My nemesis.... CAR!

Sabrina27 started this discussion · 10/14/2010

I'm really having trouble with this move and feel I can't move forward until I learn it! I have no problems with doing the CKR, pole sit, or basic plank but with the CAR I instantly slip. I'm gripping with everything I got (which isn't much in the thigh area!) I make sure the pole is sitting as high as possible my legs are dead straight and locked, I have even tried turning my knees in and I also make sure I tip my legs up before attempting to lean back but it's just not happening for me. 😢 With my many attempts and a spotter I just don't feel secure hanging upside down in this move, I hear of others saying they feel more secure in the CAR than the CKR 😕 Really want to avoid using grip aids.

21 replies

megs982 · 10/14/2010
What helped me get use to the grip for this move, and improve my grip. Do a handstand against the pole, if you can. Grip your legs around it (while in the handstand) and cross your ankles..when you feel you are secure start trying to lift up. If you need to grab the pole with one hand (around your glutes area) and help yourself up a bit, go for it. I did this move over and over again until i finally got my CAR. Good Luck! 👍
amy · 10/14/2010
hm. this may not help you, but: i couldn't do this move for about 3 years. i never felt safe in it and hated it. i always did the version where you hook your foot (like the dangerous brian) or the CKR. the ONLY thing that made a difference for me was turning my knees in and engaging by flexing both quads to keep those knees turned in completely as i lean back.
chemgoddess1 · 10/14/2010
It took me about 2 years also and I still am not a huge fan of this move. I never feel totally secure. The grip on this is totally different and pretty much uses my entire upper leg....the pole sits close to my butt in the back and is caught just above my knee bones in the front. Until I realized that the little fleshy area above my knees will indeed stop me from slipping any farther I could not do this move, and this is the reason it still freaks me out.
JenLFG · 10/15/2010
i really do not like this move! i never feel safe & i read somewhere that a chick was paralyzed by falling from this move 😮 & ever since that i haven't done it anymore, especially since i usually pole alone. sorry i didn't have any helpful info 😕
calipolepixie · 10/15/2010
Yes I am really scared of this one myself. When I see women do it, my heart stops and the other night when I tried it a few times, I thought I don't know if I will ever do this. It's just so scary to me and I don't feel secure at all doing it. Now the CKR I'm ok with, it just feels a little more secure with that knee lock. I think its going to be months maybe even years before I am comfortable with doing a CAR but honestly maybe not even then...I'm cool with that particular move being left out off my poling roster.
verucablue · 10/15/2010
it's funny...I feel that way about the CKR I never feel secure with that lock
torrie24 · 10/15/2010
The fear of not facing the pole with bending backwards always got me... until... I learned this move by accident. I was doing a shoulder stand and my legs went into the fang position allowing me to hook just before my knees and then I just proceeded gently up, first by kinda walking my arms out then I just did a sit up. This is a hard move and as you can tell, many of us have had problems with it also. Just keep with it and one day you will be able to do and comfortibly. This is now one of my favorite moves to do since it allows me to do the cresent.
JenLFG · 10/15/2010
see, i LOVE CKR 🥂 especially on spinny 😬 i will even use my hand to "push off the floor" when i slow down in a CKR & just spin for a while, lol! IDK why i think that is so fun, but it is 😁
EVamp83 · 10/15/2010
I love the CKR as well. But CAR has never been 100% comfortable. But I'm finally making progress on the CAR. Turning in my knees helped a lot for me. For safety I have at least one hand on the pole behind my back when I lay back. If I don't feel secure I'll proceed to pencil/iguana type moves from there. If I do feel secure I put my hands on the floor or just release them. Progression of moves is different for everyone. It all depends on personal strengths, prior sports/exercise experience, body type, etc. I hear for CAR and CKR, girls with skinny legs have more probs w/ CAR, and bigger girls have more probs w/ CKR.
megs982 · 10/15/2010
Yes, my theighs hate the CKR...i just find for me, the CAR so much easier...dont ask why..bc i dont have the slightest clue, i just feel more secure in the car 😕
dustbunny · 10/15/2010
I only just got this move recently and I have been poling for nearly a year and a half! I never felt secure enough to actually lay back in it, and any time I did try (with a spotter or mats of course) i would slide right down to the ground. I had only ever held it for a split second by going into it from a handstand, and immediately proceeded to slide right down again. LOL I had heard a lot of people say that the planks (particularly the advanced version, with your hand underneath you) are much easier to learn once you can do the CAR and since I couldn't CAR I had never really put much effort into them. Well, I finally got fed up with trying and trying and trying and failing miserably no matter what I did, I had tried every tip I had ever heard; turning knees in, turning knees out, squeezing bum, etc. and had absolutely no luck. I decided that it was going to be a move that just wasn't going to be mine but I decided, well what the hell maybe I can learn