How long to spend on Foundation courses?

[Ankush Shah]

Hi, I am considering purchasing the Starter pack and the stretching series. 

I am wondering how long I need to allocate to each session?

I know that stretching is 45 mins each session, up to 3 times a week, but how long is the typical foundation 1 /2 session and how long is a typical handstand 1 session?

 

Thanks

 

Remi

[Chris Garay]

Hi Remi,

 

Great to hear you're interested. The courses are great and contain some of the best GST programming out there. A typical Foundation Series workout lasts anywhere from 30-60 minutes depending on how you split up your training week. Handstand is probably a bit shorter, again depending on how you choose to format your training.

 

It all becomes much clearer once you purchase the courses as well. Keep us updated!

 

Best,

Chris

[Jon Douglas]

I do a comprehensive warmup including some sequences from within the course (for example, the 'leg series' consisting of most of the SLS elements from F1 and 2, the wrist series from HS, and a hanging leg raise sequence). I budget an hour's trip to the gym and am usually out a bit earlier than that.

[Benjamin Nutt]

Handstand takes me 30-40 minutes. Foundation takes me around 10-15 minutes per element. I warm up for each element with 1-2 earlier progressions and then I do my main sets. You might be a little different, depending on how you warm up and your level of recovery.

[Calisthenics Novice]

Is there any other way of doing the foundation courses other than buying them? I'm asking because I want to get involved in this kind of stuff, but I can't buy anything, due to restrictions.

[Benjamin Nutt]

Is there any other way of doing the foundation courses other than buying them? I'm asking because I want to get involved in this kind of stuff, but I can't buy anything, due to restrictions.

All GB courses require payment for access. There are other bodyweight training systems and resources out there, but:

• A lot of them will also cost money, whether it's a book or a different online program or what.
• The GB courses are the most comprehensive that I've seen. Other programs tend to emphasize purely strength and hypertrophy without much consideration for things like mobility and connective tissue prep.

You could make your own program, but in the words of Dan John, "he who has himself for a coach, has an idiot for a coach." There are people out there who have achieved the goals you want to achieve, or coached people to get there, and I feel it's worthwhile to listen to them!

 

Using myself as an example, I've used other BW training programs with moderate success, but after switching to the GB curriculum I realized I had basically been fooling myself. My strength level was actually pretty low, my form was not great, and I had no focus on mobility. I spent many years messing around unnecessarily. I wish I had started the Foundation courses years ago when they were originally released because they've been huge for me in the past 6 months.