https://youtu.be/0onL3x5NrB8 - bent body hold
https://youtu.be/MGQIogRE7nU- cat/cow
Looking for approval of mastery.
This forum is archived information and is no longer active.
FL/PE1 & FL/PE1>iM Form Check
Started by traweaver, February 5, 2016 · 15 Replies · 302 Views
For PE1, look at the course video again, only the lower back should touch the ground.
How far should the upper body be up? Some hollow bodies on the internet are either too high or too low. Also should the neck/head follow the spine's position?
All the scapulae should be moved off the ground.
Simply from the relaxed position lift the shoulders, neck will follow the same direction.
Thanks for the feedback. I will try it with my upper body off the floor more and looks like I could tuck my knees in a bit more too. Hopefully that will make it easier and not harder because this was tough to hold 5x60s. haha
Raising the upper body more will make it waaaay harder. My first form check was similar to yours and I also kept 5x60s. I then had to accept the harsh reality, go back to week one and I'm still fighting this element, many months later. For me this is by far the hardest PE1.
I lifted my upper body up higher (as high as it would go without low back coming off the floor) and brought my knees in closer.
I was able to hold this 5x60s. Along with the mobility listed above. Ok to move on after deload week? Thank you!!
Bumping for a recheck.
I think you need to try to get a bit higher still. You also entered the PE strangely from the top. First engage your posterior pelvic tilt (flatten your back, tuck your tail bone) Then lift your legs, then round your lower back even more to get your shoulders off the ground.
Try to round the low back rather than crunching up your chest.
Go back to block 2 and work on your form and strength there. Block 3 sets and reps schemes are for building endurance once your form is spot on.
Your form from the PE1 has to transition into rocking in PE2 I have a feeling with your current form your lower back is going to be to flat to be able to rock.
Yes Ryan and thanks for the keen eye. I totally agree. I have no round to my low back. I had a microdiscetomy 12 years ago at L4-5 due to a herniated disc and it seems just flat there (no fusion). Like to go from where you are in a Russian twist (upright and flat back) and to round each vertabre to lower where I need to be for this exercise is frightening to me. I have tried to lower with bands on my stall bars but am not comfortable to let go and hold myself there. :-(
I am in this program to make things right with my low back. To not have this injury own and define my movements. I think I need to start back with maybe assisted roll downs? Using tubing around my stall bars that will assist me in lowering as I round my low back and build from there. I can roll down in a standing position (at least I think I can) in to almost a full standing pike with hands to the floor... But for some reason from a seated position the mobility and strength is very weak. Or it is in my mind and I am too afraid to let my body do the movement because in the past this is where I have caused myself pain. Or is it simply a fact that I will not have that movement because of scar tissue and the way my previous injury healed??
I am not quite sure. You all are so knowledgeable and thorough. I appreciate any insight and advice given.
Thank you!
If you watch this video of me doing "tuck ups"... You will see my trouble. There is no roll down or up ... The low back moves as one piece. Does that make sense? How the heck do I fix this? Uhg.
Ultimately I'm just an uneducated novice, who has poked around on the forums for a long time. I'm not a physiotherapist by any stretch of the imagination. All I can recommend is patience and consistency. Like it says in the course, and based on my own mistakes don't move on to block 3 prematurely, it will be counter productive and increase your risk of injury.
I think you will find that the GB program will be very beneficial too you but it may take a long time of consistent work. I think most adults who start can expect to find several elements that they spend over a year on.
Maybe a coach can comment if Jefferson Curls (MNPE2>im) would be appropriate for traweaver to try at this point or would that be dangerous given her past?
traweaver, what if instead of trying for 5x60s, you try week 1 (3x12s)? Are you able to round your back a little more if you really focus hard for a few seconds? Also, squeezing the glutes helps a lot.
Take what I say with a grain of salt as I am not a physical therapist, but it sounds like you need to relearn how to move from/gain strength in your lower back muscles. Some schools of bodywork (MAT for example) suggest that your body can "shut off" muscles surrounding injuries to prevent you from further injuring the area. Whether this is true or not, it sounds like psychologically (and perhaps neuromuscularly) your body will not allow you access to this ROM because it doesn't trust that you can control it without injury.
When you do your cat/cows try to really focus on rounding from your lower back not your upper back. You want to go far enough to where you feel your lower back muscles "turn on"/contract; this means that you have activated the "stretch reflex" and as a result your lower back muscles have contracted as a protective mechanism. Over time as you get more accustomed to activating these muscles and they gain confidence in allowing your more ROM you should be able to lift up higher into your hollow holds.
You could also probably supplement with very light Jefferson curls (really focusing on the top half/spinal articulation aspect) if you wanted, but I would defer to Mark Collins or one of the other physios who frequent this forum for that recommendation.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Here is my cat/cow. In this position in the past ... If I get too aggressive with the rounding of the lower back I get a "zing" as I call it. Almost like an electric jolt ... like I hit a nerve (am I really... Idk?) which results in my back "being out" (walking crooked, pained, ice/Advil protocol) for a duration until the inflammation goes away. So needless to say ... Now 10 years later... I am gun shy to push this range of motion. Not sure if it is even possible to increase it with how areas heal after surgery and since it has been so long?
i knew I would have to start at the beginning here with my compromised core... But geez... Feeling a bit defeated. :-/
This is a good place to start. No need to rush this. With the history you stated, I would want this exercise to feel like a cake walk, full motion, no pain, prior to loading a jefferson curl prematurely, especially if you are on MN PE1/iM as well.
Good luck!
Ryan