What's Next? Handstand Series or Rest of Foundation bundle?

Hi!

I've purchased Fundamentals and Foundation 1 late last year. 

However, I haven't used them optimally. Though I'm more active the past 2 months compared to the several months before it, I do acknowledge that I don't have a very consistent schedule.

My intention of joining GST is to eventually get ripped by or before 50.

I'll be 47 on July 4 and I want to further my training moving forward.

I'm a corporate guy but have a relatively active lifestyle (above average compared to my peers). I transformed from 165 to 139 from Aug to Nov 2012 (XL to Medium). To date, I'm still wearing a Medium-sized shirt (but I need to lose this fat belly).

My nutrition is simple - sweet potato/brown rice instead of white rice, fish, chicken and veggies as my day to day intake (I take pork/beef, bread, pastries and soda only occasionally). Things change though when I travel as part of my work.

Here's my GST schedule - Foundation 1 Core and Lower Body on the same day and two days after, Upper body. In between them is my 3-7km outdoor run. I set aside one or two days of rest per week.

Am I doing things right?

I'm contemplating in buying the Handstand series or the rest of the Foundation bundle.

Any advise on how to optimize my GST training without setting aside running (I'm fine with 5-10km a week)?

Looking forward to a much different result in the next 6 months than in the past 6.

Thanks!

Jojo

Hi Jojo,

Thanks for reaching out!

I think the Handstand series and Stretch series are great additions to your Foundation training. 

For how long have you been doing your current schedule and how has your progress been? The best way to ensure that you are doing things right is definitely to submit form checks. 

We are looking forward to follow your GST journey  

Thanks Pauline.

i purchased the Fundamentals and Foundation 1 in Aug 2016. Was on and off since then but since last month I made sure that I'd use GST at least twice a week.

i'm thinking of adding Handatand on top of my foundation one.

Should I purchse Foubdation 2 and Handstand One or just the Handstand series?

Thanks!

Handstand one would be a great supplement to your F1 training. It's not necessary to purchase Foundation Two until you've mastered some of the elements in F1. If mobility is a limitation I would recommend to get the Stretch series first  

From my very limited experience of stretch and handstand, I would definately go for the 3 stretch series if I had to choose. Much more volume to get through in a week if you do all three stretch series........and they are not easy. Hope this helps. 

Definitely get all 3 stretch series… they WILL help you to progress better through the Foundation and Handstand(s). It's all very synergistic. 

Thanks Suzanna!

If I have to craft my weekly schedule (1 hour per session), which is more advisable?

Monday - Foundation

Tue - Short Run

Wed - Stretch

Thur - Run/Rest

Fri - Handstand

Sat - Long Run

Sun - Rest

or this

Monday - Core, Lower Foundation

Tue - Short Run

Wed - Stretch

Thur - Run/Rest

Fri - Upper Foundation

Sat - Long Run

Sun - Rest

Thanks!

Hi Jojo,

I recommend to stick with Coach Sommer's recommended schedule. Instead of the movement series on Saturday, you can do a long run. The Stretch series are three sessions a week lasting for about 45minutes. You can do these after your workout for the day  

3 hours ago, Pauline Taube said:

Hi Jojo,

I recommend to stick with Coach Sommer's recommended schedule. Instead of the movement series on Saturday, you can do a long run. The Stretch series are three sessions a week lasting for about 45minutes. You can do these after your workout for the day  

Thanks Pauline!

Apologies but M I still need to clarify some things.

I would definitely follow Coach Sommer's reommended schedule to the best I can.

Do you mean I can do Middle Split, Front Split or Thoracic after Foundation or Handstand? Would that then be about 2 hours of workout per session?

Can I do Strech series every after short run?

Thanks!

Always welcome, Jojo.

The duration of the F1 workouts are around 20-40 minutes, sometimes shorter and other times longer as the number og sets and reps changes. The Handstand workout will take you around 20 minutes. 

If it suits you better, you can also do the stretch series after your runs and handstand session  

Thanks Pauline!

I'll try to compress my daily workout in 60min or less but if I need to prolong, I will adjust.

I'll  give updates soon.

Thanks again!

Great, Jojo!

Looking forward to the update  

On 1.7.2017 at 4:47 AM, Jojo Colinares said:

However, I haven't used them optimally. Though I'm more active the past 2 months compared to the several months before it, I do acknowledge that I don't have a very consisten

On 2.7.2017 at 1:02 AM, Jojo Colinares said:

Thanks Suzanna!

If I have to craft my weekly schedule (1 hour per session), which is more advisable?

