Getting Started H1/F1 (questions and clarifications)

So I'm gearing up to take this project on.  Finally got what little equipment I need but recently poisoned myself accidentally with overdosing on Alpha-Lipoic Acid leading to a severe allergic reaction that put me on my ass for a minute.  Not pleasant....

Anyways.

Want to make sure that I am understanding this system correctly:

Cycles:

I understand how the mastery templates work but am still a bit confused about cycles/microcycles.

I am planning to start this next week with 5 days of H1 (Starting at PE1 Week 5), M-F and doing F7 exercises 3 days/week on M-W-F.

A.)

Is a microcycle 1 week or 4 week block?  If I'm unable to complete the work of any given day/week, do I begin the week over or the whole month?  I'm a bit confused about how this works: Ideally one would start on day 1 week 1 and progress over 12 weeks to mastery and then to the next exercise, but that seems idealistic if not naive.  For example even a single deck squat is pretty much impossible for my body right now.

B.)

For weighted exercises (i.e. H1 PE1>IM1) how often should I be increasing the weight?  I currently have a 5 lb weighted bar, but I'm huge so I wonder if I'm not selling myself short.  (Also, I can't even fathom H1 PE5>IM 5...seems impossible).

The H1 work is just going to be wrist work and tripods for a bit.  I used to be really really good at headstands but I was 60 lbs lighter and my neck can use the reconditioning of the tripod for a bit).

For F1 however I have the following questions:

C.)

When I do achieve mastery of a particular element and move on to the next up, do I keep doing the previous element as a warmup?  For things like after mastering headstands it seems better to do some of those than to keep doing tripods, but for example, by the time I'm doing forearm planks or planks, should I still be doing scapular shrugs?  (Sub-question C. Also, why is it that regular planks are easier for me to do than forearm planks???)

D.)

As soon as I hit sPL/PE2>IM it seems I am going to need a pommel horse.  Given my extreme size and weight I'm not sure what would make a suitable substitute.  If I have one criticism of the program is that it assumes that we are going to have similar facilities.  What should I use to replace the pommel horse, that can handle 6'7" and 300+ lbs...???

E.)

Same as D. for SL/PE3 Arch Ups and beyond...what if we don't have a training partner? (starting to get more complicated to just get a work out in).

F.)

Same for MN/PE4:  I know of a nearby place that has stall bars...but they are not sized for my height and weight at all. Do I need to make custom stall bars?  Sub question F.) I bought a 10 lb dumbbell for the stiff leg windmills...when should I up the  weight?

G.)

Single Leg Squats: As I said Deck Squats are pretty much impossible for me.  Someone else here recommended goblet squats, but one of my coaches decried them because flaring your knees out to the sides is not the same as keeping the leg underneath you in a SLS.  She recommended doing legs under me squats while using a rope around a pillar of some kind to take some of the weight off and let me work the ROM.  Any thoughts on this?  I get that not all of the SLS progressions keep the knees under the hips...should I just explain to her that goblet squats are a step along the way, or do you guys have any better ideas for pre Deck Squat work that will actually get me to deck squats?  My issue I think is my strength to weight ratio, but also that I am so tall, and my hips and ankles are too tight/too weak, so I can roll back but not back up...

H.)

Again an issue of equipment, this time for HBP/PE1....incline pushups.  The athlete demonstrating has his shoulders almost over his hands, and has that odd bar, and a raised platform to stand on.  This is way too complicated for me...I don't have the gear or the space.

I'm too tall for most counters to work, and too heavy for any table to hold me...I considered using my stairs for the incline but that doesn't seem like it will get me at a deep enough angle.  I might be able to do this with my rings too but that makes the skill a LOT harder meaning I'd need to adjust volume accordingly...

I.)

For RC/PE1, the focus point says to keep the glutes slightly off the ground but the demonstrating athlete appears to have his glutes on the ground the entire time...

I know it's a lot of questions, but this is the place for that right?

Looking forward to getting started.  Thanks in advance. 

A. A microcycle is a four week block, which includes three weeks of progressively more difficult programming followed by a deload week with half the volume of the third week. 

B. Only increase the weight after you can perform the exercise at a mastery-level with the current weight. Once you master the exercise, add a little more weight, and start gradually working back to mastery level with the greater weight. 

C. You don't have to keep every exercise you master in your warmup, but it's a good idea to go back and revisit old exercises periodically, especially the mobility. 

D. A bench. Or a sturdy table. 

E. You could see about getting a back-up machine, or see if your local gym has one. 

F. Yes you're going to need stall bars. With regards to windmills, see B. 

G. I unfortunately can't be much help here. There have been several threads about this topic, though; I'd recommend finding and reading them. 

H. Can you use the back of a chair? Or a railing?

I. This has come up on the forum before. The form demonstrated in the video is incorrect. The note about the glutes off the ground is correct.

A. a microcycle is for example, weeks 1-4, 5-8 and 9-12. if you miss a day, you just keep doing your work as if nothing happened SCHEDULE-WISE. every 4 weeks of exercise you will always deload, so that you give your body a chance to chill out and repair itself. what i'd recommend if body proportions are an obstacle in performance of an element, consult the nutrition forum because Josh is....well he's got that part on lock. I've implimented his workout nutrition and i've noticeably gotten stronger in my workouts, workout to workout and week to week. my shoulder has slowed down a teensy bit but it was only because i made a huge mistake of jumping from 10lbs to 20lbs on windmills. big no-no. 

B. for the progressions in H1 it will kinda go like this (master PE1&2 at shoulder width with 5lbs) (use same weight in PE3/4) (restart PE1&2 but with slightly more weight) and rise and repeat. so by the time you're doing the Dislocates with 5 lbs, you can be working the first iM with a little more weight. as for the weight loss, dont worry about it, it will come off if you do the right process

C. you can choose to keep it in your warm up, as long as it follows the guidelines of the warm up section. read it and you'll understand what im saying. for static positions, you will want to keep doing them at 60secs regardless.

D. I do my sPL>iM on a bench/chair. i understand your frustration, but you're going to have to be creative as i have. i live on an island where imported goods are extremely costy and i sourced the raw materials for stall bars and it came upto $150-ish.

E. for Arch ups, i have a roman chair. before, i was doing arch ups with my feet stuck under my moms car, with a yoga mat under my knees and was essentially doing a NLC. lol. rookie move, i know, but its what i had. 

F. I'm sure by the time you get to those elements, you'll have gotten all your BF% weight off and substituted it with functional tissue. for the windmills, i really dont know. someone else might have to chime in on that one. im currently doing them with 10lbs and my shoulder stability is improving, this is mobility not a maximal strength effort. 

G. for deck squats, i'd recommend two things. #1 ido's squat clinic and #2 this video to help work the fascia: 

H. i use a table pushed against the wall. like i said, creativity. think about using the principles you are learning here and execute them, just because you arent doing them in Coaches gym doesnt mean you won't get strong, you just have to think and something will stand out.

I. i dont know what to tell you on this one. this PE is essentially a very heavily piked Row. 

you are right...this is definitely the place for these kinds of moments^_^

and you're welcome

edit: lol hari, you beat me to it xD

Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm sort of curious to see how you find this style of training at your size. Sure, it won't be a sprint to the finish, but you'll be building some ludicrous strength pulling 300+lb for all that rowing and PPP & dips.

There's some interesting improvisation going on around the place, I'm using a bunch of playground equipment due to a lot of solid and varied shapes; with a little creativity a lot can be done. I do FL/PE10 on top of a picnic table, for eg

KeilaniG said:

edit: lol hari, you beat me to it xD

Victory is mine!