Beginning F1 - Suggestions and more

Hope this helps you William!

 

Let me come back to my log. In my current diet, I increased the % of fats by adding nuts (cashew nuts, almonds, etc) in moderate quantities (20-30g per day) over the last 4 weeks. However, they are not extremely healthy for the gut and the prostatic gland, which are two organs I'd like to pay attention to. I think I could use seeds: pumpkin, sunflower or linseeds to achieve the same. They appear to be anti-inflammatory as well, although the link Joshua gave me is actually saying the opposite. Any hint?

Week 12, hence deload, started today. A very nice F7 routine. I focused on the IMs more than usual today. 

Deck squats looked very solid today. I still don't know whether I should move to PE2 here, I'm waiting for some feedback. Work in progress towards injury recovery as well.

federicoC said:

Week 12, hence deload, started today. A very nice F7 routine. I focused on the IMs more than usual today.

Deck squats looked very solid today. I still don't know whether I should move to PE2 here, I'm waiting for some feedback. Work in progress towards injury recovery as well.

finish deload and test mastery for PE2 to see where you start (week 1,5,9) or if you graduate to PE3

You can always keep some deck squats as your warm up for Cossack squats. I usually do 5-10 just to make sure I keep them. Surprisingly they are still improving even though I don't do many.

@Keilani: I knew that, but my question is whether mastery of an element allow failed reps within mastery set. To be crystal clear: I did 5x15r on both F7 sessions and succeeded with solid form. However, in some sets I needed to repeat a rep or two, which of course I did not count for the 15. I was wondering if this can be considered mastery, or simply whether mastery does not contemplate failure of a rep in any way. That's it.

 

@Mark: thanks. Sure, that would be the plan. My major concern is the Im, it appears as if I will not even be able to move from the floor.

I think if you had to test for mastery at a seminar, if you stumbled or missed a rep or basically if for whatever reason your set wasn't 100% perfect, you would fail.  But that only tests 1 set, no 5 in a row, so if you can do your first set perfectly, you're okay to move on.

 

Do you still need to do your deck squats off the edge of a mat?  If so, try them barefoot.

Thanks. I always do them barefoot, and yes, I use a mat but I checked and it does not make any difference (besides the fact that my lower back hurts if I don't use a softer surface than the crappy, hard pavement that is there in the gym.

Second deload session today felt easy. Form on the ex. also looked solid. I am doing an effort in slowly bringing my knees together in FL/PE1, and I can now keep them closer on MN/PE1 as well. I could use a little bit more ROM on windmills. Nevertheless, I spent more than 1h with KIt's work after the WO and I'm slowly starting getting it along with good sensations.

 

I added couple of sets of RTO support, chin ups and leg extensions. Although I know that nothing should be added on deload weeks However, I can say I am certainly weaker on pull ups and chin ups, but that I believe is simply because I moved from doing 200-250/week to 0.

federicoC said:

 

@Mark: thanks. Sure, that would be the plan. My major concern is the Im, it appears as if I will not even be able to move from the floor.

I was in the same position. So I started mine from a box height of 45cm. When I mastered that I went lower by 5-10cm at a time. Now I can do them from the floor. I actually thought I might be at it for a year, but it will take 5-6 months.

Thanks for the suggestion! What I do not fully get is what is the major determinant of them, I mean, which mobility component is key for success.

federicoC said:

Thanks for the suggestion! What I do not fully get is what is the major determinant of them, I mean, which mobility component is key for success.

For SLS/P2 iM or which one?

Yes, of the Im. I think strength should not be an issue, and it seems like there is a lot of lateral ankle flexibility involved as well. I never tried that, I just watched the video and figured out that 99% I won't be able to move from the floor.

federicoC said:

Yes, of the Im. I think strength should not be an issue, and it seems like there is a lot of lateral ankle flexibility involved as well. I never tried that, I just watched the video and figured out that 99% I won't be able to move from the floor.

Haha, have to say i hate that iM in the same way like i hate arch body holds!

I thought the same, as i started it, it wasn' easy but also not very hard. For me the hard thing is really to get back to the sitting position and to turn in the right way.

But its really not impossible. I also feel stress after doing it in the ankles, but its ok i think, because no one of us does such a movement for the feet at normal life, just a normal reaction. But 10 reps after every PE is really a lot. Its more a technique thing.

my lower back feels also a little bit stressed because of the kipping move at the start when you sit.

In the one direction it feels nearly like a fluid motion but when turning in the other direction its hard for me to get back to sit.

I suggest that you warm up your ankles before, do stretch them and when doing this iM focus on holding the feet in this position while pushing at the start. so its more stable

 

good luck!

I found that the twisting squat highlighted my weak gluteus medius. The gluteus medius is recruited a lot more in SLS than a regular squat. So putting the twisting squat in early is going to make the SLS easier to do later on.

