Strong enough but Flexibility is an Issue.

After testing my abilities with the H1 and F1 program, I found that the strength exercises are easily manageable, and have helped me with my current skills.  However I find that most of my problems stem from a lack of flexibility, so I found that I need the mobility exercises more than the strength.  In turn, the strength and mobility levels do not line up together.  

For example: 

HS/PE2>iM is no where near 90 degrees like the video. It is more like 30 degrees and my triceps are super taught by that point. If i was on the rings doing skin the cat, no problem, but standing with or with out a bar is a whole other issue. 

Do I have to pair the PE with the iM and do them side by side, as suggested in the program? Can I separate them and will it still be beneficial?   Currently I use the H1 program as a warm up before gymnastics class and then I use the F1 program as part of my conditioning at the end of class.  

You do need to keep them progressing at the same rate. Most of them are paired for a specific reason, and you'll find that progressing through the mobility in line with the course will make a lot of strength exercises feel distinctly different.

A lot of us have found the same thing

For H1 in particular, a correct handstand is more about mobility/muscle engagement/coordination than strength (past a certain baseline), so the mobility exercises are where we are sinking most of the time on those sessions. It'll pay off quicker than you think.

That said, there's no reason you couldn't add more targeted mobility work for your problem areas once you complete your focus for that session.

Edit;

One of the competitive guys could give you a more detailed answer, I just happened to be around.

Charm said:

You do need to keep them progressing at the same rate. Most of them are paired for a specific reason, and you'll find that progressing through the mobility in line with the course will make a lot of strength exercises feel distinctly different.

A lot of us have found the same thing

For H1 in particular, a correct handstand is more about mobility/muscle engagement/coordination than strength (past a certain baseline), so the mobility exercises are where we are sinking most of the time on those sessions. It'll pay off quicker than you think.

 

 

That said, there's no reason you couldn't add more targeted mobility work for your problem areas once you complete your focus for that session.

 

Edit;

One of the competitive guys could give you a more detailed answer, I just happened to be around.

Thanks for responding! I'm guessing its gona be a lot of guess and check until i find a custom fit for the program.  With more emphasis on the mobility sections.   At the moment, my major issues in gymnastics is my flexibility in shoulders, low back, and legs.  Hand stand skills which are pretty much the foundation in many other skills, and muscle up for the first transition to get on top of rings, aside from back uprise.  I can do front and back lever already, but the F1 exercises definitely help.  Any more help on the subject will be greatly appreciated.

If your strength is greatly in excess of mobility, that means mobility is your weakest link, so you should be focusing the lion's share of your efforts on that. If you want to progress more quickly through the iM's, you can do additional iM work. It is inadvisable to move your PE's ahead of your iM's, as more strength makes it more difficult to gain mobility, and pursuing strength without sufficient mobility leads to injuries. 

The stronger you get, the stiffer your tissues get. That doesn't mean you can't be super strong AND super flexible, but if you are strong and inflexible you are going to skew your training time in favor of the mobility work for a while. If you don't, you will probably never have the flexibility that you need to perform later exercises correctly, or even properly finish F1.

klasse said:

...

Do I have to pair the PE with the iM and do them side by side, as suggested in the program? ...

 

 suggested? I respect you attempt at a workaround, but it's a stretch to call it a suggestion... and I quote "DO NOT SKIP exercises or the assigned integrated mobility!!!" (Gratuitous use of caps and exclamation points is that of Coach, not myself.)   Welcome to the poor mobility club

Thanks for all the input everyone, definitely helps.  To my understanding so long as you can demonstrate mastery over the skills shown in the program, you can progress to the next exercise.  So I've done a test trial and adjusted accordingly.  After reading through the forum it seems that many people modified and adjusted according to their level.  I've been enrolled in a gymnastics program for about 9 months, so my skills are all over the place, but mainly flexibility is a huge issue.  Since I've started i've greatly increased my range of motion in my shoulders, just from all the swing skills and hanging.  I am going to put more of an emphasis on mobility work, then I'll see how it goes.  

Lack of mobility / flexibility vs strength I think is probably going to be the most likely limitation that people will find when they begin this program.  It's importance cannot be overstated.  I can now hold a handstand far longer due to efforts to correct my shoulder flexion.

If you focus only on strength, you will make rapid gains to a point, and then stall, because your body simply cannot go into the necessary form.  If you try to force it to, you will break it.  Injuries will slow your progress far more than remedial exercise will!

Think of it as having a strength imbalance, because that is what it is.  If you only worked one arm to the point where you looked like a crab for example.  You would immediately see that you would be better off not increasing the size of that arm any more, but just keeping its strength steady while you worked the other one to catch up.  Your mobility is the same.  Just keep your strength steady while getting your mobility to match, and you will stay injury free and be able then to progress at a much more rapid pace than if you just keep trying to work strength.

Thanks Primate, I will make the necessary changes and will see how it goes in the next few months.  Also while being on the topic of flexibility, Anyone here achieve box splits from having poor leg and adductor flexibility? maybe I should make another thread on it and post my plan.