Monday - Foundation

Tue - Short Run

Wed - Stretch

Thur - Run/Rest

Fri - Handstand

Sat - Long Run

Sun - Rest

 

or this

 

Monday - Core, Lower Foundation

Tue - Short Run

Wed - Stretch

Thur - Run/Rest

Fri - Upper Foundation

Sat - Long Run

Sun - Rest

Thanks!

Hi Jojo,

I think that the most important component in your training plan is consistency- your planned weekly schedule should be something that you are easily able to follow most of the time. Your 2 proposed schedules both mean that you basically decide to train every day. If this is something that you can easily do, then go ahead, but be aware that this is quite ambitious plan, where there are time constraints (60min a day often means 80-90min together with preparations, shower, clothing, etc) and it's also quite easy to overdo physically if you have so short regular training history. Developing a habit of working out every day without accumulated fatigue, stess and sleep deprivation takes longer time. I think a good start would be to just choose the few dedicated GB days, and rest of the days you just show up and do something based on how you feel, but don't set anything in stone a'la 'it was planned to be a long run day, I must go for a run'. Decision to just show up and do something, and not force to do more than you can take this day saves you from overtraining and stess of not meeting your plan. If that works fine and you get more accustomed, then you can slowly add other components into your plan.

I'm talking from my own experience here, as my typical week looks pretty much as what you proposed above in your 2 alternative plans (I'm 38, training in the mornings, beside GB also running and cycling, trying to fit most of the sessions within 60 minutes). A few personal findings, that might be helpful when putting together your own plan:

• GB is easy at the beginning, but gets more demanding with later progressions. Short run the next day after GB session helps you recover, but only if you take it lightly. If you push it too hard (which at least with me happens sometimes), then you don't recover so well and need to do compromises the next day. But easy runs definitely help.
• I never go for a run the next day after stretch series (Front splits). I've had several calf injuries before, and stretching session makes my calfs sore. I might not feel it directly, but experience shows that they are much more prone to injuries then. Littlebit similar story with the GB Lower Body exercises, thats why I usually have them the same day as stretch series.
• The stretch series is a strange beast. You might think it's easy for your body, just stretching and relaxing, right? However I've learned that I need some recovery time from those sessions as well (Front Splits). I'm not sure what exactly makes this session tiring, but I've learned to treat it as easy conditioning, which I'm not putting into consecutive days with Foundation.
• Depending on the length and intensity of the weekend long run/cycling, I might still feel it in my body next couple of days and thats why my Monday training usually has longer warm-up than the other days.

Hi Janno!

Thanks for dropping by.

Your points and experiences are well taken especially because you also have that active lifestyle (absolutely more active than mine).

While we're both aligned in the power of Consistency, my commitment to GB since I purchased it was questionable.

That's why I want to change it this time.

Exercising 3x a week is doable (not always GB though). I start the day at 4am but workout starts at 5. I normally finish everything by 6 to prepare for work and school (I drive my son to school at 7am).

i just exercise at home when I don't travel (II travel a lot as part of my work). The 6-day a week schedule is definitely ambitious but I'm also willing to give up my run during weekdays in favor of GB.

I also agree that the exercises are not easy esp when the reps are increasing (I even find Bent Hollow Body Rock really challenging at 5x36).

i would like to purchase another bundle tomorrow on top of my Foundation One (as a bday gift to myself). Thus I'm contemplating on the Stretch Series.

I do believe in the saying "A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” (James N. Watkins).

With my much needed persistence on GB's systematic approach 4-6x a week, I hope I can cut through my very own rock.

Not easy but not impossible either.

I hope everything will work welll. Today's the first day of hitting my goal.

Thanks once again and goodluck to you as well Janno!

Cheers,

Jojo

I love doing the Front or Mid Split stretch routine after a run (often times I go home, shower, eat, and then stretch later in the evening to decompress). When time is tight, I may only do parts of any or all three based on where I'm feeling tight or tired, but ideally, try to do all of one at a time, if you have the 45 minutes to spare, because each move builds nicely on the next to help you progress.

Having just added stretch and handstand in the past few weeks, I can say handstand is taking much less time, but as a fellow runner, I'd pick the stretch series first. The last few front split stretches against the wall make my hips happy, and though I grumble through them, the exercises for my calves has been well worth it.

Jennifer

Hi Jennifer!

That's great to know. In fact, it's very helpful. I'll try to do everything for the whole 40-45 min sunce I finally bought the Strtech series.

Just curious. Do you run daily and do GST at night? Do you still do Foundation 1 or beyond? That's quite hard and I salute you for having that beast in you.

i was just off for the entire week due to travel but I'll start again tomorrow. This is indeed very timely!

