Where do i start?

[Stephen Eagles]

Hi guys, I’m looking to get started in gymnastics and have absolutely zero experience. I never thought that I would be interested in gymnastics, infact a couple of years I would’ve told you, you were crazy to think that it’d be something that I’d be interested in. However as you mature & your perceptions change, I’m really excited to introduce it into my life & am excited to see what my body & mind are capable of.
I’ll be honest in saying that I’ve come across gymnastics through Ido Portal, who’s movement interview in London I came across on youtube & was completely inspired. So I have to give him full credit for the path that he has led me on. However I did research his program and multiple reviews and have concluded that he’s done all he can do for me personally, which was to inspire me. I think gymnasticbodies is far better suited to my needs and my lifestyle to take me forward.

 

So I was thinking of starting with the Foundation Level one course, but I’m also really interested in the hand stand series, I think that must be one of my goals in gymnastics, to have that balance and strength to perform handstands.
Now, I saw that I could purchase both the Foundation course & Handstand series one in a combo deal, but I’m concerned it may confuse me having two and they may interfere with each other or I may not have the time to do both?

My lifestyle is = I started weights training program at the gym around 6 weeks ago and train 3 days per week (Mon, Wed & Fri). So my plan would be to introduce gymnastics on my off days, Tuesdays, Thursdays and maybe one day on the weekend?

Where should I start guys, sorry for rambling.

Stephen

[Matic Balantic]

I think F1 + H1 is a perfect combination. I would warn you though, weight training plus foundation (especially if you are a begginer) can be quite a lot. It often happens that people create this big plans and set big goals which they are not then able to achieve simply because they are doing too many things at once, try to change too many things at once. In my opinion it is better to decide for one thing and do it consistently for one year. You can achieve a lot in one year if your workouts are of good quality and you are doing them consistently. For that, you need to be well rested and recovered. If you really like weights, maybe you could add some squats beside GST, but other than that ...

Just a food for thought

 

 

[Travis Widmann]

Having both Foundation and Handstand courses should not confuse you and will not interfere with one enother. Quite the opposite, they are designed to be worked together. Each piece of the GB curriculum is one aspect of an entire fabric. Check this post out: 

That is a bit to chew on when you're just starting out. That's why they have the Starter Pack, so you can sink your teeth into the basics. Time is another thing, but H1 doesn't require very much time in the beginning elements, which are mostly mobility work. 10-20 minutes.

I don't think putting GST on your off days is a good idea because that would make them on days, and suddenly you have no off days left and you're overtraining. When you get into the swing of it, Foundation is hard work. So what do you want to focus on? Like Matic said, trying to accomplish both is not impossible, but complicated and hard to follow through.

[Stephen Eagles]

Ok so we've established that F1 + H1 are a good combo, that's great. 
Next is my weight training, which i didn't realise would come down to "one or the other". 
I've started a kinobody 3 day program which i don't know if anybody's familiar with but it's based on reverse pyramid training & building strength. I do that to improve the aesthetics of my body & thought it seemed perfect because i've started to see my strength gains growing. I then thought i could implement F1+G1 twice - three times per week on my off days but... Now i don't know what to do. I could reduce my weight training to 2 days per week?

EDIT: Also, it says the program can be done at home, but i don't have any equipment & aren't there ropes involved too?

Edited March 31, 2016 by Stephen Eagles

[Scott Malin]

Rope climbing won't come until much much later in Foundation Four. With equipment it comes down to how sophisticated you want to be. You can build out stall bars and a full workout station but on the other end simply using a bench or a chair and some basic weights work just as well. The Foundation One row variations are much preferred on rings but just like anything else it can be substituted if needed.

Regarding mixing programs, look at it this way. Foundation One and Handstand One are basic GST but even more importantly they're courses that fix major imbalances in the body for both strength and mobility. Fixing these first will significantly improve your success at weight training because you've addressed imbalances between right and left and strengthened joints and connective tissue. That allows strength to come more effortlessly and with much less chance of injury.

[Stephen Eagles]

Ok I'm kind of glad ropes don't come into it until later, because that'll give me time to develop the basics at home first. 

For home use, what would you advise is the most essential piece of equipment (I know you can make do but) because I am serious about this.

And that's great to hear about fixing muscle imbalances which will improve my strength training. It's just I've always been a skinny guy and self conscious about my weight and I don't want to give up weight training as I've found a program that actually works it seems.

I dunno  

I'm gonna buy the Foundation one and hand stand one because im really serious about making the commitment, I just need to be able to make it work with my other goal which is to build muscle

thanks for your time by the way too