Introduction - old geezer here, all amped to get going!

I just got the Foundation One book and I'm very excited to start on this fun and potentially very rewarding journey to an increased level of fitness and technical skill.

 

I'm 51 years old and have been very active for the last 30 years - I have a 2nd degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and I had to stop actively practicing about 5 years ago because my right knee started bothering me. 

 

I took up weight training and that has progressed reasonably well.  I can

• deadlift bodyweight + 100 %  of my body weight,  (I weigh 175lbs and am 5 ft 10 in tall)
• squat bodyweight + 42% of my bodyweight
• 10 strict chins from a dead hang
• Shoulder press 57% of my bodyweight  - upper body strength has never been my forte
• Weighted Parallel bar dips with 15% of my bodyweight additional
• Bench Press - I suck at this.

I'm very excited about starting the foundation course and look forward to sharing my progress and interacting with you all!

 

Hameed

I have a couple of questions.

 

Assuming one is diligent about frequency of practice (4 day/week schedule) and with moderate recovery ability, no major setbacks due to injuries, what is the average time it takes to finish F1?

 

Reason why I'm curious (and I know that the journey is always very rewarding and not just the end goal), is because I'm wondering approximately how long it will take to master the Front lever and hold it for a good 5 - 10 seconds?  6 months?  1 year?

 

What has been your experience learning the basics of gymnastics?

Hi there and welcome!!

Welcome aboard! Looking forward to hearing about your progress.

hey Hameed good to see guys around here that are around my fathers age. welcome and feel free to look for guidance, a lot of the guys here have earned respect worldwide knowing what they know

enjoy

Welcome to the forum.

hameed said:

I have a couple of questions.

 

Assuming one is diligent about frequency of practice (4 day/week schedule) and with moderate recovery ability, no major setbacks due to injuries, what is the average time it takes to finish F1?

 

Reason why I'm curious (and I know that the journey is always very rewarding and not just the end goal), is because I'm wondering approximately how long it will take to master the Front lever and hold it for a good 5 - 10 seconds?  6 months?  1 year?

 

What has been your experience learning the basics of gymnastics?

I hope those who have finished F1 let us know their times, but I think your question is the same as 'how long is a piece of string?'.

 

I have been doing the 4 day F1 schedule regularly since the June seminar this year and you can see from my signature that I'm at all sorts of levels due to my unique past 45 years.

 

Good luck and Bon voyage! 

Welcome Hameed and enjoy the trip

hameed said:

I have a couple of questions.

 

Assuming one is diligent about frequency of practice (4 day/week schedule) and with moderate recovery ability, no major setbacks due to injuries, what is the average time it takes to finish F1?

 

Reason why I'm curious (and I know that the journey is always very rewarding and not just the end goal), is because I'm wondering approximately how long it will take to master the Front lever and hold it for a good 5 - 10 seconds?  6 months?  1 year?

 

What has been your experience learning the basics of gymnastics?

I'm not sure the average time to finish F1, but it shouldn't take you more than 6 years to get to a front lever.  I know that sounds ridiculously long, and coach says he has trained someone to front lever and beyond in 4, but it really depends on your starting point.

 

My experience with gymnastics?  I can't say I really have any.  I don't consider pushups, rows, arch holds ect to really be gymnastics.  I'm a fan of L sits and I love my rings?  What I can say is that I'm loving F1.  Given my level of strength increase in the last few months, I can't wait to see how strong I'll get by the time I finish F1, let alone F4...

Bipocni said:

I'm not sure the average time to finish F1, but it shouldn't take you more than 6 years to get to a front lever.  I know that sounds ridiculously long, and coach says he has trained someone to front lever and beyond in 4, but it really depends on your starting point.

 

My experience with gymnastics?  I can't say I really have any.  I don't consider pushups, rows, arch holds ect to really be gymnastics.  I'm a fan of L sits and I love my rings?  What I can say is that I'm loving F1.  Given my level of strength increase in the last few months, I can't wait to see how strong I'll get by the time I finish F1, let alone F4...

Wow, 6 years?!? :)   And here I was, Mr. Optimism that I would be able to get to FL in under a year.............

 

This will be fun guys.   

 

I will post videos periodically showing my progress on this journey. 

If you want an idea of how fast you can progress doing F1, here's where I'm at as of now:

FL/PE3

SPl/PE4

HBP/PE2

RC/PE1

SL/PE2

MN/PE1

SLS/PE1

I'll be moving on to SLS, MN and RC PE2 two weeks from now. F1 as part of a 4-part series seems daunting, but if you're diligent with your training, you'll progress at a rate directly proportional to the effort you put in. I've been on F1 for 3 months now.

Have fun

Bipocni said:

I'm not sure the average time to finish F1, but it shouldn't take you more than 6 years to get to a front lever.  I know that sounds ridiculously long, and coach says he has trained someone to front lever and beyond in 4, but it really depends on your starting point.

 

My experience with gymnastics?  I can't say I really have any.  I don't consider pushups, rows, arch holds ect to really be gymnastics.  I'm a fan of L sits and I love my rings?  What I can say is that I'm loving F1.  Given my level of strength increase in the last few months, I can't wait to see how strong I'll get by the time I finish F1, let alone F4...

