Foundation One + Cardio and Weight Training?

Hi, I've been working on Foundation One for about four months and previously completed the Fundamentals series and have a few questions. 

My goals for the GST are developing strength and mobility, losing weight and body fat. I don't feel I am meeting these goals but I have to admit because of work and travel commitments I haven't been as consistent as I'd expected.

- Firstly, my assumption is that the idea behind GST is to be an alternative to weight training. Is that accurate? Having read the forums there is conflicting information. It looks like a lot of folks combine some weight training before their GST work but Coach Sommers doesn't recommend it. Correct?

- What are the recommendations for cardio along with the Foundations program. As I mentioned, one of my goals is to shed weight and become more lean. Is it possible to do that with Foundations and Stretch work alone. I have been careful about my diet.

- Finally, is there a benchmark for progress on Foundations? How do I know if my moving along at a decent pace or need to pick it up?

I'm open to other ideas or suggestions anyone may have. 

Thanks!
Ron

 

HI Ron, well the GB program are GST approach that means gymnastic strength training, the protocol has the aim to develop STRENGTH without a specific goal of improving the muscle mass simply because bodyweight training and body mass are 2 points that have difficulties to exists in the same place.

The additional weight training for additional stimuli for the GST work is something more reserved for the advanced athlete and not for Foundations students. if normally you are doing something else with weights nobody can tell you to stop.

Before suggesting cardio you need to check your doctor and perform a heart under stress control.

Foundations are made by progressive harder elements so if you can move along the progression you are progressing. every main progression has steps of set x reps/seconds.if you can complete the steps you are progressing.

Thanks Alessandro. Are there any guidelines for how quickly one should progress? So for example, if I can complete 5x36s for bent hollow body hold should I be marking it as easy the first time I do so or is it advisable to wait until I have done it multiple times? Trying to get a sense of the best practices. Thanks.

Also regarding cardio, a number of people mention skip rope routines. Can you point me to any resources on integrating with Foundations?

Thanks!

Hey Ron,

Assuming your form remains at mastery standard the entire time and no extra rest is taken, the general idea is to have just a little left in the tank at the end of your last set. You just don't want that last set of 36 seconds to be your absolute max. Have 2-4 seconds of additional energy (at least) before advancing to the next step. If you're gassed and barely scrape by, then select the fine smiley and give the workout a little more time. 

I recommend performing 5-10 minutes of light cardio like jump rope for warm-up. Nothing structured and nothing overly intense. Just get the blood flowing. Beyond that, I don't have a specific routine to point you toward. Personally, I run and swim on lower body days or active recovery days. I always try to follow my cardio up with a stretch series routine as well.

When I think about integrating warm-up cardio, I come back to Coach's class structure of strength before skill classes. So you want to be loose, revved up and worked, especially if your workout is intense, but the warm-up should not get excessive and compromise the session's quality. For this reason I prefer hikes and sparring sessions on non-workout days like Everett says. Jump rope covers a lot of bases and is a great way to go.

As to paceit's normal to need to develop the habit of working hard, especially on static holds. This has quite a different feeling than heavy dynamic reps as you've probably noticed It can take a bit of time to reframe the shakes and occasional cramps from statics to being normal and not an indicator of imminent failure, while also not genuinely failing on a regular basis as this is only productive in specific situations For most of us it is a case of learning how to gut it out a bit more to find where those limits are.

As long as I am getting measurably stronger in some way each week, I don't mind where I fall on the ladder of baby-basics to glamorous-badass exercises