protocol for failed reps in F1 Programming. what to do?

today was my first day doing the MN, ABH and SLS PE1 on week 6 programming. 

failed last 2-3 reps in MN/PE1 progression.
failed second set of ABH at 36 seconds after incorporating cue of touching tailbone with back of head.
failed last set of PE>iM for Deck Squats.

upon reaching this limit on the progressions what would be a good course of action? 

revert back to week 5 programming? continue? 

also, I noticed the oddest of things while doing Mn/PE1. the reps that I did do correctly was because I was pressing my lower back to the ground similar to a hollow hold, when i did this, I noticed that I reached the top of my rep pointing somewhat forward but also somewhat sideways.

could my pelvic tilt have anything to do with this? because when i left the arch in my back, those were the reps I failed. 
 

bump

This is gonna happen sometimes. I've been experiencing it with my ongoing war on RC6--> I got 2x 60 sec, but after that I dropped off and failed yesterday at 2x 40 sec for my last 2 sets.

Jumping up so far at a time (12 seconds/rep a pop at 60r template) isn't always gonna go smoothly.  I've been regarding it as the target for the week; sometimes it takes a couple sessions before I can get them all. Obviously there's no progressing to the next week's template until  you DO pass (volume/performance mastery standard).

When I've failed a timed set I just take a second or two to breath and then finish the remaining time in the set.  I write down what I had to do to get to 60s (eg 47s,13s) and move on.  Next time around I know that if I do at least 48 second on that first set that I've improved - although the goal of course is 60s.

To slightly restate, I approach each week as benchmark reps for progression to the next week. This can potentially break the neat 12-week packaging a little, but as long as deload weeks are coming regularly it seems straightforward to me, and keeping track of the progression isn't terribly complex.

awesome then. when I reach this kind of failure then, ill do as suggested. with arch hold it kind of spelled "obvious" to take it to an earlier week with the new cue and with all else wait until quality goes up.

besides given how much i need to work on stretching certain elements and strenghtening others, im sure that once the foundation is correctly set in PE1's the second I transition to other elements, I wont run into the trouble I have been running into. (the reason these courses exist) I'm so glad I'm not undertaking this alone.

thanks guys!

Charm said:

To slightly restate, I approach each week as benchmark reps for progression to the next week. This can potentially break the neat 12-week packaging a little, but as long as deload weeks are coming regularly it seems straightforward to me, and keeping track of the progression isn't terribly complex.

Charm, how long would you stay on a particular week? a 3 week cycle(of accumulated quality tempo and mastery standard) deload and then go on to the next weeks scheme?

KeilaniG said:

Charm, how long would you stay on a particular week? a 3 week cycle(of accumulated quality tempo and mastery standard) deload and then go on to the next weeks scheme?

I don't have a measured approach or protocol to this, it's just a case of shooting for the next weekly benchmark in turn, and staying at that schedule until I get it. The set/rep schemes are fantastic but sometimes it just doesn't come together quite right. I don't expect this to be a regular thing, only for the 60 rep template elements since the jumps are quite significant week to week. Nudging up a rep at a time on the 5x5 template is much less of a stretch.

So far it hasn't been much of an issue for me; even if I've missed the reps on the Monday session I've got em on Wed and Friday. This week, I'm running out of time to nail my 4x48, so I will be staying there until I manage to work my last two sets up to scratch, and keeping the deload weeks coming regularly every 4 weeks.

Having said that, naturally I will be doing my utmost to get every week's reps on all three F7 sessions in a week.

Basically, just don't think too hard~ the only thing is that I wouldn't personally advance a progression that required more than one (maybe two at the outside?)session until the beginning of the next cycle, I think the under-load is important physically and psychologically, to orient fully on the next step. I don't see any issue with advancing the set/rep scheme as you pass each yardstick, but moving onto another PE/SE is a bigger step.

I sure would love to hear about this from Coach Sommer or one of the other moderators. 

cause from what it looks like, from what im picturing in my mind, im going to be progressing wayyyyyy too slow. 

I can comfortably see that sPL progressions need to be put on hold until my Psoas Muscles stretch to an adequate amount to allow a proper execution of sPL>iM. this is fine with me because i can see it in my head and know what to do from now on. 

