Daily Stretch

Hey gang,

 

I am entering my 2-3rd month of doing gymnastic bodies and I am thoroughly enjoying it so far! I had a couple question that I would like answered if anyone wouldn't care to help with.

So when I first started I was doing Lower, Upper and core every single day besides Sunday and maybe Saturday, but definitely 5 days a week. I then soon realized that Coach Summer or other coaches recommend against this or at least I thought I read this somewhere. Is 5 days a week overkill? I would not be sore so I did not see a problem, but some progressions are lagging behind the others. I know there is a recommended schedule, but for a college student with limited funds, I cannot afford to buy every program and follow the schedule to a T.

My next question is about my Scap shrugs. My form is not terrible and for the first couple of sets, I am performing well. The last 2-3 sets are painful though. It is a real grind to get through the last of the scap shrugs when I do them. Is this due to a lack of strength and mobilization in the scaps seeing that they are not prioritized a lot in everyday life? Or could it be that I am hitting them too often?

Lastly, I wanted to know of a basic daily stretch I could do outside of the recommended courses. The way I understand it is the stretch courses are to be done once a week until you build up to where you can add more volume. I am asking what is a daily maintenance stretch I and other gymnasts could do outside of their GB training.

I'd love to hear feedback from any and all forum members!

 

*Something I forgot to mention is I am now doing GB 3-4 times a week and doing a 5x5 3-day split on MWF.

Hi Pierce,

Thanks for reaching out and happy to hear that you are enjoying the course!

Five days a week is definitely an overkill. In order for your body to progress in the movements, you will need to recover properly in between the sessions. I recommend to do each of the workouts twice a week to begin with and see how you progress. You can always do adjustments along the way. 

For the scap shrugs you should not feel any pain. It is, however, important to be aware of the difference between pain and discomfort. If you do feel pain while doing these I would suggest seeing a physio or other medical professional. In order to ensure that your form is on point, feel free to submit a video form check on the forum and we will be able to provide you with feedback and help you make the adjustments needed. It's hard to say whether the pain is coming from an overuse or other reasons. A form check will definitely be helpful here. 

Many students are using the daily limbering routine from the Fundamentals course. If you don't have this course you may create your own limbering routine with some of the previously mastered iM elements. 

I hope this helped, do you have any further questions?  

Hi Pauline,

Would you recommend to do core, upper and lower body workouts as one training twice a week or to have 6(3x2) different workouts per week doing everything as a separate training?  

Hi Aliaksandr,

Great question. This is individual. Some students prefer to do all the workouts in a day (Core, upper and lower body), while others are doing them on separate days. I suggest to do the best fit to your schedule, or try both for a while to see how your body is responding  

From the course material and to help answer the first question: Introduction: Getting started- Individual Recovery Varies(Emphasis added)

Quote

When beginning Gymnastics Strength Training (GST) the majority of people will find a four day/week training schedule the most effective; not only in terms of scheduling, but also in terms of their bodies’ ability to recover from the workouts.

However as individual recovery ability can vary widely; there is also a significant percentage of the training population who will either benefit from less work (the two or even one day/week schedule) or more work (the six day/week schedule).

Which of these schedules will be the most the effective for you will depend entirely your own personal recovery ability; which in turn is something which you will only discover thru experience.

Note that there is no intrinsic value in choosing one schedule over another; your choice should be solely based on which of the schedules best fits your own particular blend physical strengths and weaknesses. There is no benefit in forcing yourself to do that which you are not suited for.