Fallen off the GST Wagon!!

Hi Everyone,

 

I have fallen off the GST wagon and keen for some advice.

 

I was pretty diligent for a year but a couple of things happened. Firstly, I was told to revert back to PE1 on my handstand after 9 months of work because I never got a form check early and so progressed without the right flexibility. See here: 

This hit my motivation hard and combined with moving house I also plateaued on the Core/Upper workouts and ended up on some of the same exercises for months and months. I see now in the forums this is not uncommon and wondered how people deal with the boredom of repeating the same three or four exercises over and over again. I come from an Ironman background so am used to long range targets and slowly and consistently working towards a goal, but even IM that has a degree of variety.

 

I’m 45 and so understand that progress at this age is limited. I also think the Ironman routine has totally screwed my hips and that’s what I am trying to wind back.

 

Appreciate any advice. If it is simply “suck it up”, then fine. Happy to preserve for another 6-12 months but just have the feeling that there is something I’m missing. I see the number of posts from Foundation 1 drops significantly to F2 and so on so I am guessing I am not alone. Keen to see what everyone else's experiences are and if you had similar issues after 12-14 months.

 

 Cheers everyone.

 

Nigel

 

 

Hey Nigel!

Progress can be very slow in certain exercises. For me for example the HS P2 or the Jeffersons curls (MN Pe 2) will take really long, have been working on them for almost a year and still a long way to go.

However, before I started gymnastic bodies, I did pretty much the same training routine for almost 2 years without any progress, which is quite common I think. Now at least I progress even though its slow sometimes (;

Yes, slow is better than none i suppose.

51 here, and stronger and more flexible than I was in my teens. But I've been on MN/PE2 for 3 years. I have moved on to other progressions, but I have maintained PE2 and will continue until I've mastered it as the iM is the most challenging for me at present.

I have tried to aim for mastery of early elements, while incorporating later elements at the end of training. I'm thoroughly fed up with FL/PE5, but find FL/PE13 - and the mobility - pretty easy. I'm stuck on SPL/SE3 at 20 seconds right now, so I'm adding this https://www.facebook.com/GymnasticBodies/videos/1760193680670991/

into training - in a tuck position - to give my upper back some more work when I can't do any more SPL /SE3.

If you inject a little more variety into your training, it keeps things interesting, and gives you a new appreciation of how easy the early progressions are!

 

 

Suck it up. Yes. Definitely.

Slow is better than nothing. Yes. Definitely.

However, I get what you're saying. I get bored with it when I'm stuck on a PE too. And then that movements becomes a chore and I'm not getting as much as I can out of the exercise. So keep at these progressions you are stuck on, but make sure you're doing something "fun" along the way. Whether it's "playing" with other parts of the progressions, another sport or activity, or even just reading more about body awareness in gymnastic movements.

I'm stuck in several spots in my GB progressions, but I'm also stretched thin doing GB, weightlifting, and the occasional run or CrossFit Wod. More often than not, I mix GB exercises in with my current workout. Doing a 5x10 of inclined rows and push-ups as "accessory work" after  a snatch complex works better for my mindset most days. 

BTW, as for "restarting" Handstand at PE1, yes, learning that you hadn't done enough nine months into it is truly frustrating, but do you want a good handstand, or do you want a score of finishing 10 PEs in HS1? I've backed up in progressions by my own choice a few times. It's well worth it, and I never consider it a failure. I've been refining my snatch for three years, and I still have to drop down weight to tweak technique on a regular basis. So why shouldn't I have to back up and refine my mobility and technique with handstands, squats, hollow rocks, etc?

Good luck! And keep leaning on the forum for support. 

hi guys, i think that the biggest wonderful resource of the GB product and approach is the possibility to have form check in order to assist form and execution.

in regards of your adventure think that in early 2011 I had my first GB seminar...i already had back lever, almost front lever, training for straddle planche, handstand and more. results I gained in 3-4 years of training. now coach Sommer told me that my injuries were a sign of bad approach.

I STARTED BACK FROM ZERO.

Now 8 years later I feel better than I was at 20 yo. I can train rings 3 times more often with no problems. my bridge still needs refinement.

I just started at the beginning, again. I had two rotator cuff tears last Aug-Sept 2017. No surgery but slow, steady rehab. I did the first 3x3 elevated pushups with no pain and no excessive fatigue 12-24hrs later.  Looking forward to working through the upper body of F1 again.