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GBF1 PE1 - Lessons Learned and mini Review

Started by Peter Sbirakos, April 26, 2013 · 7 Replies · 833 Views

Peter Sbirakos

I wanted to share some thoughts on the GB F1 program that I have recently finished.  For those active on these forums and those that read without posting but who are considering purchasing the GB F1 Program, I say go for it!  Read below some of my thoughts and experiences.  But before I begin, I think its important that I outline my qualifications.  I'm a sports scientist currently working in professional sport - Rugby League and anyone that has worked at this level would recognise that this type of environment can be brutal especially with the amount of money at stake, media pressures etc.  I'm also the head coach of the Canberra Karate Federation (affiliated with the Australian Karate Federation, Inc) and I also teach salsa dancing at the local dance academy.

 
The program took longer than expected because what it exposed were very specific deficits in the body.  For example, certain exercises were very dificult to complete because the necessary strength requirements were not there or there were flexibility issues with respect to good shoulder flexion etc.
 
The attachment is a PDF file of a mindmap that I created using iThoughtsHD on the iPad (open it up in 'full read mode').  The four singular primary branches are numbered in order to help facilitate the reading of this text but otherwise, the numbering actually is unimportant.
 
GBF1 PE1 - Lessons Learned
 
1) It takes time to mastery and time is a key requirement.  You must be patient to achieve what you set out to achieve and what that gives you of course is a terrific sense of accomplishment.
 
2) The progressions are measurable with clear goals.  It is a no brainer path that anyone can follow (although of course it takes a great deal of intelligent thought and experience to create such a program - thank you Coach Sommer!).  Importantly however, moving too fast and skipping steps, you will most likely be physically punished since the exercise(s) would be too demanding.  Injury may also result in moving too fast.
 
3) Certain specific weaknesses were exposed when attempting the exercise requirements.  Some of these weakness had to do with either time under load or could not do the required number of repetitions.  Of course, this was frustrating but I kept at it and eventually, any exercise pain cleared up.  In addition, I found two exercises, the Stiff Leg Windmill and the Incline Pushup to have caused me a slight injury in the Teres Minor muscle (but I'm undecided as to which is the culprit or indeed if something else caused the injury).  When foam rolling and getting into that sore spot and adding an ice compression, the pain clears up.
 
4) What is important to understand is that going through the program is not a race against time.  It is lengthy journey done slowly and steadily with consistency in order to achieve the final requirements I.E. Week 11 before deload.  But if it takes you longer than 3 months, then OK Coach!
 
Final Thoughts
Physically and mentally, the program has been great.  I have set out to achieve the program requirements for PE1 and while it took longer than expected and the fact I suffered a slight issue with my Teres Minor, there are no regrets.  In fact, I'm stoked!  My base level of strength and flexibility has significantly increased and while I've always been active, the program adds a layer of protection or insurance to health and longevity.  But, people's mileage will differ.  Some will achieve the program requirements sooner and others later.  Some will attempt and simply give up.  It is important to note that everyone's experience will be different.  To quote Professor Patrick O'Shea (deceased)
 
Functional Age - Not Chronological Age is what counts
 
and
 
Aging does not mean decrepitude
 
Science is about developing valid and reliable test criteria so that theories can be reproduced (or disproved) whether in the lab or in the field.  Science can also help us make predictions.  I therefore predict that the GBPE1 layer adds a VERY strong foundational layer that will make additional layers such as PE2 and on-wards etc that much easier to achieve.  It's an original program that smacks of intelligent programming and thought coupled with a Coach's high level of experience.  Thanks Coach Chris!
 
GB - Lessons Learned.pdf
FutureisNow

Congrats for your milestone, Appreciate your feedback, and hope you don't mind a few questions because I am going to ask now:

 

1) Did you start at the initial times/reps or were you able to start some ways into it? 

 

2) Did you find that you were able to progress all elements at the same rate, or that some lagged?

 

3) In the case of lagging, did you advance those elements that could advance or wait for the lagging ones to catch up?

 

4) In the case of waiting, did you feel that repeating the same exercise was worthwhile?

