Advice for a Beginner - Help Please

Cole Dano said:

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.

Sounds like a good option, but will they help me to learn the things covered in the Foundation Course or will it be general gymnastics?

Smartest_Smarty said:

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

 

 

Go on Google and type in 'London university gymnastics'. There's a couple. As for your new question, consult a Men's Artistic coach there. Don't speak to a Women's Artistic coach (chances are she won't know about Coach Sommer's Foundation program) unless you want her to drive you up to the nearest balance beam and make you do chasse cat leaps on it.

OK, so I've now been to a few Gymnastics places in London for Adults and they're not what I'm looking for.

They focus more on Cart Wheels, Front Flips, Back flips etc. I'm not saying these are bad, but I really want to focus more on the Strength Exercises in the courses found on this site. 

The problem I have is, it looks like you need a lot of gymnastic type equipment to actually begin training in this way - although it says you can do these at home, I don't think you really can. 

The Gymnastics venues are quite far from my home, and cost considerably more to use. I would prefer to go to the local gym, but i'm afraid I will get to a point in these courses where I won't be able to progress simply because I do not have the equipment. 

Does anyone have any experience of this? Is it actually possible to do this in a gym for example? or at home, without any equipment at home? I've seen some images online of simple mobility exercises on a bench which looks like a pommel horse etc, how can I replicate that in my house? Realistically is this achievable for the average person, with gym equipment or no equipment at all?

You will probably need an initial investment of about 80 - 100£ which can be spread in a few stages which includes rings, some free weights, a barbell, a dumbbell, perhaps a pull up bar (there are pretty good doorway ones these days), exercise mat and a couple of stretching blocks. You definitely won't need any more than 30 kg of free weights (can be substituted with a kettlebel), one dumbbell, one barbell (or a solid wood thick stick). It is not necessary to buy all of this brand new, there's plenty of people selling this stuff. I would only get a brand new set of rings. I'm doing most of the exercises at home, except for RC and SL progressions I've got to go to a local school sports ground which is 5 minutes away. You will only need to either get a stall bars and dip station at home or find good alternatives around or find a gym which has them.

That's all

Initially you will need a set of rings and some floor space.  Can't get easier to start than that.

Yes, you will be adding additional equipment as you progress, but you are not there yet.  First things first.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

My advice is just to start. Just start. Don't ask any more questions than that. You'll figure it out along the way. There's so much about my physiology, my body's recovery ability, what mastered form actually  looks like, what apparatuses I need, that I have figured out along the way that I had no clue about when I began. I've been doing Foundation and Handstand since August of last year. I've been doing it with focus and dedication since about January of this year (the first three months I was just sort of screwing around impatiently and unspecifically).

At this point, though, almost all of my joints and aches and pains are gone. My shoulders are starting to get strong and healthy. My hips, knees, ankles and thoracic spine are also more mobile and flexible than they have ever been. You can see where I am in the scheme of foundations--not far at all. My body composition has also changed as a result: a lean physique, defined obliques, abs, and arms (and again, I'm not far at all in the program, nor have I begun any of the "strength elements" or SEs). My best advice is that if gymnastic strength is what you want just start. Trust me, I overanalyze all of this stuff, too, and have asked way more questions than were necessary to get the answer I both needed to hear and wanted to hear. You'll figure everything out once you've begun. This isn't a 6-week abs blast, but a reprioritization of your physical body and your physical capabilities. It'll take years, but it'll last you your lifetime. $170 for something that'll last that long is quality enough (nevermind the fact that each individual program is only about $80 on top of the starter pack). When in doubt read the introductory articles and study the videos and notes. But, first off, just start.