Bringing it Together (Jon's Foundation 2.0)

Thanks for the clarification. That makes sense. 

I feel someone should say this:

Jon "the extraordinaire" evolved his programming numbers AFTER going to seminar(s) and what amounts to (I'm sure) much personal experimentation in the pursue of excellence and ownership of each step. Not before paying his Mastery dues. 

It's way TOO easy, and (worse) misleading to compare yourself to others and feel small or underperforming... when the REALITY is that each of our "progress" is 200% unique to our training history, potential capabilities, dedication, mindset and individual circumstances.

It is (and should be) inspiring and motivating to learn from his results and even crank up some personal jokes. 

Hey, not an excuse to be discouraged. There, I said it. Let's get to work!

I won't dwell on this too much, but seminars change everything and attending oneis priority if you are serious about GST.

Jon, I can wait until (fantasy) Coach molds my back into a beautiful Marzipan figure and beyond. 5 weeks count-down!

23 hours ago, Jon Douglas said:

As i mentioned longer sets of some elements are particularly sweet; 50 scap shrugs in pl warmup is doin me good and I intend to put 50 hinge rows alongside it. Zach has written some on this re hll and body lever work too

Jon, I loved reading this thread, but I've got two questions:

1. The 200% mastery. Is that a 200% set of the movement in your current progression (ie. if you're on F7 it's your F7 movement, but you're essentially starting them off with adding two extra sets with no break as warm-up) or is it a 200% set of an exercise from a previous level?

2. I'm really curious about what benefits you've experienced warming up with 50 reps of scap shrugs. You've mentioned this several times, so it must be significant.

Anyways, this was a great thread. It's nice to read about your great progress!

Hi Jason,

1) Here's the example from my planche work, as they are currently in F1. I noticed that my traps kicked in slightly differently on each side, so i decided to spend a cycle or two nailing in one arm planks. I have one more week and am confident they will look pretty when i show mastery next week.

So my planche progressions last week were;

- 50 x scap shrugs, 10r swivel hips (or more if i feel tight)

- 2 min plank, 5r im (i think its strad mod rev hyper IIRC)

- 4 x ( 30s one arm plank, 5r strad donkey kicks)

After deload, i may drop the planks (i prefer the scap shrugs for activation personally ). Regardless i will require 1x 60s in correct one arm plank each side before checkin my pl lean status. Only if i pass both of those will i go onto elevated pl leans (which will in turn require a perfect 60s pl lean). So far this hasn't been an issue as i have kept rest to minimal.

I stress that this is not required. I am specifically going back to look for more. Whilst i don't thinkit would hurt , this may be overprepping for people who don't hit plateaus. I simply find that i need a little bit more from a given stage to reach the next step and this approach gives me a straightforward way to do it whilst also letting me keep some volume, which is a lovely thing as the elements get harder and the reps drop.

2) From day one my serratus became substantially more defined. I also credit this partly with being able to achieve nice protraction in handstands. Just seemed to give it the wakeup call and activation it required to kick in and gain strength from normal training. Also now it (they?) are clearly visible on me without any posing or prancin on my part, which is kinda cool

Jon,

So you stay within an element to completion then move on to the next element?

I was considering doing the warm ups together then doing the workout. 

22 hours ago, Jon Douglas said:

I won't dwell on this too much, but seminars change everything and attending oneis priority if you are serious about GST.

I've also experienced this! Save up to a seminar! It speeds up your progression and  you'll have the time of your life and make great training friends!

21 hours ago, Kevin Herring said:

Jon,

So you stay within an element to completion then move on to the next element?

I was considering doing the warm ups together then doing the workout. 

I've done both before, but right now i want it this. Find it keeps me movin faster and eliminates a half hour warmup before training 

On ‎4‎/‎17‎/‎2016 at 3:23 AM, Jon Douglas said:

Doubled down on mobility. I perform a whole-body ROM limber in every session, 5-10r of all HBP ims, etc. I also run J-curls for 10 reps before each session, easy at 40-60kg, just feels like a stretch. Takes about 10 minutes if you are motivated.