that damn advanced plank anyway. Everyone kept telling me to get the CAR first, but I decided to go at it my way. After a couple practices I nailed the basic plank (I had done that one before but never put any time into learning it nicely) and could do a rough advanced plank, not necessarily pretty getting into it, and couldn't hold it long but you get the idea. Then one day in an advanced plank moment that felt pretty secure I had the thought to tilt my legs up and try to walk my hands down lower and give the old CAR another go...and whaddya know? I did it! Not only did I actually hold the pose, I didn't get into it from a handstand (which I always though would be easier) I did the layback part too! And then I thought, this is great...but can I get back up? Sure enough I even pulled myself back up into a pole sit. In that practice I completed the layback twice and pulled myself up twice (with one attempt failing miserably in between LOL). Just goes to show that sometimes move progression is different for different people! So my advice is to just forget about the CAR for awhile, don't even think about it. Work on those planks and one day it will just feel right to try it again, and it will happen! <3 <3 <3 Good Luck!
Veena · 10/15/2010
I teach the planks first as well!! 👍 👍
Sabrina27 · 10/17/2010
Thank you all so much for the advice, looks like I will be working on this move for quite some time! Will definintely work on my basic/advance planks and hopefully the CAR will come to me one day. I know I haven't got much going on in the upper thigh area but then I watch performers like Karol Helms I end up thinking what am I doing wrong?! Guess it really is down to technique.
barneserella · 10/20/2010
I came on here to try and find the "secret" or "trick" to this move and found that everyone else is in the same boat I am. I too feel like I will never be able to do this move. I'm definitely going to try the handstand to the pole and lift up from there. Practice, practice, practice.... If anyone does figure out the secret, please fill us in!! 😀
madorie · 10/20/2010
It was a nemesis for me as well especially because I'm slightly bowed legged. One big thing that worked for me was when I first go into it, I'm in a pole sit and then pike (er I mean lift my crossed legs up and close to the pole as much as possible). Second, I flex my glutes like no other (which in turn flexes my hamstrings and quads) as I lay back.
polefairy · 10/20/2010
I learned the plank first too. It seems more logical to learn it and feel safe with it before extending it into a CAR/CKR. For the record, I can do neither CAR/CKR 100% comfortably, I always feel that bit more scared with these moves. But for me, CAR is easier than CKR. I feel so insecure in a CKR. 😕
HannahElizabeth · 11/2/2010
I must admit I have only been able (and brave enough!) to do this a couple of times and like everyone else it took ages! One thing that really helped me was 'walking' down the pole with your hands. If you go into the advanced plank position but keep your top hand on the pole, you can edge your bottom hand down and slowly get down far enough so you have to take your top hand off. If you make sure your legs are up as high as possible, so they're in position as they would be as if you were in the final position for the CAR, you can lean back and when you feel comfortable take your bottom hand off. Be very careful to release back and NOT to just fall back otherwise you could fall on your head and seriously injure yourself I also find that putting the big cushions off a sofa onto the floor helps you feel more comfortable doing it because there's a soft landing underneath you just in case! Hope that helps. Also search for CAR on here and read through the other replies in different threads as these are what helped me 🙂
missleezo · 11/3/2010
I hate the CKR but loooove the CAR! But the two main tricks for me were: 1. When crossing your legs, bringing the top leg as far over to the left/right (depending on which leg) as you can then bringing it as far down then bringing it under. Badly worded but gives a great thigh grip, bringing as much skin in contact with the pole as possible and really twisting it into a grippy knot. 2. The foot lock. I spent ages locking the feet under one another, pushing out my heels and bringing my toes back towards me, this made the biggest difference as it brought my legs completely together. Again, sorry with the gash descriptions.
Judy Jovanelly · 11/3/2010
tho i like and feel much more secure in CKR, i will do CAR sometimes, but only if from the outset i can feel that it's secure. for me, the 2 things that make it work are tipping my legs way up from either a pole sit of a plank, before laying back, and completely focusing on turning both legs in and gripping quads with everything i got. so funny i can get this one, but swinging around the front of the pole from an invert scares the bejeezus out of me. LOL !!
Sabrina27 · 11/3/2010
so funny I can get this one, but swinging around the front of the pole from an invert scares the bejeezus out of me. LOL !! This is still a problem for me as well, but that's only because I fell out of the move when first learning it. I got a bit cocky so when I went to turn to face the pole I fell into an instant heap on the floor - wasn't gripping enough with my knees. 😳 Since then I still have that fear but slowly getting better the more I practice. 😉
missleezo · 11/3/2010
for me, the 2 things that make it work are tipping my legs way up from either a pole sit of a plank, before laying back Yeah this is also very, very true!!