Considering F1, have a few questions

Greetings,

I am considering starting with F1, but I have a few important questions. I understand it is a bit long, however it is very important for me to have this cleared out if I am to take the GST journey. If you are to answer, please be thorough and thanks in advance.

I am 1.83m (6 foot), 85kg (187 pounds), athletic, with no extra weight.

I exerice on a regular basis:

• 5km (3 miles) forefoot running on steep route for cardio
• bodyweight routine for strength, mostly pull-ups, push-ups, dips, reverse rows, frog-stand and jackknife sit-ups
• martial arts

(I do not do lower body strength because forefoot running with steep climbs puts great stress on leg muscles, especially the calfes).

I am considering GST as an alternative to my bodyweight strength training, I read in many places that it is exceptionally effective for strength and also effective time-wise (i.e. short routines with good results).

If I am to go down the GST route I will begin with F1 and gradually advance from that point (very interested in rings). This will require giving up on the current bodyweight routine (also due to time constaints), and that raises the first of my question:

1. Does F1 focus enough on upper body strength, and will switching to F1 not cause me to loose upper body strength?
2. Assuming I will be doing 3 or 4 times a week routine, how long does the daily training take?
3. Which equipment does it require? (I am aware that it is available on the course FAQ, however I would like to know that prior to purchasing the course).
4. I dislike gyms in general and prefer exercising outside with some minimal equipment. Will advancing in GST, beyond the foundation courses, eventually allow me to train in this fashion?
5. Is GST even suitable for someone with the goal of gaining strength and balance for the sake of martial arts?

Thank you for your time.

1. Foundation focuses enough on upper body strenght. Will you lose some strenght it deppends. Foundation works on your mobility and your strenght so every progression has both mobility and strenght exercises and to pass every progression you will need to master both of those. Most of adults who start foundation have problems with mobility and that is what holds them down to progress in strenght.

2. Foundation works toward 7 elements (Front lever, straddle planche, side lever, manna, hollow body press, rope climb and single leg squat), you can chose to train all those 7 elements per day or you can saparate those 7 and train one day 4 of it and other 3. If you chose to train all 7 at once it shouldnt take longer then 90 minutes. I train 4 elements one day and 3 other day and takes around 45 minutes to finish.

3. Stall bars, paralel bars, rings, some easy weights, and pommel horse. Paralel bars can be replaced with chairs and pommel horse with normal desk.

4. Some exercises you can do without any equipment and some not. I train at home or at gym when i need stall bars and table and when i dont need those i train in park.

5. Im not sure about that so it would be better for somebody else to answer.

dean said:

1. Does F1 focus enough on upper body strength, and will switching to F1 not cause me to loose upper body strength?
2. Assuming I will be doing 3 or 4 times a week routine, how long does the daily training take?
3. Which equipment does it require? (I am aware that it is available on the course FAQ, however I would like to know that prior to purchasing the course).
4. I dislike gyms in general and prefer exercising outside with some minimal equipment. Will advancing in GST, beyond the foundation courses, eventually allow me to train in this fashion?
5. Is GST even suitable for someone with the goal of gaining strength and balance for the sake of martial arts?

Thank you for your time.

1. Depending on your mobility, you may lose some shortterm strength.  The way the program works is as follows: each exercise has a certain goal in terms of reps and sets.  If you can complete that standard, you move onto the next progression.  That said, each exercise also has a mobility aspect that you need to pass.  If you cannot, you don't move up.  As such, if you have serious mobility issues, your strength may plateau and even fall until your mobility catches up.  If you have no such restrictions, you will quickly reach a point where the exercises challenge you and you will build strength.

2. When I started, doing the full seven exercises took me about 90min, and the half-day splits took about 40-45min.  As I've learned the system and exercises, and gained strength and endurance, I have lowered my times by almost half.  I do the half-days in 25min and the full seven in 40-50min.  Note that time can also change, as some mobility elements take 60sec holds while others take 10sec total, for instance, so there's always some variables.

3. In a perfect world, for the full Foundation 1-4 you would need rings, a pull up bar, parallel bars, stall bars, free weights, a weighted bar, a pommel horse and a glute-ham bench.  At some point you will also need a climbing rope.  Other items like paralletes or matts are nice but strictly speaking not necessary.  Many substitutions can be easily found.  Chairs as parallel bars, stools or armless chairs as the pommel horse, etc.  The hardest thing to substitute is likely the stall bars.  Some people build their own.  Many try to find a ladder at a playground, as that is fairly similar.  I've also seen someone secure a ladder against a heavy object, using the rungs as bars.  Most likely you won't need everything every workout, especially at first.

