Ugh, the 1 Point Row did not go so well...

[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

[amunet]

I did these also for the first time last Friday and could not balance either. There were a couple people in the room which made it awkward, but I was determined to get through them. I ended up doing like 2 at one point, lol.

I just figure they will get easier, since the same thing happened with the prone jacknifes and by the end i could at least balance on the ball the whole time.

[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.

[Bonnie]

Originally Posted by amunet

I just figure they will get easier, since the same thing happened with the prone jacknifes and by the end i could at least balance on the ball the whole time.

Me, too. I couldn't do 3 prone jackknifes in a row when I started, and now I can do them all as assigned. It's very encouraging to document how I actually got better at something just because I kept trying.

[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.

[Lisa~]

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

This can really help. If you don't own a flat shoe, do them barefoot and see how much difference it can make.

[Phaedrus49er]

Ya know, this may be a no-brainer, but the first time I tried these in another program, I made the mistake of rowing with the arm opposite of the supporting leg. That was interesting, to say the least, so just make sure your support leg and working arm are on the same side (supporting arm is opposite from your supporting leg)

I also agree with bending first and then picking up the DB from the floor. Much more stable starting position.

[missjane]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus49er

Ya know, this may be a no-brainer, but the first time I tried these in another program, I made the mistake of rowing with the arm opposite of the supporting leg. That was interesting, to say the least, so just make sure your support leg and working arm are on the same side (supporting arm is opposite from your supporting leg)

I also agree with bending first and then picking up the DB from the floor. Much more stable starting position.

This is a whole different exercise. We are balanced on one leg, bent over with the back leg parallel to the floor. We then row with two dumbbells, while remaining on one leg with the back leg parallel to the floor.

[Cynthia]

This exercise was way harder than I expected! I completely under-rated it when I went through the routine on paper. I am torn on whether the DB 1 point row or the Lunge with RLE were the hardest from Stage 2, Workout A!

I am looking forward to trying Workout B tomorrow!

[LaraT]

I am wearing very flat puma shoes. They are not as flat as the Chucks but pretty darn close. I can't go barefoot at the gym but could practice barefoot at home.

Thanks Lisa for all the pointers. I think my extended leg was probably rotating a lot. I was really concentrating on tightening my core but looks like we need to focus on the hip/thigh a lot too!

[Phaedrus49er]

Ah, 1-point, not 2-point. I need to address some hip mobility issues before jumping on these (after finishing one or more of the "boys" programs ).

[pursuingpurls]

Originally Posted by Lisa~

* 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.


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.


This can really help. If you don't own a flat shoe, do them barefoot and see how much difference it can make.

Thanks SO MUCH for this info

[Morkai]

Weird.. I hated the jackknives, I still can't do the full set of them. These rows were easy in comparison though for me. And I don't feel nearly as much of a dork doing them which probably helps. Still need to work on my balance a bit, by the end of the second set I was wobbling rather badly. Might not have helped that I misread the book and treated them like lunges/stepups and did 10 reps on each leg for the first set.

[missjane]

Originally Posted by Morkai

Weird.. I hated the jackknives, I still can't do the full set of them. These rows were easy in comparison though for me. And I don't feel nearly as much of a dork doing them which probably helps. Still need to work on my balance a bit, by the end of the second set I was wobbling rather badly. Might not have helped that I misread the book and treated them like lunges/stepups and did 10 reps on each leg for the first set.

Which exercise are you referring to? Ten reps on each leg sounds right to me (for all of the single leg exercises in NROL you do all reps on each leg before moving on -- unless it's a R/L/R/L/R exercise, in which case you would count to 20 total -- still 10 per leg.)

[LisaS]

on the 1-pt rows, it calls for "Do half the repetitions, then switch legs and finish the set" and continues "if the set calls for an odd number of reps, round up or down by one rep so you do the same number balancing on each leg. If you end up doing and odd number of reps anyway, start the next set balancing on the leg that got shortchanged".

I think the difference is that it is not a leg exercise but a rowing exercise - so he just wants you to switch up the balance portion.

[missjane]

oh, DUH! If I would have read the title of this thread, I wouldn't have made such an idiotic post!!!! ( I was thinking lunges, step-ups, BSS's, etc!)

[Morkai]

heh heh, no worries.