F1 Monday Updates/Confusion with new interface (merged)

One big advantage I think is if I miss a workout it doesn't screw up my whole schedule. Like they said, it's great for beginners and busy people.

@Chris Garay there should be a hardcore button for those who want to do 5X60 hangs and 5X15 hinges lol

I love the new interface!! I am the one that didn t organize my training trough here, I was just following the videos straight ahead and doing my mastery templates myself, of course never logged a training if i didn t have it. That was a waste of time for me and I am CONTINUOSLY changing my routine, there is not even one week in my year that I do the same workouts on the same days. I am training, yes, I am consistent, but there are many things in life and one has to surf it and also my recovery time changes from time to time, so sometimes I am still soared when I have to train my back and others just next day I feel likre training again. I abolutely love it! It s way way much easier now. Only one complain from my part, I ve lost access to all SLS progressions and I was close to master PE1 that now is the last PE from Foundation 1. Definetely I ll work in the new progressions but I checked they are quite easy. No complain at all about the interface so far.

Some people will be complaining at the beggining. We need some time to get used. But seriously, with this change I can see they really cares about this community. Thanks! Now I just focus on training and clicking that I train and progressing through the PEs, that is what it matters!!

And you can upload your form check video!! Amazing!

So, my initial impressions:

• The RC and SLS progression changes are great. 
• The changes to how you progress with the smileys is overall a better system. It helps progress quicker (jump multiple steps) when appropriate, and slows you down when needed. Also, when mobility is holding you up, letting you get to Step 9  for progressing the strength portion while you work on the mobility is welcome.
• The new UI is good for the "casual" GBer but not so great for the people that were really using the old system to it's fullest. The Weekly Scheduler being gone is quite a loss for the people that used that as a way to map out the week ahead of time, and see at a glance what they have done and will be doing. Now if I want to schedule my week, I need to write it down or use another system to manage what is up next? All of my logs are now inaccessible which was  another sudden surprise.
• The communication about the changes in general was sub-optimal. A lot of people I'm sure just logged in today to do their workout and their schedule is completely inaccessible. I think sending out some communication letting people know that these changes were coming would have made go-live a lot smoother for everyone involved.

Overall, I think it's a net positive change. Having some type of at-a-glance view of your week/day, as you define it, should be re-introduced.

Glad to see the effort to keep GB moving forward and constantly tinkering the progressions as you get more info from the community!

Best thing for me re: the new layout: Within each element, I can now see all PEs and iMs, with pictures, on a single page. So much easier to e.g. work a bunch of iMs for an element that's giving me trouble. Much easier to see previous iMs for warm up.

Best thing for GB re: the new layout: Buncha new F2 customers.

6 minutes ago, Adrian Cox said:

It looks great and I think we all really appreciate the work that has gone into it.  

I know there are a few glitches and some fixes being uploaded but have I misunderstood or do the altered progressions on SLS and RC force an immediate purchase of Foundation 2?  

For example SLS/PE1 has become SLS/PE5 - so to progress past the first level of what I had started recently I now have to buy Foundation 2.

Is that correct?

 

No. From what I understand you are expected to test mastery from PE1, even if you already completed it. For instance, if you mastered hinge rows previously but not ground rows, you don't get to skip them and go to chin hangs

Lots of speculation since I've been able to check in with this thread last. Let me clarify some points:

-This is a new interface. There will be tweaks and there will be new features. If something isn't there now it doesn't mean it isn't planned or that we wouldn't listen to feedback. Nearly all pain points will be addressed.

-The new interface is not a change to a "do whatever you want" philosophy of training. Expectations are and should be different for a beginning, intermediate and advanced student. As you progress through the Foundation Series, the expectations will increase until finally in Foundation Four you are expected to be complete control of your schedule.  That includes choosing days and sets and reps and being held accountable to that.

-Over 80% of students are regularly missing scheduled workout days. These aren't days Coach or I assigned, these are days that are picked by the student and still missed. That is a huge roadblock to finishing Foundation.

-We are confident the new interface will result in beginners getting more workouts in than has been the case. 

-Two of the largest hurdles to new students have been smoothed over with the changes to RC and SLS. Getting to Foundation Two should be very reasonable for students who are consistent. You only need to begin F2 in three of the seven elements to graduate into choosing days/sets/reps.

Coach and I (and the rest of the team) are very vested in seeing students be successful. Take advantage of the forums, the video review and all the resources available to you. I'd love nothing more than to see everyone in this thread graduate to Foundation Two and beyond.

12 minutes ago, Cory Fair said:

-Over 80% of students are regularly missing scheduled workout days. These aren't days Coach or I assigned, these are days that are picked by the student and still missed. That is a huge roadblock to finishing Foundation.

 

80%?! Wow. That is a large percentage of people...

18 minutes ago, Daniel Taylor-Shaut said:

80%?! Wow. That is a large percentage of people...

The number is misleading. I rarely check my courses because I exactly what and how to do each day. And I am not alone. Some people have also quit training and are still included. Then there are the ones who do hybrids and therefore cannot log their workouts properly.

