Stretch Courses

I find it difficult to fit all the stretch series in during a week as doing it after training makes my workouts far too long and I've ended up missing Middle & Front Split repeatedly for 3 weeks due to feeling depressed at the moment for stuff going on in my family but also laziness on my part really being totally honest with myself...  

This isn't good enough so I am going to start getting motivated again and designate a whole day for stretching every week.  I plan to do them all one after another for 2hrs after some skill work: floor circles, aerial progressions, floor kips, BHSpring progs etc. no longer than 30min with warm up.

If I was to perform them all one after another one day a week, which order should I do them in?

I was gonna do :

Front Split

Bridge

Middle Split

because I don't have the best motivation atm for front split and I can almost do full front split anyway and I can't really see what it's for specifically: bridge will help limbers, back handsprings etc, middle split will help straddle press handstands, sPL, straddle L etc.  

Bridge I love doing and then middle split I get the forward bend after the backbending of bridge.

Is it a good idea to do them all one after another - any reason why not?

What's front split for in terms of exercises?  I think it will help me want to do it lol.

Is this order ok?

Thanks,

David

This is not the best idea--- too much overlap and sheer volume. Better to run 2-3x a week. By the time you repeat a stretch session you'll have had a week to stiffen back up.

If it helps I perform the stretch sessions after my handstand sessions, because like you after foundation sessions I am pushed for time. I have found this work fine.

David Birchall said:

I find it difficult to fit all the stretch series in during a week as doing it after training makes my workouts far too long 

With F, H, and S, a workout can take up to two hours, if you're on high volume stuff in both F and H. If you do all three stretch series, it's 2 hr 15 min at a minimum. If training for two hours isn't your cup of tea, as I'm inferring from above, then doing all three stretch courses sounds setting yourself up for failure and frustration. This in addition to everything Jon said. 

As for the front split course, it's for quads, hip flexors, hamstrings, calves, and ankles. I had a 'front split' when I started, but now I actually have a front split with square hips on my right side, and fairly close on my left side. It'll help that aerial you're working towards too.

Jon Douglas said:

This is not the best idea--- too much overlap and sheer volume. Better to run 2-3x a week. By the time you repeat a stretch session you'll have had a week to stiffen back up. If it helps I perform the stretch sessions after my handstand sessions, because like you after foundation sessions I am pushed for time. I have found this work fine.

Thanks for the input - so are you saying do each stretch course more than once a week?  I thought the maximum was only once per week per stretch module?

I don't mind stretching for 3 hours if I allocate time for it at the weekend - it's the doing it through the week that gets me - finish training F/HS and other stuff and I need to get a shower - adding stretch means I don't leave the gym till like 11 at night and then I have to eat and get to sleep to wake up again the next day.

I'm quitting my job soon to go be a gymnastics coach, do my first course at the end of this month: then I can use the local gymnastics club during the day as it doesn't open till four, train during the day and coach at evenings & weekends... Much less money than my software job but man that sounds like a decent set up where I'll be happier and healthier

I think what Jon means is not to repeat the individual stretch courses more than once a week, but split up the three courses throughout the week. Coach himself has advised against performing the front and middle split courses in the same session. Like Jon said, too much volume and overlap. If you really want to you can probably pair the bridge course with one of the others, front split might be the best complement. 

As for front split, even if you have one, I imagine that the rule in Foundation applies here as well: it's not just the name of the end product that matters. It's about a balanced and comprehensive program. Nothing is redundant otherwise it would be ejected. Ankle conditioning for instance is about a lot more than just a front split. And you can't see the purpose, really? I refer you to the Manna and pretty much its entire list of progressions, also press handstands, etc.

I definitely meant doing 2-3 courses per week, not doing them multiple times

got it - I'm going to try moving my workouts to the morning and just get up earlier, shut up and get it done, 3x a week  cheers