Steady State for advanced positions

[Gerald Silberman]

Hello,

I've been training GB style for almost a year now. Over that time I've focused on the back lever position as one of my main exercises. I've progressed through the back lever tuck, back lever tuck flat back, and now I am starting back lever straddle. I am so pleased at the strength gains that I have made over this time. I can hold the straddle position for 6 seconds. Using the steady state routine, I'll do 10 sets of 6 seconds each for about 8 weeks. Hopefully by then I can hold it longer as doing 10 sets is a pain in the neck.

This latest position is very hard for me. I don't have an ideal gymnastic build (5' 11'' with long legs) so I can't imagine holding this position for a full minute before I progress to the next variation. Am I just a wimp or should somewhat advanced positions like this be held for less than the standard 1 minute time frame under steady state before progressing to the next variation?

One other question. I noted in the book that these static holds should be placed at the end of your workout. This particular exercise is so difficult, I decided to move it to be my first exercise - any issues with doing this? I'd rather suffer on my other exercises (such as dips) if I can make better progress on the back lever.

thanks,

Jerry

[Blairbob]

jer505, you are about to engage SSC incorrectly. It is supposed to be using a workset of 50%max hold time.

If your max hold is 6s, that means worksets of 3s x20r.

Question #1. Yes, it's that much volume unless you use a different program. Remember you get to have rest periods.

Question #2 I have seen very poor performance of the static holds when doing them after multi-plane exercises or FBE's. They can be done in concert with FBE's, such as static hold+FBE; but after multiplane push/pull or FBE worksets are finished, there has been very left in me or my boys to work on the static holds besides straddle-L. I have tried to scale back the progression, but that's not really what I wanted to do in the first place.

[Gerald Silberman]

Thanks Blairbob,

Just to clarify my maximum hold in a straddle back lever is 12 seconds - that's why I'm doing 10 sets of 6 seconds each.

It's really amazing the amount of havoc that these static positions wreak on the body. I have gained so much strength using them but I must say they are not as "fun" as they used to be because they are so difficult in the advanced positions. I'm going to continue to place these first in my workouts = anything left will go toward the FBEs.

[Joshua Naterman]

You'll probably get the most even results overall if you swap each workout between doing statics first, and statics last. And honestly, if you do the statics last, it's best to take a decent rest and quick meal, like eat and then 30 minute rest or so at least, but 4 hours is ideal.

If you really just care about your back lever, you should definitely keep focusing on it first

[Gerald Silberman]

Thanks. That's an interesting approach. Honestly I think I should probably just drop everything but my back lever and planche exercises. The problem is I made a lot of progress with dips (I can do a few russian dips in an L Sit) and I don't want to lose the strength I've gained in this and other movements. I'm thinking about changing my workouts to just include:

Back lever work

Planche work

1 legged squats (I do these holding a 25 lb plate)

Natural leg curls (almost unassisted)

Wrist work

I could do a lot more, but I'm almost 50 and I tend to run into an over training situation with too much volume.

[Joshua Naterman]

You may have a lot of luck with separating your work into a morning and evening session. The time in-between will reduce overall system fatigue, and you'll be able to do more without over-training.