Personally, I have never been a fan of the workout planer. The more you use it, the longer time it takes to learn your workouts by heart. Eventually it will be time efficient to NOT use it. The planer is here to make sure that people are not completely lost from day one.

We seem to be missing the recommended low recovery, medium recovery and high recovery options for training. Maybe coach could throw us a few possible schedules.

41 minutes ago, Cory Fair said:

 

-Two of the largest hurdles to new students have been smoothed over with the changes to RC and SLS. Getting to Foundation Two should be very reasonable for students who are consistent. You only need to begin F2 in three of the seven elements to be eligible for the intermediate toolsets.

 

Thanks for the clarification! What are the "intermediate toolsets" that you speak of? Please don't tell me that there is a scheduler later on that I don't have access to now because I don't have F2!  

2 hours ago, Ching Yin Leung said:

The check off is available if you go to the top drop down menu tab "Nutrition > Tasks". If you're already in workout mode, the right side menu has "Nutrition Tasks" as well.

Or you can go directly to https://my.gymnasticbodies.com/#nutrition-tasks

You may need to log out and back in again to see some changes.

Thanks for the reply Ching! I'll check it out.

Is no one else enjoying the fact that they can train their core and legs as many times as they want now? And that it can even be done over the weekend? Maybe it's just me. But I feel that my FSAS is only going to progress by leaps and bounds with this change. I'm sure the smileys will soon become relied upon as there's a method to the madness (and then everyone will forget all this madness in 2 months time--until a new major release comes out and lots of new folks join the bandwagon confused and gobsmacked).

11 minutes ago, William Marler said:

Lol, I don't see how you were prevented from doing extra work before ;-). 

I wasn't prevented before, no, but with the way it's setup now, I find it a bit more seamless, and less guess work. It breaks things up as independent workouts. So, yes, it's less in lines with the focus of "this is how gymnasts get built to tip-top shape and become Olympians, and you will follow a similar path of success (or failure) towards greatness;" to one of "these are the exercises that gymnasts use to get to greatness, being that you are not a gymnast nor planning to be an Olympian, here is a more streamlined and flexible model that allows you to utilize and incorporate these exercises in a way that takes as little time as possible and allows you get in a workout." Obviously, a lot of dedicated people want to fall in along the lines of the former, but let's be real, that. Is. Not. reality. Nor what is fair for most people who have other day jobs, responsibilities, or families and aren't employed by a gym or fitness/therapy center. Yeah it has some kinks, but it's a lot more intuitive now and more flexible in an infrastructural way, not one which demands I pick up the slack (a light core circuit here, extra mobility there), now it's programmed in with the new interface. 

Hello Everyone,

- The new F1 format is now entirely centered around the follow along workout videos.  

NOTE:  These ARE NOT static one size fits all follow along videos!!!  These are living breathing workouts.  The follow along workout videos for each and every element change, adjust and progress as you improve and progress. 

LET ME REPEAT THIS ONE MORE TIME:  These are not static one size fits all follow along videos!!!  The follow along workout videos for each and every element change, adjust and progress as you improve and progress.

All of the programming and progressions from Foundation One are still in place in the follow along workout videos.  The system now simply generates these programming, progressions and steps automatically for you in F1.

There is literally nothing like this system available anywhere else in the world; a customized follow along workout program that generates custom videos for you to follow along with based upon your current physical progress.

Now your training is as simple as clicking play and then selecting a smiley face afterwards to reflect your level of proficiency in following the instructor led workout.

- The new format reflects the fact that nearly 70% of Foundation 1 students were unable to complete a single week of their training as they themselves scheduled the week.  Nearly 70%.

This results in THOUSANDS of customer support requests every single Monday morning, from students wondering why their workouts did not progress on to the next step.  Of course the reason was simple, the student failed to complete their previous week's workouts as they themselves scheduled them.  And they continue to do this each and every week.  And are equally shocked when they get the same result each and every week.

- The new format takes this into account and no longer requires a set weekly schedule to be officially entered into the system prior to beginning that week's training.

The workouts shown ARE NOT workouts assigned to a particular day or time or for performing in any particular order.  Note that there are no days of the week or consective numbers placed on any of the week's workouts.

Now you have total freedom and flexibility to create your own schedule.  Mix and match the various components in any way and in any order for that week as you choose.

Want to do F7 on a Monday?  You still can..  Simply do that week's core, lower and upper body workouts all in a row on a Monday.  Want to stretch afterwards?  Go ahead.  

Want to do it again on Thursday?  Again, go ahead.  The system now automatically tracks each and every workout which you do and the order in which you did it.

Can't handle that much volume in a single workout yet?  Now you have the flexibility to perform Core on Monday, Lower on Wedneday and Upper on Friday.  Want to do handstand and a stretch course on Tues and Thursday?  Go ahead.

You may perform the week's workouts in any order, on any day and as many times that week as you choose.  The system will show which workouts you have completed.