As an added bonus my ankle everters are a lot stronger.

Wait until you get to inside squats. I thought my knees were going to explode...

Sure, I'm looking forward to get started with the new elements. One more deload session to go.

Thanks for your input!

A question.

 

Given that swivel hips and windmills are threatening my possibility to master sPL/PE1 and MN/PE1, respectively, do you suggest to repeat the last minicycle on the PEs or to stay put to e.g. 4x15 for them and spend extra time and efforts with the Im? (keep in mind the recovery from my hamstrings injury can be quite tedious). While I believe my scap shrugs became decent now, work is ongoing on MN/PE1 as well. Also, on the push ups I am planning to attempt reaching 4x15 this cycle, by considering each set as independent and pushing it to technical failure, which for me will most likely mean push it close to failure.

 

If I manage today, I will record as many elements as I can, and some stretching pose I am trying to master as well.

 

Kit's work is simply amazing, it's really making me feel good when I do that.

federicoC said:

A question.

 

Given that swivel hips and windmills are threatening my possibility to master sPL/PE1 and MN/PE1, respectively, do you suggest to repeat the last minicycle on the PEs or to stay put to e.g. 4x15 for them and spend extra time and efforts with the Im? (keep in mind the recovery from my hamstrings injury can be quite tedious). While I believe my scap shrugs became decent now, work is ongoing on MN/PE1 as well. Also, on the push ups I am planning to attempt reaching 4x15 this cycle, by considering each set as independent and pushing it to technical failure, which for me will most likely mean push it close to failure.

 

If I manage today, I will record as many elements as I can, and some stretching pose I am trying to master as well.

 

Kit's work is simply amazing, it's really making me feel good when I do that.

Coach recommended we follow the week 9-12 cycle to help with increasing recovery

Perfect. That's the info I was looking for. 

Later I will post some other question, with a video.

 

Thanks a lot.

Ae you getting treatment for the hamstring injury? It will accelerate your recovery and make the windmill easier.

No, I'm not. Honestly I don't know much about it and since here everything is extremely expensive (depending on the healthcare insurance you have, it might be covered or not), I prefer to take my time and get them back in full functionality in due time. To me it looks like they are slowly recovering, at least today I used the same ROM as last time, approx. 2/3 of my best so far, without feeling pain. However, I am pretty much sure that if I don't pay extremely attention to it and take my time, it can become quite an issue.

 

Of course Mark, any input from you - being instead an expert in rehab - is welcome!

I forgot you live in Switzerland. It is an expensive country, but at least the quality is high.

What part of the windmill do you feel the pain?

Is it when the right arm is up or down?

What other activities do you feel pain or stiffness in?

What are your most difficult stretches?

What are your easiest stretches?

What you say is 99% right. Don't think that everything is high quality, e.g. I have experience with private clinic (urology) back home and the same clinic here in CH. Well, the latter is worse, even though you pay more.

 

That said, I go back to your questions.

 

1) I feel "pain" (now I just adjusted to ROM s.t. I don't at all) deep inside my middle gluteus as soon as I approach a position parallel to the floor. It happens symmetrically on both sides.

 

2) I didn't get it

 

3) No pain but stiffness in all the ones that require stiff leg work. However, I felt an improvement, e.g. my ABH ROM went back to normal. In contrast, over the last couple of weeks it was largely limited as well.

 

4) Certainly everything involving calves (deactivated), piriformis, hip flexors and lower back. Kit made me trying different piriformis stretches which I now currently perform and we reached the conclusion that stiffness in my piriformis is preventing mobility in my lower back

 

5) Upper and middle back, quad.

Here's a video from yesterday:

 

 

how do you embed it in the post? Let me know!

 

In the video, you can see:

1) scap shrugs. In the recorded set (and I'd like to emphasize, only in that one) I exaggerated the top position, is that beneficial? You can see that I do not sag anymore.

 

1b) swivel hips, to get a feeling on where I am heading to

 

2) ABH, I am getting back to my ROM. Looks decent, isn't it?

 

3) deck squats. I recorded two sets, one with feet on a mat, the other one with my feet on the floor and rolling on the edge of the mat. As I told you before, I don't feel any particular difference between the two versions.

 

4) skiers, people asked for it

 

5) incline body rows. There it is visible that there is no bending at the hips anymore (thanks again Joshua). 

 

Thanks guys! Looking forward to Wed.

 

 

Edit: oh yes, tuck ups are also there, you can see the new form I am using. Seems like momentum is gone and knees are slowly going to get closer to each other.

Are you depressing your shoulders during scapular shrugs?  It looks like they might be elevating a bit.

 

Those deck squats are nice.  I think you might rise a little faster when your feet are off the edge of the mat, but I can't be sure.

 

You could probably get a little more depth during the skiers, but It's good that your feet remain planted.  I tend to stumble about during mine.