My Current Focus: SL/PE1

One of the changes I'm doing with F1 is putting more focus on a specific progression in my workout than the others. This is for troublesome progressions that I can't seem to master. Once mastered, I'll pick another progression to monitor closely.

I'm planning on documenting the progression I focus on here in order to stay more honest and get feedback from the community.

I've been battling with SL/PE1 for about 16 months and for some reason, I just can't get to 5x60s with proper form.

Strategies attempted so far:

1. Repeated last micro-cycle 4 times (4 months). 0 progress with this one. When my form deteriorated at the 60 second sets, I kept my arms, chest and legs above ground at all times until time was over. I never stopped.

2.  Increased rest time between sets to 3 minutes. Then I would subtract 15 seconds from rest time the next time I do SL/PE1. I got all the way to 1 minute. As soon as I get to 60 second sets my form falters. Not much progress.

3. Current strategy: 1 minute rest between sets. When a set fails, take a 10 second rest and finish it with good form. You can see this being done below in 5/5 (2 attempts).

I'm going to try strategy 3 for 4 more weeks and see where it takes me.

Set 1(video 1/5 below): Failure at 55 seconds.

Set 2: Failure at 42 seconds.

Set 3: " at 35

Set 4: " at 35

Set 5 (video 5/5 below): " at 30

Do you have any suggestions or maybe a better strategy than #3?

Thanks!

1/5

5/5

I've been supplementing with bridge work and doing reverse planks. it's helped a lot in opening my chest and strengthening my hips. 

have you tried opening up to a straddle position? it's also an option 

Nope, I haven't tried anything supplemental. If this doesn't work, I think I'll look for a movement that is easier to perform and build up from there. Something like SL/PE0.1, SL/PE0.2...SL/PE1. My challenge is to know what those are pre-pe1 are.

In my opinion, the "zombie pre SL/PE1 series" that people talk about isn't as useful as the one I personally used (which I learnt from a dense yoga anatomy textbook.)

This involves placing the arm in different angle:

1. Arms by side

2. Arms perpendicular

3. Arms overhead in a "Y" shape

4. SL/PE1

I haven't tried doing rocking in each position of the first 3 positions, but they probably help too

What helped me with these:

Rest as long as necessary between sets (1.5 - 3 minute or even 5 if that what it takes) so that you always be 5x60s (you're so close to this in video 1). Over time you can reduce the rest time but it's important you get the volume in.

I start my Fb session with these so I'm fresh.

I'm convinced that the biggest barrier with these are psychological, even now when they're part of my warm up I can psych myself out with these. Remember the floor is lava!

I find it helps to have a time count down in front of me and focus on short term goals: "OK I'm half way... OK 20s left... 10s.... 3... 2... 1.." collapse.

alan tseng said:

In my opinion, the "zombie pre SL/PE1 series" that people talk about isn't as useful as the one I personally used (which I learnt from a dense yoga anatomy textbook.)

 

I imagine it's helpful for different problems. The different arm positions focusing on opening up the thorasic whereas the staddle legs help with some lower back/glute activation. The straddle legs helped me out a lot.

(FYI not mastered this/taking a F1 break due to chronic injury waiting to get checked out)

Murray Truelove said:

What helped me with these:

Rest as long as necessary between sets (1.5 - 3 minute or even 5 if that what it takes) so that you always be 5x60s (you're so close to this in video 1). Over time you can reduce the rest time but it's important you get the volume in.

I start my Fb session with these so I'm fresh.

I'm convinced that the biggest barrier with these are psychological, even now when they're part of my warm up I can psych myself out with these. Remember the floor is lava!

I find it helps to have a time count down in front of me and focus on short term goals: "OK I'm half way... OK 20s left... 10s.... 3... 2... 1.." collapse.

Thank you Murray. I think I might try starting my workout with these as well.

-Nash

I don't disagree with anything anyone else has said, I would just add that I've found it's easy to fall into the trap of making things easier for yourself. Whether it be conciously or unconciously, I've found my standards tend to slacken a little as I move into those long, later sets/holds. It's natural for this to happen as both your body and mind become fatigued, but you have to remember that if Coach was standing watching you, it wouldn't be an option.

So, what I'm saying is, when I compare your top video at 0.02 and your bottom video at 0.02, I can see your arms have dropped by about 4". Your ROM also changes through the course of each set. I'm not nitpicking and it's not for me to judge what is adequate ROM; I just think you need to be consistent. Pick a certain standard and hold yourself to it throughout each hold. The best way to do it may be to put a marker (box, pile of books etc) underneath your hands to make sure they don't drop at all. This might mean you go back to 5 x 30s or even less, but so be it. Once you get good form locked in, I believe the gains will start to come, at least that's been my experience. And what's more they will really be measurable gains, since you will be extending your times with exactly the same form.

Another point I'd like to make is that I would guess what you're doing at the moment (slow eccentrics rather than pure isometrics + rests in the middle of sets) is quite taxing on your recovery systems, which might be impeding your progress too.

