When would i see physical results with F1 ?

Hi 

Ive being reading a lot about f1 for the last few days and i have a few questions that i havnt found answered in my research. 

Foundation Series is a long term commitment. 

It would likely take me up to a year to complete f1 alone. 

F1 focuses a lot on mobility exercises.

A long term goal from doing the foundation series would be for overall general health, happiness , strength and the gymnastic body. In terms of having a long term program to follow nothing compares to the foundation series. 

However my short term goal is to see physical results. Im a 27 yo , skinny guy that would be starting from the bottom and i feel i need to find a program that will build muscle , i dont mean body builder type , but having a body that i would be comfortable and confident with. Seeing these changes would be a huge motivational factor to encourage me to continue. 

Many would say - you want to build muscle - go lift weights. Thats fine and id likely see results but from my research over the last few days i understand there are so many holes in that process. Simply because i believe in the program and what Coach Sommer has to say. Why would you make someone squat with a shit load of weights on there back when they cannot even do a single leg squat. 

There are no pics of people who have committed to the foundation series. You check out any other program and this is what sells and drives people to try it. Its because these programs are geared towards those who are generally unhappy about there appearance or physical health and its aim is to make these changes.

This makes me believe i wouldnt see changes for a long time. I also feel it may be a series for those who are already active in some way. They no longer work out to change there body , they likely already have a solid base and are following the program for different reasons such as for there sport. 

The changes to there body is just a benefit from the workouts and not the goal.

In some ways Foundation is similar to any other program in the sense that you have your sets and reps and rest days and, as you get stronger, you increase the resistance. As long as you keep progressing in this manner you will get stronger and more muscular.

The mobility work is one thing that sets it apart and is the reason I'm fascinated with it. It will help you avoid the issues my bench pressing friend is currently experiencing. When coach Sommmer talks about adults with absoulutely no mobility whatsoever, he's talking about my friend.

Hey, I think the reason that very few people here posts selfies of their physiques is that:

1: The program is focusing on performance, not on miracle abs in six weeks - So people care mostly about how their strength and mobility skills develop and only secondarily about how they look. It takes a different mindset to take on Foundation compared to bodybuilding, and this mindset probably does not lend itself particularly well to meathead antics.

2: Posting physique selfies is, in my opinion, tacky as f*ck.

However, that does not mean that you won't see physical development. I've been on Foundation and Handstand series for fifteen months, and I've seen some pretty dramatic results, getting both bigger and leaner, growing out of my old shirts. I just don't like posting those kind of pics of myself.

It will take longer to get "big" and you'll never be MASSIVE (loss of mobility anyway) but you will be strong (quality strength) , shredded (given your diet is correct) and you won't get the fat "bulking" style body happening.  You will look good year round not just when on a cutting cycle.  

If however you want to put on some size quickly, try to 5X5 program but ensure you are doing things properly and not rushing.  Read the book Starting Strength and ensure you have great form otherwise it could set you back on F1 development.

I'm pretty sure the Foundation series is also supposed to be supplemental to other physical work so as long as you are listening to your body and deloading properly you can do more than just the work in the GB series too.

Form is king though.  I spent forever on FL1 as it made me aware of a slight twist I had in the way my abdominals fired.  as a results I always had the top left abdominal smaller keeping me form a really nice 8 pack.  after a lot of work it has evened out perfectly so there's a lot of benefits to doing this work too.

There are plenty of pics on the forum and on the GB Facebook page. I keep progress pics myself but I don't like posting them online(I have build enough muscle to be noticable, and I'm only half way trough F1).

F1 will build muscle enough muscle for you and others to notice, if you eat right. That's not the goal of the program though, and also not the primary goal of most of people on here. If you only want to LOOK good, there are easier ways to do it...

Ravn said:

 

2: Posting physique selfies is, in my opinion, tacky as f*ck.

 

And really misleading, because, every time people see the picture of someone that has a great body and is doing Foundation they just take that guy as a forum god and prefer to hear what he says rather than what coach says. Even when that guy is still doing PE1~2 of exercises.

I don't know about foundation,

But I'm 18 yrs old, 1m68, 110 lbs only..

I've been working out intensively in street workout (bodyweight exercises in parks) and honestly *FROM MY EXPERIENCE* it's almost impossible for a very skinny ectomorph like me to gain mass without weights..

But my goal is not to look good, it's to be strong with my body so I'm not quitting calisthenics for weights. However if it WAS for the look, I'd go with weights for sure

hype said:

I don't know about foundation,

But I'm 18 yrs old, 1m68, 110 lbs only..