- The new format also reflects the fact that very few people have any idea whatsoever on how to perform their exercises correctly.  With proper form.  With proper tempo.  

Now that has been addressed.  Just click play.  All that needs to be done now is to follow along with the instructors exactly in terms of execution and tempo.

People who were previously stuck on a single element step for MONTHS AND MONTHS, now regularly find that this is reduced to weeks when they follow the follow along workout videos exactly.

The bottom line is that the vast majority of students were not working as hard as they thought they were.  They were resting too much.  They were skipping reps.  They were skipping sets.  They were using poor execution.  They were slopping their way thru their training, so of course they were getting sub-optimal results.

The follow along workouts correct these issues, by simply having your follow along and mimic the execution and tempos as shown.

- Yes, you still have reps and sets.  Your follow along workouts meticulously track reps and sets.  Your job is to follow the follow along videos - exactly.  

In your workout, if you are able to follow the tempo and technical execution of the instructors in the follow along video exactly, then mark it complete with a smiley face for easy.  Your next workout for that particular exercise will automatically progress to the next step.

Couldn't quite keep up or had some mobility issues, then mark the so-so smiley face in the middle and that particular step for that particular exercise will repeat itself again in your workout the following workout.  Same with marking the too hard smiley face.

- Need to scale a particular exercise?  Fine, you technical videos for that exercise and recommends for scaling are available in the log section which automatically appears when the video stops playing.

Just be sure to make that particular exercise in the log with the too hard smiley face while you continue working your way thru the scaled progressions for that element when training.

-  There will no longer be deload weeks built into the F1 programming.  As most F1 students are already performing deload level workouts due to their missed reps, sets and training days - why do they require a deload from their already permanent deload?

- Want the course front end materials explaining the mechanics of the GB programming?  Then simply click that front end link shown in the right hand column of that particular exercise on the workout log page that automatically appears when you stop the workout video.

- Far too many adults are unable to perform even a single rep of deck squat or hinge row when they initially commence training.  Their strength and mobility deficits are simply too great.  The new progressions and mobility elements have been set in place to address this.

- For reasons that I personally find quite amusing, far too many F1 students struggle with the exercise notations.  For reasons of keeping peace in the GB family and to prevent my going postal, exercise notations won't come into the course interface now until Foundation Two is reached on a particular exercise.

- The programming knowledge that was formerly required to immediately be grasped when beginning F1, will now gradually be introduced over the sequence of the Foundation Courses.  Full mastery of the course is now introduced by the time F4 is reached, not right of the gate with F1.

All of the above should help you to get started with the new course interface.

Use it.  Enjoy it.  It is quite literally the best in the world - follow along workout videos that progress and change as you progress and improve.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Just perfect for me! I love it! I never used the old interface at all!

I just don t understand one thing. There are no more deload weeks? But it seems there are when I go to the settings I can see "Deload Step". I ve always thought in this way about deload weeks, after 4 to 6 weeks I am always missing one whole training of each element, so why to deload if I deload "naturally". So to be clear, this deload week won t be planned by the system for sure?

The follow along videos are fantastic, I have been doing the exercises way too slowly. I've just done my first workout with the new interface, admittedly I have a good internet connection so was very smooth. The recommended schedule was F1 Core, did that really quickly because of above, didn't feel ready to finish, added the SLS, done quickly, thought I might as well through in the upper body session. All done in a fraction of the time of my previous workouts. RC/PE1, wow what a difference. I was about to move to 4x12r on the hinged row so guessed at 5x15r and made them all but felt as though i'd done a really good workout, will do another week of 5x15 at least, doesn't feel as though I've got quite enough spare yet. 

I could get to the information about the number of sets/reps required really easily in the workout page, videos easy to get, whole thing ran super smooth on my smartphone, much better than previously when some of the videos wouldn't work from time to time. I'm sure the details will be ironed out in due course, I'm very happy with how the new approach works in practice.

Hi Antonio,

Good eye.  That particular listing was overlooked by the programmers and will be removed shortly.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Since it is very video based (which I feel is a great way to ensure perfection) is it possible to also provide an audio only for those with internet to slow to load the videos. (like the stretch course has)

Coach, this could have been addressed already, but when I logged my workout this morning the "easy" emoji jumped me ahead a few steps, the "just right" emoji jumped me ahead one step (as did the "lack mobility" emoji), and the "hard" emoji stepped me back one step. This seems to be different than what you described in your post. Might you guys consider adding one more emoji (like "too hard" and making the "hard" emoji keep the step the same while the "too hard" would step it back a step?

But again, maybe your description is the updated smiley system.

Edited: Found new SLS videos in "Lower" workout.

But can I handle the freedom? 

11 minutes ago, Jeremy Aldridge said:

Since it is very video based (which I feel is a great way to ensure perfection) is it possible to also provide an audio only for those with internet to slow to load the videos. (like the stretch course has)

No.  Very difficult to match proper execution and tempo thru audio only.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Thanks Coach for the detailed response. Very helpful!