 

5) I understand that carryover is not the goal at this point, but am just curious ..

do you have any objective measurements of strength changes after completing PE1?

 

6) Do you feel more mobile after completing PE1 and the integrated mobility elements?

 

7) Were you doing any other training prior to PE1, and did you alter it in any way in order to accommodate PE1?

Do you think you might have to as the difficulty increases?

 

That's all that comes to mind right now, though feel to volunteer anything else you care to.

 

Thanks much!

Peter Sbirakos
Appreciate you taking the time to read and to post your questions, they are great!  But the answers aren't that simple, mainly because some relate to an overall lifestyle approach and/or impact including work commitments and other interests.

 

1) I tested myself on each exercise including the mobility element by beginning at Week 11.  Some exercises were a little easier than others however, that doesn't mean I was able to complete the full range of set/rep scheme or time under load including of course whether the form was any good.  So I actually began at Week 5 and progressed from there.

 

2) This is interesting and a follow up question may be: Is there a carryover from 1 exercise to another? For example, one exercise may be lagging but another is able to reinforce it and help the lagging exercise continue at more or less the same rate.  Well, some did lag but on the whole, it was negligible and I also do believe that those I were stronger in helped with improving the lagging ones.

 

3) See 2 above but, I did advance some elements but more in terms of experimenting.  I can say that I repeated Week 5, three times and that gave me a very good foundation.  Should I have started right at the beginning of Week 1?  No, the elements were just too easy at that rate.  What was especially important to me, was the issue of fatigue in relation to experimenting with tougher elements.  I was always very conscious of that.

 

4) See 2 & 3 above :)   Yes absolutely.  Two particular exercises that I repeated almost ad nauseam were the ABH (SLPE1) and the DkSqt (SLSPE1).  These two exercises exposed very definite weaknesses so of course had to build them up.

 

5)  Other than I'm able to complete PE1 and associated mobility elements, no.  But!  I was always very interested and practiced the Oly lifts regularly   From around 2008 to 2010, I lost both of my parents, one to a heart attack and mom to breast cancer and during that time since I was the primary carer for my mother, training took a back seat hence lost strength, aerobic fitness etc.  But I did try to get in some Oly lifting in and other training when time allowed.  On two occasions  I tweaked the lower musculature of my back which incapacitated me for at least a couple of weeks on both occasions.   Onto the point, already :facepalm:​   that when I discovered the GB type of training and specifically static training under load (eg ABH), my back improved SIGNIFICANTLY.  What was a little tough to lift in the clean & jerk at 60kg, now just seems to fly up.  So from my point of view, I believe a carryover has indeed occurred but unless you take very specific detailed tests, you can't categorically state that yes a carry over has actually occurred  :blink:

 

6)  Yes I do, especially with the Deck Squat and the related Skiers.  The other mobility element that has helped immensely has been the Swivel Hips.  Skeletally, I'm not entirely symmetrical (and I doubt that most humans are) so this exercise has helped.

 

7) Yes I was.  I teach traditional Japanese Karate once per week and MMA once per week plus also teach and choreograph salsa dance routines once per week.  I also like to dabble in Girevoy Sport and the Olympic lifts - so I'm pretty busy.  Therefore, yes I had to juggle the training around.  Training is as follows:

 

Mondays - GB program in the morning before work commitments.  Traditional Karate 6pm - 7pm.  Social Salsa dancing 8pm - 10pm.

 

Tuesdays - A little Oly lifting and Girevoy sport around lunch time.  Total time 1hr.

 

Wednesdays - 5km run usually afternoon - 30mins give or take.

 

Thursday - GB program in the morning before work commitments.  Teach salsa dance at the Salsabor Dance Studio 8.30pm - 9.30pm

 

Fridays - A little Oly lifting and Girevoy sport around lunch time.  Total time 1hr.

 

Saturdays - If I'm feeling ok, Ill do a little sprint training if not, I relax.

 

Sundays off.

 

So, in order to accommodate the GB program and fit everything else in that I'm interested in, I perform the GB program twice per week and that has been perfect.  Understand though that this is specific to me and my lifestyle.  I don't train to exhaustion, have plenty of sleep and good nutrition, a terrific and loving partner and plenty of close friends and family.