I've been working out intensively in street workout (bodyweight exercises in parks) and honestly *FROM MY EXPERIENCE* it's almost impossible for a very skinny ectomorph like me to gain mass without weights..

But my goal is not to look good, it's to be strong with my body so I'm not quitting calisthenics for weights. However if it WAS for the look, I'd go with weights for sure

Definitely not true.  Bodyweight provides plenty of stimulus to grow.  You just need to feed yourself.

$100 bucks says your diet isn't right and/or you are over training/not recovering properly.

hype said:

I don't know about foundation,

But I'm 18 yrs old, 1m68, 110 lbs only..

I've been working out intensively in street workout (bodyweight exercises in parks) and honestly *FROM MY EXPERIENCE* it's almost impossible for a very skinny ectomorph like me to gain mass without weights..

But my goal is not to look good, it's to be strong with my body so I'm not quitting calisthenics for weights. However if it WAS for the look, I'd go with weights for sure

Hahha, at your age I was the same. 2 years later I was 184cm and 78kg. Only after that i coud develop muscle.

Put on muscle is more than just training. Is nutrition, sleep patterns, stress factors nonexistent, etc etc. 

Foundation, as a physical training, will put on you the enough muscle mass to do what is indicated in the program. You won't look massive, but you'll definitely look like a gymnast.

Of course, if you feed yourself properly and the other things are put in place.

Duketronix said:

$100 bucks says your diet isn't right and/or you are over training/not recovering properly.

agreed If your skinny eat more. At this point it is not about what program any program will do It is about eating enough. I started with weight lifting and I was 150lb at 5'10 in the first month I gained 15 pounds which put me at the average for that height. It was not the weights that made me gain it was that I started eating more because I was told that's the only way to gain.

bty most gymnasts are shredded so if you want the beach body year around stick with it. You wont have the bodybuilder body but you will get pretty big and lean. 

personally I do both

Daniel Burnham said:

Definitely not true. Bodyweight provides plenty of stimulus to grow. You just need to feed yourself.

I agree with you that diet is key, BUT the thing that I didn't mention is that i tried weight lifting for 2-3 months with the SAME eating habits and i grew more in 2 months than in one year of calisthenics.. But then I found it boring so I went back to cali and I actually lost those mass gains.

To me it is clear that all bodies react differently to different stimulus, and some ppl just don't get enough from bodyweight only. Like I said it is MY personal experience with it

hype said:

I agree with you that diet is key, BUT the thing that I didn't mention is that i tried weight lifting for 2-3 months with the SAME eating habits and i grew more in 2 months than in one year of calisthenics.. But then I found it boring so I went back to cali and I actually lost those mass gains.

To me it is clear that all bodies react differently to different stimulus, and some ppl just don't get enough from bodyweight only. Like I said it is MY personal experience with it

There are some differences. It is harder to make bodyweight exercises hypertrophic specific because you cannot isolate and fatigue muscles as well. As soon as one link tires in BW the exercise is done (or should be done). Another is that because you are generally moving more it burns more calories. So you will actually see a greater need for food with bodyweight. Of course this depends on how you program but is a pretty good general rule.

Im 19 years old and 1m82 and only 136lbs only...

Since I started F1 and H1 I gained nearly 6lbs, well I started last year...

My nutrition, sleep is lacking and I didnt focused much on training last year (missed a lot of sessions...) , because of my final year in school ( finished school )

But even then I´m stronger than ever before, I´m not really "big" but I still gained muscles and I´m pretty toned- well it´s enough for me.

I would bet that if you get your nutrition and sleep right and focus on F1/H1 that you will get an atlethic look really fast.

Well but if you want to look like a "meathead" then you have to train like a "meathead"

You will see physical changes, just not the ones you would expect from body-building. People have reported 5-10lb increase in the first year of using foundation, so that's not really something that will be noticeable in 2-3 months. It may be even slower if your mobility keeps you stuck on exercises that are too easy for you. 

You should really be honest with yourself about what you want out of your exercise program. If it's beach muscles in the next few months, Foundations isn't going to cut it for you and you shouldn't waste your money. You'll never get results from this program unless you take a long-term view. You should be looking at least 1-2 years down the road, though most of us look at the program as something we will continue for the rest of our lives. 

I second deciding what you want from your training.  The hypertrophic gains in size you see from weight training are largely just aesthetic but if that's all you want, then go for it.

