Please help me! I need to quit Foundation due to my coach's new plan....what would you do?

Hey guys!

I have a VERY IMPORTANT question and I don't know what to do! 

I bought F1 and F2 some weeks ago, and I am already at F2, except in HBP! 
What rI struggles with was the high sets and reps, especially in the hollow body rocks. Luckily, my body adapts to new moves easily. For example, I couldn't do push-ups with my elbows close to the body, I always did them with the elbows flared out. I couldn't do a single one! Just after 5 weeks, I was able to do about 25!

Anyways, my personal goal was to master F2 this year before Christmas and H2 in 1 year.
I am in "normal" gymnastics training 3 times a week and worked on Foundation also 3 times a week on my free days.

Yesterday we got a new "strength-coach". He is a former high-level gymnast and he will do a strength check-up with my team every month until next January, because he is an exchange student from Australia and will fly back home then.

He sent us a video he put together using normal youtube vids. This shows exactly the exercises (with all the reps) he wants us to do until Christmas. He says it is the perfect workout, because it mimics many gymnastics skills.

We should work on them 3-4 times a day at our gym for about 1- 1/2 hours each session.
If we can't do at least one rep of an exercise yet, we should work towards them using progressions. (For example, Handstand push-ups. I can't do one yet, so I should work on pike push-ups until I can do at least one.)

I need to do this, as my whole team is doing it. I really don't know how I should fit Foundation work in between! So I guess I need to quit with Foundation work. I want to work on the plan of my new coach until January. I hope I can do all the exercises from the video by then! And then, in January, start with Foundation work again. Maybe I am stronger then and I can continue on a higher stage. 

So here is the plan of the coach: (If anyone is interestes in the video, I can upload it as well!):


10 secs V-Sit
3 press handstands in a row
2 standing pike presses in a row
5 L-pull ups
10 pull-ups
5 handstand push-ups
10 L to V leg lifts
20 full hanging leg raises
3 windshield wipers in each direction
5 V hangs to inverted hangs
10 chin-up pullovers
10 chin-levers
10 reverse leg lifts with ankle weights 3.3lbs
10 arch ups with wrist weights 3.3lbs
10 single leg squats with each leg
max calf+toe raises with ankle weights 3.3lbs



But here are my concerns:

In Foundation, and in pretty much every workout plan, it is recommended to do 3 sets of 10/15 reps etc. But in the plan of my coach, there is just one set of each exercise?!

Why is that? Is this bad or good?

All the exercises are very hard ones and we should only do few reps (like 5 Handstand push-ups, not 3x20 nornal ones). Why is that? Isn't this bad?

What is the difference between working high sets of easier exercises to harder ones with fewer? 
(I asked this and coach said we get enough high rep exercises from doing many kips, handstands etc in training, so we can ditch the 100 hollow rocks etc in conditioning. Of course, we also throw in some minutes of hollow rocks, planks etc in our warm-ups anyways!)

What do you think about the plan in general?

I really need your help, I don't know who I should ask if not you!!   


 

The answer is clear; always follow the directions of your coaches. This takes precedence over any outside training.

- Make sure to pursue quality. This means that the coaches and your team mates are going to need to become very good spotters as most of these exercises are beyond your capacity to perform on your own.

- Remember that the purpose of a 'spot' is to provide just the amount of required assistance to complete the rep/set; no less and no more.

- You may continue to work your iM as your time and work capacity allow.

Yours in FItness,

Coach Sommer

Coach Sommer said:

The answer is clear; always follow the directions of your coaches. This takes precedence over any outside training.

- Make sure to pursue quality. This means that the coaches and your team mates are going to need to become very good spotters as most of these exercises are beyond your capacity to perform on your own.

- Remember that the purpose of a 'spot' is to provide just the amount of required assistance to complete the rep/set; no less and no more.

- You may continue to work your iM as your time and work capacity allow.

Yours in FItness,

Coach Sommer

Thank you so much for this fast reply!

Yes of course, I will follow my coach's plan. And he also gave us progression to achieve the wanted reps of excercises, like 5x5 pike push ups until we can do one hspu etc.

But I guess he wants us to stick to this plan after we mastered it and I am not sure if this is a good one or not?

what confuses me is that there are so many exercises, but just one set of them and I don't know if this is good or bad!

Of course, if we would do 3 sets of each exercise, it would be too much for one training session...

I am confused, I was so happy with Foundation and especially handstand 2, as my straddle presses got so much more cobtrolled

As Coach Sommer said, do what your coach says to do. 

That said, I think it's worth talking to your strength coach about what you've been doing. Show him the program, tell him you've been using it and getting really good results, and you're looking for a way to keep integrating it with your training. 

Joshua Slocum said:

As Coach Sommer said, do what your coach says to do. 

 

That said, I think it's worth talking to your strength coach about what you've been doing. Show him the program, tell him you've been using it and getting really good results, and you're looking for a way to keep integrating it with your training.

Thank you Joshua, I will definitely ask him!

But can you explain, what is the difference in working "hard excercises" like handstand push ups for less sets and reps to easier ones like push-ups?

Should a good workout plan contain both? Or is one of it enough?

Coach Sommer's advice is spot on. It's easy to get confused with so many different ways of training. Let your Coach's handle that for you, and follow their advice. Otherwise you'll never feel confident about what you are doing, which will hold you back in the long run.

Hello again!

So I talked to my coach after practice yesterday...and he was amazed! I told him about the whole program and gave him the website link.
He really liked the whole concept and thinks this is so great, he will definitely tell his students about it. This guy is really awesome, he can do a manna turn over, which I think is one of the coolest moves ever!

Anyways, he said I can continue to work on Foundation. (yeeeey!  )

He said it really works all the muscles and if I like doing it I should definitely go for it!

BUT, I have (or at least he recommends) to add some exercises for press handstands.

So he said I should start by 3 sets of 5 pike presses against the wall (up and then lowering down as slowly as possible). 
Then he recommended to do some sets of pike drags until I manage to press up and stand on the beam or wherever I "pike drag" up on.
Then he said I should work on some handstand push-ups (or pike push-ups if I can't do one yet) and handstand shrugs.

Where should I integrate this? Before Foundation work? or after? Or somewhere in between?

Great to hear! I'd do his suggested exercises after Foundation work.

Great news!  I would pick my priorities and since your Gymnastics Coach likes the Foundations program I would make that my priority.  Don't use up your work capacity on other things, first do Foundation and then with whatever capacity you have left you can do the supplemental work.  I tried doing other strength exercises before Foundation and they ended up hurting my progress in Foundation.

By the way congratulations on progressing so rapidly through Foundations!