New user

Hi all.

I am new to this site and have been refered here by a friend who is also interested in body weight training. I know the book Building the Gymnastic Body and have recently training according to its information but I have read about the foundation series and I am really eager to learn more about them. Since it is a great deal of money I have to raise to buy it (I am a student) I would really like to know more about the program.

What are the prospects of completion for a 6'2 180lbs guy? I respond quite well to strength training if I have to say in spite of my seize, but I fear the more advanced levers will take ages to complete if not doing so at all.

How does the program differentiate from the kilroy-template? I have the whole thread and to me with my limited knowlegde it seems stupid to start off with that much straight arm strength training, both in terms of every day work, the pressure on non-prepared joints and the fact that it is put as a warm up.

And how does this integrate with other training? Currently I do short distance running every second day, I like to start parkour soon and I would like to try handstand 1 maybe.

And last question: is it available offline as well? I sometimes find myself without internet access and I do not have a smartphone to bring to the gym.

Hi and welcome!

Your size is fairly normal for people on the forum. Foundation does not start with a lot of straight arm strength, merely introductory exercises, but it ramps up to a lot of volume during the course of F1 - F4.

As for time, Coach states, I believe, that three-four years is not unreasonable to finish the foundation series, but  then again, he's used to working with very gifted individuals. For myself, I added a couple of years to that time frame. So yes, it may take 'forever' to attain the levers, but is that really relevant? It takes as long as it takes, and these are genuinely hard goals for the vast majority of people, so expecting to achieve them in the short term is simply unrealistic. Either you want the goals, and will do what it takes to get there (this includes seeing time as a resource which must also be applied), or you just want the goals straight away, which is delusional: Unless you're extraordinarily gifted, it won't happen.

Courses are only online, probably due to issues of piracy prevention.

You can do other stuff alongside Foundation, especially cardio. Some also combine Foundation with olympic lifting, but other than that it is not advisable to do other strength training in parallel with the courses, since it eats away at your recovery.

Thank you for your reply.

I definately know the gift of hard work. It is all about making the training meaningful, giving it a purpose.

I cannot purchase foundation right now, but if I want a headstart and progress easier when and if I finally do, what would you recommend? Of course, without giving away content.

Thank you in advance.

Try looking into the thread on prerequisites, it's about hollow and arch hold, planche leans etc. That should get you started. The Killroy70 template is also an option, although it doesn't make that much sense in comparison to the F-series.

Prior to starting the F and H-series I worked on this progression to get: Plank --> frog stand --> Advanced frog stand. I built up to 3x30 seconds. In parallel at the same sessions, I also did front and back stall bar support, building up to 3x30. Doing this twice a week should begin to prepare you for the straight arm work, but GO SLOW, the goal is not to get to the end of those progressions, the goal is to stimulate your connective tissue to strengthen, and that takes a long time. Do not do a max effort at every session. In addition to this you can add rows, pullups, pushups, squats, some ab and back exercises. But do yourself a favour and get F1 and H1 as soon as possible.

What is front and back support on stall bars?

Freshpro said:

What is front and back support on stall bars?

Some advanced ring strength supplemental exercises that you are not even remotely ready for and something that I never recommend for beginners to work.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach Sommer said:

Some advanced ring strength supplemental exercises that you are not even remotely ready for and something that I never recommend for beginners to work.

So that is settled, I guess.

So we have arch body hold for lower back/obliques, hollow body hold for trunk/obliques, plank/lean progressions for general pushing strength and lower back, rows for general pulling strength and trunk. In Barbell Shrugged's podcast chin grip hangs were mentioned, these must belong here too right? I think in terms of elbow preparation.

Oops, sorry about that, that's why you shouldn't ask people like me questions like that. Get foundation instead

No problem, you were just trying to help me.

Freshpro said:

So that is settled, I guess.

 

...plank/lean progressions for general pushing strength and lower back, 

 

You'd also want some bent arm strength in there. Pushups variation to begin with.