Pancake roll through (hip replacement)

 I’m actually slated for a left hip replacement so I don’t have a ton of mobility in my head but I’m trying to get these roll throughs Down.  Anyone have any tips for beginner on proper form to get  through the complete motion? This is the last exercise in the middle splits stretch series .

Hey Justin, hip replacement, it is critical, it was a full replacement? partial? pincer replacement or CAM replacement? your REHAB doctor should give you some guidelines for sure!

It hasn’t been done yet. Given I’m 35 doctors are telling me to try and live with it as long as possible in current condition as advances in stem cell research seem to be coming down the pipe. As of now full replacement. There’s no cartilage left for them to build off of and no room to scope. I still work out, do jiu Jitsu etc so I can adapt, just having trouble with this particular move. 

How long have you been consistently working on this series, Justin?

Not that long about 4 months. It’s more I don’t know the movement I should be doing here to compensate, am I even close?

The movement requires a lot of work so be patient. In case of hip replacement, you need to work also on the stabilizer and not only on mobility.be careful.

You could try to use some blocks or something else to sit on during the seated straddle part of the movement. Helped me, as it takes a lot of pressure off and allows for more control during the descend until mobility catches up.

2 hours ago, Bas Albinus said:

You could try to use some blocks or something else to sit on during the seated straddle part of the movement. Helped me, as it takes a lot of pressure off and allows for more control during the descend until mobility catches up.

A typical fitness bench it is perfect.

Sorry I’m confused, if I sit on something won’t that prevent me from going to the floor? Should I even be trying full stomach to floor then butt to floor?

3 hours ago, Justin Konikow said:

Sorry I’m confused, if I sit on something won’t that prevent me from going to the floor? Should I even be trying full stomach to floor then butt to floor?

Hey Justin,

You want to keep a good form during your pancake and when we lack the mobility, we tend to deform in compensation.  Using an elevated surface lowers your legs and give your hip the opening it needs for you to not hunch over.  This way, you can control your anterior pelvic tilt and keep your spine neutral while bending.

With time, you will lower yourself until you reach the floor to, finally, get your full pancake.

3 hours ago, Justin Konikow said:

Sorry I’m confused, if I sit on something won’t that prevent me from going to the floor? Should I even be trying full stomach to floor then butt to floor?

The transition from a standing straddle to a seated straddle is pretty intense and even a bit scary in the beginning. As long as mobility is limited it feels like your full body weight is making you fall backwards into a middle split(pic 4 of your sequence). It's hard to control the descent and falling into the seated straddle at max stretch might even result in pulling or tearing a muscle.(to avoid it you bend your knees in pic 5).
An elevated support like a fitness bench, blocks, stack of pillows or whatever works, will keep you from falling into the seated straddle, but control the descent at a reasonable amount of stretch while maintaining APT - which is crucial as @Étienne Lajeunesse pointed out. 
Definitely go full belly to the floor, but in the reverse motion use sth to elevate your butt during the seated straddle - and give your mobility time to catch up before you reduce the height of your buffer! 
Btw, in the prone position you wont be able to close your legs all the way due to that seat getting in your way - don't worry about it.
 

Justin:

A couple years ago, I was just as immobile for this exercise as you are now.  I had to sit on a pliometric box that was about 24" high AND use rings hanging in front of me to pull out of the bottom/back position.  It was humbling.  Eventually, I could ditch the rings.  Now, I do these with two 35-pound bumper plates as elevation -- so maybe 6 or 8 inches off the ground?  But it's taken a couple years to get to this point, so take the long view.   I usually put something soft like a pillow or abmat on the top of my elevated surface in case I lose it going backward.

Good luck,

Craig