Is Foundation work Aerobic or Anaerobic?

I'm wondering if Foundation work is aerobic or anaerobic

Do a 3 mile run and finish of with 8 x 50m sprints.

What are you trying to achieve?

@tfeal, seriously? None of us know any of his goals yet.

You should supplement Foundation with some dedicated cardio work.

FredInChina said:

What are you trying to achieve?

if foundation work is more aerobic then I'll do HIIT, if foundation work is more anaerobic, I'll do endurance running

Hmms said:

if foundation work is more aerobic then I'll do HIIT, if foundation work is more anaerobic, I'll do endurance running

 

That really didn't answer his question or help us answer you!

Jonathan Cathcart said:

That really didn't answer his question or help us answer you!

Why not?  I just want to know if foundation work is aerobic or anaerobic.

Foundation is mostly anaerobic.

Anaerobic means there is not enough oxygen to supply the energy demands and therefore the body must use the stored energy in the muscles (ATP-CP system) or sugar (Anaerobic Glycolysis) for fuel. During Anaerobic work you will feel out of breathe, your muscles will burn, and you will not be able to sustain your effort for extended amounts of time (2 minutes is the general limit).

Foundation work is going to vary between Anaerobic and Aerobic work depending on the exercise, your cardiovascular and muscular fitness levels, and the length of time you are performing each exercise. That said, I would say that for the most part Foundation work (along with the vast majority of strength work) is primarily Anaerobic.

Very, very open ended question.

 

Broad-brush explanation = Depending on set length / rep numbers you will be working anaerobically. Initially, you will utilise the ATP-CP system and then transition to Lactic, which is why the last few reps of each set will feel 'the burn'.

 

Like everyone said - what are you trying to achieve?

 

Your question gives two options - both of which indicate your want to work on your running which requires both types of training (aerobic and anaerobic) - unless you specifically want to be a short distance sprinter... then it is mostly anaerobic. So the answer to your question is "do both... but apply some thought."

 

It will not matter if your Foundation work is aerobic or anaerobic, because you are not going to get better (beyond some initial adaptation training benefits) at running without putting in some dedicated running time and following a structured program. Therefore, you need to be smart about how to mix the two.

 

If your priority is Foundation training - make sure this is your priority. Build your program around maximising your Foundation performance. Try not do your interval training on the same days as Foundation, and if/when you do then ensure the sessions are seperated by a few hours with adequate recovery and nutrition in between. 

 

If your priority is running training - then it will depend on the sort of running you want to be better at... but this is your focus so do it and mold your Foundation training around your recovery from running. I won't go any further into this as Gymnasticbodies forum is not really the place for discussing running training. 

 

I personally circuit train, interval train (rowing machine and running), and weighted walk/run five days per week in the morning and Foundation train in the evenings. It is doable but you need to monitor your recovery and understand your priorities. Foundation 1 is mine - so if my performance in this area (or motivation to do Foundation) suffers then I dial back the other training and increase my focus on recovering properly from Foundation work.

 

Personally, there is no straight answer to your question... because the question itself  isn't researched. However, the above is just my 2 cents. If you spend the time to develop an understanding of what you want to achieve, then seek out the information to support this, you will come to your own conclusions. There is no 'silver bullet' response.

 

- Callum

Jonathan Cathcart said:

That really didn't answer his question or help us answer you!

Agreed...

 

But based on his response - do aerobic work.

 

... and please, please do some research into this type of training before you decide it is a good idea and jump in.

 

- Callum

I agree with Callum. I think lactate anaerobic metabolism should be predominant in F1. I complement my F1 work with swimming 2 x week. Despite having started from scratches with swimming last May, I've been able to improve considerably. I moved from not being able to float, to swim a decent crawl with decent form and good breathing. My sessions last 45-50' at the moment, are mostly focused on technical work and I generally swim 40-44 laps (1000-1100m) per session. I'm now slowly working on increasing volume. For me, F1 and swimming have similar priority, but I'd rather cut on swimming volume if I realize that it affects recovery from F1 training rather than doing the opposite.

Ok thanks everyone for your help

Hmms said:

Ok thanks everyone for your help

 

Not so fast... What will you do, why, and to achieve what?

FredInChina said:

Not so fast... What will you do, why, and to achieve what?

increase work capacity from 3 day to 4 day foundation work and slowly start adding in handstand days and once I get to a 4 day foundation + handstand, i'll start adding in kettlebell swings.  end goal is to get down from 14% to single digit body fat and since i haven't really been convinced F1 is anaerobic until F2 which then of course is much more anaerobic so I might consider switching to endurance running at that point

Hmms said:

increase work capacity from 3 day to 4 day foundation work and slowly start adding in handstand days and once I get to a 4 day foundation + handstand, i'll start adding in kettlebell swings.  end goal is to get down from 14% to single digit body fat and since i haven't really been convinced F1 is anaerobic until F2 which then of course is much more anaerobic so I might consider switching to endurance running at that point

I can see that your confusion can probably stem(and i mean this with all due respect) from not knowing how to ask your question. 

 

everyone here has thoroughly covered why it can move one way, the other way and/or be an inbetween. 

 

perhaps if you saw a written example, you'd understand. but as Fred stated, what are you trying to accomplish? if it's to know what kind of work you can do around Foundation(as a whole, series 1 through 4) you should do 2-3 cardio sessions a week (as stated by Coach himself and several other high level gymnasts on the forum)

 

if this doesn't answer your question, we need to know, via the quality of your question, how to give you a quality answer. (which to my knowledge, was answered by Joshua Slocum, 2 days ago and by coach Sommer, some months ago.)

