Foundation Series

Hi. I need someone to help me understand what the foundation tutorials are about. I really want to buy it but I wouldn't like to waste my money. I have followed this forum for a while and frankly speaking a lot of posted questions, even from people who own the book, give me an impression like there is little explanation in the book, and to be honest the only positive comments about the book i see on this website. It says in product description that it is extremely rich in instructional information, however, a lot of comments on amazon and other websites tell otherwise.

So, my question is, does it clearly tell how to design workout routines.I am not looking for information how to scale planche or front lever, or how many seconds i should simply do it in my workout, this is something you can easily figure out from your forum and videos.I have trained for most of my life so i understand basics,sets rest times,for tipical strength,endurance,etc. In fact i can do front straddle lever and back lever, but there is a lot of skills that i miss, struggle to progress with, and injuries i get, perhaps because of imbalance, so I thought starting from the beginning would be a good idea, because I must have been missing something, and exercise prescription must have a different,philosophy.For example: When I followed suggestion about implementing front levers etc in the warm up routine, it did nothing for me,it simply used to exhaust my muscles so the main workout would not make sense. In fact i started to progress on front lever when I improved on weighted pull ups and was training levers occasionally, more like a grease the groove routine,again if it didn't work out for me, and did for many gymnasts trained by the coach,i must have missed something.

So exact info I am really searching for is ; How many times a week I should perform each of the exercises in the book, how many sets,reps,what other exercises I should or shouldn't do in the same workout,or maybe following day or week, when i can move onto the next exercise, a correct technique execution, planed rests, how to cycle routines, what to change,scale if it doesn't work etc. For example if i train front lever or planche,can i do a 5 minute wall handstand in the same workout,if not what day and what exercises can be done along the handstand or maybe i should not go for 5 minutes and only stick to 2 or 3. Sorry fo the length,English is not my native lenguage and i would find it hard to explain what i want i a few words. Sorry for the length of the post, I am not English, so i find it hard to explain things in a few words.

It is extremely simple to understand. A lot of the people just skim through, then when they can't find the obvious answer, ask a question. It is easy, as long as you read the information a few times to get a hang of it. Seriously, buy it.

I began using it the day I bought it, with no trouble understanding it.

Foundation gives you a very clear progression on how to achieve the end goals that being the 7 fundamental moves, front lever, straddle planche etcetc. Each of these moves has clear progression and has very clear criteria for when to move on from one exercise to another. 
All the exercises are clearly presented with a video and a few lines highlighting the key focus points, a couple of these could be clearer but I stress that is literally only one or two of the videos. Any problems I've encountered have been quickly resolved by asking on the forum, just do ensure that you carefully read the introduction nearly all the answers are there.
The mobility that's included is worth the price alone imho.
Basically all you have to do is understand the program, turn up and train and you will see progress. Oh just don't try and cheat yourself by skipping forward due to impatience. 

Hi Colin. Your English is excellent!

Foundation is minimal in written information, but detailed in visual information - through the use if video and images. It really follows the saying "a picture says 1,000 words". A visual demonstration is better at getting people started, rather than getting confused with words.

In one sentence you say you don't want to follow specific sets/reps/seconds, and in the next sentence you talk about struggle to progress and injury. Perhaps these two are related? Endurance is a big part of Foundation 1, and it forces you to take movements into a level of mastery most people will never go. Many can hold the beginning movements for 5-10 secs, but only a few could hold for 60s, and even fewer could do 5 x 60s with 30s rests. Doing all the reps/sets specified is an important progression to the next movement. It creates a specific kind of conditioning in the body. This way, you have a well-rounded foundation in strength, mobility as well as endurance.

Planned rests, scaling and how to cycle routines are all covered in the program. spinelli has answered your other points.

Hope this helps.

Hi

Ok,thx for your replies. No I didn't mean I don't want to follow sets,reps etc. I meant I'm looking more for more in depth explanations about precise planing,cycling and what exercises do or not to do along the main ones,than simply videos of ,for example: frog stand,straddle planche etc. I think you answered my question thx.

colin said:

So exact info I am really searching for is ; How many times a week I should perform each of the exercises in the book, how many sets,reps,what other exercises I should or shouldn't do in the same workout,or maybe following day or week, when i can move onto the next exercise, a correct technique execution, planed rests, how to cycle routines, what to change,scale if it doesn't work etc. For example if i train front lever or planche,can i do a 5 minute wall handstand in the same workout,if not what day and what exercises can be done along the handstand or maybe i should not go for 5 minutes and only stick to 2 or 3. Sorry fo the length,English is not my native lenguage and i would find it hard to explain what i want i a few words. Sorry for the length of the post, I am not English, so i find it hard to explain things in a few words.

