Confused and disappointed

Mmm I'm not sure mark. It could be bigger. I don't really care as much for looks as I do for capability so I never bothered to look that closely before.

Yes coach 15 sets 75 reps spread over morning and afternoon.

I have noticed that my climbing hasn't been as strong lately either but I feel like it's coming back this past week. Maybe I haven't been getting enough sleep or too much stress these past few months... It doesn't particularly feel like it but I've noticed that I can't tell if I'm sleep deprived unless it is seriously sleep deprived or I go away camping for the weekend and At t he end feel really rested... Sleep hours haven't changed much and I have had a bit more work lately nothing big though.

I find this drastic drop in strength quite puzzling then. Unless either the quality of your attempted mastery sets was extremely sub par or something else is seriously off track in your recovery.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Mark Collins said:

Did you notice any change in the development of your lower biceps? I have lost some pull up endurance as well, however I have noticed a big change in how the front of my elbow looks and feels. It is a lot thicker in the lower bicep muscle and the connective tissue feels bigger.

It will be interesting to hear your thoughts in another year. You may find the elbow prep will push you to the next level and when you get to rings you will not get injured.

strictly from a vanity perspective, I now look forward to rc pe6 

hopefully I can get there in less than 2 months. I have 8lbs I plan to lose in preparation as well. 

Hello Ausswe-

Congratulations on addressing RCPE6 --- I am practicing this now, it is not pleasurable.

If you are looking for a prescription, any questions you have might be better diagnosed through video.

I imagine Coach Sommer might have specific suggestions for specific exercises and set numbers, but perhaps you could film/post a mastery set (or sets) of RCPE 4-5-6. (I am speculating here as to its utility.)

However I suppose the flipside is that you then repeat mastery of previous PEs, and once again build to RCPE6 Edit to include: Bleh.

best,

jason

As an aside, I also wish there was an algorithmic way to include previous exercises at higher reps. One thing I miss about the GB WODs was that 50% (8) of the 15-session cycles were higher rep 'conditioning' days.

Jason Stein said:

... I also wish there was an algorithmic way to include previous exercises at higher reps. One thing I miss about the GB WODs was that 50% (8) of the 15-session cycles were higher rep 'conditioning' days ...

There is.  It's called warmup.  

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Why does RC PE6 make me want to roar when jump down, sorry lower down slowly?

Something primal in that exercise and only on week 5.

I still do one set of 60s as RC warmup, and it still sucks, even though it's just one set. My eyes twitch and flicker a bit when I pull my chin over the bar, and my breath becomes uneasy, as if the body is anticipating the horror it has come to associate with this exercise.

I am so happy I am past it

Ausswe, I feel your pain my friend. I've been stuck on PE6 for 2 months now, and had no problem with L chinups, wide grip pullups etc for 5 x 5 beforehand. Tried them the other day, strength is gone. Very frustrating!

Is it possible that while training RC/PE6--an endurance-oriented exercise--without supplemental strength-focused pulling over many months, Ausswe's type II muscle fibers converted to type I muscle fibers?

I am not so knowledgable on physiology, so I don't know if this could happen that quickly or if it would account for the seen loss in strength/power, but it's a thought.

something to consider, what muscle are we using to pull?

i'm thinking that the use of the Lats + achieving good overhead mobility, essentially having to pull from a deeper position (less back arch, so that would mean the pull would be done from a different angle needing more force to be produced). it wouldn't be the same to initiate a pull with your body like > / this than > I , because it's done from a dead hang.

i wouldn't really worry about it the price of new mobilty so it seems is less strength, giving us the opportunity to strengthening that new ROM.

question, even though bent arm strength has gone down( with pullup variations) what have you noticed in your straight arm pulling department? cause i'm close to mastering Hinge rows and i can do* tuck front lever pulls for a rep or two.

* it looks nasty compared to our standards of execution here, still this was not strength I had before. (I've wondered if this is the same for others)

My straight arm strength has gone down a lot as well. Went from holding 5 second + straddle fl (not piked) to not being able to even hold it for a second.

I can't be the only one whose strength has improved through the RC progressions? A new climbing wall opened in London and they have climbing ropes, was easily able to climb it without my feet, it wasn't pretty and I had to slide down but it was something I've never done before.

Just did 5x30s of PE6 today, so far it's been a very steady progression, I'm following the 30s template though.

Murray Truelove said:

I can't be the only one whose strength has improved through the RC progressions? A new climbing wall opened in London and they have climbing ropes, was easily able to climb it without my feet, it wasn't pretty and I had to slide down but it was something I've never done before.

Just did 5x30s of PE6 today, so far it's been a very steady progression, I'm following the 30s template though.

I have also developed the strength to climb a rope using only the arms, in an L-position. I also have kept my strength to do muscle-ups (I could do them before F1) while only doing F1 as a strength program for many months and I am still on RC/PE1.

Note that my form is nowhere near mastery on the MU and rope climb but the base strength is there.

I had a similar issue with strength dropping while one RC/PE6 buuuut the strength came back rapidly, within 3 sessions or so.

Regaining strength is always much quicker than gaining it for the first time, I would suspect a factor, like form as others have raised, is the real culprit.

Keilani Gutierrez said:

something to consider, what muscle are we using to pull?

 

I would say mostly lats then rear delt, trapezius (lower and middle fibers), rhomboids, biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis

As an example, one of my current training partners was a level 8 gymnast 10 years ago, BUT since stopping full time gymnastics he has been doing a mixture of Gymnastic Strength Training™ and weightlifting.

He is still able to hold back and front levers, straddle planche, over a 1 minute free-standing handstand, pullups with an added 50% bodyweight for reps, and deadlift triple bodyweight at 79kg.

It's fair to say he's strong in comparison to most of the adult population who are tackling this program, yet even with his strength feats and connective tissue conditioning he struggles to do 5 x 36 secs on RC/PE6.. So it shows that even at his level it's just plain endurance needed.

Will RC/PE6 be counter productive to current strength? Yes, if you aren't doing low rep work outside of working RC/PE6. That's why I've started doing some 5x5 of the later progressions (L-sit pullup, wide grip etc) to keep the fast twitch fibres happy. Not ideal, but sometimes you need to customise the programming to suit your current level of strength/skill/conditioning etc.

Murray Truelove said:

I can't be the only one whose strength has improved through the RC progressions? A new climbing wall opened in London and they have climbing ropes, was easily able to climb it without my feet, it wasn't pretty and I had to slide down but it was something I've never done before.

Just did 5x30s of PE6 today, so far it's been a very steady progression, I'm following the 30s template though.

Did you start F1 completely untrained? If so, it wouldn't be surprising that your overall strength improved. Other people here were close to holding full levers, so it's not inconceivable that they lost some of that strength after two years of not working on them and only focusing on strength endurance.