WOD - 100803

Perform:

1x5 PL Box Press HS

1x5 Pike Box Press HS

1x10 Straddle Box Press HS

12 cycles of XR Strap HS

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

notes:

1) Rest 1-2 minutes between Press HS sets.

2) You may substitute a Chest roll to HeS + press up to HS for the PL.

3) Remember to adjust the height as necessary during the Box Press HS variations to ensure that the presses are sufficiently challenging.

4) If you cannot press to HS, then press to HeS.

5) If you are strong enough, replace the Box Press HS variations with Press HS from an L-sit on parallets or PBs.

6) If you exceptionally strong, perform the Press HS variations on the XR.

7) Rest 3-5 minutes after completing all of the Press HS work and then begin the XR Strap HS.

8 ) Each XR Strap HS cycle consists of 30 work followed by 45 seconds of rest. Go directly from one cycle to the next with no additional rest.

9) DO NOT come down during the 30 seconds of HS. If you do come down, that cycle does not count towards your total of 12 cycles.

10) To perform XR Strap HS drop your Xtreme Rings down to 6â€-8†from the ground. Now kick up into a handstand widely straddling your legs so that they wrap around the straps. Straighten and lock your arms as much as possible and begin timing your HS.

11) The XR Strap HS can be made much more physically demanding by placing your feet along the inside of the straps rather than wrapping your legs around the straps. The intensity can be further increased by ensuring that your elbows are completely locked and straight.

12) If XR Strap HSs are currently too demanding, perform Wall HS instead; although every effort should be made to complete the workout with XR Strap HS.

I am going to have to do this one tomorrow. I'm looking forward to see if I can manage twenty decent Wall HS RLL instead of the HS presses. The HS work is going to be awesome, I will definitely try the XR HS but I'm pretty sure this will blend into regular Wall HS work though.

20 HSRLL...jeez! I'm also going to rock this tomorrow, doing all HeS pressing however. I keep getting pretty bad kinks in the right side of my neck when doing several sets of HeS RLL and wondering if I'm doing something wrong or my neck is just the first weakest link.

Today was my second ever GB WOD, the first being yesterday. Since I've really never done much handstand work before I did HeS versions. I found out right away that I can't do a chest roll to headstand. Don't know if I'm not strong enough (its the easiest progression :oops: ) or I'm just not doing it right. I'm hoping one day it'll just click and I'll be able to do them. That happens to me sometimes when learning new technical exercises.

So I substituted the chest roll with another set of 5 of the HeS Pike Press. Those aren't too bad. And if I'm not mistaken, they are the exact same movement as the HeSRLL we did yesterday, minus the tempo? HeS Straddle press wasn't too bad either but balancing became tiring by the end.

The XR Strap HS sets KILLED me. First off, it was hard enough getting into the HS on the rings. I had them set up inside of a power rack at the Y. Sometime I wouldn't kick up high enough and my hands would swing forward. Sometimes my legs would hit the power rack. Once I had my legs too close together and I kicked right up and all the way through and landed on some weights in front of me. That turned some heads lol. I ended up only getting 3 actual 30 second sets in the XR. I then went to the wall and did 3 more 30 second sets, but by the end I couldn't keep my arms locked out for the whole 30 seconds; I was slowly dropping. So I terminated the rest of the sets based on the fact I couldn't hold correct form.

I liked the workout, though. Had me sweating just as if I were doing 30 second repeat 200s. Just a little easier on the lungs and harder on the shoulders.

I didn't write down the workout before doing it early this morning, and ended up doing 3 sets. No wonder I could barely finish the last one

2 chest rolls to HeS, no presses to HS. I did 3 negatives afterwards, with 3 partial rolls as well.

5 pike wall HS presses

3x5 pike HeS press, bent legs coming back down for the last 2-3 reps of each set. My back is still adapting to the load.

12x30s wall HS! Excellent! Next time, rings... next time!

Coach,

would it be alright if I relay these WODs on my website?

Respectfully,

John Shepard

If you give credit to Coach for the seminar info, what you have learned from his book, and the GB program in general you'd probably get a more positive response. I just looked through your entire website and I don't see anything pointing here, even though I see a very long list of acronyms that is straight off of this board. I'm trying to hold my tongue, but I see the beginnings of another Christopher Logan. You will get no seminar notes from me.

A while back I looked at the WOD's and thought there was no possible way I could even begin to attempt them, so I started up with a remedial strength program based on the book, which you can see under workout logs.

Anyhow, I decided yesterday that I was ready to at least try a WOD and wow that was great! I'm still a long way from being able to do a HS press, and I find HeS presses very easy which is frustrating. Either way, the HeS provided a great warmup for the handstands. I managed to split the 12 sets evenly amongst Wall HS, Freestanding HS and XR HS (with strap assist). My first attempts to get into a HS on the rings were met with much pointing and laughing from other gym goers, but by the last 2 sets I actually managed to get up with pretty good form. I feel great today and can't wait 'til tomorrow for my next WOD session!

