When I first saw this movement in the book I was skeptical about it. It looked on paper like a combination movement for the sake of making combinations. I guessed I'd dislike it.
It has, however, become a new favorite of mine. It's very good a sorting out where your weaknesses are. It takes concentrated effort and continuous contraction in the supporting hip while the shoulder joints moves. It ties together the hip with the contralateral shoulder, something that I/O emphasizes as needed for good muscular balance in the body.
I liked NROL, but I like NR4W even more because it includes corrective movements like this one, push-ups, prone Cuban snatch, planks, etc., without leaving out the big compound exercises, and all while keeping the workouts metabolically challenging. What a great combination. This is what a majority of women need.
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Originally Posted by LaraT
I could not balance on one leg to save my life once I had the weights in my hands. I can do it with no weights, just going through the motions but not with weights. I take it that the lack of balance is a core stability thing? I kept falling over LOL
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It could be core stability, but it's probably more of an issue with strength endurance in your hip (the hip of the support leg). Have someone watch you, compare you with the pictures in the book (which are excellent), and check for these issues:
* Make sure your support leg is unlocked.
* Make sure your hips are not rotated outward toward the extended leg. And, related to that, check the next item.
* Make sure your extended leg is not externally rotated. The easiest way to see this is the foot. The foot should be flexed and pointing straight down to the floor. But what we're really concerned with is the femur (the long bone of the upper leg). You don't want the femur turned outward (external rotation) in the hip joint. This requires strength in the glutes.
* Make sure there is a long straight line from the top of your head to the bottom of your heel. This line should be close to parallel with the floor.
* Consciously contract the support-leg hip throughout the movement. You need to breathe, but don't relax any muscles in either leg. Keep your weight on your heel, reaching back with your extended leg.
* Row to your waist (not to your shoulders) with a strong squeeze of your shoulder blades at the top of the movement. This motion is much easier once your torso-to-heel line is parallel with the floor.
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Originally Posted by LisaS
it may be cheating, but I didn't do them like the book - hold db & then bend. I set the DB on the floor, then bent over with the straight leg and then took the dbs and began rowing. Maybe I'll be ready to try it properly next time, but it worked for me. When I tried bending while holding the db there was no way that back leg was going to go back straight. I'm not sure why.
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I don't think that matters. Balance involves a lot of things--the firing of the right muscles in the right order with the right amount of force--which we call strength and coordination. As long as your performance of the movement is good, I wouldn't worry about how you got set up to begin.
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Originally Posted by Cynic
What kind of shoe are you using? Chuck Taylor All-Stars are an inexpensive, but great shoe because of their flat sole.
It helps to be lifting in a proper shoe.
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This can really help. If you don't own a flat shoe, do them barefoot and see how much difference it can make.