Foundation One for big guys?

New here - both to the forum and to GST. I'm 6'6" 264lbs and roughly 15% bodyfat (7 caliper and tape tests have me ranging from 13%-16%). My main goal is strength and lowering bodyfat. My diet's fine, so the bodyfat goal is not an issue. I'm really interested in what Foundation One has to offer as far as programming and progression, but I'm concerned that I'll hit a wall with it simply because of how tall I am and my naturally large frame (ex-collegiate football player).

Would I be able to progress far with Foundation One, and GST in general, or will I run into issues because of my height/size? (Thinking especially using stall bars, parallettes, etc.)

Thanks!

Given your size you will definitely have a slower go at it than many people will, but F1 starts quite basic (doesn't mean it's easy though!) so I don't think you would feel overwhelmed and the progession can be made to be very, very gradual if need be.

There's no reason for you not to make progress.

Gymnastic strength isn't any different than anything else you have done, in the sense that the recipe for success is consistency and perseverance... if you will stick with the program, it is worth doing because you will progress through the later volumes as well.

The larger you are, the longer some things take, but this is not a bad thing. You will simply need to be stronger than I will, and I  will need to be stronger than the 5'6 guys, in order to do the same things.

264lbs at 15% BF is massive, even for a 6'6 dude. Calipers are not a very accurate way of measuring bodyfat. Either your telling porkies about your bodyfat, or your on gear.

To be that big, you have to be very, very strong. Just wonedered why you would want to try gymnast stuff given your already huge?

You can most certainly progress. Front lever, straddle planche, single leg squat, etc, are all within the bounds of possibility for someone of your size. There are a few forum members of similar size already working on Foundation and Handstand. As has been mentioned, you may progress more slowly than some smaller folk, since you have to be proportionally even stronger in order to do the same exercise. 

It's possible your size might prevent you from learning some moves. But you can't know what your limits will be unless you put in the work to reach them.

Logistically speaking, you will need an extra strong pair of stall bars. 

Thanks for the input everyone. I just got back from a 2 week vacation and am starting my own calisthenic routine. Since I don't have to make an initial investment with this, I'm going to continue the workout for a little before I make the jump into Foundation One.

Strogg said:

264lbs at 15% BF is massive, even for a 6'6 dude. Calipers are not a very accurate way of measuring bodyfat. Either your telling porkies about your bodyfat, or your on gear.

 

To be that big, you have to be very, very strong. Just wonedered why you would want to try gymnast stuff given your already huge?

I don't have another method of BF measurement other than calipers (which are cheap) and image comparing. With caliper tests, the highest percentage I got was 16% (funny because it's actually a little lower now - but I'll stick with my original post). With images, 20% is definitely too much while 15% is pretty much spot on. I'm not sure what to tell you. I've always been a big guy and I've lifted weights for a long time for athletics (12 years American Football with some professional training camps). The only thing I've ever taken was whey and creatine.

As for why bodyweight/gymnastics - as I mentioned I've lifted weights for a long time, and am looking for something different and more functional. Yeah, I could work on getting a huge bench, but I'd enjoy more to be able to do HSPUs. On top of that, I have a pretty busy home life (2 babies) and a demanding job (systems admin at large university). I'm much more motivated to work out at home then to go to a gym.