sls/pe3 guidance needed

hoping i could get some guidance. i can do the pe2 just fine but when i go much below parallel with my knee, i am having a lot of trouble keeping my balance forward. i can do the squat butt to ankle holding some weight out in front of me to counter balance, or by lifting my heels off the ground but i am sure that isnt the intent of the exercise. any ideas will be helpful, thank you

Hello Ryan,

I'm sure the coaches are going to ask for a form check video to diagnose the issue. 

Usually the limiting factor for this exercise is poor ankle mobility. The front split series does a wonderful job addressing this issue, the kneeling Achilles stretch especially. 

Hope this helps! 

You should definitely keep your heels on the ground! Using a weight to counter balance isn't a bad thing or starters. Over time mobility will increase and you should be able to achieve full rom without additional weight. To get more used to the position and improve ankle as well as hip mobility you can just stay in a flat footed squat. Go as far down as you can and try to relax in that position for a while.

i am working on my achilles and calf as they have tightened up on me. i am doing the stretch program which is helping. i guess that is my weak link and i know where to start focusing more on. 

what would you recommend while progressing in the mobility, stepping down to pe2 or doing pe3 the best i can at the moment?

Hey Ryan,

Can you please submit videos of PE2 and PE3, along with their iM's?

sorry it took me a little bit to figure out how to get a video on here. This is my first video so be gentle. Please let me know if you need anything further.

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for posting the video. It looks like your ankle flexibility is a big roadblock. Keep working to get those ankles moving freely. Also, when doing PE2 you are letting your chest drop forward. Keep your chest as vertical as possible. I recommend spending some more time on PE2 until the movement is refined before moving on to PE3. On your iM for PE2 you are picking up a bit of pelvic rotation (see Mobility Technique Tip video starting at 45 seconds). I also recommend spending more time on this iM before moving on to PE3. Keep up the good work!

Thank you for that great input. I will start back on PE2 and work on that some more. What would you recommend to improve my ankles? I'm doing  the stretch series but am open to any ideas for improving. Also I noticed when I get as low as I can in the squat I feel tight in the front muscle next to my shine bone (no idea what that one is called) I started to notice it when I was doing the video for this and trying to nail down what is going wrong with the squat.

Ryan,

it will take a while or your body to adapt but you'll get there. 8years ago  I moved rom Germany to China and all of a sudden had to deal with squat toilets.
It wasn't easy or comfi to begin with and keeping balance was a struggle - as you DO NOT ever want to fall backwards in that situation / environment!
I know the pain on the shin you're describing, that was actually the worst for me, besides the struggle to not fall, pain in the knees and numb legs.
BUT I can tell from experience it gets easier by just squatting.
After a while it's actually a good resting position. In SE-Asia you'll see people squat all the time e.g. at the bus stop, doing dishes, relaxing for a smoke, chatting and playing cards, the list goes on.  Nowadays I also squat to chill, play with my dog or do small tasks on the floor. No pain, no struggle.
The coaches input will help you for sure. It just takes time. Some mobility (warm up) like duck walks, bear walks, frog jumps might be good to loosen up.

Well I am definitely glad I don't have to learn by not falling into the toilet and am sorry for your pain in that. I had a similar experience in Afghan, thankfully didn't fall in but the struggle was real. Thank you for the ideas and motivation! I like the idea of the duck walk and frog jumps for my warm up and was exactly the kind of ideas I was hoping to get and will be incorporating them in to my routine.

If there are any other ideas or a page I missed where this was addressed, I am eager to hear it.

I'm not a coach, so take this for what it is, but I've definitely felt an improvement in the depth of my squats after adding some downward dogs in my lower body day warmups. It just seems to gently loosen the areas I'm most tight in. I generally concentrate on one leg at a time - so lifting the other leg once there - and try into relax into the stretch for a minute or two. 

An effective way to improve ankle mobility restriction is to foam roll your Achilles tendon, as it contributes vastly to your squatting ability. I use the method below for my clients, and we have with great success in improving squat mobility. This can be done immediately before front split stretch course, as it helps break up the fascia to help the regeneration process.

1. An easy way to do this is to start seated with legs out front, then  place the  back of the ankle on top of a foam roller.
2. Then stack something weighted (i.e. bag of books, sandbag, whatever you can get a hold of) over your legs.
3. Roll each ankle for 2 sets of 30-60 sec.

I'd definitely go for a daily dose of (toilet) squats, no toilet required. Start off with small increments. Use something to hold onto or a weight for counter balance. Start in shoes if barefoot is too much. They're easy to integrate (done when watching TV) and they certainly helped with my ankle mobility, as well as knee and hip mobility. Unless suffering from existing injuries we should be able to hold this position for time without issue. It just takes a little consistent practice. I started without really being able to get into that position but now i'm happy to to squat bare foot for 10 mins straight but haven't really tried to push beyond that but I feel comfortable enough now for it to feel a the natural position it should.

article here might be of help