Some beginner questions about F1 and H1

[Joe Macchia]

Purchased H1 and looked at F1 that a friend bought and about to purchase as well, have a few questions.

 

About H1 - From practicing yoga for a few years I can already hold a freestanding handstand for about 30 - 60 seconds, depending on the day. However, the alignment we learned is a little different than the gymnastics handstand, the chest and shoulders are more open and there is a slight arch in the back, as well as looking at the floor in front of you so the ears are not between the biceps. With my goal being a gymnastics handstand and eventually pike up to handstand, would it be detrimental to continue to practice these handstands after my H1 workout in order to continue to work on balance?

 

We also start our handstands with our hands already on the floor, would it be better to practice getting into it from a standing position and using momentum instead of kicking up with the hands already on the floor?

 

About F1 - I already have a tremendous amount of mobility from practicing yoga, are there still benefits to practicing the basic mobility exercises when I can already do deep bridges and splits?

 

Also, just wondering why the L-Sit and Back Lever aren't included as goals in the Foundation series, as these are 2 goals of mine, will I still develop these skills with the Foundation series?

 

Final question, I've installed rings at home but can't install a pullup bar anywhere. So would working on things like chin hangs or dips be ok on rings (I know it will be a little more difficult) without having to go all the way to the gym to use a bar for 1 exercise?

[Joshua Slocum]

- Working a 'yoga' handstand is going to reinforce bad habits. I would not spend much time doing it.

 

- A lot of the mobility is not the sort of thing you'd find in yoga. You will definitely benefit from a lot of the exercises. And if your yoga background allows you to perform an exercise to the required standard, then you're allowed to move on to the next one; there's no need to waste time working something you can already do. 

 

- Mastering an L-sit is a prerequisite to learning a manna. I'll let you draw conclusions from that . A properly performed back lever (with supinated grip) is quite brachialis intensive, and thus it is a good idea to complete Foundation as preparation before beginning dedicated BL work. 

 

- Working chin hangs on rings is fine; just put a stick between the rings and hang off of that. However, for dips, you're going to want access to some sort of parallel bars/parallletes. Or you could improvise, e.g. by putting two sturdy chairs next to each other and using the arms. Rings dips are significantly more difficult than P-bar dips, so attempting to substitute rings in for pbars will at best slow your progress and at worst cause an injury. For the most part, you can get through F1 with some clever improvising, but you may find it harder for some of the following parts of the course.

[Joe Macchia]

Thanks. I have a set of parallettes but nothing high enough to support them on. Even with the backs of chairs, I'm 6'4", so I'd have to keep knees bent or do them in an L position, is that ok?

 

The only frustrating part about the programs is the lack of access to equipment. The closest gym with gymnastics equipment that allows adults is over an hour away and they don't allow open gym time, only classes. I guess I'll have to improvise the best I can until I stall out.

[ForzaCavaliere]

Thanks. I have a set of parallettes but nothing high enough to support them on. Even with the backs of chairs, I'm 6'4", so I'd have to keep knees bent or do them in an L position, is that ok?

 

From personal experience I've found that the elbow/arm motion of L-dips is completely different to regular dips, because for some reason during L-dips the arms flare outwards rather than staying parallel to each other, so you'd have to train L-sit russian dips straight away rather than just learning regular dips.

 

Not sure if made sense, soz. 

[Brian Li]

From personal experience I've found that the elbow/arm motion of L-dips is completely different to regular dips, because for some reason during L-dips the arms flare outwards rather than staying parallel to each other, so you'd have to train L-sit russian dips straight away rather than just learning regular dips.

 

Not sure if made sense, soz. 

That's because of the COG. You can also do L-sit dips with arms in, but that's another type of dip with different technique and is similar to a triceps extension.

[Joe Macchia]

From personal experience I've found that the elbow/arm motion of L-dips is completely different to regular dips, because for some reason during L-dips the arms flare outwards rather than staying parallel to each other, so you'd have to train L-sit russian dips straight away rather than just learning regular dips.

 

Not sure if made sense, soz. 

Definitely makes sense. I know it's not ideal but I'll have to modify the best I can.