 

Here's the answer to these questions:

how many times a week should I perform each exercise in the book? You have the option of 3,4 or 5 times a week. Each of these have been laid out in a template.

how many sets,reps? Each exercise has a template that tells you the required "mastery" level. How many sets/reps you need to do to get there will depend on this mastery level. And you'll then have a 12 week program all laid out for you on how many sets/reps you need to do for that particular exercise, for each of those weeks.

what other exercises I should or shouldn't do in the same workout, or maybe following day or week? It tells you what progressions you should be working on, on each day, of the weekly template that you chose (3,4 or 5 days). You can add exercises if you like though that aren't in foundations, but as far as the foundations program itself goes, it's all laid out.

when i can move onto the next exercise? When you've actually completed a certain weeks required sets/reps scheme with proper form.

a correct technique execution? Watch the videos in the program, if those STILL don't help, then ask the friendly forum members!

planed rests? There are deload weeks on every 4th week. So week 4,8 and 12 are deload.

how to cycle routines? There's no routines to cycle, only progressions to master. When you master a certain progression, the routine changes. For example, say I only move up one progression, on one of the exercises. Then I stay with the same routine as last week, EXCEPT for the one that I mastered, now the exercise for that progression changes.

what to change,scale if it doesn't work? Be confident buddy, it will work if you put the work in it and follow the plan that's been laid out in front of you.

Hope this helps you out in your decision. I can definitely say that if this is the road that you've decided to take as far as your fitness journey has taken you, you're on the right path if you choose to invest in the programs on this site.

colin said:

Hi. I need someone to help me understand what the foundation tutorials are about. I really want to buy it but I wouldn't like to waste my money. I have followed this forum for a while and frankly speaking a lot of posted questions, even from people who own the book, give me an impression like there is little explanation in the book, and to be honest the only positive comments about the book i see on this website. It says in product description that it is extremely rich in instructional information, however, a lot of comments on amazon and other websites tell otherwise.

So, my question is, does it clearly tell how to design workout routines.I am not looking for information how to scale planche or front lever, or how many seconds i should simply do it in my workout, this is something you can easily figure out from your forum and videos.I have trained for most of my life so i understand basics,sets rest times,for tipical strength,endurance,etc. In fact i can do front straddle lever and back lever, but there is a lot of skills that i miss, struggle to progress with, and injuries i get, perhaps because of imbalance, so I thought starting from the beginning would be a good idea, because I must have been missing something, and exercise prescription must have a different,philosophy.For example: When I followed suggestion about implementing front levers etc in the warm up routine, it did nothing for me,it simply used to exhaust my muscles so the main workout would not make sense. In fact i started to progress on front lever when I improved on weighted pull ups and was training levers occasionally, more like a grease the groove routine,again if it didn't work out for me, and did for many gymnasts trained by the coach,i must have missed something.

So exact info I am really searching for is ; How many times a week I should perform each of the exercises in the book, how many sets,reps,what other exercises I should or shouldn't do in the same workout,or maybe following day or week, when i can move onto the next exercise, a correct technique execution, planed rests, how to cycle routines, what to change,scale if it doesn't work etc. For example if i train front lever or planche,can i do a 5 minute wall handstand in the same workout,if not what day and what exercises can be done along the handstand or maybe i should not go for 5 minutes and only stick to 2 or 3. Sorry fo the length,English is not my native lenguage and i would find it hard to explain what i want i a few words. Sorry for the length of the post, I am not English, so i find it hard to explain things in a few words.

By the way, Foundation isn't a book.  It is an online course.  The book (which has reviews on Amazon) is called Building the Gymnastics Bodies and is nothing like the Foundation course at all.  Foundation is much much better than the book.

If you want to train, buy foundation.

If you want to talk about training, buy a book.

I have both...   & I do both

colin said:

(...) I really want to buy it but I wouldn't like to waste my money. (...)

Money back guaranteed if you don't like it.

Just to add to the conversation. I started the foundation and handstand (F1 & H1) work 25 weeks ago, before I was doing body weight stuff from this site and others; the prerequisites, pull ups, push ups and other handstand work. I always struggled with making consistent progress and even got a little injured. F1 and H1 have solved all of this for me - though I'm still "stuck" (mobility is a weak link for me) on the earliest progression my mobility and strength have improved consistently week to week. I am in best shape of my life and it's only getting better every day!  

The structure of the course is flexible yet detailed; you pick the number of days you want to do (1-5 based on your recovery) and then it tells you exactly what you need to do on those days. I recommend the course to everyone. Strength and mobility are guaranteed if you work hard.

colin said:

I am not looking for information how to scale planche or front lever, or how many seconds i should simply do it in my workout, this is something you can easily figure out from your forum and videos...... injuries i get.....because I must have been missing something.....it did nothing for me......

 

 

Foundation is the approach Coach decided on after he realised that most people can't just pick up a copy of BtGB and design a decent program.  The F series is his answer to that, with a lot of joint prep and mobility work.  It's specifically designed to strengthen you when you're weak and stop you getting injured.  Not trying to be insulting here, but do you really think you can design a better program than an actual gymnastics coach?

That being said, it doesn't go into any detail on how to design a program, it just gives you a program.  But I can guarantee you it's a damn good one.  Good luck finding a book on program design for gymnastics.  The rules are different to other strength training modalities, and there's very little literature on the subject.

But what you really wanted to know is if you would waste your money buying it.  The short answer is: no.