Lastly, good luck Nash! I've been on this element about as long as you have and you're slightly ahead of me in terms of ROM. It's motivating to see how close you are to mastery.

Thanks for the feedback man. I really appreciate it.

> So, what I'm saying is, when I compare your top video at 0.02 and your bottom video at 0.02, I can see your arms have dropped by about 4".

It's actually the reverse . I have a mirror in front of me that's about 12"  from the ground. My aim is to see my head and make sure that my feet are a bit over it. But in the first video I went way over that unconsciously because I was filming (the reason why I couldn't finish the 60 seconds as I usually can on the first try.) I realized it halfway and tried not to break form. The second video is where I usually try to stay. At that level I can finish up to 2 or 3 60 second sets.

>  This might mean you go back to 5x30s or even less, but so be it. Once you get good form locked in, I believe the gains will start to come, at least that's been my experience. 

Yup, I tried that strategy too. I can do 5x30 with mastery form no problem. Stayed here for a few weeks. But as soon as I move up to the 40s form deteriorates. Even if I stick at the previous successful time for a few weeks, then move up, it fails.

>  Another point I'd like to make is that I would guess what you're doing at the moment (slow eccentrics rather than pure isometrics + rests in the middle of sets) is quite taxing on your recovery systems, which might be impeding your progress too.

I don't understand the difference between slow eccentrics and pure isometrics. What is it?

> Lastly, good luck Nash! I've been on this element about as long as you have and you're slightly ahead of me in terms of ROM. It's motivating to see how close you are to mastery.

Thanks so much. I almost gave up on this, but then decided to give it my 100% and see what happens.

What helped me was going from 5x48s to 3x60sec instead of 4x60sec. 

Ok Nash, that makes sense. The point I was trying to stress was the importance of holding exactly the same position for the whole of the hold, from set to set, and from session to session. This means you can be sure you've improved, even if you just add a few seconds each week. So use every last drop of willpower to stay in that one position, but once it becomes impossible, end the hold.

The other advantage is that if you don't do this, and allow your arms to drop over the course of a hold, it's starting to become more like the eccentric part of a dynamic exercise, as opposed to an isometric (static) one. Now I don't know enough to say when the boundary is crossed; perhaps someone with more knowledge could chip in (Keegan - where are you?). What I do know is that eccentrics generally require a lot more recovery time than isometrics. That was all I meant.

You are right Kibbokit that eccentrics are harder on the body, both from a neurological standpoint and from an inflammation/recovery standpoint. Eccentrics are generally considered to be the most neurologically intensive form of exercise (since you can use the most resistance), and also induce the most microtrauma (and therefore inflammation and DOMS) of any type of muscular contraction.

Now, whether someone as an individual can recover from frequent maximal eccentric contractions is something that can really only be known by trying it and finding out. But, even if you could the real question is "Is that type of training allowing for full recovery/supercompensation and/or is it allowing you to progress?" Remember that we don't get stronger in the gym, that is just the stimulus that tells our bodies that it needs to adapt, we must then give it enough time off of stress, rest, and nutrients to allow it to adapt.

Generally, the more intensive the stress we place on it, the longer it takes to recover; so the issue may be overreaching (a less serious form of overtraining) due to insufficient recovery. You could solve this by either:

-Improving your recovery modalities (better and/or more nutrients, more and more restful sleep, meditation, stretching, massage, etc...)

-decreasing the frequency at which you stress the body/workout (not my favorite strategy but can work to a degee)

-decreasing the stress you place on the body in an acute/single workout (switching from eccentrics like you have been doing to isometrics like Kibbokit is suggesting would be such a decrease)

I would always look to the first option first, as even if you had to employ one of the other strategies, optimizing that will always be beneficial and give you the best chances of progressing. Both of the other two strategies will increase your recovery as well, which one will work best for you on the other hand is again something that you will have to find out for yourself. This is also not meant to suggest that you shouldn't be training hard during your workouts, you should, but like most things in life you can overdo it and too much can be just as bad as too little.

Hope this helps in some way.

Thanks for the detailed response Keegan.

> -Improving your recovery modalities (better and/or more nutrients, more and more restful sleep, meditation, stretching, massage, etc...)

For the past 3 years or so I've been:

* Eating close to Paleo. Some meats tons of veggies. Some processed/unhealthy foods on the weekends.

* Meditating daily for 15 minutes.

* Massages + foam roll a few times a week.

* Sleep between 7 to 8 hours.

I think I'm maxing out in this department.

If I were to consider this: -decreasing the stress you place on the body in an acute/single workout (switching from eccentrics like you have been doing to isometrics like Kibbokit is suggesting would be such a decrease)

How would you put this into practice for this specific workout and how I've been doing it?

Again, thanks!

Nash, here's what I've been doing to improve my ABH.  Also worth adding is that I'm right there in 15 month territory struggling with this.

1. About mid-December 2014, I could do 2x60 secs without a problem, but when I went for the 3rd set, my form would break (legs would shake like I was being electrocuted, and back would descend against my will).

