CKR - too verticle - Help??

Meggie started this discussion · 2/15/2015

Hey girlies! I have definitely mastered this move and am not fearful of letting go and just hanging back. BUT - when I do go back and grab to pole I feel like it does not look very pretty because my body it too vertical, instead of rounded etc. Here is a pic of me doing it... I feel like my tailbone hurts after doing this move a few times - any advice? OR is it as simple as working on my back bend more?

9 replies

chemgoddess1 · 2/15/2015
The move you are describing and showing is not a CKR but a crescent/dove. The crescent is typically not done with a ckr because the lock of the knee prevents you from getting the bend of the back.
Meggie · 2/15/2015
Hmmmmm, alrighty - I thought that you could grab the pole or not, I shall just work on back bending :-)
PrincessPeach · 2/15/2015
I've seen CKR done whilst holding the pole but holding behind, not overhead. The arch you're attempting in the pic is usually done in a CAR.
jsheridan · 2/15/2015
There are variations in both the CKR and CAR. The CAR is more of a total body back bend, but really incorporates the shoulders. Your legs are (ideally) flat and parallel to the ground, with your hips forward. In CKR it is almost entirely upper back and shoulders. Your hips should not be forward or you will lose the leg grip. Do you feel it stretching your back? Is this your max flexibility? if so, then yes stretching is the answer. If not, try grabbing you hands higher, and really use the muscles in your upper back and triceps to push your chest forward, while pushing your hips back. Let me know if you want pictures/better descriptions haha. Im bad at words.
Meggie · 2/15/2015
Yes jsheridan - pictures would be of great help - my back isn't that flexible. I was a gymnast when I was younger, but was in a really bad car wreck and broke my neck/ back 6 years ago - so I lost it all recovering from that.
PolarGirl · 2/15/2015
Ah, if only working on a bendy back were simple! ;) Yes, work on shoulder, back, and hip flexor flexibility, and (as has been said already) once you have more range of motion, especially in the shoulders and upper back, you will be able to really push into the pole behind you, which will help you to push your hips up (if you have enough ROM in lower back). It sounds like you have had a bad injury, so be gentle with yourself and really consistent with your stretching. Good luck!!!
Meggie · 2/16/2015
Well I am fully recovered, but I do have some screws in my vertebrae and two fussed vertebrae, which makes back bends just a little more difficult - but I am sure I will get there eventually.
jsheridan · 2/17/2015
OK, it was dark, I can try to refilm the video since this is so dark. Let me know if you can see it. You can see in the CAR, my legs drop and my hips push forward, similar to a cobra stretch. In the CKR, my legs keep pushing up to the ceiling. It is more similar to the stretch I do at the end, where it ends up being upper back/ shoulders. Try that stretch, and see how far from the pole you get. That is how far you should be able to get in the CKR. Doing shoulder stretches will possibly help you gain more bend than back bends will. Especially with your past. http://youtu.be/keT0PHSSlc8
Meggie · 2/18/2015
ok - that actually helps a lot - I guess if I want the form that I want, I need to figure out my CAR!