Embarrassing question

Hi guys 

This has taken alot of courage and pride bashing for me to come to post such an embarrassing question but enough is enough lol 

I've actually asked about this on various posts before but never really had a definite answer and after an embarrassing struggle earlier on which I just had to film ( see below ) I'm  desperate for your help 

after progressing through the early elements of  foundation 1 since October 2016 and after 4 years bodyweight training prior to that, I seemingly haven't built any strength whatsoever  in my core to be able to do a tucked sit up .(not to be confused with the tuck up which I've actually made good progress with ) 

i cant sit up with my legs bent  without having to either 

1. Anchor my feet

or 

2. Use a whole load of momentum through my arms - again see video 

the first two reps are me using said momentum

the 2nd two reps are me attempting to sit up without momentum (or having my feet anchored) -you'll notice  I get stuck very early on in the rep... why ? 

as I say I find it most embarrassing and demoralising that after so much core work I am unable to do this simplest of tasks 

please please help me. Is there any supplementary work or exercises I could do or can you identify why I am unable to do such a basic core exercise 

many thanks as always 

leigh 

https://youtu.be/zFcARri-rsU

I am a complete novice at GB, but I was in a similar situation, except I could not do a straddle up at all ( man PE2). At doing a form check, I found out I wasn't doing my PE1 iM properly. So, I focussed on fixing my form in that. I also figured that I was off on my timing, and doing the lower body at the same time as the upper body was too much information for my brain to take. So, I did sets of just legs and just upper body. I also was lacking hip mobility to get into the proper position, and after six months of the stretch courses, I have a whole new appreciation of how much a lack of mobility can prevent proper technique. Now, I can finally do straddle ups. I am still lacking finesse in my technique, but as I work on them, I am getting better. I thought I would never get it.

I know this isn't exactly the same thing, but keep at it, and if you know there are certain elements of the tuck up that you really struggle with, maybe you can work on those in isolation.

Also, don't be embarrassed because everyone has strengths and weaknesses, but we often forget our strengths because those things are so easy for us. 

Hi valerie

many thanks for you reply

ive  actually progressed really well in the actual tuck up which is why it pains me that sitting up without momentum is so difficult for me 

I do all the stretch courses alongside my foundation (albeit i appreciate its early days) but it astounds me that I find this most basic thing so difficult to do which is why I wanted to find it what is lacking in my overall body engineering lol 

Hi Leigh,

Can you do: 1) a sit up with legs straight and unanchored, and 2) a very slow, deliberate sit up with tucked legs?

I was in a similar position prior to starting GST, I couldn't even do a straight leg sit up without anchoring my feet. I can now do 1 above and just about do 2 if I really push. As soon as I add a little momentum it gets stuck at a similar position to you and then more momentum gets me up.

I think its just a bit more core strength required. Possibly tight hamstrings could also be a problem as I think they may inhibit the movement.

To work on it, you can stretch you legs out a bit further, so halfway between straight and tucked. Once you can do a healthy number at halfway, bring your feet a bit closer. Rinse and repeat until you hit your target. Also, I tend to 'curl' my sit ups a bit more, rather than keep the upper back as straight as you have it. Longer lever = harder to lift!

@Leigh Kettle,

I went to try to do what you want to do. Not very pretty either, ha ha. Maybe something for me to work on too  :-)  

I am noticing one thing, you seem to have a relatively long torso (as do I) and thus less weight on the bottom, more on the top, and of course, it gets harder. You could work on slowly getting up in any way. Maybe with straight legs, or hooked legs, it will give you more leverage, and then bend them and go super slowly down. Feeling each muscle fiber. And just train them to fire in this eccentric motion. Maybe, eventually, they fire the same well even concentrically… I tried a few regular ones and then moved my feet close on the negative part of the motion. It felt good.

BTW, do not get discouraged, your commitment to your training is impressive and motivating for all of us!!! And most of all, do not get embarrassed, we all struggle in certain things… and even if you don't like your sit-ups, you are still an eye candy  :-)  (I know, I know, a lady should not be be saying such things here on the forums, but for a moment, I chose not to be a lady, ha ha). Seriously, you are inspiring! Keep going and sharing with us. 

Those look good to me. Honestly, i don't think what you're after is a simple task at all. When I think about the kinds of things I see at the gym, I very rarely, if ever, see the kind of sit up you're wanting to do. I see crossfit sit ups, sit ups with anchored feet or crunches. Not controlled full range unanchored sit ups. 