Thanks once again.

Jojo

Hi Jojo,

I commend you for recommitting to this program. I think it's life changing, almost more so for us older folks (I'm 48). The fact that it conditions joints and not mainly muscles is a huge plus for me. I also recommend the stretch series first. Handstand is great, but if you can only choose 1, get the stretch bundle.

As far as your program, if you can be consistent with what you do each day, great. But I'm often on a variable schedule, so what works for me is that I just work through Core, Upper, and Lower in a rotation. Additionally, I can usually fit in 2 different stretch sessions a week. I don't choose a specific day to do each workout. I just have a 3-day running window where I work through each Foundation workout on the next day that I am able to. This works well for me.

Also, the lower body program often goes faster and is a good warm up for stretching so I often do that one right  before I do the stretch series. If I have a lot of time and energy I do the stretch series in addition to a Core or Upper workout, but those days are rare. A flexible window may be a good option for you. Rotating through the program as I am able to works well for me, and if I miss a day I know that same workout is waiting for me the next day.

I also think it's important to work in your running and any activities you enjoy. They are good for physical and mental recovery, and the joy we get from them is a big reason we do this training! Also, GST is great for traveling. You can do it in your hotel room in the evening. Even just doing part of a workout in the evening is a great way to stay connected to your training while on the road. If at all possible, don't go cold turkey off the workout wagon when traveling.

Good luck and enjoy the journey!

Best,

Matt

Hi Matt!

Great to know as well that you're 48. : )

It definitely gives me no reason to quit. In fact, I have all the reasons to do this daily. But since my window for an exercise is just about an hour a day (including running), I've limited GST to 4x a week. That's ideal though.

The reason why I wasn't able to do any exercise during my travel for a week was because of work (visiting our sites after a 6.9 magnitude) and burial (attended one wife's relative).

Anyway, I hope everything's a go starting tomorrow.

Also good to know that you have a very flexible schedule and it works well with you.

Thanks Matt!

Cheers,

Jojo

On 7/17/2017 at 7:38 PM, Jojo Colinares said:

Hi Jennifer!

 

That's great to know. In fact, it's very helpful. I'll try to do everything for the whole 40-45 min sunce I finally bought the Strtech series.

Just curious. Do you run daily and do GST at night? Do you still do Foundation 1 or beyond? That's quite hard and I salute you for having that beast in you.

i was just off for the entire week due to travel but I'll start again tomorrow. This is indeed very timely!

Thanks once again.

 

Jojo

Hi JoJo, 

I'm a bit behind on my forum reading! I certainly wasn't ignoring your question!

I run once or twice a week currently. A couple of miles, or working intervals (200, 400, or 800m) in between the Foundations exercises. I'd been off running for over a year, and had been slowly working it back in when I discovered GB. The Foundations routines have helped, I believe. Stronger core means I'm not slouching (as much) when I'm tired at the end of that run, for example.

My priority is weightlifting, then GB, then running. It's a lot to keep on top of for sure, and sometimes I do have to break up Foundations to make it all fit into the week. But the older I get, the more I seem to need to move to keep my energy up and my mood good and my sleep solid. 

What I'm saying in a long-winded way is that, yes I do still work on Foundations, and I manage that by not always doing all of every workout. So I may fit in the Ground Rows as part of my lifting warm up, and then do the push-ups later in the evening, or even the next day. I know that's not ideal, but it beats not doing the workout at all. I've accepted I may not progress as quickly this way, but I'm definitely still progressing, and I feel great.

This from another 40-something year old athlete. 

PS. Travel does make it difficult, and I hate not being able to do it all when I'm out of town. Think of scaled versions you can do instead. A hotel isn't likely to have gymnastic rings and stall bars, but you can do push ups in your room. You might not have the space for elevated squats in your room, but you could do regular squats to keep up the leg strength and the ankle mobility.

I'm overdue for a run. I think I'll go play in the rain this afternoon!

On 7/24/2017 at 10:12 PM, Jennifer Marie said:

My priority is weightlifting, then GB, then running. It's a lot to keep on top of for sure, and sometimes I do have to break up Foundations to make it all fit into the week.

Hi Jennifer!

This is great!

This is also what I'm trying to accomplish. I have dished out the lifting weight part because I thought GST series is already like lifting weights (body weight).

I'm still running twice a week and working way back for my half-marathon race in January 2018. I'd like to go back to lifting weights (home version) and will have Foundation/Stretches throughout the week (I hope!).

Thanks again!