Just train for 3 skills?

Is it stupid to train just for 2 or 3 skills with the help of Foundation? I actually just want to be able to do a straddle planche for some seconds, a V-Sit and a straddle press handstand as well as a pike to handstand.

As those are the elements I have been focussing on for the last year in training, I am at F2 already, whereas I lack behind in the HBP progressions a little bit and I don't like rings.

What if I still train for the other skills like HPB and FL in F1 just to get stronger overall, but focus on the other three skills and do the F2 progressions? (I have the handstand courses as well!). 

I am in gymnastics training, girls and boys mixed. We do the tumbling stuff together, but when it comes to strength and conditioning, the girls just do handstand presses and sometimes tuck planches, whereas the boys focus on the HBP and ring training.

Of course, I want to get as strong as possible. But my focus is on those 3 skills and I don't want to loose time because I am stuck at the HBP or SL but  don't really need to learn them!

What do you think?

I don't quit see what you mean about "focusing" on the other elements? If you're still doing HBP and FL even in F1 then you are training everything and that's perfect. There's no problem being in F1 on some element and F2(3 or 4) on other elements!

Mark Balsom said:

I don't quit see what you mean about "focusing" on the other elements? If you're still doing HBP and FL even in F1 then you are training everything and that's perfect. There's no problem being in F1 on some element and F2(3 or 4) on other elements!

First if all, thanks for your answer. I mean, I want to master the straddle planche, straddle press handstand, pike handstand and V-Sit. Those are definitely my priorities! The other ones like Front Lever or HBP would be nice, but I don't really want them urgently. 

I can do sPl/PE7 already, but I am stuck at the planche push-ups of the HBP/PE3, although I can master the 5x5 dips on p-bars. I will work on them of course, but as the straddle planche is my goal, I want to focus on this more!

I don't know, but my core is definitely stronger than my shoulders, I think this is quite common in female gymnastics.

A girl in my team can almost do a straddle planche, but she is just able to do 9 or 10 good pull-ups. 

So I wanted to know if it was bad if I trained sPl at F2 already and even progress to F3 and mabe F4, whereas stay behind with HBP, FL, BL etc. Of course, I will do the exercises like the push-ups and stuff, but maybe never go over to rings and just do some sets of planche push-ups and normal ones in my routine!

It is fine to lag behind in some, it doesn't mean you can't progress on one because you're not progressing on another. what i see in your case is someone focusing on their strengths and ignoring their weaknesses. It's more fun, initially, and more rewarding, initially, but in the long run your progress there will be stymied by your lack of attention to your weaknesses. The courses go together like a puzzle, and you will find as you progress that elements from, for example, HBP, will be vital to your progress in sPL. I would highly recommend you follow the full program as it is not designed to pick out one element to focus on. Believe it or not, your progress will be faster if you work it all, and it will lessen your risk of overuse injuries by balancing out your muscular and tendon development.

MT Nordic said:

It is fine to lag behind in some, it doesn't mean you can't progress on one because you're not progressing on another. what i see in your case is someone focusing on their strengths and ignoring their weaknesses. It's more fun, initially, and more rewarding, initially, but in the long run your progress there will be stymied by your lack of attention to your weaknesses. The courses go together like a puzzle, and you will find as you progress that elements from, for example, HBP, will be vital to your progress in sPL. I would highly recommend you follow the full program as it is not designed to pick out one element to focus on. Believe it or not, your progress will be faster if you work it all, and it will lessen your risk of overuse injuries by balancing out your muscular and tendon development.

Ok, thanks! Yes, I always focus on my strength, but I have improved a lot But as I already said, in training the girls just focus on handstand presses and sometimes on very short straddle planches (maybe like 3 secs or so) and then press out of them into a handstand!That's what I wanted to get.

But now I understand it...  So it is even better for the progress to train all of them! 

I didn't want to skip them, I just don't plan to go all the way through to F4. I think it's cool for guys, but I am a girl and focus more onacrobatic, dancing and contortion stuff. And I wanted to know if it was possible to do F1+F2 and work on them 3 days a week to gain a good amout of basic strength, but skillwise just go for press handstands and straddle planches....

I totally see what you mean and what your priorities are. But, if you're going to do anything, do it right. This means simply follow the foundations progressions and that's the fastest way you'll get to your goals. So if you're doing your HBP PEs and are able to demonstrate, mastery fine! Move on! That won't hurt your progressions with the rest! The only slight little tweak you could (but I wouldn't) is put a little more intensity in the elements you're interested in. I say I wouldn't because that would therefore mean less intensity somewhere else and you should never "entertrain" as Coach calls it but should train hard and be focused on every rep of every set of every workout and that's how you'll get the best and fastest results.

Mark Balsom said:

I totally see what you mean and what your priorities are. But, if you're going to do anything, do it right. This means simply follow the foundations progressions and that's the fastest way you'll get to your goals. So if you're doing your HBP PEs and are able to demonstrate, mastery fine! Move on! That won't hurt your progressions with the rest! The only slight little tweak you could (but I wouldn't) is put a little more intensity in the elements you're interested in. I say I wouldn't because that would therefore mean less intensity somewhere else and you should never "entertrain" as Coach calls it but should train hard and be focused on every rep of every set of every workout and that's how you'll get the best and fastest results.

Thanks for your comment! Yes I see... I just think, that beside SLS the sPl is the easiest to learn if you have a wide straddle. As I said, I know many very very good female acrobatic gymnasts. They can do a straddle planche for some seconds and press handstand, but not a hollow back press, or more than 10 pull-ups!