8 months on FLPE1 bent hollow body holds

Hi all 

Its been 8 months now and I have almost reached the 5 x 60s mastery on bent hollow body holds. Currently on 60 60 60 60 41 seconds.

This has been a tough one for me although I am finding the the mobility stages a lot easier to master on this one.

I'm hoping to move on to SPLPE4 and i'm assuming this is helping with the hollow hold or maybe the other way round?

I do need longer recovery times due to past over training but I was just interested if any one had the same battle with the FLPE1 holds?

Hey Garry, I can say that everyone who has bad posture due to desk work or with tightness on the upper back, had a long journey to this mastery.

it is pretty common to find the mobility easier at this stage! no worry....very soon you will find the mastery definitely harder.

I do actually spend a lot of time at a desk at work although I would never have guessed that would be the reason for making this progression so difficult..

It's amazing what you don't know about your own body.

Garry, 

I couldn't agree with you more. GST has definitely helped me gain so much body awareness and address my bad posture. My daily physical therapy!

@Garry Barker

Bent Hollow FL holds have been a struggle and a half for me. Ive been training them for about 5 months now and got stuck in the progression from 4x24 to 4x36. Currently taking a half step of 4x30s to hopefully get to 4x36 in about 3 weeks. Your not alone on this one hahha. Reassuring to me that I am not the only one getting my ass kicked by this exercise. 

And to think this is just PE1. Gonna be a long road to get to 5x60 full hollow body holds. One day tho  

Hi Ryan

I'm guessing or hoping even that after achieving 5 x 60s (or even 6 x 60s to just to be sure) of perfect PE1 holds the next steps will be achieved in less time. Any input from the coaches on this one?

Like you said it's reassuring that there are others in the same position.

Looking forward to seeing your mastery video when the time comes.

@Garry Barker

My guess is they will come easier as we are putting a lot of time into developing that TVA which is weak in both of us.  Fingers crossed hahhaa

I seem to have taken an age to build up bent hollow body rocks. 4x48 looks impossible from where I'm laying (with a severe case of abdominal when burn after 30 rocks)

4 hours ago, Paul Wallbridge said:

I seem to have taken an age to build up bent hollow body rocks. 4x48 looks impossible from where I'm laying (with a severe case of abdominal when burn after 30 rocks)

Looking forward to the next 12 months of some good old fashioned hard work and consistency. slowly but surely  

Does anyone have any good plateau busters for these exercises? My approach has been micro progression's going 4x24 4x30 then 4x36. Been working reasonably well although im only on my 2nd week of this approach. 

Spent a month doing rest pause with no real success

also switched my training frequency from a three day a week AB split to a two day a week split. We shall see if the extra recovery helps

Three day split

week1

MOn: A

Wed:B

Fri:A

Week2

Mon:B

Wed:A

Fri:A

HI Ryan

I tried add 1-5 seconds onto one set each time 

For example after reaching  5 x 48s I would go for...

50 - 48 - 48 - 48 - 48

55 - 48 - 48 - 48 - 48

60 - 50 - 48 - 48- 48 

60 - 60 - 50 - 48 - 48 etc 

Sometimes I would find the last set dropping when the first ones went up for example

60 - 60 - 50 - 41 - 40

but it seem to be working for me in the long run as I am no on

60 - 60 - 60 - 60 - 43 training in this once a week.

16 hours ago, Paul Wallbridge said:

 

I seem to have taken an age to build up bent hollow body rocks

 

Hi Paul

Do you find hollow rocks more challenging that the hollow holds?

Well I did.. I spent 6 months on FL1.

But on FL2 I have been rocking on 24*4 since november. 

For me the FL curriculum seems like an enigma. I can't seem to progress no matter what i do. On everything else in Foundations I've been progressing, slowly but still its progress. No I'm trying to mix it up a bit, and trying other FL exercises to se if it helps.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results didn't work so...

Maybe my lower abs just aren't working:)

2 hours ago, Garry Barker said:

 

Hi Paul

Do you find hollow rocks more challenging that the hollow holds?

For those still doing FL PE1, I wish I could say it wasn't more challenging. Unfortunately it is. My abs aren't weak, I can hold a 15 second l-sit on rings with solid form, but bent HBR is an absolute killer to the extent that the burn after 2 sets of 48 is almost impossible to push through. I have found, however, that the intensity can be adjusted slightly by using a finger or two supporting just behind the lower thigh. If I need to I will add support for a couple of rocks and then release again to get the full impact.

my last set is usually 20 rocks, 4 rocks with support and then try for 24 without. I then collapse and cry a little.

I rushed through PE1, didnt get it form checked (it was before technique videos too) and have since spent a year going nowhere on PE2. I restarted PE1 recently, when I should have done it ages ago. PE1 is a lot harder than i remember last time around! Probably because now i'm focuing on creating tension throughout the body, pointing toes, raising my upper back off the floor AMAP, breathing shallow into the diaphragm. I think your time spent on PE1 will be time well invested.