Thanks Coach.

Today's WOD took a me a while as I spent some time trying box press handstands with hands around 18" from wall and feet off a 24" box. The difference in magnitude between, say, a straddle HeS press feet to floor vs a (pseudo) straddle HS press is pretty incredible. I was able to perform a few sets of 2-4 sets in this HS straddle press (feet off a bench), but had to bend me legs a bit on the positive and negative. Anyway, after a few sets of the semi-bent leg straddle presses, I tried a few HS tuck "presses," and again did a few sets of 2-4 reps, and then finished with

pike HeSRLL 3x5

straddle HeSRLL 2x10

I then set up my rings to try XR HS's, but just didn't feel steady enough (more like confident enough) to try them for fear of crashing again (last time I ended up on my back, knocked the wind out of myself!) So, I just went with:

12 x 30 sec wall handstands

Finished with 2x10 wrist pushups on knees

Anyway, this was an intense workout. Those bent leg straddle HS "presses" and tuck presses took a maximum effort. I'm still annoyed about the XR HS's. I'm going to have to find somewhere where I can hang my rings adjacent to a wall so that I can kick up and have the wall to catch me so that I can at least try to get used to them. After the 12 x 30sec wall HS's, I can imagine how tough they'd be using the XR's...

Any suggestions on building up Chest Rolls?

Should I attempt to roll and then just press as hard as I can knowing I won't reach HeS more than twice, or just work more ring pushup and HS progressions to develop more basic push strength?

Performed:

1 full Chest Roll to HeSPU, failed 2nd attempt so did 1x5 He RLL

1x5 HeSPu

1x5 HeS RLL + 1x5 HeSPU

1x6 cycles of XR Strap HS @15 secs + 1x6 cycles Wall HS @15 secs

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

Coach ... would it be alright if I relay these WODs on my website? ... Respectfully, John Shepard

I prefer for everything to remain centralized here on the GymnasticBodies website.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

slizzardman said:

If you give credit to Coach for the seminar info, what you have learned from his book, and the GB program in general you'd probably get a more positive response. I just looked through your entire website and I don't see anything pointing here, even though I see a very long list of acronyms that is straight off of this board. I'm trying to hold my tongue, but I see the beginnings of another Christopher Logan. You will get no seminar notes from me.

Hi Slizzardman,

I sent you a PM but I feel I need to clarify my position here in the public forum. I do not intent to not give credit where credit is due. Since the creation of the website I have placed Coach Sommer at the top of my links under "friends" with a message of gratitude and credit to his contribution to my knowledge and understanding of gymnastics condition. I have corrected the acronym link and have given credit to Coach Sommer at the end of the list. Thank you for keeping me honest.

Respectfully,

John Shepard

jpshepard said:

Coach,

would it be alright if I relay these WODs on my website?

Respectfully,

John Shepard

http://www.gymfitusa.com/wod-entries/

It doesn't take much imagination to see that you practically are doing it already.

This is a slippery slope. I've seen so many similar things happen in the yoga world.

Half of me says great this is starting to catch on. We need more fitness people teaching this stuff. But i also see red flags.

The problem is in the presentation. It presented as if you have invented the wheel. I can't say where you learned the information you present, but i imagine a good deal has come from here, and i'm sure other sources as well. You NEED to somehow recognize them and not portray yourself as the originator. We are all learning and sharing from each other. And though there should be nothing wrong with promoting and 'teaching' this, in doing that you can't bite the hand that feeds you.

I've seen many forums where the key players are constantly self promoting. One of the most refreshing aspects of BtGB is the total lack of this.

So, in part, it is a matter of giving credit where credit is due. How you do that is not so easy i/hopefully we understand. But it is vital to successfully negotiating the minefield of starting something new in the fitness world while maintaining your integrity and the respect of your peers.

That said i'm sure John is working with the best intentions. He is in a tough spot, how to teach a gymnastic style strength program to the general public? Understandably Coach Sommer doesn't intend to make a franchise. So how to apply what you know if your chosen career path is to be a fitness professional? It does look like a good program and i don't think there is anyway it wouldn't appear at least somewhat derivative.

John, I would just link the WOD's. Post the WOD possibly and put the sourcelink.

GymnasticBodies WOD

" "

url

Hmm, I did notice you did post credit to GB one on those pages. I'd have to look and see if you are merely reposting the WOD, but it seems you are going into it more than that.

Today was my first foray into ring handstands, and let me say that just committing to the kick up was one of the scariest things ever, much scarier than my first back tuck.

Managed to get all 12 sets for 30 seconds, took a few tries to get the first set in though.

Blairbob

John, I would just link the WOD's

This is good advice. Just link the wods to origin site and in the beggining of the page tell from whom it comes, From your site this is not clear, and you sell a training classes. Its ok to share the knowledge but do it in the right way, or make your own training program. (no offense).