* I concluded that my upper back muscles, specifically the traps were not yet strong enough, and my legs were similarly not strong enough.  My legs, though, were weaker doing the ABH than my back, so I decided to counter the weakness in my legs first.

2. To do this, I still started with 2x60 secs but then used a hybrid ABH on the 3rd & 4th sets, which entailed keeping the legs under tension for 60 secs but the back for only 40 secs.

The first 40 secs, I did the normal ABH, but for the last 20 secs I moved my arms behind my head as shown in the attached picture.  This move kept my legs under tension for the full 60 secs, but gave my back a break after 40 secs.

3. After about 1 week, I moved it to 45 seconds, then 50 seconds, and I'm now at 4x60 secs with the 5th set somewhere at 1x50 secs.

It has really helped my legs get acclimated to being under tension for 60 secs, and I'm now working on strengthening my back.  

The end is very near for me.

Thanks Atticus. Nice strategy. I'm going to start incorporating all this in my workout tomorrow.

1. Make ABH the first exercise.

2. Figure out how many 60s I can do with good form then for the subsequent sets, do your method as soon as I feel like I'm breaking form.

3. Hope with time I wont' break form anymore.

We'll see.

I have nothing to add as I'm nowhere near where you are so have no advice but I just wanted to acknowledge your dedication and attention to making your goal happen. Very inspiring, with that attitude its only a matter of time, keep going

Update: Putting the arms by the side  when I'm about fail allowed me to move my upper body higher than ever. But it put tremendous stress on my glutes and legs. It felt like I lost leverage there and I had to push really hard to keep them off the ground. Whereas before it was my upper body that was giving out first and dropping below my set limit.

This feels almost like a new movement even with this small change so I'm going to give a few more tries to get used it before deciding how to move on.

Current modifications:

1. Start with SL/PE1 for workout B instead of FL.

2. At the point where my upper body starts to drop below allowed threshold put arms by the side to keep upper body at level. Work had on keeping feet above head.

Nash said:

2. At the point where my upper body starts to drop below allowed threshold put arms by the side to keep upper body at level. Work had on keeping feet above head.

I've been stuck on the last microcycle of the 30s mastery template with this for a couple of months. I can't get passed 4x24s with good ROM, without shaking like a leaf. I'll definitely give this a try, hopefully it's going to be the game changer for me !

Thanks for sharing your journey through the ABH hell, and good luck to you

Quick update: using Atticus' has brought to my attention that I have a lot of weakness in my legs that I didn't know of. Using his same method, I've already made progress on keeping them up longer than before in only 3 workouts. I'm going to stick to this and have a bigger update next week.

Thanks Atticus!

So much ABH pain shared by so many. Never before have so many GST enthusiasts been stifled so completely across the globe lol. My progression has gone like this:

12 weeks with max ROM which looked about like the middle picture on the SL/PE1 page, but I got through the macrocycle ready to push harder.

4 weeks pushing forward with better ROM. Discovered the zombie progressions and played around with them, ultimately deciding that a straddle version of the regular movement best suited me as the others barely seemed like effort.

Weeks 5-8 were maaaaad progress. Felt super strong on every set, and while doing them in the mirror for the first time was pleasantly surprised to see that my ROM had increased substantially.

Weeks 9-12 were SUPER FAILURE. Could only hit one or two max sets in each workout. The rest were split up into as many sets as I needed to put in the required volume for each workout. Felt increasingly weak throughout every set. Nevertheless, my ROM continued to improve.

Much to my dismay, around week 10 I discovered that my counting was off, so most of my sets of every timed exercise were very likely shorter than I had accounted for. Will always use a stopwatch from this point going forward.

The plan now is to start back at week one, and hopefully the decrease in volume with the strength and ROM i've gained in the past 6 months will enable me to achieve mastery at the end of the microcycle. However, if things start to go awry again I believe I will employ the 'Atticus Progressions' as my recourse.

Shoes Magoo said:

Will always use a stopwatch from this point going forward.

I use Repeat Timer Pro on my iPhone. You can set a timer to repeat numerous times, and you can also have a secondary rest interval. I'm pretty satisfied with it. 

A heads up for those who haven't seen it yet:

Coach Sommer said:

No need.  My team and I have spent quite a bit of time figuring out why some adults have such a terrible time with ABH and ABR.  It took a lot of time and effort, but I have it all figured out now.

 

As a consequence, I have completely restructured the SL preparatory element progressions and the new series will be available to you in your foundation course(s) within the next few days.   

 

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

 

p.s.  Don't thank me until after you have worked thru the new series; the first three preparatory elements in particular are brutally effective with the primary emphasis on BRUTAL.

NoHiddenCosts said:

 

A heads up for those who haven't seen it yet:

 

 

from: https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/19360-beautiful-site-redesign-but-i-do-have-one-request-that-will-make-everyones-life-easier/

 

EVERYONE has seen it and is hitting refresh on the SL progression page every 0.5 seconds.

Awesome! psyched to see what you have put together coach!

Damn it all, and I just finished ABH.