Hi guys!

Im new to the community and im hoping for some direction on purchasing some courses to help me further my progress.

 

I started doing gymnastic stuff about 14 months ago with my family friend. He is a competitive gymnast who specialises on the still rings. I took an interest on the rings because lifting weights is really, quite boring and was never my thing. I lifted weights for maybe 6 months to help me through rehab after a MASSIVE motorbike accident which left me with the news id never walk again. Well i dont quit and i push to the limits so its been 25 months since the accident and i can now run as of a month ago.

 

He gave me some basic things to work on the rings (no floor stuff really) like support hold, front and back levers. On the floor he got me doing handstands on the walls starting with walking handstands to the wall. ATM i can straddle front lever pretty well, cant for the life of me back lever yet (hurts the lower back due to weaknesses in the core and lower back muscles/legs) which is really frustrating as its meant to be easier he reckons. So i started doing deadlifts, hyperextentions and handstand leg raises to help those muscle groups get stronger. I broke down movements to help me with getting my levers and handstands better (im a PT by trade but also a mechanical engineer so i applied my engineering side to human movements) and using the same ideas, ive started with planche progressions and iron cross holds too. I cant Full iron cross, but i can do a full cross with support close to the elbow. Really pushes the tendons to its limits for the moment. With the planche, i use modified push ups to help with shoulder strength and getting used to protraction the shoulders. I can tuck planche and currently working to getting my hips higher and back straight. 

 

My question now is, i took the quick overview test thingy to see where my skills were up to and i found that my core strength is severely lacking (held the hollow back for only 1 set of 60 seconds) and my mobility is incredibly subpar. I was suggested by the automatic system to go for foundations 1 but i feel that i may be a lil advanced for it strength wise but the mobility would def help. So do I find my mobility stuff on my own and go with a higher level course or stick with the first one?

 

Thanks guys!

 

ps. Im also working on handstand push ups on the rings (cant get enough of training on the rings!)

 

Oh and i can also L sit on the rings or parallel bars etc anywhere except on the floor

Hi Bullet82,

 

Your mobility is lacking and you should focus on improving this.  Intergrated mobility should be trained alongside the corresponding strength elements and one should only move forwards when mastery can be demonstrated in both.  You'll need to dial back on your core strength training and improve your mobility, but feel free to play with more advanced movements outside of your main foundation workout (just don't over do it).

 

The various foundation skills all progress indepently. So you may be deep into some skills and stuck for a while in the first or second progression on others. This is normal for most trainees, and the focused work on your weaknesses will pay major dividends fairly quickly.

Thanks a lot guys. I went ahead and purchased the Foundation 1 course and gave it a go. While it felt rather easy compared to what im used to, i did wake up today very sore in my middle and lower back core muscles. Those are the ones that are definitely lagging behind as they are used quite extensively on the movements i cant do yet, like the back lever haha

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the work out and will doing it 5 days a week and build up to mastery so i can progress along and let my body catch up to the stronger parts.

 

Thanks