You can always do another program mixed in with the GB series.  If you want to gain weight without overtraining specific areas and limiting mobility I'd recommend mixing in 5X5 or something similar but paying serious attention to proper form.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who cringes at the gym watching %90 of the people do squats, deadlifts etc....

At any rate that will make you grow while strengthening the whole nervous system and joints/bones which is at least kind of in line with the ideals of the GB training.

It also really depends on what your body uses and trying different diets.  If I eat lots of grains and rice I can put on weight like crazy, but it isn't usually quality weight, just bulk.  I find for me, after lots of experimentation that if I eat lots of quality fats, medium proteins and only some carbs then I stay lean and gain strength/muscle.  

Duketronix said:

I find for me, after lots of experimentation that if I eat lots of quality fats, medium proteins and only some carbs then I stay lean and gain strength/muscle.

He looks like two vikings standing side by side in his upper body. Part of this is due to his waist appearing to be nearly the same size as when he was around 170lbs.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Daniel Burnham said:

There are some differences. It is harder to make bodyweight exercises hypertrophic specific because you cannot isolate and fatigue muscles as well. As soon as one link tires in BW the exercise is done (or should be done). Another is that because you are generally moving more it burns more calories. So you will actually see a greater need for food with bodyweight. Of course this depends on how you program but is a pretty good general rule.

First off hyptrophic muscle gain is about pumping more blood into the muscle tissue. With body weight excises that is accomplished with numerous partial repetitions that can be combined with full range of motion repetitions

Go ahead and try 20-25 partial rep push ups combined with 5 full range of motions push ups for 5 sets.

hype said:

To me it is clear that all bodies react differently to different stimulus

The science appears to be pretty clear on that as well. People who tend to be larger with larger appetites will also tend to be larger when they resistance train. So obviously what's the first thing someone that has always been big and eaten a lot will tell you if you want to grow, eat more!   Hormones are where it's at with muscle growth, without the right hormones all those extra calories won't be much use.

I say, train your ass off, eat good food and see what happens.

GoldenEagle said:

First off hyptrophic muscle gain is about pumping more blood into the muscle tissue. With body weight excises that is accomplished with numerous partial repetitions that can be combined with full range of motion repetitions

Go ahead and try 20-25 partial rep push ups combined with 5 full range of motions push ups for 5 sets.

You are confusing the "pump" with hypertrophy. In fact there is quite a bit of research involving ischemia and hypertrophy.

Yeah, you should give it a try and see if it works for you! My friend became a freaking monster by training ONLY with his BW... Like I said everyone reacts differently, you must experiment and see what works for you and what doesn't.

However if being strong as f*** is your goal, I'd recommand foundation. GST strength is the best

I've noticed:

- heavier people gain muscle faster. ( because you need to gain more muscle to support your weight.)

- people with worse leverage gain muscle faster. (Longer limbs require more muscle to be able to make up for the poor leverage.)

- people that have their nutrition dialed in gain muscle faster because of better recovery.

Daniel Burnham said:

You are confusing the "pump" with hypertrophy. In fact there is quite a bit of research involving ischemia and hypertrophy.

Yet still, hypertrophy gains involves forcing more blood into the muscle tissue so that muscle fascia expands. To pre-fatigue and force additional blood into muscle tissue, partial reps are being utilized within the body weight training circles around the world. 

"Ischemia"/blood constriction and hypertrophy is another matter all together.

The point I am making is that it isn't "hard" to have increased muscle size "hypertrophy" with body weight exercises. 

F1+H1 and haven't looked back.  Started getting compliments 2 months in.  My friends were asking me what I do to workout.  The next 6 months, I gained roughly 10lbs of muscle.  I ate a TON of nutrient dense foods (fish, eggs, avocados, sardines, grassfed beef, organ meats, butter) and ate my carbs around my workouts.  It might not sound like a lot of muscle, but on a 5'6" guy, trust me, it's a huge difference.  Since then, I've been recomping fat to muscle.  Starting to get defined and it's helping my rep count and mobility.  Four days a week, baby.  That's all it takes man.  Just get in there and do your thing.  Go buy a doorway pullup bar and rings.  Grocery shop at least once a week.  Cook in bulk.  Buy a steamer.

hype said:

I don't know about foundation,
But I'm 18 yrs old, 1m68, 110 lbs only..
I've been working out intensively in street workout (bodyweight exercises in parks) and honestly *FROM MY EXPERIENCE* it's almost impossible for a very skinny ectomorph like me to gain mass without weights..

But my goal is not to look good, it's to be strong with my body so I'm not quitting calisthenics for weights. However if it WAS for the look, I'd go with weights for sure