55 minutes ago, Greg White said:

I rushed through PE1, didnt get it form checked (it was before technique videos too) and have since spent a year going nowhere on PE2. I restarted PE1 recently, when I should have done it ages ago. PE1 is a lot harder than i remember last time around! Probably because now i'm focuing on creating tension throughout the body, pointing toes, raising my upper back off the floor AMAP, breathing shallow into the diaphragm. I think your time spent on PE1 will be time well invested.

I am taking that approach with these as well.  I thought I was close to progressing but did a form check which made it twice as hard.  Still feel like I am making progress, all be it slowly. 

6 hours ago, Garry Barker said:

HI Ryan

I tried add 1-5 seconds onto one set each time 

For example after reaching  5 x 48s I would go for...

50 - 48 - 48 - 48 - 48

55 - 48 - 48 - 48 - 48

60 - 50 - 48 - 48- 48 

60 - 60 - 50 - 48 - 48 etc 

Sometimes I would find the last set dropping when the first ones went up for example

60 - 60 - 50 - 41 - 40

but it seem to be working for me in the long run as I am no on

60 - 60 - 60 - 60 - 43 training in this once a week.

Hi Paul

Do you find hollow rocks more challenging that the hollow holds?

I can dig this approach. I am going to give it a run through over the next month and report back. Hopefully I will be nearing in on 4x36s hold. 

3 hours ago, Greg White said:

I rushed through PE1, didnt get it form checked (it was before technique videos too) and have since spent a year going nowhere on PE2. I restarted PE1 recently, when I should have done it ages ago. PE1 is a lot harder than i remember last time around! Probably because now i'm focuing on creating tension throughout the body, pointing toes, raising my upper back off the floor AMAP, breathing shallow into the diaphragm. I think your time spent on PE1 will be time well invested.

- grea comment on the breathing. Short but rapid inhales and exhales keeping high pressure through diaphragm as well creating tension through squeezing hands contracting lats and squeezing glutes can help survive these sets too. 

Currently at 4x48sec but im happy to see im not alone struggling with these hollow body holds/rocks...

6 hours ago, Ryan Segervall said:

I can dig this approach. I am going to give it a run through over the next month and report back. Hopefully I will be nearing in on 4x36s hold.

hope this work out for you will be interesting to see your results in a months time

10 hours ago, Paul Wallbridge said:

For those still doing FL PE1, I wish I could say it wasn't more challenging. Unfortunately it is

So I guess we are in for another beasting in PE2 

I was stuck on 4x48s for months and months. I simply could not get 4x60s, I would get 60, 60, 55, 40 all the time I tried. 

What finally worked for me was to go back to 5x36s, and make sure I have my form 100% good, then I would add sets until I was at 7x36s before I moved on to the next step. I found that hitting a solid 6x48s would enable me to go to 4x60s, after that it only took me about 4 weeks before I had 5x60s down.

I am not saying this is the best way necessarily, however this is what worked for me.

Good luck

Johan 

I had another listen to the Tim Ferriss interview with coach and at the 19 minute mark the talk about how the transverse abdominis supports the body when it is in a straight body position. I have read that the cat cow can help activate the TVA is this correct?

I just started pe2 after about 10 months. After re listening to coach on Tim Ferriss podcast he talks about pushing until failure  where it makes sense, like the muscle belly, and that we can work a lot harder. I found gettig to a really strong burn helped. When I was loosing the hollow early on the last couple sets I'd take a 10 second break and try again to accumulate 60 seconds. This helped break through the wall. 

The rocks on pe2 are challenging. I find completing 36 reps  takes about 48 seconds, so 60 reps will be well over a minute. 

This is reasonable, but the goal of the rocks it is a bit difference and not too much concerned with more endurance.

19 hours ago, Johan Tideland said:

I was stuck on 4x48s for months and months. I simply could not get 4x60s, I would get 60, 60, 55, 40 all the time I tried. 

What finally worked for me was to go back to 5x36s, and make sure I have my form 100% good, then I would add sets until I was at 7x36s before I moved on to the next step. I found that hitting a solid 6x48s would enable me to go to 4x60s, after that it only took me about 4 weeks before I had 5x60s down.

I am not saying this is the best way necessarily, however this is what worked for me.

Good luck

Johan 

Thank you for sharing. I will keep this in mind over the next 4 week cycle 

I got through the holds alright, I felt the burn and it hurt but I could get through that somehow, now the rocks on the other hand are different for me.  I'm on 4x24 and the first set feels easy then it's like i lose the strength to hold myself up.  I feel the ab burn but it's the ab strength to hold myself in in the position while rocking that kills me.  If I try and fight through it, my back hurts, most likely because my form is breaking down.  Im making some progress but it's a bitch!!  Good stuff