So, did my version of this WOD today. I'm still having trouble 'getting' the Press Wall HS/RLL Wall HS (whichever way you want to look at it). I tried different variations with and without box, piked, straddled etc. and I think the total amount of work roughly translates to 20 Straddled Box Press Wall HS. The XR HS cycles were a no-no - I could get into a very crude HS but with bent arms and I really didn't feel stable enough to do 30s sets without coming down. So I did 12 30s semi-freestanding HS instead (in the doorway, with only my feet and hands touching anything. These were okay!

I'm still wondering what the best way is to tackle the RLL Wall HS...

This one is allways a hard WOD

1x5 PL Press to handstand box and kiping. I allways try to come down slowly doing a negative

1x5 pike press handstand. With this two I havent felt any improvement.

1x10 stradle press He stand. Much better than last time legs are going down to only 2 inch of the ground. THe weakest link is the neck right now

4x30seg XR HS!!! 8x30 seg wall HS. First time I do this for WOD (some timesI tried with sertonin but no training) Really hard, I cant still kick up alone. I need somebody to grab the rings slightly( mostly mental i guess) so the rings dont run forward. Once up there he releases the ring And I begin the handstand with straight arms.

Also I feel it helps with my freestanding HS is this possible?

2x10 wrist push ups. A bit better too.

Coach,

Can you clarify what the rest would entail for the XR Strap HS? You say 30s of work followed by 45s of rest but not to come down off the rings. I could understand if this was HS presses but its just a hold correct?

Thanks

This one felt a little better this time around. I did 5x5 partial(to 90 degrees) dips spread out throughout the morning today to start off. WOD did:

1x5 HeS Pike Press to floor supersetted with 1x5 partial(bottom half) pull ups - Did this whole thing twice

1x7 HeS Straddle Press(after 7 my neck was starting to give so I left it there) supersetted 1x5 partial pulls again

12 sets of stomach to wall HS holds as RX'd. I was really surprised and happy I did these...struggling by the end, but actually making it through with locked out arms and working hard on full body tension. I think the past few HS wall runs really helped.

Quick question...if I can do 5 pullups(but only for one set and not tempo) should I work that set full, then do partials or do partials for all my sets. I was definitely maxing out by the 3rd round of bottom half pulls so I'm just not sure I could come back for too much more after a set of full on 5. I'm doing a dip/pull cycle now of mon-iso, wed-partials, fri-slow neg thanks to the slizzardman .

If you take more rest could you do another set? I mean a lot more rest like 10 or 15 minutes. If so you might as well just do sets of pullups imo.

Saber2 said:

Coach,

Can you clarify what the rest would entail for the XR Strap HS? You say 30s of work followed by 45s of rest but not to come down off the rings. I could understand if this was HS presses but its just a hold correct?

Thanks

Your rest time is on your feet lol! 30s hold, 45s rest, x12.

TANSTAAFL said:

This one felt a little better this time around. I did 5x5 partial(to 90 degrees) dips spread out throughout the morning today to start off. WOD did:

1x5 HeS Pike Press to floor supersetted with 1x5 partial(bottom half) pull ups - Did this whole thing twice

1x7 HeS Straddle Press(after 7 my neck was starting to give so I left it there) supersetted 1x5 partial pulls again

12 sets of stomach to wall HS holds as RX'd. I was really surprised and happy I did these...struggling by the end, but actually making it through with locked out arms and working hard on full body tension. I think the past few HS wall runs really helped.

Quick question...if I can do 5 pullups(but only for one set and not tempo) should I work that set full, then do partials or do partials for all my sets. I was definitely maxing out by the 3rd round of bottom half pulls so I'm just not sure I could come back for too much more after a set of full on 5. I'm doing a dip/pull cycle now of mon-iso, wed-partials, fri-slow neg thanks to the slizzardman .

You don't want to work at your max like that more than a few times, so trying for a bunch of sets is too much. The first set of full pull ups is absolutely the way to go, followed by one or two sets of partials if you want to and feel up to it. You're only working hard like that full ROM once a week at this point, so you should be fine pushing it a little bit. You should be working hard each week and noticing improvements each week.

You're getting to a decent starting point for pull ups. When you get to 7-8 reps, you'll be ready to start working 2 sets of 5, and soon after that you'll be at 3 sets. Then you can start working on tempo pull ups if you like. Get the basics first! You're doing a good job. Keep in mind that your job right now is to challenge your muscles to the max for one set, and maybe to a second hard set afterwards. That's going to get your numbers up the fastest at first, and set you up with the basic strength you need to be able to keep up with some scaled down pulling and dipping WODs! Keep up the great work!

Awesome. This was what I was leaning towards, but wasn't sure it was the best route. My gratitude falls as plentiful as rain . Also, while I have you...that is if your still here, I was checking out the static discussion with Saber2 a few WOD's ago and I was curious as to how you achieved your warm up completion in only 20-25min...the only way I could see is supersetting the statics, perhaps all 4 back to back with short active breaks?

Highest Regards,

Josh