 

I think you misunderstood the timeline: 4 years got Dillon as far as a maltese cross. He had his front lever a long time before that. 6 years to a front lever likely means doing something seriously wrong.

Question regarding my understanding of the programming:

 

I will be doing the 4 day/week cycle.

 

For week 1 on Monday, this is what I understand the programming to be:

 

Week 1 - Monday

1. FL/PE1 (3x12s) : Bent Hollow Body Hold - 3 sets with a single rep each set hold for 12 seconds.  Mastery is 5 sets of single reps hold for 60 seconds
2. sPL/PE1 (3x3r) : Scapular Shrug - 3 sets of 3 reps.  Mastery 5 sets of 15 reps
3. HBP/PE1 (3x3r) : Incline Pushup - 3 sets of 3 reps.  Mastery 5 sets of 15 reps
4. RC/PE1 (3x3r) : Hinge Row - 3 sets of 3 reps. Mastery 5 sets of 15 reps.

 

Is that correct?  Ofcourse the Integrated mobility exercises are after each exercise above.  So for the number 1 above it is

CatCow
FL/PE1>iM
5 reps after each work set - so this will be done 3 times for Day 1 above to match the 3 sets of the Bent Hollow Body Hold 3 sets.

 

Am I getting this correctly?

Cory Fair said:

I think you misunderstood the timeline: 4 years got Dillon as far as a maltese cross. He had his front lever a long time before that. 6 years to a front lever likely means doing something seriously wrong.

Whewwwww!      Thanks for clearing that up Cory!  4 years to a Maltese cross sounds absolutely spectacular to me! 

Cory Fair said:

I think you misunderstood the timeline: 4 years got Dillon as far as a maltese cross. He had his front lever a long time before that. 6 years to a front lever likely means doing something seriously wrong.

I'm using 6 years as the assumption that most people make, when the see that there are 6 3 month cycles in F1.  I know you would have to be very out of shape to take 6 years to get a front lever, but what I'm saying is that it wouldn't take any longer than that...

hameed said:

Wow, 6 years?!? :) And here I was, Mr. Optimism that I would be able to get to FL in under a year.............

This will be fun guys.

I will post videos periodically showing my progress on this journey.

Take Cory's post to heart. In six years time you (and I) can expect to be doing things far more advanced than a front lever, as cool as it is

Jon Douglas said:

Take Cory's post to heart. In six years time you (and I) can expect to be doing things far more advanced than a front lever, as cool as it is

 once momentum is picked up....you can feel it. 

Bipocni said:

I'm using 6 years as the assumption that most people make, when the see that there are 6 3 month cycles in F1.  I know you would have to be very out of shape to take 6 years to get a front lever, but what I'm saying is that it wouldn't take any longer than that...I'm

I'm thoroughly confused now.  I've gone through the manual twice now and it appears straightforward what the workout is supposed to be for 12 weeks.  Where is it stated you need to repeat the cycle 6 times?  I find it hard to imagine that I won't be able to hold the Bent hollow body hold for 60 seconds at the end of the first cycle of 12 weeks.  Maybe I'm totally out to lunch here.............

hameed said:

I'm thoroughly confused now.  I've gone through the manual twice now and it appears straightforward what the workout is supposed to be for 12 weeks.  Where is it stated you need to repeat the cycle 6 times?  I find it hard to imagine that I won't be able to hold the Bent hollow body hold for 60 seconds at the end of the first cycle of 12 weeks.  Maybe I'm totally out to lunch here.............

He means that there are 6 progressions in F1 to work through. Thus it would be 6x3 months.

gohei_ said:

He means that there are 6 progressions in F1 to work through. Thus it would be 6x3 months.

In other words, I would only get access to the next 12 week cycle once I demonstrate mastery of the first cycle?  I didn't realize there was more material to get .......

 

I can only see the first 12 week cycle is what I'm saying.     How do you prove your mastery of the first 12 week cycle to Coach Sommer in order to qualify to get the material for the second 12 week cycle?

Hmm, I'm not following you. Are you using the workout planner?

gohei_ said:

Hmm, I'm not following you. Are you using the workout planner?

Yes.  I just looked at it again and I see a drop down for PE2.  So is this for the second cycle?  I can see it goes to 6.....

Exactly. You have looked through the entire course have you? There are 6 different exercises for each 7 elements. Once you are done with your first cycle for the PE1 you will begin your second cycle which will be PE2.

Don't forget to begin each new exercise with a test of your ability. If you are able to display mastery of both the Pe and IM you may graduate to the next pair immediately.

You may also start a pair at week 5 or 9 if it is appropriate, based on that first test its unlikely you'll need the full twelve weeks for every element

Jon Douglas said:

Don't forget to begin each new exercise with a test of your ability. If you are able to display mastery of both the Pe and IM you may graduate to the next pair immediately.

You may also start a pair at week 5 or 9 if it is appropriate, based on that first test its unlikely you'll need the full twelve weeks for every element

Aha! That's the Eureka moment then. Thanks for clearing up the mud guys!