Stability WOD: Part 1 of 7 the Active Straight Leg Raise
Many of the attendees who have taken our @certifiedfsc course have told me that something clicks for them when we explain the thought process behind a leg lower being a single leg deadlift on your back OR how a lying hip flexion drill turns into a sled march. People begin to see the “why” and the “how” come together.
I’ve dubbed this series the “Stability WOD” because I think there are a lot of people on the mobility train that are uncertain of what to do next. How do I integrate the new ranges of motion I’ve gained from X mobility drill into my training so that the brain locks it in and keeps it? If you don’t use it, you lose it.
I don’t believe it’s as easy as stretching & rolling your hip, then squatting or deadlifting 4 wheels. I love those exercises, but I like them to be progressed in a manner that motor learning can occur.
What is a “stability” drill? Motor learning? Patterning? Movement? Corrective? Lifting heavy with good form? Yes. Yes. and Yes.
As you can see below there is a logical progression going from the ground to standing to locomotion when patterning the active straight leg raise. There are lots of other progressions & regressions you could fit in here but for simplicity’s sake I picked 5 to show you…
1. Supported & Unsupported Leg Lower – The ability to separate your hips. The ground is giving you a core. We want to get the leg perpendicular to the ground
2. Inchworms – Four points of stability. Watching clients inchworm is a great tell on what their ASLR screen may look like and if they can touch their toes. I also like it as a push up corrective : )
3. Box Supported SLDL – Two points of stability. My favorite regression for someone who can’t keep their hips square during a single leg deadlift
4. Single Leg Deadlift w/ 1 KB – It’s a leg lower standing up. If you can’t do a leg lower on the ground you probably won’t be able to do this version
5. Straight leg walk to skip – A dynamic/moving leg lower