Would you mind being a bit more specific?  I think I know where your going but just want to be sure.  Mobility has become an immediate priority and I've been experimenting a bit on the side.  Great timing on this post.

 I'm doing a whole body limber but it's not GB. 

Thanks for the insight.

Well, i start standing with arm circles, German arm swings, some twisting variation. 

Then down onto matt for wrist stretches, then all HBP ims for 5-10reps, table rocks, supine shoulder extension, then s2s squats, 2 bounce/2pike, front split, middle split, seated pancake.

As sls warmup I do 10r Hawaiian squats (long since passed but i love the stretch) and 10r of all sls ims before getting to work.

I'm good to do a set of lat flyes and jefferson curls after that,  and that's all I need. I just work head to toe.Find what works for you, your needs may be slightly different to mine

I like the idea of doing a previous element for double the reps. It's like having more money in the bank than you need.

9 hours ago, Jon Douglas said:

I'm good to do a set of lat flyes and jefferson curls after that,  and that's all I need. I just work head to toe.Find what works for you, your needs may be slightly different to mine

Also, keep in mind your work capacity is not probably at Jon's level.  If you're just starting out, Jon's warmup may completely exhaust you.  Follow the program, and as you get more advanced you can get more creative.  The complete iM warmups are great, though, in my opinion. 

Well, a general limber shouldn't unless someone is REALLY tight, but upping reps may not come straight off the bat. 

Right now volume in my workouts is relatively low whilst my overall weekly volume is medium. Something like every 10 hours I have a workout of some kind. Counterintuitively to me (until i wrote this sentence), working at medium intensity for volume is having more rapid effects, especially on mobility and . As I've written before Coach emphasised volume on basics at seminars, no surprise to anyone doing F1  

I find it incredible that you can do F7 in less than an hour. You must really tear through that sucker and, I'm guessing you don't have a lot of 60 rep/seconds movements in there? Man, I would love to see one of your training sessions!

25 minutes ago, Randeep Walia said:

I find it incredible that you can do F7 in less than an hour. You must really tear through that sucker and, I'm guessing you don't have a lot of 60 rep/seconds movements in there? Man, I would love to see one of your training sessions!

I don't; i do a 3 day split just now I have a few demands on me that require me to watch my recovery, so i started low and figured that as long as everything is improving- fast- there is no real reason to add more right now.

I do get after my training and learn my lessons but by no means am doing anything extraordinary here  simply have fixed enough issues and have enough basis to do it right. Guys like Zach, Ale and Leo have been doing this for years

Volume is nice but as work capacity / endurance are not the focus of foundation level training, it is more important to dial in on what gives you the most progress sustainably.

Previously Coach has written about introducing the odd F7 day, for example 1x a week, at F2 level, increasing towards doing entirely F7 workouts ub F3-F4 as work capacity and rings prep comes to the fore. That suits me fine, especially as the reps drop with increasing difficulty of progressions.

9 minutes ago, Jon Douglas said:

it is more important to dial in on what gives you the most progress sustainably.

Previously Coach has written about introducing the odd F7 day, for example 1x a week, at F2 level, increasing towards doing entirely F7 workouts ub F3-F4 as work capacity and rings prep comes to the fore

Jon, you are sharing so much useful information with us. Really appreciate  it!

I am also doing the 3-day split now, after about ~4 or 6 months of F7, 3x/week in my first year (I can't remember exactly as year one is somewhat of a blur with such an immense learning curve). I found a lot of fitness benefit in that F7 schedule, and I definitely felt on the border of my recovery edge; but now warm ups feel like a warm up (yesterday was 3 mile run, some previous elements, and progressive mobility, and it didn't feel like a "training" session.) Regarding the F7, I timed it quite often (39 - 55 minutes usually), often with 4 elements in bloc3.  It was a Rollercoaster.

Now with 3-day split, I see a greater focus on each element and their expectation. I also feel more focused, with a more productive, and progressive, warm-up, with more time and energy to play with other F1 elements, after the session as well. I also see more focused or purposed, limbering with this schedule. I like them both for very different reasons and I am happy to see your perspective on the big picture as well as a glimpse of what is expected from Coach. 

