MN/PE2>iM Jefferson Curl Form Check

Hi everyone

I'm hoping someone can take a look at my early attempt at a Jefferson Curl and give me some pointers.  To be honest, when I first saw the JC it sent shiver down my spine, I've had lower back pain on and off for years but doing this exercise surprisingly doesn't cause me any issues.  I do have a bit of a mental block about it, this movement kinda goes against everything we are taught about lifting with our legs, not our back!  A few sessions of this will surely knock that doubt out my mind.

So about the video, yes I know I am wearing jeans and a polo shirt and it may have not been filmed from the best angle.  I am on an oil rig with 160 other men so I will certainly not be stripping down to my undies and asking someone to film me bending over in the gym lol.  Rumors spread like wildfire out here lol.

It's the best I can do for now but once I've had some practice and I get home in a week or so I can have my wife film me properly and I'll upload a new video.

First time uploading a video to youtube so hopefully the link works.

https://youtu.be/8Kc_MyM2E5w

Thanks in advance

Barry

Looks pretty good, Barry! You want your feet completely together for these and it looks like you could be doing these on an elevated surface to get a deeper stretch.

Since the jeans didn't allow me to see, I'll add that your knees should be locked the entire time. The way you led with your chin was fantastic. Good luck on the oil rig!

A student of ours worked on a rig for some time and developed significant imbalances from the hard work. It's good your taking the time for your health; your coworkers will be joining you soon enough.

Glad to hear you are still working Barry. This has been a tough couple years for all of us that work on rigs, I have been fortunate enough to also stay working through all of this. I also have back issues and the more I do this movement the better my back tends to feel. I started doing these at least 3 days a week. Usually one heavier day and two light days to grease the groove. Keep it up man.

12 hours ago, Everett Carroll said:

You want your feet completely together for these and it looks like you could be doing these on an elevated surface to get a deeper stretch.

Thanks Everett.  Well spotted, I completely missed that in the video about my feet being together.  I've been concentrating so much on my spine that I didn't even think about my feet.

Some of my coworkers have shown interest, after I explained what these 'weird' exercises are that I'm doing in the gym they seemed pretty keen so hopefully make some new members out of them.

Thanks again for the feedback, really appreciate it!

9 hours ago, Jeremy Aldridge said:

Glad to hear you are still working Barry. This has been a tough couple years for all of us that work on rigs, I have been fortunate enough to also stay working through all of this. I also have back issues and the more I do this movement the better my back tends to feel. I started doing these at least 3 days a week. Usually one heavier day and two light days to grease the groove. Keep it up man.

Hey Jeremy

Nice to meet a fellow rig worker.  Glad to hear you still have a job too.  This has definitely been a tough couple of years and sadly had to watch a lot of good guys loose their jobs.  It looks like things are slowly starting to take a turn for the better though.

I've only been doing GST for 2 months now and already I feel like I have a whole new body, I just wish I had started this years ago!

No problem Barry! 

4 hours ago, Barry Johnston said:

Hey Jeremy

Nice to meet a fellow rig worker.  Glad to hear you still have a job too.  This has definitely been a tough couple of years and sadly had to watch a lot of good guys loose their jobs.  It looks like things are slowly starting to take a turn for the better though.

I've only been doing GST for 2 months now and already I feel like I have a whole new body, I just wish I had started this years ago!

I agree with you Barry on starting earlier, I wish I had started earlier also. I am starting to feel so much better than I ever have but it is a slow, slow process. My main problem is mobility so there are movements I am still in the very beginning stages on, and I started back in November. Starting the GST training has really pointed out all my imbalances and weaknesses that I had NO idea I had. I have just learned to embrace the journey and know that the end result is a body that is a well oiled machine that is not only strong but strong and mobile.

And yes it does seem to be getting a little better out in the patch now. I know of a few people that have got their jobs back so things are starting to look up for sure. It needs to be a slow process though in order to create stability in our industry. Keep me posted on how your progress goes man. One thing I have learned as I have to get creative on some of the movements since I am on a rig. I am on land so we do not have a gym out here so I do everything in a single wide trailer. So far I have had no limitations, just not sure what to do when I need stall bars. Lol

17 hours ago, Everett Carroll said:

Looks pretty good, Barry! You want your feet completely together for these and it looks like you could be doing these on an elevated surface to get a deeper stretch.

Since the jeans didn't allow me to see, I'll add that your knees should be locked the entire time. The way you led with your chin was fantastic. Good luck on the oil rig!

A student of ours worked on a rig for some time and developed significant imbalances from the hard work. It's good your taking the time for your health; your coworkers will be joining you soon enough.

Hey Everett,

 Wanted to get your thoughts on the feet together thing. I had read Cole mention that its okay to go shoulder width for balance when you are using a little bit heavier weight and I also read Luke mention standing on two boxes when using a kettle bell. I am currently using a KB and standing on a chair but my feet are about shoulder width. What do you think the main difference on the body is between shoulder width and feet together? Thanks

Hi Jeremy,

I'll send this question over to Cole and Luke after I submit, as I'm curious what they think as well.

