MN/PE2

First attempts and quite pathetic at that I am afraid. What should I focus on?

 In the first video I focus on lifting more the legs.

In the second I try to come up more, so to reach the floor with my hands. I do not know why I was hyperextending the neck. The first attempt looks better to me.

And this is my first go at a Jefferson curl, what should I correct?

As always, thanks a lot for the feedback!

-during the pe you need to hold the legs straight all the time, pointing your toes will help with that, also more straddle and compression is necessary.

-during the JC you have to hold the bar in contact with your body and slide it on the legs. move it away only when necessary.

Thanks Alessandro. Which of the two PE videos looks less terrible? Also, in case I cannot increase both straddle and compression at the same time which one should I focus on first?

Hello @Guido Franchetti I'd like to mention first that the execution looks pretty good and that improving your mobility will make a world of a difference. 

With that said compression and straddle are worked together very well.  The middle split series will help tremendously.  

As far as the video goes I personally like the first one.  As your active straddle and compression improves you can work towards locking the knees whole pointing the toes.  All while simultaneously reaching towards the grounds between your wide  straddled legs. 

Thanks for the feedback @Mikey Cunanan I am doing MS. Many of the stretches feel very difficult so I guess it will take time, but at least I am working on it!

I have been working on these and improved in keeping my legs straight with fee pointed (I'd like to say my legs are fully straight but I notice very little bending in a few reps, and since almost straight is still bent...).

In the first video execution felt a bit rushed, so I tried to slow it down and make it more controlled in the second. 

Clearly straddle and compression still have a long way to go; the question is: should I keep doing low reps (usually 5x3 or 5x5) or is it a good idea to start adding some volume?

Wow, what a big difference! You point your toes beautifully!!!!!

Thanks Suzanna! It took quite some focus. For a few times I thought I was pointing the toes only to discover when I checked that the fingers were flexed but the feet not really pointed.

Very Nice Guido, good improvements. You can try to hold the legs approximately at 100-120° degrees of straddle. in this position you can take the best carryover from JC work.

Thanks Alessandro! Is it fine to start adding reps or is it better to keep it low volume until the straddle has improved?

Ideally the best solution it is to improve quality before quantity.

All right, thanks. I'll stay low volume and work on straddle and compression then.

On 10/17/2016 at 9:20 PM, Guido Franchetti said:

All right, thanks. I'll stay low volume and work on straddle and compression then.

Guido I had the same question as you. My straddle up is worse than yours, and I wondered which was the best way to improve, try to do more volume, or keep the poor form volume low then spend more time on straddle and compression. This is the answer then, can I ask what you do to work on straddle and compression? I do the J curls but wonder if there are other things in the foundation course to improve these two components or are there exercises in the other courses that help that I'm unaware of? Keep up the good work mate.

The middle split series address a lot the straddle deficits.

5 hours ago, Steven Gilmore said:

or are there exercises in the other courses that help

I'm running into the same issue and decided to add a few sets of pike pulses after my MN/PE2 work...too soon to see results, but I expect a few weeks worth along with MS series will make a difference.

To be honest I am not over-stressing about it, mostly I am doing MS once a week. Sometimes I try to spend some more time in the straddle (the "up" position of the straddle up) and or try to further raise my legs or move them a bit from there.

A probably obvious thing: since the volume in PE2 is very low at the moment I am adding some sets of PE1. Well, initially I was doing a PE2 set and then a PE1 set, but I have realised that I was impacting my PE2 work so I moved the PE1 at the end.

Anyway, if you are looking for further exercises and advice to improve on this movement there is a long thread here

It is known to be a hard one!

Just checking how the iM is coming along as I am thinking of adding some weight - current one is around 10kg

Hi Guido,

I have a few suggestions for you before you add weight:

-At the start of the movement, press your hips forward and keep your core tight. Strive to maintain this throughout the movement. 

-Relax your upper back, shoulders, and arms even more. Let the bar hang as low as possible through the curl. You don't have to pull it in along your legs as you go. 

-Be sure your feet are totally together and that your knees are locked. 

Thanks Everett, 

actually @Alessandro Mainente told me to slide the bar on the legs in a post above. So what should I do?

On 8/26/2016 at 2:13 PM, Alessandro Mainente said:

-during the pe you need to hold the legs straight all the time, pointing your toes will help with that, also more straddle and compression is necessary.

-during the JC you have to hold the bar in contact with your body and slide it on the legs. move it away only when necessary.

By pressing the hip forwards do you mean maintaining PPT for as long as possible or something else?

Hi Guido,

Try allowing the weight to hang free for a couple reps to feel how that relaxes and stretches your upper back. Then go back to implementing Alessandro's suggestion while keeping that relaxed thoracic area. 

8 minutes ago, Guido Franchetti said:

By pressing the hip forwards do you mean maintaining PPT for as long as possible or something else?

Yes, focusing on this will really help you initiate from the lumbar when starting back up.

Perfect, thanks!

Here is an updated MN/PE2. I felt my form improved so I moved up a bit with the steps - currently at Step 4. Compression and straddle still have a looooong way to go (straddle may seem decent, but that is because a frontal video is very flattering for straddle), so let me know if I should not advance further in steps, or even go down.

I know the starting position should be with arms fully extended behind. I usually do that but I had not enough space to record.

This is the iM, I have tried to separate more thoracic from lumbar, keep PPT on the way down and start with PPT on the way up. Any better?

Hi Guido,

This one is also looking much better. As you said, the compression still needs some work, but form is looking good. Try not to pause in between reps as you do your sets.

Also a nice improvement on your iM.

Coach himself has said not to pull the bar towards the legs and keep it relaxed in another thread very recently.

Thanks @Andrew Long, I saw Coach's post, but that video is older. I will keep the arms relaxed the next times.