Didn't mean to write that much. Haha. I initially was responding to say thanks. 

Thanks for the informative post Jon.

I too am 'rebooting' my F1 training. I sadly put it aside around 12 months ago to pursue other physical training requirements (that were essential and left little space for any GST). Now this is over and I can be more selective with my training, I have recommenced F1 from the beginning - and again, some of the previously mastered elements are humbling.

I can completely agree with your points on mobility, mobility, mobility. After my hiatus, getting back into (and nearly focusing purely on) mobility is doing wonders for my body. I am going to run a similar set-up to yours, with a 4 day split (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat), H1/H2 on Mon/Wed, Tumbling on Sat or Sun, and running training on Tue/Thu (a personal thing).

Also the high rep comments ring true for me. Another point to consider is the 'greasing the groove' concept. Over the last four months I would complete three sets of 20 cadence push-ups every evening, not monitoring rest intervals, just doing them when I was ready. Nothing overly taxing, however it worked wonders for when I was required to complete hundreds of push-ups daily. Food for thought for anyone that wants to keep a skill in their back-pocket. Doesn't take much, just crack it out in the evening while dinner cooks and you are chatting to your wife (or whatever).

Look forward to hearing more on your progress mate. Good stuff.

Callum

I could add two brief points of progress; got 10reps bodyweight j-curls on Friday (rep pb) and now do a 50r set of hinge rows in RC warmup. Feeling great, feeling very hard to hurt!

7 minutes ago, Jon Douglas said:

I could add two brief points of progress got 10reps bodyweight j-curls on Friday (rep pb) and now do a 50r set of hinge rows in RC warmup. Feeling great, feeling very hard to hurt!

Solid mate. 

On 25/04/2016 at 7:48 PM, Mark Collins said:

I like the idea of doing a previous element for double the reps. It's like having more money in the bank than you need.

A bit of that, and a bit of R1 warmup pondering. Thinking about how if it applies to those elements, it should certainly be more than achievable for lower level ones

Probably not necessary for everything, but I'm a long way from having to worry about 'too strong'

In other news, tested my sPL/PE7 today. Fairly sure I have corrected my technique on them due to ;

1) Mid traps cramped way out

2) Failed third set

3) Actually *out of breath* doing them.

None of those things have happened before doing them; was doing exactly what Zach pinpointed and incorrectly regarding these as one of the easier elements. On balance, think I can safely assert that I've corrected my planche issues. Very excited going forward

In other other news, standing straddle press handstands have arrived-- 3 singles yesterday, a couple in play today. Still only working fairly basic HS content, end of PEs in both H1 and H2, so they will be limited to after training. That's my two biggest weaknesses actually *solved* in the past 5 months.

Lessons I wish I'd internalised earlier;

You aren't as strong as you think. Don't work at max just because it's sweet (cf. 'adrena-levers').

Don't fudge your rest periods.

Mobilitymobilitymobilitymobilitymobility (especially weighted pancakes and Jefferson curls).

Learning from yours, other students' and moderators' experiences is so valuable, so I'd like to thank you for sharing.

I certainly can do with internalising some of the lessons you mention; it can be so easy to think "I'm too strong to be doing this basic exercise" - think again, sir. Think again.....

Max

3 hours ago, Jon Douglas said:

In other news, tested my sPL/PE7 today. Fairly sure I have corrected my technique on them due to ;

1) Mid traps cramped way out

2) Failed third set

3) Actually *out of breath* doing them.

None of those things have happened before doing them; was doing exactly what Zach pinpointed and incorrectly regarding these as one of the easier elements. On balance, think I can safely assert that I've corrected my planche issues. Very excited going forward

Can't add text to quotes for some reason...

Anyway; Interesting stuff, would you mind sharing/repeating Zach's point on this drill? My sPL prog. could certainly do with a little reboot of its own.

Hey @Mikkel Ravn

Here are two... there are more... primary points between right and almost right being mid traps, floating and (surprise) lean. Those are the posts I can immediately lay my hands on.