Advice for a Beginner - Help Please

[Alexander Egebak]

Hello all,

 

Can someone tell me please:

 

How long is the overall programme. Foundation 1-4? how many years?

 

Is it possible to combine any of foundation 1 and 2 at the same time?

 

Whats the most effective way to complete the whole course, in the most efficient time?

Just do one course at the time. It takes 2-4 years for the average semi-immobile adult with strength deficits. No one will know, but you will get along better if do not think of it as sprinting through the course but rather set up mini goals on a smaller scale. This works well for me, every training cycle is an achievement in itself.

[Jon Douglas]

Depends on you. We're at roughly 1.5 years in since the release and some people are ticking off most of the progressions.

There are no time specifications in the f course, its all performance based. Programming to make you stronger is set up in four week micro cycles, of which you use as many as required to complete the standard to advance.

[Smartest_Smarty]

Depends on you. We're at roughly 1.5 years in since the release and some people are ticking off most of the progressions.

There are no time specifications in the f course, its all performance based. Programming to make you stronger is set up in four week micro cycles, of which you use as many as required to complete the standard to advance.

But if the progression is broken down over the four weeks, how can you then say i'm ready to move on? if you haven't completed the cycle?

 

Ir do you just attempt the final task in the cycle and if you can do it move on? But isn't this literally not sticking to the plan and doing what ever you like?

 

I'm a bit confused.

[Jon Douglas]

In a nutshell there are twelve weeks of programming fpr each strength element intended to bring you up to the progression standard in the final weeks.

You run 4, 8, or the full 12 week cycle depending on your initial test results indicating how far you are away. If that test is a correct pass at the progression standard, onward you go to the next one on your next workout. At the end of that you aren't capable, or if you fall behind with the weekly target, or if the integrated mobility element is not being completed to the correct standard, you would repeat one or more of those 4week microcycles as appropriate.

If you are still confused, you will find it explained with examples within the course and course discussion forum

[Smartest_Smarty]

Thanks for clarifying.

 

As for the integrated mobility, at the moment I do yoga to increase my flexibility but will probably have to give it up to focus on the course.

 

Will the course offer a completely flexible body as well as strength?

[Smartest_Smarty]

Hello all,

Is it true, you can combine some parts of handstand two with handstand one?

 

Also, do you think it's possible to combine this type of training with body building; and do both at the same time?

Edited July 31, 2014 by Smartest_Smarty

[Alexander Egebak]

If you already have the courses ask the course forums for better advice. If not you can always purchase them and then go for a refund.

Edited July 31, 2014 by Freshpro

[Smartest_Smarty]

I don't have the courses yet, so I don't have access to those forums. 

 

I wouldn't buy them in an attempt to refund them, incase I wouldn't get a refund lol.

 

I only want to know if it's possible to incorporate body building as well? Because although the course will build strength and mobility, I would also like to build a muscular defined body.

[Alexander Egebak]

I don't have the courses yet, so I don't have access to those forums. 

 

I wouldn't buy them in an attempt to refund them, incase I wouldn't get a refund lol.

 

I only want to know if it's possible to incorporate body building as well? Because although the course will build strength and mobility, I would also like to build a muscular defined body.

There are thousands of topics about this, please use the search function next time. Keep foundation as your main workout and put all your focus at it. If you still have energy afterwards you can do as you wish, just remember to have enough recovery time. You might in the beginning be able to do a few sets of something, but later on foundation requires too much energy. Body building is also a bit of a counter to foundation, since putting on excess muscle mass will slow progress in body weight strength training.

 

EDIT:

Foundation will also give you lean muscle gains, especially later on.

Edited August 1, 2014 by Freshpro

[Smartest_Smarty]

Thanks for the reply. 

 

I don't mind giving up weight lifting, knowing that gymnastics should provide my quite a built physique anyway.

 

But as an adult starting out - doing only gymnastics, is it possible to get quite big and ripped, like the athletes we see doing rings etc? 

 

I don't mind how long it takes, I am just wondering if it is possible?

[Jonas Hohmann]

Thanks for the reply.

I don't mind giving up weight lifting, knowing that gymnastics should provide my quite a built physique anyway.

But as an adult starting out - doing only gymnastics, is it possible to get quite big and ripped, like the athletes we see doing rings etc?

I don't mind how long it takes, I am just wondering if it is possible?