4. I too dislike the gym.  I exercise in my basement apartment, and in the summer I will be outside as much as possible.  If you have a spot to hang some rings and ideally a stall bar outside, you can do 95% of the exercises, maybe even 100%.  I currently experience no issues or shortcomings by avoiding the gym, and I've been training for 10 months or so.

5. As a former competitive martial artists and current martial arts instructor, I can say it helps tremendously.  Training the Single Leg Squat elements improves knee and ankle mobility, which directly helps balance.  If you do a lot of heavy kicking, as I have, your ankles can become tight from all the impacts, and these last ten months have really improved this area.  The pulling elements in GST will help balance out the large number of pushups done in most martial arts classes.  Focusing on the core helps virtually everything; one example, I can stand taller while kicking because my core keeps me up, not letting me flop.  Finally, GST can help with ab compression, which again helps with kicking and grappling, if you do that.

I had an excellent instructor when I began training, and he pushed me both physically and technically.  He gave me a very good base, but I still wish I had the Foundation program when I started.  I'd be so much further ahead.  You can learn technique at any time, but having that firm physical foundation makes it so much easier, not to mention safer.  If you have any specific goals or concerns relating to martial arts and physical training, I'd be happy to help.

dean said:

 

1. Does F1 focus enough on upper body strength, and will switching to F1 not cause me to loose upper body strength?
2. Assuming I will be doing 3 or 4 times a week routine, how long does the daily training take?
3. Which equipment does it require? (I am aware that it is available on the course FAQ, however I would like to know that prior to purchasing the course).
4. I dislike gyms in general and prefer exercising outside with some minimal equipment. Will advancing in GST, beyond the foundation courses, eventually allow me to train in this fashion?
5. Is GST even suitable for someone with the goal of gaining strength and balance for the sake of martial arts?

1. F1 focuses on upper body mobility, work capacity and strength. Unless you're already tremendously strong, you should not expect to lose an appreciable amount of strength in the short term. 
2. No more than an hour, sometimes significantly less, depending on how much volume you're doing in each exercise and which exercise you're doing.
3. Stall bars, some light weights, and rings are very useful to have - there are also a number of miscellaneous items . It's not a minimalist equipment program, but it's fairly easy to figure out substitutes or replacements for most of the equipment used in the course. People on the forum are very helpful at coming up with suggestions, too. 
4. Yes. In fact, a lot of elements in F1 are amenable to being trained outside. You might do something like a 4-day split where on Monday and Thursday you work outside, doing elements that require little/no equipment, and then Tuesday/Friday go to a gym and do the exercises that require a bit more equipment. 
5. I am not a martial artist, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I think you'll have a significant advantage over people who follow more traditional strength programs. 

First of all, gentlemen... wow. I have been to a lot of forums, many associated with professional topics, and I am amazed by your replies. Each of you wrote a thorough, comprehensive and to-the-point reply, thank you very much.

I have read everything you wrote, and I am convinced that GST will be the right choice. I will have additional talk with my martial arts instructor and once I figure out the equipment issue, I will get started.

Again, thanks a lot for your advice.

I just bought the F1 course today and I tested all 7 elements. Now I'm very active, I do BJJ, Soccer, Cross Country and workout around 2-4 times a week. I thought that I could handle the PE1's easy and boy was I wrong. (although I'm starting on either Week 5 or Week 9 depedning on how hard the are). And thanks to the mobility drills, jus after today's workout, my body feels thr best it has ever been. I can't wait to see the long term results. Dean, I highly recommend that you buy the courses and get started, you will not regret it, at all.

We will probably buy the F1-4 and H1&2 by tonight. Most definitely F1 and H1. Can't wait! My son is going to love this

On a side note, is it necessary to get S courses for Foundation and Handstand progress? Or do F&H develop whatever mobility is needed for their specific elements?

GenericGymnast said:

We will probably buy the F1-4 and H1&2 by tonight. Most definitely F1 and H1. Can't wait! My son is going to love this

 

On a side note, is it necessary to get S courses for Foundation and Handstand progress? Or do F&H develop whatever mobility is needed for their specific elements?

Lucky, I wish I had enough money to buy the amount that you're buying. Stretch would be a welcome edition, but it certainly isn't required by any means, just highly recommended. While you're at it, might as well buy thi rings course just so you can gawk at what you'll be able to do in a couple years.

If there's a will, there's a way

oh thanks for the tip about stretch. Might get it for his birthday/christmas. If you want help you could pm me and I might be able to tell you (non course specific) stuff, like maybe progressions and things that help. for example, my son started straddle ups [they're the dreaded MN/PE2 I'm guessing?], and he came up with some cool exercises that helped him.