180 pound gymnastics?

Hi everyone, this is my first post at this forum, and i'd like to wish everyone hello for a start

Having watched a few gymnastics routines on youtube, i'd was lured by the strength, grace and balance of gymnasts that inspired me to attempt to achieve a fraction of such excellence. After coming across a couple of articles by Coach Sommer on gymnastics, i'd become particularly interested in utilizing gymnastics methods to gain strength; personally i am a sprint canoeist and strength and power are vital components in this sport. I've gotten Building the Gymnastics Body by Coach Sommer and indeed, the first few flips had already allowed me to gleam hitherto unknown knowledge in building strength, gymnastics style.

So i have embarked on my journey to acquire the gymnastic prowess just 2 weeks ago and so far i have made some progress in my endeavors. However, what bothers me greatly is my weight; i do understand that gymnastics demand a fantastic strength to weight ratio and to be honest, mine is absolutely pathetic. I weigh in at 81kg while being 175 cm tall; not exactly ideal at any rate. Having built some strength through traditional weightlifting exercises that are a staple of canoeing training; i have accumulated slightly above average strength at best. Being able to bench press/clean my slightly more than my body weight and having a pull-ups maximum number of reps at 16. I've turned to gymnastics training in hope of a better way to build strength without gaining excessive mass as such.

Here's my current routine at the moment:

Frog Stands x 3 sets of 20s

Wall handstands x 3 sets of 1:30 min or Wall handstand walks x 3 sets of 1 min

Isometric chin-up holds at the top x 3 sets of 30s

Wall handstand pushups x 4 sets of 6 reps

L-sit PB low x 3 sets of 30s

Rest time ranges from 60 - 90s between sets.

So far i can only hold a 5s free handstand and a 10+ s L-sit at best. I have little knowledge in planning gymnastic training programs and hence wish that all the experienced members here can shower me with precious guidance for proper progression. Thanks alot in advance!

Rest 3-4 minutes between sets if you're doing strength work.

Work full ROM pullups instead of isometric holds.

run and cut weight with diet!

(I'm about 175cm too but 64kilos and quite muscular)

Thanks for the replies; ive been trying isometric holds for pullups because regular pullups have given me next to zero progress after quite some time at it. And yep, i've been trying to run at least 3x a week to lose weight while watching carb intake.

How many pull ups can you do? - Simply move to a harder progression, than ordinary pull ups: L-sit, Wide grip, Wide grip behind, Wide Grip L-sit, One arm assisted Chin, One arm chin, one arm pull up.

There's that, and weighted training. I stalled out around 18 until I started training for weighted pullups. I wrote a long post about this, and the end result was that after 4 months I was doing 3 sets of 15 pullups with 45 lbs, and I had also gone from 192 lbs to 211 lbs. My BW only max went up to 24 without ever training them, and after a few weeks of working them it was 31 or 32, I can't remember anymore. Part of what you need the advanced pullups for in gymnastics is to build your elbow joints(wide grip L and wide grip behind the neck) and to build the neuromuscular patterns necessary for more advanced work later on, like L muscleups. The harder progressions in pullups really don't change the "weight" of the pullup very much, at least it certainly doesn't feel like it to me, so throwing in some weighted work will help on that front.

I stalled out around 18 until I started training for weighted pullups. I wrote a long post about this, and the end result was that after 4 months I was doing 3 sets of 15 pullups with 45 lbs, and I had also gone from 192 lbs to 211 lbs.

My personal preference for increasing pullup strength is to focus on OAC with a static hold included at the top of the movement. This approach allowed me to increase a multi-years long weighted pullup plateau of bodyweight + 55lbs (at a bodyweight of 135lbs) to a new PR of bodyweight + 75lbs; and all without performing a single weighted pullup or indeed any pullup repetitions over 3 reps.

Incidentally, at the same time on a whim I demonstrated 19 pullups for my younger students; again without having performed any pullups over 3 reps for the several months subsequent to that endurance effort. In short, in my opinion focusing on OAC is the most effective means of increasing both your weighted and endurance pullup strength.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Interesting.

That doesn't surprise me OAC is pretty hardcore For the development of gymnastics skills I'd say the OAC work is critical, no amount of weighted pullups with any weight is going to put the same strain on the elbows or shoulders.

Superior strength is always the key to performance. Of course it has to be developed into athletic ability, but the strength work still works the motor groups responsible for endurance performance. Endurance is just a build-up of mitochondria, it doesn't require restructuring of the muscle fibers themselves, so it shouldn't surprise anyone here that something like OAC work would improve the strength of the muscles to the point where performance increases are seen across all rep ranges.

And that is why Steven Low can do 40 BW dips after doing a weighted BW dip. BW dips are so much easier in comparison because they require a fraction of the strength of his max weighted dip.

I prefer this method for any endurance challenge.