It also depends on your diet. If you're on a calorie surplus, you WILL gain weight. If you use your muscles more than they're used to be used, your body will adapt. If you eat enough, that weight gain will most likely be due to increased muscle mass. Your muscles hypertrophied. Thats basic training science.

Since bodybuilding is solely directed towards muscle hypertrophy or/and building an aesthetic relationship between your respective muscle groups, that will/can give you best results regarding aesthetics.

The drawback is (almost) always: Those dudes look strong, but they aren't. They (usually) can't move their bodies, aren't as strong as they should be in relationship with their bodyweight and so on. They just want to give the appearance.

If you're doing GST, you will ( if you do it right) get very strong (especially in relation with your bodyweight), get the skills you obviously want to achieve, and if your diet is also correct, you WILL get considerable muscle gains. Many people on here reported how amazed they were after only months ( months! - remember: the real strength work, that one thats capable of really building muscle- isn't at the very beginning!!) about their body changes: Many kilograms of pure muscle mass were gained. Any more questions?

(Of course won't you get that massy as you would get if you would do solely bodybuilding - but if i read through your posts, i don't think this is really what you wanna do.)

Since the latter clearly seem to be your goals, not the primary, i don't understand how you still can be that indecisive.

So, summarily: If I was you - and if that were my goals- my decision would be clear:

I would get and start with F1 and H1, let that be my primary focus, maybe would keep on doing some yoga and running if i'd still be enjoying it ( and have the power to!! ) , especially I would look after my diet, being sure I get enough calories and a good macro ratio, and lastly, I wouldn't worry that much! If you have a healthy body,you have the prerequisites already! Just start man! No one achieved something without DOING it!

So get your butt off and do what you really want! Don't do any compromises!

Yours,

Jonas

Edited August 18, 2014 by Coach Sommer

[Smartest_Smarty]

Thanks for that reply! It made a lot of sense.

 

I wanted to ask what does the Mobility and Hungarian Series's Consist of?

 

Do you have to purchase them? It appears only the Foundation, Handstand and Rings are for sale?

[Smartest_Smarty]

HI everyone, i'm back almost 1 year later. 

 

I started this for two months and stopped. I don't know what happened. I lost motivation.

It's so hard to stay motivated and to keep this routine. 

 

Now here I am 1 year later, wanting to start again 

Edited March 13, 2015 by Smartest_Smarty

[Farid Mirkhani]

What happened is that you lived on your motivation, your feelings, that did not last very long, hence why you quit. But deep inside, this is what you want, and that should be all that matters.

 

What you should do now is understand that your feelings and "motivation" will vary, but even when it's at its lowest point you must do your workout whether you feel like it or not.

 

Discipline, routines and doing it everyday (and everyday matters) will get you to your goals, not some miracle magic frog leap over one night, as you will always see in movies. Unfortunetaly, real life is nothing like movies.

 

Basically, stop being such a drama queen and do your workouts. End of it.

[Smartest_Smarty]

So true! But do you think I need to train everyday 7days a week?

How can I determine the best number of days for me? There needs to be some recovery time. But I need to figure out how many days a week is optimal for me. Is there any specific way of testing this?

I need to train enough to progress, but not everyday.

[Katharina Huemer]

http://www.google.at/imgres?imgurl=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/68/a3/e6/68a3e624762bb3813d8f1961c5744bb0.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.pinterest.com/vtgymnast/gymnastics/&h=354&w=236&tbnid=CaOStt2H2Eif2M:&zoom=1&docid=yDPsZHpcvsPhyM&ei=jd8GVbr7Coj_UPLAgJgJ&tbm=isch&ved=0CCIQMygFMAU

[Connor Davies]

So true! But do you think I need to train everyday 7days a week?

Were you trying to train 7 days a week before? Do you think that's why you burned out?

Training frequency needs to be maintainable. For me that means 3 days on, 1 day off. For you that may well mean 1 day on, 2 days off. A good rule of thumb is to not start your next workout until you're no longer sore from your previous workout.

[Smartest_Smarty]

I was only training two days a week, because I do yoga 2 days as well, so basically exercising 4 days a week. 

 

I don't know if 2 days is enough to progress.

 

Also, I started to find that somethings required equipment I just didn't have, I tried to make do with alternatives but somehow I can't see how I could complete it all, especially as it progresses and it seems I need more and more equipment.

 

 

 

But I would really like to be able to do it. 