 

Thanks again for your questions and hopefully, these answers make sense.  One thing that I have to stress is the requirement for deload.  This is extremely important so that a refresh of both mind and body may occur and in addition, I also used a similar deload pattern with the lifts. 

 

Edited - for typos.

FutureisNow

Thanks for the additional information Peter. It's good to know that it can fit into a very physically active schedule.

 

Interesting that you did it 2 days per week. I assume that you packed more elements into each session to keep to 12 week cycle. How long did each session typically last for you this way?

 

I can relate to deck squat and other difficulties. I don't know what it is, my leg length or weight distribution or what, but they just not possible unless I start in a candle position (legs high in the air)  and then they are high velocity and off balance when I get to my feet. So not sure what I would do with these if I start the program.  In any event now I have a quad or knee issue of some sort to deal with, so they are out of the question for now.

 

I also found that back problems went away after doing the statics (and perhaps other exercises) which were part of the original BtGB program. 

 

Agree that rest and recovery is key as well. 

 

Are you moving on to PE2 soon?  I hope that you will provide an update when it's complete or if you reach

an alternate conclusion.   If you do complete it, what could be interesting is to retest week 11 of PE1 afterwards,

to see if the PE1 exercise strength and endurance levels were maintained without explicitly training them for 3 months. I'd expect that you would. What do you think? Worthwhile test?

Peter Sbirakos

Oh, your welcome!

 

Yeah, twice a week was sufficient.  I did indeed pack all the elements into each session.  How long did it take?  This was dependent on how I felt, tired and/or sore or energetic but roughly, the whole workout would take about an hour and 15mins again, give or take.  I think the longest it took me was an hour and 30mins.

 

Yes, get your knees checked out by a professional.  Are there any issues with the knees if you do the skiers?  If not, continue with the exercise because it is gold.  I think it may have been Jonathan in an earlier thread who described the benefits of this exercise.

 

Yes, I'll move onto PE2 on Tues, May 7.  That is a great suggestion about retesting Week 11 of the PE1 when and if I complete PE2.

 

Something that I didn't stress enough for those that are following this thread and something that I believe is very important.  How does one complete this program with all the stresses that life has to throw at you?  Again, I have only myself to use as an example.  I don't have to travel for work and my daily life routine is reasonably well structured.  I also don't have any kids to take care of.  Therefore, the program was reasonably easy to adhere too - of course there were some set backs but imagine someone travelling all the time and living out of hotel rooms, eating restaurant food or fast take out food or perhaps family life is a little dysfunctional.  Maybe their mates go out all the time and there is some influence in that area too?  The point being is that one must make a very deliberate choice to adhere to such a program.  And even if things are tough in the world, the fact that Coach Sommer mentions in an earlier thread somewhere, this is really a 'plug and play' program - SHOULD perhaps make it easier to adhere too.

 

Another prime motivator for me was value for money.  For example, spending the funds to attend the GB seminar and then spending additional funds for the Foundation 1 program, well you can be very sure that I wanted value for money.

 

I think this has gone a little further than just training and into the psycho - social aspects.  But it is fascinating none the less.

 

Thoughts people?

Rafa

Hey Peter I have suffered a teres minor strain as well. I think you've hit the nail on the head with windmill and incline pushups, even though I am sure it has to do with certain weaknesses i possess. What have you done to treat it? Massaging any spots?

 

thanks, Rafa

SLY

I think it was to much strain from incline pushups.

When I was doing the mastery it burned like hell at the last 2 sets but managed to do them, even 2 days after I feel them a little bit sore.

So if you are not used to do any pushups in volume before (like I did) it could have been too much for them for sure.

I was myself surprised that if you change the angle of the pushups though I made the normal push ups in volume on regular basis what a different impact you can get... never thought that this would make me sore.

Rafa

Oh ok that's pretty interesting. For me it happened after a workout when i was externally rotating my arm and I felt a little sting. But its been about a week and its barely felt. I also haven't done any pushups until i started the incline ones since my labrum surgery a year and a half ago. But Im sure its just a combination of factors. Can only be more careful I suppose.