Confused with Foundation 1

Hi Everyone,

Just signed up today for foundation 1 and I’m a bit confused/frustrated with knowing where to begin.  I see that there is a suggested schedule for Core, Lowere Body, Upper Body, etc with the smiley system.

Where I’m confused is that there are also progressions such as front lever, straddle planche, side lever, etc. 

So far I tried the upper body workout (which was way too easy) and the straddle planche progressions (which were a great workout). So my question is - how do these fit together if at all?  Do I work on the suggested schedule and add in one progression for a number of weeks?  Do I work on multiple progressions at once?  Do I work through the strength training before bothering with progressions at all?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!

Dave

Hi Dave,

thanks for reaching out and great questions!

All the exercises in the course is a progression for either front lever, straddle planche, hollow back press, rope climb, Manna , side lever and single leg squat. These are the elements you will reach at the end of all Foundation series. 

Just keep logging your workouts with the smiley system and you will soon be placed on a level of difficulty that suits you perfect. Enjoy a soft start for some of the elements, I can assure you that they will get more challenging soon

Do you have any further questions? 

Hi David, everything is explained in detail in the FAQ: 

https://my.gymnasticbodies.com/frequently-asked-questions/#faq-two

You should read FAQ/introduction (under the fitness menu), but to give you a rapid overview: In Foundation 1-4 you work on 7 progressions which culminate in Front Lever (FL), Straddle Planche (sPL), Hollow Back Press (HBP), Manna (MN), Rope Climb (RC), Single Leg Squat (SLS), Side Lever (SL). Note that the final progressions are reached at the end of F4, not F1

The grouping Upper body, Lower body and Core is simply a possible subdivision of these 7 progressions. Namely Core comprises MN, SL, FL, Upper Body comprises HBP, RC, sPL, Lower Body comprises SLS only.

Regarding the initial progressions being very easy: intensity will raise up quickly. I can believe that doing 3 reps (or how many is step 1, I can't remember) of incline pushups is very easy, but the initial easy steps are there to allow you to build good form (protraction, no bending at the hip, no elbows flaring...)  first, then to add volume. Already the final step of HBP 1, 5 x 15 reps is not so trivial (or it may be for you, I do not know where you start), and very many (myself very much included) get stuck for quite a while on HBP PE2, which is mastered with 5x15 "ordinary" pushups (but with GST standard for good form). 

Thanks so much for the feedback everyone. I’ve been lifting weights, running (long distance and sprints) and boxing consistently for the last couple years. So those efforts are translating to GB.  I’ll keep at it for now.  I keep listing the easy faces, so we’ll see how things Role out with the update next Monday relating to intensity.