[Vytautas Pilkauskas]

2 days of Foundation work works excellent if this much is all you can do at the moment. So much better than going for 3 or 4 days a week work when you simply can't handle more.

When I was on a 3 day schedule my progress stalled. Scaled down to 2 days a week of F1 work and 2 days of HS work - boom -  progress at something every week (don't expect effortless progress though, be prepared to get sore and fight for those reps).

 

Regarding equipment, you need to improvise. I found lots of opportunities in the backyard using the wall and a wooden fence and children playground. The latter provides almost everything I need for F1 work at this moment.

[Smartest_Smarty]

Thanks for your reply,

What I meant by two days though was F1 + HS1, so only doing foundation once a week and handstand once a week.

I found some progress on some exercises but on others like arch body hold I seemed to get worse, just couldn't find the energy for it.

[Vytautas Pilkauskas]

Thanks for your reply,

What I meant by two days though was F1 + HS1, so only doing foundation once a week and handstand once a week.

I found some progress on some exercises but on others like arch body hold I seemed to get worse, just couldn't find the energy for it.

Well if you see lack of progress yourself, why are/were you doing only one day of each - F1 and H1? Take notes, this will help you a lot with determining your own schedules. Just act, you will get your answers along the way while doing what you need to do.

[Mikkel Ravn]

Thanks for your reply,

What I meant by two days though was F1 + HS1, so only doing foundation once a week and handstand once a week.

I found some progress on some exercises but on others like arch body hold I seemed to get worse, just couldn't find the energy for it.

You'll have to experiment and find the sweet spot.

 

If you train too infrequently, you get massive DOMS after each training session, because your muscles have been detrained prior to every workout. If that's the case train more frequently.

 

If you train too frequently, you may begin to get tendon aches and dropping energy levels, finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning --> Increase your rest.

 

No one here can tell what that sweet spot is for you. Some people take notes to find it. Personally I don't, because the sweet spot also interconnects with work, stress levels, other events in the calendar, time of year (darkness in winters, sun in the summers). For me personally it also depends on how much I do bouldering on the side.

 

I aim for four sessions per week, but often I am cutting out the fourth one if I am too busy or if I'm worn out from the bouldering etc. A completely fixed workout schedule just doesn't work in my case, I have to juggle my time.

[Sailor Venus]

Dear all, 

 

I want to start men's artistic training, i'm almost thirty but in good physical condition. I know I have to start with the basics, but need to find somewhere where I could progress through the levels, and aim to get to an elite level if possible.

 

Does anyone know of anywhere in London UK where I could train?

 

Thanks in advance.

Look for universities near you. Gymnastic clubs within universities will have a proper class more than once a week. Tumbling, apparatus work, conditioning, all included. But they operate during academic times of the year and the club is managed by students mostly. This means its likely to be closed now because of summer holiday and won't open 'til October. Unless they have off-season training. I recommend you find a uni campus in your area. You don't have to be a student at that uni to train with them. Uni gym clubs are better because with normal gymnastic clubs, the adult classes are likely to be do-what-you-want classes which are shit. I train with a local uni club for three years now.

 

Elite level? That's a long uphill battle, especially at your age. Same goes for myself.

Edited June 23, 2015 by Sailor Venus

[Smartest_Smarty]

Look for universities near you. Gymnastic clubs within universities will have a proper class more than once a week. Tumbling, apparatus work, conditioning, all included. But they operate during academic times of the year and the club is managed by students mostly. This means its likely to be closed now because of summer holiday and won't open 'til October. Unless they have off-season training. I recommend you find a uni campus in your area. You don't have to be a student at that uni to train with them. Uni gym clubs are better because with normal gymnastic clubs, the adult classes are likely to be do-what-you-want classes which are shit. I train with a local uni club for three years now.

 

Elite level? That's a long uphill battle, especially at your age. Same goes for myself.

 

Thanks,

 

I've looked into it, I can't seem to find any universities in London really that do this? Is this more of an American thing.

Gymnastics doesn't seem to be so popular here

 

I'll keep looking. The thing is, if I find a gymnastics club with a curriculum, how would I do the steps set out in Coach Sommers syllabus?

[Cole Dano]

East London Gymnastics is a good starting point.

http://www.eastlondongym.co.uk/about/gymnasticsadult

Do one class a week to start a do your normal Foundation work outside of class.