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Hi everybody, Bar accessibility to do pulling work is limited for me (small living space, weather outside to find a bar, time to do so) so there's weeks where suspended pulling work is completely missing in my workouts. I still train Push FBE Hard like dips, Pseudo planche push ups, HeSPU and i'm pretty sure i will devellop anteroposterior imbalance soon. If i choose to not be dedicated at all to pull up variations : Which pulling motion or exercice would be essential only in order to balance the push work ? (something i can do with light dumbells or band) Biomechanics is complex so thank you in advance for the advices

Hi Megan, i think that there is no a specific guideline in the sense that if something produces pain it is better to avoid it. for sure i would look for a long period period of general conditioning with high reps , high total time under tension and so on. probably for now the restore series of gymfit and eventually scaled version are more suitable for you. for the legs gymgit should be fine but again everything should be adapted in function of your situations. for sure islation exercise with machine like hamstring curl are essential..

Hi! I am in recovery from hamstring tendinopathy that occurred after I tore my hamstring (going into the splits doing aerial work). I have been doing physical therapy and have graduated from it (they are encouraging slow heavy lifting and essentric hamstring weight training. I have been told to not do more passive stretching than active stretching. I also have a Ham and Pincer bilateral hip impingement on both sides of my hips that took me out of competitive powerlifting back in 2015. I do a lot of glute med and mobility work because of this. I would love to be able to do the splits again. Will the trainings in GymFit be safe for me to do as is? Or will I need modifications? What is the balance of active vs passive stretching. Also are there any exercises that are in this program that are not recommended because of my prior injuries? I would like to get to a place of increased mobility and prevent injuries in the future.

My intention for posting this list is strictly for educational purposes. The list opens up the door of possibilities for athletes that have achieved every hold in calisthenics. By giving them angles that are damn near impossible to achieve. But it’s important to stress that one has ever achieved a muscle-up by only doing dips and pull-ups and no one will ever achieve a Superfly by only doing butterflies and presses to handstand. Due to workload requirements of the Superfly and the 360-elevator(elements 1&2), it would be difficult to imagine an athlete competing with these elements. The most difficult G elements aren’t worth the risk of poor execution. Especially when an athlete can butterfly pull to manna/pike reverse planche instead of a Superfly and get the same difficulty points without ever attempting one of the most difficult turnovers in calisthenics. They wouldn’t be properly compensated for the equivalent of an 80 hour work week for 10+ years. Element 1 might seem scary but I have dealt with the most injuries training element 4 (cross-possible). It passes through an “impossible”

Hi Emma, the Hungarian was a sort of advancd program including more dynamic and advanced strenght elements...but it is no longer on GB curriculum since it was too advanced. it was never released.

I'm not at a level where i actually could even do it, but out of pure curiosity: what is the Hungarian? I know it's the very last part of the GB curriculum, but all I could find about it was an article from 10 years ago, with pretty vague info. Is there anywhere i can actually find out what it is and how it works? Coach Sommer mentioned a DVD about it, but i couldn't find it. Again, not at my level, but for what i read it seems so interesting i wanted at least to know more about it.

Wanted to second evolvefit. Many people also find success and then try to create their own identity after that. There are a lot of good voices out there, but the reality is that the internet is the Wild West and it is often so easy to repackage something and make your own way from it. It takes a long time for people to figure out the cream from the chaff, and most probably don’t have a hope of figuring that out.

Hello Alastair, perhaps I can offer my opinion on this matter. The exercises in Fundamentals (ape, table, etc) serve the roll of introducing you to new movements. They will help you assess your current mobility level, and give you a clear indication about your weakpoints, etc. I found great effect in doing the program consecutively (meaning on day one I did day one’s work, day two I did day two’s work…) as there is some good overlap with the movements. But I kept some of the movements and used them in my warm up - particularly the table walk and ape walk from day one. I had bad sciatica and had to modify them, but they forced me to address the area likely causing the pain - this is a long story involving my history with what I thought were bulging discs but turns out might have been piriformis related. Within a week my year and a half struggle with back pain disappeared, almost completely. im not saying this is typical, but in this instant I found very quickly a problem and after working on it here and there via the ape walk I had found an amazing effect. I keep that one in the loop even today, though I don’t necessarily go for distance or have too much structure. I just know that if that is going well things generally will follow

Number 1 seems scary lol

Element #2 replaces the “elevator” on rings and starts from the second lowest position, German hang. The lower body and core must lift above the rings while the shoulders and head remain beneath the rings. The easiest way to achieve element #2 is to figure out element #8(rings support to handstand without pike passing through inverted cross). Elements 1 and 2 represent a front ward and back ward movement from a hang to handstand. They are without a doubt the most difficult strength elements possible.

you can , the best idea is to focus on other muscles or stay on higher rep ranges like 12-15.

