The road to incredible upper body strength will undoubtedly result in killer party tricks, 6-pack abs, and ridiculous power. What may surprise you though, is that with the proper progressions you can free your body of unwanted stiffness, increase your strength, and develop surprising levels flexibility at the same time!

Sure, when you think of complete upper body strength, your mind likely jumps right to weight room exercises and Olympic gymnasts. But the truth is, there is so much more to working towards strength like that, and in Gymnastic Strength Training™, we get deep into it. Think mobilization, stretching, HARD WORK (and the capacity for it), handstands, and last but certainly not least, a solid base of incredible bodyweight strength built by the GB Foundation Series.

This is NOT just another bodyweight strength article. This is your complete roadmap to unlocking the super capabilities of an athlete!

Now, let’s get into the components that will help you achieve amazing results with GST™.

Stretch and Mobilize

To achieve incredible bodyweight strength and master the amazing skills from your GymnasticBodies Training, excellent range of motion will be required. Your first order of business should be to mobilize your joints. This will prevent injury and allow you to safely train your body to perform moves like ring dips, muscle-ups, and much more!

The Foundation Series is the centerpiece of your physical development and, as such, is a prerequisite for rings training. Mobility is targeted strongly in the Foundation Series for a reason. Without it, your long-term progress will come to a halt. GST develops strength through FULL ranges of motion. To accelerate your progress, make sure to get in your weekly GB Online Stretch Series follow along classes. The combination of active and passive flexibility will speed up your mobility gains and prevent delays due to limited ranges of motion.

Learn to Have a High Capacity to Work Hard

One of the most challenging parts of developing your foundational mobility and strength is the limited rest times. Coach Sommer has designed the Foundation Series to keep you on your toes. You’ll learn to actively recover while becoming super efficient in the gym. No time is wasted! You're either working on fixing your mobility or gaining strength during the entire workout. When the time comes to begin your ring strength training, you’ll have no problem keeping up with the programming since you’ll have the work capacity of ten men!

Foundational Strength

Now that you’re used to working hard and your mobility is improving by leaps and bounds, the Foundation Series will start addressing individual components of ring strength training. We quite literally break down the pushing and pulling strength you’ll need into various progressions. This should temporarily satisfy your hunger for the rings. All the while, you’re mobility is thoroughly addressed. In fact, your work capacity and mobility will be required to improve as you move through each component of your Foundations.

Skill Development

Coach Sommer often reminds students that you won’t be able to move past Rings One if your handstand training is incomplete. As such, handstands and press handstands are essential for long-term progress with GST. Your foundational strength training and handstand training are best trained side by side. Once your basic strength and handstands have been developed, the fun really begins! You’ll begin incorporating handstands, press to handstands, and your foundational strength into your rings training!

Commitment to Progress: Where do you want to be in 2 years?

Gymnastic Strength Training cannot be rushed. To be successful in your training, long-term goals and a strong commitment to them is a must. Every day in the gym is not going to be perfect and that’s fine. The key is to stay motivated and encouraged to continue by remembering that consistency is the real secret to success. A bad day here and there is irrelevant. As long as you are making overall progress towards your end goals, you’re doing amazing! Do you want to train awesome moves like muscle-ups and enter the world of ring strength training? Staying committed to your basic foundational training will get you there.

Let our Online Courses and the GymnasticBodies strength training roadmap transform your body and guide you every step of the way as you become a mobile, muscular, bodyweight strength machine!