18 minutes ago, Paul Wallbridge said:

 

Hi Leigh,

Can you do: 1) a sit up with legs straight and unanchored, and 2) a very slow, deliberate sit up with tucked legs?

 

Hey Paul

legs straight is better for me )maybe with a little raise of the legs) but the slow deliberate tucked legs sit up as shown on my video I get stuck 

I appreciate doing sit ups isn't the be all and end all and in fact mostly works my hip flexors more than anything else I find so it's not that I want to start incorporating them into my training in any way it just feels so basic that I felt I ought to be able to do it . Besides I call myself a gb athlete after all lol ..

after little research on the web it may also be down to a bit of physics here and maybe I may never be able to do it without anchoring my feet . 

Anyhow proper gst stuff trumps sit ups for bang for buck any day of the week :-) 

3 minutes ago, Kelly Gage said:

Those look good to me. Honestly, i don't think what you're after is a simple task at all. When I think about the kinds of things I see at the gym, I very rarely, if ever, see the kind of sit up you're wanting to do. I see crossfit sit ups, sit ups with anchored feet or crunches. Not controlled full range unanchored sit ups. 

Interesting point actually kelly

maybe I'm being hard on myself here . I am very critical of myself maybe too much for my own good 

thank you for probably making me realise that lol 

18 minutes ago, Suzanna McGee said:

@Leigh Kettle,

I went to try to do what you want to do. Not very pretty either, ha ha. Maybe something for me to work on too  :-)  

I am noticing one thing, you seem to have a relatively long torso (as do I) and thus less weight on the bottom, more on the top, and of course, it gets harder. You could work on slowly getting up in any way. Maybe with straight legs, or hooked legs, it will give you more leverage, and then bend them and go super slowly down. Feeling each muscle fiber. And just train them to fire in this eccentric motion. Maybe, eventually, they fire the same well even concentrically… I tried a few regular ones and then moved my feet close on the negative part of the motion. It felt good.

BTW, do not get discouraged, your commitment to your training is impressive and motivating for all of us!!! And most of all, do not get embarrassed, we all struggle in certain things… and even if you don't like your sit-ups, you are still an eye candy  :-)  (I know, I know, a lady should not be be saying such things here on the forums, but for a moment, I chose not to be a lady, ha ha). Seriously, you are inspiring! Keep going and sharing with us. 

 

Thanks Suzanna 

what you say makes sense as I've often worked negatives to help my concentrics in the past in my calisthenics days and they were always a great thing for me advancing 

I've messed around with negatives of these before but not with any consistency being honest 

I can do the move very slowly and deliberately when feet are anchored but as soon as they are not I get stuck. It's so comical I actually laughed . 

Posting this and doing my own research has helped if only in the fact that i shouldn't get hung up on little things like this and need look at the bigger picture . It's just I want to beat everything I do - it's in my nature I guess ... but I'll keep working hard 

thank you for the compliment :-) blushing a little lol . And I'll always keep posting and asking for help so thank you so much 

leigh 

@Suzanna McGee

i just watched your video

that is exactly what I'm trying to do. Props to you as that is awesome .

i feel soooo weak lol 

great job suzanna

4 hours ago, Leigh Kettle said:

It's just I want to beat everything I do - it's in my nature I guess ... but I'll keep working hard 

I am so with you on this one, I am like that too. I think it's a good thing, it fires my inner motivation and obsession which makes me to get things done. Sooner or later

4 hours ago, Leigh Kettle said:

that is exactly what I'm trying to do. Props to you as that is awesome .

Thank you! ...but see, I was not able to get my feet much closer to my hips, or I wouldn't get up. I think in your video, yours were much closer, thus MUCH harder. Start from further away, and lots of negatives. It will click one day. I bet, with your focus, you'll get it pretty soon  :-) 

What happens if you do a very slow negative. At what point do you loose control? and when you do is it due to weight distribution or something else?

I struggle with situps with my feet unanchored, pretty sure it is simply my body proportions / weight distribution. Can mitigate somewhat by pulling my heels into the ground and exaggerating a curl up of the spine. I don't regard it as a terribly useful exerciseto be honest so there's only so far i have really dug into it 

10 hours ago, Leigh Kettle said:

after little research on the web it may also be down to a bit of physics here and maybe I may never be able to do it without anchoring my feet .

I absolutely understand your frustration- I was in a similar situation several years ago in pilates classes, where me- "big, strong and muscular male", couldn't do a single rep (couldn't keep my legs on the floor), while several female around me did this exercise for multiple reps without any problems. It took me long time to understand, that this exercise is not only about pure core strength, but needs some muscle control as well.

