SPl PE4 + iM Form Check

hey folks! First day of SPl PE4. How am I looking?

Hey Benjamin,

Your overall shape in the plank is great and the iM is looking casual for you. Try straddling wider for the mobility.

To finish analyzing the PE, a view from the front will be helpful, as one of the most important parts of this exercise is minimizing hip movement as the arm comes off the floor. You are drifting a bit to the side, but it's hard to see exactly how much. When you film from the other angle, do your best to keep the hips completely still. 

Nice start for sure!

Great. Thanks Everett. I’ll film a Front angle next time I train and follow up from there.

Front angle for ya, @Everett Carroll.

Hey Benjamin,

Your hips are rotating slightly when your arm lifts off the floor. It was especially noticeable in your right hip when your right arm came up. Keeping your hips level is really challenging but strive for it. 

Got it, @Everett Carroll. So you’re saying I need to keep both hips parallel with the floor?

23 hours ago, Benjamin Nutt said:

keep both hips parallel with the floor?

Exactly

@Everett Carroll, how does this look?

Good from this angle, but would it be possible to get the camera level with your hips?

I can probably rig something up!

@Everett Carroll, this is about the closest I can get the camera to level with my hips. Is this good or do you need a different angle?

This angle is good enough. I want you to widen your stance slightly and work to keep your hips from drifting to the side or twisting, as we discussed earlier. You'll get so much more out of this exercise if you can keep your hips from moving. 

@Everett Carroll, it makes me happy to hear I can straddle my legs wider. The instructional video says to straddle them about a foot apart but that feels uncomfortably close. 

Thanks!

You're only temporarily off the hook, Benjamin. Widen your feet, work on improving your position, and then gradually work to narrow them again. For mastery, you'll still need to have them about a foot apart. 

@Everett Carroll, how are these looking? Felt a lot better today.

Super solid! Nice job here Benjamin.

How did they feel? It looks like you're keeping WAY more body tension which is awesome. 

Thanks, @Everett Carroll! They felt awesome. I focused on more body tension herebfor sure, keeping my quads and glutes engages for the whole set. Also found that my gaze makes a huge difference - looking at the planted hand really helped me orient and align myself.