New to gymnastics-workout advice??

[Mason89]

Hello i recently purchased coach sommers gymnastics bodies and a set of extreme rings. I really enjoyed reading the book and have devised my own program. As i am new to the whole gymnastic way of training i was wondering if anyone could read through my program and give any feedback?

Monday:

L-sit 6x10sec hold-rest 30secs between each hold

(press): bulgarian ring push up, alternated with (pull): front lever row tuck 3x5 each rest 45 secs

(core): v-up ful alternated with (legs): deck squat for height 3x5 each rest 45

Tuesday:

Back lever 6x10secs hold- rest 30 secs between each hold

(press):handstand ascent, alternated with (pul): inverted chins 3x5 each rest 45 secs

(core):hanging leg ift alternated with (legs): glute ham raise 3x5 each rest 45 secs

Thursday:

Front lever 6x10secs hold- rest 30secs between each hold

(press): ring dips,shoulders lower than hands, alternated with (pull):l-chins 3x5 each rest 45 secs

(core):back extensions alternated with (leg):single leg deck squat 3x5 each rest 45 secs

Friday:

L-sit 6x10sec hold then v-up 3x5

straddle l 6x10sec hold then hanging leg lift 3x5

back lever 6x10sec hold then front lever row 3x5

front lever 6x10sec hold then deck squat jump for height 3x5

planche frog stand 6x10sec hold then push up rings ppp 3x5

Any help is much appreciated, thank u

[Joshua Naterman]

You need more rest between sets. The goal is to build strength, and your body can't regenerate the energy substrates necessary for maximal contractions in 45 seconds. 2-5 minutes rest is what you'll need.

[Mason89]

Really more rest? i feel ready to attack the next set (prob means im not contracting hard enough)

but thank u for the advice i will increase my rest-

was the rest of the program ok?

[Joshua Naterman]

Overall, the basic structure is a good starting program.

A few suggestions are to make SURE you're using a tempo of 2120 or 3130.

The four numbers represent the time you should be taking to smoothly complete each phase of each rep for every strength exercise.

The first number is the time, in seconds, you take to complete the first half of the rep. So for a push up, that's the time it takes for you to go from the push up position to the bottom of the push up, and for pull ups it's from the dead hang to shoulders or chest touching the bar(or equivalent height on the rings). This should be done smoothly, without a jerk at the end.

The second number is the time, in seconds, you should hold the halfway position. This is the bottom of the push up, with your chest hairs touching the ground but not your chest. In the pull up, this is when your chest or shoulders(or neck if you can't do those) is in constant contact with the bar(or equivalent height with the rings).

The third number is the time, in seconds, that you should take to smoothly complete the second half of the rep. That's lowering back down to a full dead hang for a pull up, or pushing back up to the straight arm push up position in the push ups. Again, do NOT use a jerk or explosive movement in this phase.

The last number is how long, in seconds, to hold the end position before starting the first half of the next rep. "0" typically means a momentary pause, it is not a bounce. "X", if you ever see it, means to explode up as fast as possible. You are not going to benefit from explosive work until you build a fairly high level of basic strength, so don't worry about explosive stuff yet.

The reason for this is pretty simple, but it's easy to overlook because modern training tends to neglect both calisthenic training in general and joint preparation specifically, so we never hear about any of that in the main stream. These tempos force your joints to bear the full resistance of each rep through every part of the range of motion(ROM) evenly. This builds strength throughout the ROM, which makes long-term strength gains possible and keeps you protected from injury. When you move fast, the momentum of your body carries it through weak spots. Push ups and pull ups are great example exercises that you can easily test for yourself. When you try to do push ups quickly, you'll notice that you can do many, many more before stopping than if you go slow and follow these tempos. Pull ups are a little different, though typically people can do at least 30% more when moving quickly. As you try harder and harder variations, if you do fast reps and use those as your gauge of progress, you'll eventually end up wondering why you can't move on to the next progression. Unless you get hurt first, of course.

Explosive and plyometric reps put a LOT of extra strain on your joints. When you bounce at the bottom of a push up, the forces on your joint increase by 300-500%. Yea. That's 3-5 TIMES as much force for that instant. Guess what happens when you put the joint under that much stress without having taken the time to build strength through slower movements? Injury. Sometimes severe, often just a slight annoyance that becomes a long-term problem because the person has not figured out why they got hurt in the first place. Sometimes it takes weeks to build up, sometimes longer, and occasionally it happens all at once. But, almost without fail, people who do not build their joint strength by performing slow, controlled movements end up getting hurt. It's just a question of when, not if. You can walk around any gym and talk to people, and just about everyone has some kind of ache or "tweak" that seems to keep them from getting past a certain level, so they get used to just staying where they are on that exercise. If they understood what was happening, they could build themselves up and go far beyond what they think is their limit.

There are lots of posts here about "why can't I do the next step?" and pretty much every time it is because the poster in question has not built the ability to do 5x5 with the slow tempo reps. When they go back and build that ability, all of a sudden their progress picks back up. You will see these posts pop up occasionally as you spend time here, and now you know the answer!

The same goes for statics. Build yourself up until you can do 5 sets of 30 seconds, at least, with perfect form before you try the next step. You'll still be building strength, even though you're using the same position, and you will protect yourself from injury. This is how strong bodies are built, no matter the sport. The bodies that break down are the ones that are not properly prepared.

Finally: Do not try to use a tempo with jumping squats or other explosive exercises! They depend on the speed to be performed properly! As a good rule of thumb, don't try explosive push ups until you can do tucked planche push ups for sets of 5, with the 2120 tempo. For squats, until you can do two legged squats with your bodyweight on a bar, there's no sense in even trying the plyometric stuff. An alternate measure of joint readiness is SLS. When you can do 5+ slow SLS for at least 3 sets, per leg, you're probably prepared to start lower body plyometric training. For pull ups, I'd say that until you can do ten 2120 pace pull ups in whatever grip you're trying to do explosive reps, you're not ready.

[Mason89]

Thanks very much for tht reply appreciate it, was good information!!