MN/PE2 + iM

Just starting work on MN/PE2. How are these looking:

For the iM, i know I need to pick up the pace to match the videos. How am I doing otherwise?

Hey Josh,

You're off to a good start on this progression. Keep working on your compression at the top of your straddle ups. Also make sure your knees are straight.

On your iM you are doing a nice job of curling your cervical and thoracic spine. Your lumbar spine is fairly stiff. Keep working on curling each vertebra through your lower back. You are also picking up a small amount of knee bend on this exercise. Only go as low as you are able with straight knees.

Great—good feedback @Jeffrey Bittner.

I realized that I've been going for depth on a lot of my straight-leg exercises at the expense of slightly bending my knees. My medialis *feels* like it's tight, so I thought I was locked out. But when I slow down the JC I can feel my knee pop forward just a bit—going to fix that.

I'll keep working the lumbar issue as well. Any tips or cues for this on the JC? When I go slow, I can feel the point where my hips want to start hinging. I'm wondering if I should stop there for a while and work on letting the lumbar curl before I go for a deeper pike...

Hey Josh,

On your J-curls keep taking things slow. As you get to the tight spot in your spine, it is okay to slow your curl down to allow the tissues in your back time to relax, allowing your spine to bend. Really focus on the curl, but make sure you are curling at a speed where your body is able to relax.

Thanks, @Jeffrey Bittner! I'll take my time on this one.

On 2017-6-20 at 5:11 PM, Jeffrey Bittner said:

Hey Josh,

On your J-curls keep taking things slow. As you get to the tight spot in your spine, it is okay to slow your curl down to allow the tissues in your back time to relax, allowing your spine to bend. Really focus on the curl, but make sure you are curling at a speed where your body is able to relax.

thanks for this advice Jeff. could I just ask a follow up (if you don't mind Josh), in terms of weight, I feel ok pulling a heavier weight of say 35-40kg but I notice that induces greater tension in my body whilst 15kg seemingly does nothing. 20-30kg seems to be a sweet spot where I am benefiting but do not feel my body resisting. Is this where I should be or should I be looking to expand out of this comfort zone with the more challenging weight? Thank you.

(for reference 75kg bodyweight, 135kg 1RM deadlift)

30 minutes ago, James Hill said:

thanks for this advice Jeff. could I just ask a follow up (if you don't mind Josh), in terms of weight, I feel ok pulling a heavier weight of say 35-40kg but I notice that induces greater tension in my body whilst 15kg seemingly does nothing. 20-30kg seems to be a sweet spot where I am benefiting but do not feel my body resisting. Is this where I should be or should I be looking to expand out of this comfort zone with the more challenging weight? Thank you.

(for reference 75kg bodyweight, 135kg 1RM deadlift)

Not at all. Wondering myself about increasing the weight. I feel like I'm having to do all the work to get my stiff lumbar to bend, rather than letting the weight do it. I'm only using about 15 lbs right now. 

@Alessandro Mainente can correct me if I am wrong. When you first start J-curls you should use a light weight to avoid straining your muscles as you learn this exercise. Once your body has adjusted and you become more comfortable with this exercise, it is okay to add weight little by little until you find your "sweet spot".

22 hours ago, Jeffrey Bittner said:

@Alessandro Mainente can correct me if I am wrong. When you first start J-curls you should use a light weight to avoid straining your muscles as you learn this exercise. Once your body has adjusted and you become more comfortable with this exercise, it is okay to add weight little by little until you find your "sweet spot".

Absolutely yes, running too fast of JC can lead to serious lower back injuries.

@Alessandro Mainente and @Jon Douglas I have a question about J-curls that's been bugging me for a while:

I've noticed that Alessandro consistently advises trainees to pull the bar close to the legs during the decent and ascent, only moving it away at the bottom, while I've seen Jon advise letting the arms hang straight down. 

What are the advantages/disadvantages of these differing approaches?

For beginner especially people with a LACK OF MOBILITY in the posterior chain, there is the risk that the weight moves forward away from the body. if this happens the stress on the spine disk increases a lot especially in the early stage of JC strength development. for this reason holding the weight closer to the body, it is safer.

@Jeffrey Bittner or @Alessandro Mainente any improvement here?

The MN portion of my workout is comical. I'm doing 3x3 on the V-ups, and it takes about 15 seconds. Then 4-5 minutes of J-curls, then another 15 seconds of V-ups...

The work sets feel like the break on this one!

Hey Josh,

Awesome work! The lumbar spine still needs a bit of work, but it looks much better. You are definitely on the right track!

Good news! Thanks @Jeffrey Bittner. Right now I'm having to really fight to keep the PPT by pulling my abs in. I'm starting to feel my lower back muscles firing though, especially on the way up. 

I'll keep working it.

nice work!

Thanks @Alessandro Mainente! 

I sweat like a pig doing these. I'll keep working them though.

@Alessandro Mainente and @Jeffrey Bittner is it too soon to be thinking about adding a little bit of weight to the bar on these?

I've been doing J-curls for 2 weeks with the empty bar, which in my case is 15 pounds.

I feel like I'm having to really work with my abs to get my lumbar to move at all—it's the farthest thing from "relaxing into the stretch" that I can imagine.

I feel like an extra 5-10 lbs. would help the weight do more work.

Happy to be patient here though, just wondering if I might safely make more progress with a small increment in the weight.

Adding 3-5 kg each month it is a good starting point.

47 minutes ago, Alessandro Mainente said:

Adding 3-5 kg each month it is a good starting point.

Awesome. I'll stick here for a couple more weeks before bumping up then. 

Hey @Alessandro Mainente and @Jeffrey Bittner can I get a progress check  on my j-curls:

Hey Josh,

Great improvement! You are doing a much better job of curling the spine on the lower. Keep working on curling the lumbar and lower thoracic spine a little bit more as you lift out of the pike position. It also looks like you might have a small knee bend at the bottom of your reps. Keep the knees straight throughout.

It has come a long way. Keep up the good work!

Nice work!

1 hour ago, Jeffrey Bittner said:

Hey Josh,

Great improvement! You are doing a much better job of curling the spine on the lower. Keep working on curling the lumbar and lower thoracic spine a little bit more as you lift out of the pike position. It also looks like you might have a small knee bend at the bottom of your reps. Keep the knees straight throughout.

It has come a long way. Keep up the good work!

As I was staring at my knees coming out of the bottom of the first rep, I noticed one of my legs shift back a fraction of an inch, and I thought, "Naw, @Jeffrey Bittner won't see that."

I've been doing trunk circles daily, which seems to be helping to loosen up my lumbar a bit. 

I'll keep working on it!

Could I get a quick progress check on the PE as well:

Good improvement, Josh! Keep working on getting a little bit more compression at the top of your reps. Also, be careful of the knees. You're super close, keep at it!