It's littlebit difficult to explain, but you need to focus on contracting the lower part of your sixpack. Especially if you have long torso (like me), your main focus should be moving your centre of balance as low as possible, to keep your legs from rising up. For me the 'folding point' is slightly above my hipbones and that's the place where I try to get maximal contraction first, while all the rest is following naturally.

Hey guys, Im also in the gorilla group of long torsos. Did never quite understand why i find a clean sit up so difficult but now i get it.. finally something to blame, good for My ego

Tuck ups goes easier with My long arms compensates for that "issue". 

Thanks so much for all your input guys I really appreciate it 

I won't beg too hung up on it it's just something I wanted to highlight and it's interesting to hear others in the same boat. Because it could be other factors I now don't feel so pathetically weak as I did when I posted last night lol so it was worth being embarrassed 

I'd also like to add whilst on the topic of core strength , i recently attempted a dragon flag (something I used to be able to do before starting gst ) but again was demoralised to find I couldn't do it . Not without a horrible pike at the hips .

Here's me thinking during my foundation work that was building a rock strong core...///

I appreciate strength will be lost starting from scratch here at foundayion 1 but after me putting in hours of the progressive hollow body holds since October (something which I never did when I could do the dragon flag ) I suppose I thought I'd still have the core strength to be able to do it . 

That said i trust in the programme and what it has in store for me in the future and not forgetting I've never felt better aches and pains wise - the mobility side of things is fast becoming my favourite part of the programme . Not only for the way it makes my body feel but also cos I know it's making me a completely better athlete through and through . Albeit making me very very humble in my perceived ability 

love you guys 

leigh 

12 hours ago, Tobias Karlsson said:

What happens if you do a very slow negative. At what point do you loose control? and when you do is it due to weight distribution or something else?

Hey tobias

i can actually do a slow negative pretty ok with tucked legs however if I do it with straight Legs then my legs pop up like they on helium about half way down - hard to say why but it feels like I can no way keep my feet down no matter what I try and engage 

10 hours ago, Jon Douglas said:

I struggle with situps with my feet unanchored, pretty sure it is simply my body proportions / weight distribution. Can mitigate somewhat by pulling my heels into the ground and exaggerating a curl up of the spine. I don't regard it as a terribly useful exerciseto be honest so there's only so far i have really dug into it 

Thanks jon

starting to agree completely with you in that it's not a great exercise to be getting hung up on and seems like body proportion can play a huge part 

Thanks for your help Jon 

10 hours ago, Janno Rillo said:

I absolutely understand your frustration- I was in a similar situation several years ago in pilates classes, where me- "big, strong and muscular male", couldn't do a single rep (couldn't keep my legs on the floor), while several female around me did this exercise for multiple reps without any problems. It took me long time to understand, that this exercise is not only about pure core strength, but needs some muscle control as well.

It's littlebit difficult to explain, but you need to focus on contracting the lower part of your sixpack. Especially if you have long torso (like me), your main focus should be moving your centre of balance as low as possible, to keep your legs from rising up. For me the 'folding point' is slightly above my hipbones and that's the place where I try to get maximal contraction first, while all the rest is following naturally.

Thanks janno

even trying to contract the lower part of my abdomen doesn't yield any different results . What you say makes sense tho so Maybe  it's just something I would just need to keep working on . This post at least has got thinking that my core strength may not actually be all of the story 

35 minutes ago, Jonas Berglund said:

Hey guys, Im also in the gorilla group of long torsos. Did never quite understand why i find a clean sit up so difficult but now i get it.. finally something to blame, good for My ego

Tuck ups goes easier with My long arms compensates for that "issue". 

Mine too jonas

although sometimes my  momentum is too much for my liking 

keep working hard my friend 

A little off topic but I think the points made here re body proportions apply also to bHBR. I've been struggling for a looooooong time to get the form anywhere near acceptable for bHBR. I could not maintain a constant angle at the hips, it's not there yet but I had my eureka moment and there's a big improvement. I should have realised sooner but the thing that seems to have helped me the most was opening the hip and knee angle so my knees and feet are further away from my body. Simple physics. This adds more weight to legs to help the body rock up and it reduces the amplitude of the rocking too. I have short legs and long torso so I I have to make adjustments for that, it doesnt make sense to have the same angle as someone who has a short torso and long legs and vice versa.

Hopefully this may help someone else not spend a year just trying to get the form near right.