Deck Squats, i need to develop better rhythm and breathing patterns in the rolls. this is what works me while doing them(the weeks before didn't phase me at all)...and not losing rep counts on the iM. xD 

on the Mn progression, i'm gonna have to master my hips position and strengthen my abs and deeper core muscles. 

on all other beginning PE's, I just need to follow the template set.(until i hit a similar roadbloack)

I'm with you Keilani, lately I've had to take a few seconds in between reps for some exercises like RC/PE1.  My idea is if I can have the movement down by the end of the week, I will move on.  If not I'll repeat the week in question until the scheduled deload week and figure out what to do after in terms of rolling back to a previous cycle.

Remember, this isn't a sprint, it's a loooong marathon. It's better to get the base down perfectly.  Not many fitness enthusiasts can do any PE1 week 11 exercise with perfect form for the time/reps/sets required.

Mm. Maybe I've had smooth sailing to this point due to contortion/martial arts background, flexibility has never been a limiting factor for me.

Sifu always encourages spending **as much time as needed on any given step to get it perfect-- but not longer than that **. Erring on the side of caution is good, but there's a point at which you are taking longer for the sake of taking longer...

Some exercises are going to 'hurt' to build volume. Not hurt-hurt, like anything pathological or injurious, but RC6? The pump in my forearms by set four is painful. Cramps in mobility elements indicate that I'm not doing it right, and need to be repeated until they don't cramp, not avoided because they're unpleasant feeling. They're markers of where you need to focus.

No doubt it's largely psychological, but expecting to develop superior strength/ability without working hard is misguided. Maybe not a sprint, but looking at Foundation as a marathon, to me personally, is going in with the wrong mindset.

That said;

Klaudius Petrulis said:

My idea is if I can have the movement down by the end of the week, I will move on.

Yeah, that's what I mean.

I feel ya, thanks for the advice, everyone. 

I'll maybe(at most) spend one more week on week 6 and do the deload. i'll try tackling the next weeks progressions with finesse and if that fails, repeat the process i did on this week until mastery is achieved in tempo/quality/reps. 

edit: you'll get a laugh out of this charm. the other day when i saw you change your status about the Prone dislocates. i gave them a whirl. talk about challenging I was doing them with 10 lbs. #yikes

IMO these earlier steps take so long because of mobility related issues. Once a number of those are solved the rest should tumble in a much more predictable fashion. I don't expect many on here will need to spend 12 weeks on negative dips, but if they do it is because it is a weak link that spending the time to fix will be worth it.

Speaking for myself, I am going to be at the SL and FL PE1 progressions for some time. As I square away mobility further the new ROM opens up, which then needs to be strengthened and necessitates a drop back in the hold times. The cycle will be a lot longer than 12 weeks, but the strength progress is obvious even if I am not moving to the next number in the PE ladder yet.

- Chris

heard that all sorts of loud and clear and i completely agree where you're coming from. to say that i was performing more advanced elements before was a joke. 

im beginning to see why this course exists to begin with. 

repeated the week 6 workout and the Mn/PE1 kicked my ass once again. ABH quality wasn't so good either. SLS improved stamina wise. 

I made it a focused effort to eliminate all back arch during Mn/PE1 but the times that I failed were when holding that pelvic tilt fatigued and came off the ground. 

what I'm also noticing is that sometimes when I get the balance wrong, my legs will shoot straight up like in MN/PE3 instead of bending at the knees like the athlete in the video. 

what can be done here? take it back to an earlier week with stricter form in a rep scheme that I can achieve with success and then do my deload week, and move up the rep scheme the following week? 

and seeing as how i'll hit a "wall" on this one, I'm going to hold on that specific set/rep week until I can get it right and then move onto the next weeks programming? (i'm only repeating this over just so i understand what is being recommended here.) 

I also started hitting a bunch of failures in Week 6 on the PE1 moves--very similar to what you are describing. The jump in reps/time from week 5 to week 6 is a big one!

Week 6 was supposed to be last week for me. I did the MN/SL/SLS day, failed badly on each exercise, and decided to do the rest of the week as a week 5 repeat, concentrating on form even more than usual. I'm back on Week 6 this week, but the improvement from last week is pretty minor. Right now, my plan is to try to do my best through Week 8 deload and then repeat the Week 5 cycle, hopefully with better mobility and feel for the movements at higher reps/times. (All this compounded by my pathetic inability to do more than two g** d*** deck squats with good form).

But I'd definitely like to hear from the mods/Coach about the best way to deal with this.