 

if right now, you can only perform 3 days a week with quality, you can probably move up one day, after you know that you're spinning your wheels on 3 days and would benefit from 4days a week. 

If you want to improve work capacity, then you should do steady state cardio and gradually add in another Foundation day during the week. Steady State (SS) cardio is easier on the body's recovery systems (as long as you aren't doing it for ridiculously long time frames), and shouldn't interfere with Foundation work.

HIIT on the other hand will tend to tax your recovery systems more heavily, and may leave your muscles/body fatigued, sore, and unable to perform your Foundation workouts optimally.

It's a fine training tool no doubt, but I'd put your energy into increasing your frequency of Foundation work first before I'd start adding in other supplementary intense exercise sessions. Once you're up to your desired increased Foundation work frequency, and have built a good aerobic base with the SS work, then go ahead and try adding in some HIIT stuff.

Just my opinion.

KeilaniG said:

I can see that your confusion can probably stem(and i mean this with all due respect) from not knowing how to ask your question.

everyone here has thoroughly covered why it can move one way, the other way and/or be an inbetween.

perhaps if you saw a written example, you'd understand. but as Fred stated, what are you trying to accomplish? if it's to know what kind of work you can do around Foundation(as a whole, series 1 through 4) you should do 2-3 cardio sessions a week (as stated by Coach himself and several other high level gymnasts on the forum)

if this doesn't answer your question, we need to know, via the quality of your question, how to give you a quality answer. (which to my knowledge, was answered by Joshua Slocum, 2 days ago and by coach Sommer, some months ago.)

if right now, you can only perform 3 days a week with quality, you can probably move up one day, after you know that you're spinning your wheels on 3 days and would benefit from 4days a week.

I don't really understand why I need to say what my goals are to answer my question.

Maybe i shouldn't have added the point about endurance running/HIIT on my original post and that was my fault as it confused everyone. But that had absolutely nothing to do with my question. I'm not asking about how to improve my running or my work capacity or nutrition. I already know plenty about it.

My question is about whether foundation is aerobic or anaerobic.

If you knew plenty about it, then one might suggest you also understood the difference between aerobic and anaerobic.

 

- Callum

Hmms said:

My question is about whether foundation is aerobic or anaerobic.

I think we should move away from exercise as either aerobic or anaerobic. We've have already provided the best answer to your question, however these describe physiological processes and neither exercises nor what you need for optimum all round performance. Nobody can train either exclusively so your question has to be taken out of the context you intended. Knowledge and quality of scientific/research in human physiology among our community is second to none. A more pertinent question may therefore be; Is foundation alone, sufficient for optimum circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, metabolic and other aspects of health/Conditioning? Then- what do the experts tell us to do about achieving it?

We could then ask how this knowledge will help with weight management and ultimately giving you the best opportunity for progressing in foundation.

This is a community forum so misleading questions will have to be corrected to prevent misinformation. While you may not get the answer you want, we have to give the answers the community needs.

Hmms said:

I don't really understand why I need to say what my goals are to answer my question.

Maybe i shouldn't have added the point about endurance running/HIIT on my original post and that was my fault as it confused everyone. But that had absolutely nothing to do with my question. I'm not asking about how to improve my running or my work capacity or nutrition. I already know plenty about it.

My question is about whether foundation is aerobic or anaerobic.

relevant answers work for relevant questions the F series IS a strength program, on the other hand, F1 meshes Strength + endurance, because that's what Coach has identified what works best in programming the "shapes" that are essential for GST success. 

 

as to why your goal is important is akin to asking "I want to do sprints, what should I do if I'm working F?" 

 

some might suggest the following(because we all have vastly different levels of knowledge, experience and methodological success):

-keep doing F as programmed, on alternate days do sprints

-focus primarily on doing the lower body portion of F and on upper body days, do sprints

- keep doing F, H series as programmed, once leg strength is mastered, include olympic lifts

 

as you can see, since im inexperienced with sprinting, I'll give you that data. but from what I saw in your question "increase work capacity, perform H1, then introduce an exercise that uses hip extension, so that i can drop my body fat to (9-5%) range." 

 

that all sounds like what we want to do:

1.increase our level of quality work

2. do it as many times as we can to achieve optimum results during a cycle without overtraining or overstretching mentally

3. be strong and look the part

 

with that info, which everyone here see's daily, we can have some recommendation but what is of primary importance is what do YOU want to build around your foundation? that's why it's so important to know. 

 

if you don't have a clear goal, you won't hit a target. I will vulnerably tell you mine: my dad called me fat and "not the best" at what I did AND I am a martial artist and someone I want to learn from, so that i can become strong and healthy,  is Bruce Lee. so to be better, your discipline, training methodology has to be on point, so that you can pour your sweat into it to reap the results. 

 

you have the discipline, since you came out to look for the knowledge, just don't make the psychological mistake of asking a question in doubt, then evaluating the answer which you do not know as if you were an expert. (we've all done that at one point and have reached the conclusion that it's a waste of time, sooner or later.) 

I follow the 4 day training template, so on Tues/Frid I typically finish the workout, since it's shorter, with kettlebell swings/complexes or TGU as metabolic finishers, and on Wednesday/Saturday I've been doing bleachers, prowlers, or wind sprints. Since I still need adequate speed/speed endurance for my PT tests, I also incorporate some for of interval training in 1-2x a week.

Burtchell345 said:

I follow the 4 day training template, so on Tues/Frid I typically finish the workout, since it's shorter, with kettlebell swings/complexes or TGU as metabolic finishers, and on Wednesday/Saturday I've been doing bleachers, prowlers, or wind sprints. Since I still need adequate speed/speed endurance for my PT tests, I also incorporate some for of interval training in 1-2x a week.

thank you for contributing that