Do you use the sets and reps prescribed in the template?

Hi Guys,

As the titles says, Do you use the sets and reps prescribed in the template?

I never have but am i thinking I maybe should? Currently I just try and improve every week but I believe I might not be giving me connective tissue chance to adapt, although I haven't been injured at all.

You haven't been injured yet. So I'd be cautious. Injuries like tendinitis build up slow, but then are difficult to heal. Trying to improve every time can lead to such injuries. You need to take advantage of deload weeks to ensure your progress.

I have 8 day training weeks and i do foundation 4 times. So everything is done two times in 8 day period. I train foundation every other day.

3 weeks i try to improve every time and then i deload for 1 "week". This works best for me and i can do my jiu jiusu and running.

Why would you buy a program, and then not follow it?

Generally, you don't move on to next week's schedule, if you're unable to complete this week. If the template is too hard, you can cut the steps in half, e.g. instead of going from 4x18s to 4x24s, you can just move on to 4x21s, and so forth.

Other than that, follow the template.

The number of reps in the schedule increases faster than I can keep up so it takes me a bit (a lot) longer. I don't consider a step mastered though until I can reach the "mastery" level.

Yes. Though I've yet to start an exercise in the first half of the prescribed set/rep settings. Now that I'm moving into harder exercises I am starting to drop back.

Ravn said:

Why would you buy a program, and then not follow it?

 

Generally, you don't move on to next week's schedule, if you're unable to complete this week. If the template is too hard, you can cut the steps in half, e.g. instead of going from 4x18s to 4x24s, you can just move on to 4x21s, and so forth.

 

Other than that, follow the template.

I feel like if I can pass mastery before week 3 then why would I wait? Especially given the comments from coach about people not working hard enough.

The other issue especially with exercises with longer sets is that the difference between week 1 and week 3 in a microcycle is too big so either your not working hard in the first week or not meeting the reps in the last week. I have though been utilising deload weeks every 4th week.

Thoughts?

EClayton said:

I feel like if I can pass mastery before week 3 then why would I wait? Especially given the comments from coach about people not working hard enough.

 

The other issue especially with exercises with longer sets is that the difference between week 1 and week 3 in a microcycle is too big so either your not working hard in the first week or not meeting the reps in the last week. I have though been utilising deload weeks every 4th week.

 

Thoughts?

For the first point, if you can demonstrate mastery then move on, there is no need to delay progress.

For the second point, it just happent and you have to modify your reps until you can reach the goal. 

I do nmy best to stick to the program; repeating a week rather than adding smaller increments - it's something I need to experiment with though.

I'm not progressing with FL straddle rocks at the same rate as the program so maybe smaller increments will work well there.

Stick to the program. If you get stuck repeat "the last week" (if its not deload then deload).

I´m doing this on sPL/SE4 right now and had to doit a couple of times for sPL/SE3

i follow 100% the templates. Why? because i absolutely trust in the programming? why? because I think that my training experience doesn' t even get close to Coach Sommer's. Why? Because he is a professional gymnastics trainer. It has never been that gymnastics inside trainings information gets available to everybody who' s interested in.

Just stick with the programming as mentioned. Don' t overthink it again, good people made the programm not overnight.

That doesn't mean you cannot play around or need to listen to your body how it responds to training.

Trust and put the work in. Don't rush. Ask yourself why you wannna train such stuff? for the most of us (i think) it's not becoming a gymnast to compete. Maybee some.

For me its for learning to control my body in space. Basic exercises like in Foundation 1 are so much more than just rushing trough them to get to the "more" advanced stuff. Mastering the Basics means loving what you're doing because you do it.

Happy training. btw, this week is deload and i am happy therefore. need rest.

sascha

I struggle with this question too since I keep having trouble advancing in the 3rd microcycle .  I have been following the templates exactly since I've never coached a world class athlete.  I also have a pretty healthy fear of injuring myself so I don't want to go any faster than the expert recommends.

My experience tells me the templates ramp up slowly for the first 2 microcycles, and then make huge jumps in the 3rd.  So I ran the numbers to see if there's any room for tweaking and was surprised at what I saw.  The first microcycle actually ramps up the fastest -- doubling the load over 3 weeks -- and the last microcycle actually ramps up the slowest -- only 56%!

I did notice that there's very little increase between weeks 7 and 9 -- only 1 rep on the 5 rep template.  I'm considering modifying week 7 from 5x3 to 4x4 and week 9 from 4x4 to 5x4 (with deload 4x2).  This would make weeks 9 and 10 have identical volume 5x4 and 4x5, but definitely different mentally.