I suggested this to Barry because feet/legs together is a major component of the pike, and the pike position is what we're looking for in mastery of J. Curl. I agree with Cole in that if balance is an issue, a wider stance can be taken, but I suspect this need would fade pretty quickly with consistent training. I've seen the video of Luke doing J. Curls with feet apart and, especially at his level, I don't think that's a bad thing.

I've always trained them feet together, like the courses show, and have built to just over bodyweight (170 lbs) without a balance issue. Let's see what the guys have to say.

1 hour ago, Everett Carroll said:

Hi Jeremy,

I'll send this question over to Cole and Luke after I submit, as I'm curious what they think as well.

I suggested this to Barry because feet/legs together is a major component of the pike, and the pike position is what we're looking for in mastery of J. Curl. I agree with Cole in that if balance is an issue, a wider stance can be taken, but I suspect this need would fade pretty quickly with consistent training. I've seen the video of Luke doing J. Curls with feet apart and, especially at his level, I don't think that's a bad thing.

I've always trained them feet together, like the courses show, and have built to just over bodyweight (170 lbs) without a balance issue. Let's see what the guys have to say.

Thanks for the reply Everett, and it makes perfect sense what you are saying. I will implement feet together from now on as it shouldn't be a problem with balance as long as I take them slow, which I figure is how we should be doing them anyway. I do have one other question for you; on your way up to bodyweight J Curls, did you ever experience sore glutes from the stretch at the bottom?

It's hard to say because on days that I do Jefferson Curls I do tons of other movements that are also potentially making my glutes sore. It's hard to pin it to just J. Curls but I've progressed so slow with those over the years that I doubt they've ever been the culprit of much soreness. Are you experiencing DOMS after J. Curls?

No DOMS or anything. Nothing out of the ordinary soreness but like you I am doing a variety of movements since mobility is my main focus point, at this point I am doing a bunch of extra IM's to help loosen my tight joints. My glutes  just seem to be staying sore all the time so I was just curious. I am doing j curls 3 times a week. I am doing three day split but will do light sets of j curls on days when not programmed just to help with posterior chain. 

Sounds good. You could ease back on J. Curls on days they are not programmed in and see if that helps with the chronic soreness.

I've always kept pike vs. Straddle jefferson curls quite distinct, and not had balance issues with 100kg on 80kg bw. As a learning step I can't really see an issue with it though

Can't really comment on the DOMS as I would usually expect glutes to be the stronger link the J-curl chain, certainly over the spine in the curling position and also the grip. Off the top of my head makes me want to verify you are not leaning back too much and curling too little, hence turning this into more of a stiff-leg elevated deadlift and minimizing involvement of the spine; alternatively if you are simply adapting to the deep weighted pike position and are experiencing the soreness as a result of that new stretch through the whole area.

Provided nothings acute though should be no issue, just stretching adaptation period. I've had some cool DOMS and stiffness in parts of my back for a day or two after a weight increase I've come to welcome it as a precursor to better ROM

Thanks Jon,

 I have actually switched my programming to mimic your 2.0 post and I am really liking the improvements so far. I agree that it is just adaption soreness as it's not that severe at all. I will post a form check tomorrow after I complete the movement to get y'alls thoughts. I am big believer in this movement as I can feel my stiff back begin to really loosen up. I had a laminectomy/discectomy at L5/S1 about 5 years ago so I also wonder if the glutes just tighten as I increase the increased ROM I am getting.

Barry,

Sorry to hijack your thread.

Personally l have no issue with hip width as I view this as

- an introductory pike like hamstring stretch and hip width facilitates depth

- a spinal musculature strengthener such that leg spacing is not as important as feeling stable

with the static hangs coming later they need to be feet together though in case there is some confusion there

Having feet together hits the medial gluteus much more than feet hip width so maybe that's a factor? 

I didn't think I'd said anything that revolutionary, it's more a question of sense and comfort to me, seeing as this is only the 2nd iM in the progression. If in doubt do feet together whatever you need to sleep with a clear conscience. 

47 minutes ago, Jeremy Aldridge said:

Barry,

Sorry to hijack your thread.

Don't worry man, its all great info, every day is a school day for me in this forum so I welcome the discussion.

7 hours ago, Jeremy Aldridge said:

Thanks Jon,

 I have actually switched my programming to mimic your 2.0 post and I am really liking the improvements so far. I agree that it is just adaption soreness as it's not that severe at all. I will post a form check tomorrow after I complete the movement to get y'alls thoughts. I am big believer in this movement as I can feel my stiff back begin to really loosen up. I had a laminectomy/discectomy at L5/S1 about 5 years ago so I also wonder if the glutes just tighten as I increase the increased ROM I am getting.

Barry,

Sorry to hijack your thread.

Seems like no problems there then. Goes without saying that until a given weight gives you no DOMS, there's no sense increasing it

Hi Guys late coming into this one - I practice both type of Jefferson Curls - Straight legged and straddle. I usually practice straddle when I am using non-barbells so that I can drop them straight down in-between my legs. Both types will work and activate different slightly different muscle groups but the end goal is the same.

Just like Everett and Jon, Barry, I think you should try getting your feet together when you do the movement and start progressing the JC onto a box or higher object as soon as you get flexible enough to touch the floor with the barbell.