inner leg (your right leg) to start your twisting, what ends up happening is your left knee gets over your foot, making a nice stable base for you to continue standing up. In summary,  you want to turn and get on top the knee of your inner leg as quickly as possible.

I hope this makes sense, but it changed this exercise a lot for me into being "terrible I'll never progress", to something much more manageable. 

The gradual lowering of a step worked quite well for me as well... I started with eight 3/8" rubber tiles, and slowly worked down one-by-one.

 

Keep going!

Hey Luke!

 

I too began around the same time you did, everything else is PE4 except for getting past SLSPE2.

 

For me this is a serious balance, mobility and stability issue, far harder than doing Cossack Squats or Deck Squats (laughingly/dangerously so.)

 

One thing I have been doing to change it up is by going back to practice the deck squats while still practicing the twisting squats (instead of the skiers). 

 

I think the mat idea is great! Haven't used mats, but used weight plates covered with layers of thick towels, this works!

 

I AM seeing progress.

 

When I was a kid, I used to be able to sit crosslegged and get up from that position EZ, I did it all the time. I know that if I had been able to do this course back when I was younger would never have had a problem with this variation. I'll be 50 soon and things just simply arent as energetic and supple as they used to be...

 

Scott

I posted a video in Form Checks:

https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/22691-twisting-squat/

 

Any input would be appreciated.

Whenever I can't do something, it's almost always related to hip flexibility. When in doubt, stretch. If not, it's likely just a form issue, and you need to watch what you're doing and play around to find the correct way.

For those who are having an issue with ankle weakness in this exercise, it may help if you walk on the outsides of your feet. I badly sprained my ankle two summers ago and was no longer her able to do this exercise due to weakness and injury. Once I was able, I started walking on the outsides of my feet to help stretch and strengthen my ankle. It took a while especially with the injury, but I can once again put my full weight on it and complete the twisting squats.

That'd be the fibularis muscles developing.