Actually, I was thinking of not altering the guided plans as I believe a lot of thought has been given in structuring it...also, as a beginner to gymnastics training, I'd rather leave the programming of the workout to the experts...at least for now I was thinking more like adding another session in the day like a kettlebell workout... thanks in advance for the advise

Hey Eric it depend on your priority... my suggestion is to hold an averga number of sets of 15-20 for a muscle group.

been always active with martial arts then bodybuilding then kettlebell...now I'm earnestly diving in gymnastics, via GymFit of course, as I came to realize the benefits especially at my age (45yrs old, 5'5", 74kgs @ approximately 12% BF)... my question is, should I discard bodybuilding/kettlebell altogether? or could i still do them? currently doing the Intermediate 1 in Guided Plans.... I'd like to progress in my gymnastics training as much as I can but it would also be nice, if possible, to retain the muscle I gained from lifting... Thanks in advance for any input

Every hold on rings represents a certain amount of stored energy. Even from hanging support, the shoulders retract in order to support the body’s weight. When discussing the difficulty of strength elements on rings, it is important to evaluate the amount of stored energy within first hold and the energy requirements to reach the next hold.

How was the muscle-up invented… Was someone doing a pull up and decided to end at the bottom of a dip…or was someone doing a dip and decided to lower down to a hang? If the strength element known as a “muscle-up” starts from a hang, and ends in rings support, which position makes it difficult; support from a hang or support from above?

HI jamie, for everything concerned with courses refers directly to the course material.

Good morning, I'm getting a bit lost lining up the information in this thread with what's in the current courses (I read this and various other threads before signing up for the courses). Does the content in this thread generally pertain to what are now called the "Mobility" courses in the Whiteboard section? Thank you for your time. -Jamie

WARNING Element number 4 (code name impossible-cross or cross-possible) is the only element on the list that is considered dangerous. It is dangerous for same reason an “impossible” is NOT a hold in gymnastics. Element number 4 requires the lower body to stabilize while lowering, at the same time the upper body is lifting. It is done as a slow muscle-up, and not an element that is safe to power through. DO NOT train this element, I will not be responsible for lower back, hip, and possibly spine injuries. The nickname impossible-cross is used to deter athletes for training it, cross-possible can be used by those developed enough to train it. Front lever to iron cross is both dangerous and extremely difficult.

Element number 1 (code name Superfly) starts with the lower body in the lowest possible position, and ends with the lower body at the top positions. The Superfly can be done dozens of different ways, based on athletes preferences and/or goals. It can start with a pull to parallel reverse straddle or reverse handstand and everything in-between. Then, pressing to below parallel inverted cross or all the way to handstand. Each combination can technically be a new element, based on angles used to complete the movement.

5 Start from a pike reverse planche/high manna, press and open into handstand or inverted cross. Lower body must remain above the rings. A manna to inverted cross with the lower body dropping below the rings is similar to V-cross to inverted cross and not on my Top Ten List 4 Start from a wide arm false grip front lever, pull to standard grip straight wrist iron cross 3 From a hang straight arm pull to pike high manna, press forward and open, moving the body backwards into handstand or inverted cross. Lower body must remain above the rings. This is a pike variant of the most difficult element on the list. 2 A 360 pull into inside out hang, press forward into handstand or inverted cross. It can also be done in pike, with skin the cat, from a German hang, press forward and open into handstand or inverted cross 1 Start from a hang, straight arm pull through victorian cross into straight body high manna, pressing forwards and shifting backwards into handstand or inverted cross, while keeping the lower body above the rings

Rings provide the smallest surface area for contact in calisthenics. The most difficult elements on rings uses the least amount of connective tissue through the hands, arms, and shoulders for lifting and the most amount of primary, large, and core muscles for stabilization. 10 From a hang, straight arm pull to victorian cross 9 Zanetti, back lever to maltese 8 From arm rings support, press to either reverse planche, reverse straddle, handstand, or inverted cross without piking. 7 Standard grip, straight wrist, straight arm, rings turned out iron cross elements 6 From a hang, straight arm pull into reverse planche, reverse straddle, or manna/pike reverse planche, all done with straight wrists with rings turned out

When you have somethine for posterior and anterior chain for the lower limbs you are fine..

Okay thank you Allessandro. I’m following the fundamentals 1 plan. Are there specific exercises that would match with where I’m at in the plan you would recommend?

Hi Collin, it seems to be more concerned with balance. i mean that if you sit a lot...you must balance it especially if you sit with bad posture. legs strenght especially at the hips extension reduces the amount of stress on the lower back because it assist the lower back muscles. so for cardio is not the best solution. i suggest to spend at least 10 sets a week on the posterior chain of the lower body.