Help!!! Can't get an anterior pelvic tilt

Love the new set of videos for the stretch series. Unfortunately, now that I've taken the time to go through stretch by stretch with regard to proper form, I realized that the reason I can't  seem to get anywhere in my pancake work, straddle or any of the good morning work is because I literally cannot get an anterior pelvic tilt. My back literally cannot go flat unless I lean backwards, no matter what I do. This is deeply concerning to me.

Side note: I also have a lot of trouble with the Jefferson Curl and pointing my toes, if that's at all related and can be of any help. I figured definitely the J-curl would tie in to not being able to tilt my pelvis forward.

Also while we're at it, I have a lot of ankle and calf mobility issues and cannot even go fully down in a regular seiza, so any help there would be great too. I've been doing the front split but always feel like I don't make much headway with the ankle and calf portion of it.

Hi James,

Thanks for reaching out.

Have you studied the technical tip instructions in your Course Library? You'll find scaling alternatives for each each individual exercise here. In order to get the most out of the exercises it's important that you scale it down to your current level. In order to achieve an apt in the pancake position, make sure to elevate your butt as much as you need in order to keep your back straight. 

If you submit a form check of your Jefferson curl we are able to give you some personal feedback on your technique.

Tight feet can make it harder to point your toes. The seiza stretches from the Front Split series will help you with this as long as you do them properly. It's very important that you scale them, and don't attempt to go fully down to begin with if this means sacrificing your form. 

How long have you been doing the Stretch series for? It takes patience and consistency to improve and strengthen new ROM. I'd like to see a form check of your ankle stretches too. A tip that helped me greatly is to let your chest rest on your knee when doing the kneeling Achilles stretch. At the same time as you pushing your heel into the ground you can try to lift your toes up towards your knee. This will intensify the Stretch. 

Looking forward to see you progress  

I have been doing the stretch series for 2+ months. I've tried the tip instructions but even with blocks I realized that what I think is "sitting up straight" actually still involves a significant curve in the lower back, even when elevated on the highest block setting. And during my last workout as I tried to straighten my lower back out I realized the only way I can is by leaning back

Sit up higher then if you still cant sit straight with just blocks.

When I first started I had to sit up on a small chair (over 35 cm of elevation) to even be able to sit up straight. Just this month I have started to sit on the floor when I am doing pancake work. I has taken me just over 11 months to reach the floor. I am barely able to lean anything forward and still maintain ATP when sitting on the floor, but its slowly getting better.

I am not saying its going to take you 11 months, it might take more or less, who knows. The important part is to stay with it and do your stretching sessions every week and you will get there.

One thing that also seems to help is to try to relax in to the stretches, I know that it is super hard in the beginning because everything is tight and just seems to want to explode any second but it will get better. my point is that you should try to really do the stretches to the point where it is mildly uncomfortable, not your absolute max. Perhaps a 3/10 in effort level. After all what you are trying to do is to relax deeper in to your stretch, not pulling your body apart.

Good luck and keep at it!

Johan

Great tips from Johan! 

Scale the exercises as much as you need in order to 'relax' in the stretches in the beginning. To get the most out of the stretches proper execution is absolutely necessary. If you're ever in doubt, please submit a form check so that we can give you some guiding  

Yeah thanks Johan! I thought maybe I was doing something wrong since I needed so much elevation. I have form check videos showing that I can't even get anterior on 2 blocks (just need to find out how to upload them without having to sync my phone) but I just tried it on a 12 inch footlocker and managed to almost get anterior. Looking for something slightly taller.