Hi from the new guy

[Samuel Hai]

Hey everyone!

Just bought the full monty because I want to take my workouts to the next level. That, and I'm sick of being the (comparatively speaking) unathletic one at the open gym sessions I go to at the local gymnastics academy. Posting to say hi, tell a little a bout me, and to hopefully get some pointers on how best to approach this program.

Vital stats: 29, male, 6'4" (193cm), 202lbs / 14.4st (91.6kg), 12.5% body fat

Most of my exercising has been cross-country (2002-2006), bodybuilding (summer 2006 & most of 2017), martial arts (2006-2011), and breakdancing (2014-present)

When it comes to working out, I am about as gung ho as you can get, though 2016 taught me the downside of that approach. The injuries started coming: sprained wrist, TFCC inflammation, sprained MCL, ECU tendinitis, bicep tendinitis, pulled TFL, turf toe, and small ganglion cysts in my ankles. Old injuries also caught up to me in the form of a winged scapula, shoulder impingements, cubital tunnel syndrome, and a chronically unstable ankle.

I finally started to treat my injuries in at the beginning of this year. I went under the knife for my ankle, and that procedure alone forced about 3 months of recovery, which addressed most of the other issues. I went back into bodybuilding with a little bit of breakdancing sprinkled in. I'll be going to a sports medicine specialist to figure out what to do about my shoulder issues in January.

My end goal: to dance more and dance better, to maintain my aesthetic while getting stronger, more agile, and more explosive, and to have an injury-free 2018.

Now here's my question: bodyweight exercises historically have made me skinnier and lighter. While most people consider this a good thing, I know from experience that I will look gangly, and I'm not ready to go through that again (I was 180lbs at 8% BF in 2014). Will adding weightlifting to my GB regimen compromise anything?

[GoldenEagle]

In regard to your question: (paraphrased) "Will additional/supplemental free weight training compromise anything?"

As of right now. No, the supplementary free weight training will not hinder progress through the course material. Coach Sommer on a number of other occasions has suggested we complete our Foundation workout first before completing additional free weight training.

1. There will come a point in your training where the foundation work takes up a large majority of your energy.
2. The majority of gymnastic strength training (aka: GST) revolves around connective tissue, especially tendon, development as means to increase strength without additional hypertrophic mass.
3. A common result of following GST training protocols and in exchange for the loss of excess hypertrophic mass is,  gradually denser muscle mass and greater muscle definition/tone.