Dillon da new moderator!:)

Thanks D-Man, Great info

I have a question as well! I am starting to get the feeling that we are better off putting a lot of energy into these prerequisite components and just dealing with whatever reduction in conditioning performance that brings at first, and sticking with these pre-reqs until they are mastered, and allowing our work capacity to catch up so that this work either no longer negatively affects our conditioning or we are making progress even without being fresh for the conditioning. Is this way off?

I guess what I'm asking is this: at first, obviously, this amount of work was a lot. Was the emphasis on completing this pre-requisite work for the 15 minute block of time and then scaling the conditioning as far back as you had to to compensate for the energy spent, or was the emphasis on performing the pre-requisite work until it was obvious that it would start impacting the conditioning and then end the pre-req work for the day?

cdx,

We did the warmup every day that we had training, which in the beginning for me was 4 days a week, then it went up to 5 days when I hit optionals. Workout has consistently stayed at 4 hours for me. The difference is I was training for a sport. Now that I have stopped training for competition I only have 2 hard workout days. My schedule now goes:

Monday: gymnastics/Bent arm conditioning

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: Capoeira/play

Thursday: Rest.

Friday: Gymnastics/Ring strength straight arm conditioning

On Wednesday I joined a capoeira class for fun. It is a workout but nothing like I'm used to and I'm never fatigued afterwards, I consider it play. I also will do other things like play sports or do some parkour (nothing crazy). It's a day to go out and exercise without fatigue. I will do this on any of the other rest days if it happens but on Wednesday I require myself to do something physical. I have been seeing very good progress on this schedule and it's a lot easier mentally. Instead of being drained every day and forcing myself to workout, I look forward to the hard days. Ultimately of course I recommend you follow the wods. Hands down best schedule, but sadly due to school and gas money I can not get to the gym on all the work out days, so I discovered that this alternative schedule works great for me.

For your straddle problem with your legs I recommend stretching! You'll get there, flexibility takes time.

Slizzardman,

If your pre-req work is affecting your conditioning you are working too hard. Remember it is warmup. You should do 1 set of each hold to a point which is a little difficult but not killing you. If 60 seconds absolutely kills you after one set then simply scale down until you find a time that you can comfortably hold all positions. Let's say 60s absolutely destroys you and you can barely finish the other holds, but 30s is a good time and allows you to finish the other holds with some energy left. I would say scale down to the 30s, follow an SSC and maybe add 5s to your holds each month. Soon you will be able to hold all for 60s and without stressing yourself! The key is to take your time, it will come with consistent work.

OK. I'm not putting so much into my warm up that I can't do my conditioning as normal, but I'm definitely working. Sometimes I'll have to use a straddle or in later sets a flat tuck instead of a full lay for FL pulls (as one example... actually the only one I can think of besides front pulls) in conditioning on the second or third set, you know what I mean? On the whole it seems like my overall progress is slightly better this way, and most of the time I feel stronger during the workout, but sometimes I notice that I am simply a little worn down and I scale way back, like just doing tuck FL pulls. Then the next time I work similar skills I am doing better than ever. That seems to be the cycle that I notice my body going through. Is that out of the norm for what you and coach's other athletes experienced?

Hmm what is your weekly schedule of working out? Does this happen every now and then or is it a regular occurence? It could be you're still not giving yourself enough rest. If that's not the problem your workout could have too much in it. Otherwise if it's every now and then it's just a matter of having good days and bad days. It happens to the best of us.

It is completely natural for your strength and intensity to fluctuate on a daily basis.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Dillon: It seems to be fairly regular, I have one workout where I am noticeably weaker every 2-4 weeks, and I just work within those lesser boundaries that day, and the next workout I feel like superman. I have to remind myself not to push too hard. I haven't intentionally designed my training to produce this effect but I have noticed that it is fairly regular.

Coach: Roger that.

Sometimes my strength fluctuate so much so I can't hold a decent cross then I must do all assisted strength elements and after an hour I can do all strength elements from exercise...I never saw that in other gymnasts though...I think it could be CNS burnout (postactivation)...

Slizz, yeah that happens to me about on the same schedule. It's normal, but I'll ask Coach about whether or not you should scale back on those days. I usually don't, but I'm sure you should! I just don't know the answer to that one. So keep doing what you're doing unless I give you a specific answer

Gregor, that happens to me when I jump up on rings every now and then. I feel really weak and an hour in I'm back to doing crosses and such.

Thanks Dillon!

Dillon it must be nice walking around at school knowing there's a huge chance you're the strongest person (at least per pound of bodyweight) there

hahahaha yeah I can't deny it's not so bad. It's funny though cause I'm only 5'6" and I usually feel pretty small walking around

Yo schnizzle ma dizzle, hail to the dillaZ!!

Wicked to have you on board with us, there are many personal trainers out there that talk the talk (or at least that think they do) but to actually have the experience, physique, strength and skills i.e you already have the T-shirt, it's great to hear 8)

So all you had to do was turn up at Coach's gym and he chisled you into this beast!? I think i need to move to Arizona!! :wink:

One thing i wanted to ask - is i've watch the cirque rope climbs/other videos that you do a few times and just assumed that you'd done gymnastics even from when you were in your mother's womb, what were your strength levels like before you started training with coach? for example were you able to do a muscle up straight away?

As you say you started when you were 15 with coach and the video of rope climbs was made when you were 16 - so in that one year your pull up strength looks like you've mutant genetics :twisted: I mean my eyes almost popped out the first time I watched this clip! And this is without mentioning the wide grip L pullups.... :shock:

P.S Hope you don't feel like a bug under a microscope!!

yes dillon, please post a DNA sample ASAP

8) :roll:

Lab Report: Dillon's DNA is completely made out of BICEPS!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!

Nope, No sir, not even any triceps :shock:

You should see it! Pick it up cuz it's off the hook!

Adenine! Thymine! Guanine! Guanine! Adenine! Cytosine!

Dillon,

What gymnastics moves are the best for impressing chicks at parties?

DonGray, before I started gymnastics I had always been playing sports and was very athletic. When I was 6 I was playing flag football and in one of the games ran an 80 yard touchdown. My dad had it on camera but it got stolen I played every sport an american kid can play. So when I started gym it wasn't as hard of a transition as for most I think, but I wouldn't consider myself freaky talented or anything. It was a lot of hard work. I would consider Allan and some of the other boys more talented than me for sure. I just loved gymnastics. It was the highpoint of my day. Plus conditioning was my favorite part of training! As to my strength levels when I started, I was always strong at pushing and pulling, like I could do 20 pull-ups and one arm push-ups and stuff but I had absolutely no tendon strength in my upper body. I didn't have a decent press handstand till last year!

Slizz, hahahahahahaha

Trianglechoke7, I'm not the best person to ask that....not really much of a partier but people usually freak when I do planche push-ups or a backflip. If you do something too hard people just don't understand and they write you off. You gotta do something that relates to what they know.

Dillon, I totally agree with those answers! I think flares would be really good for a wedding. Can you do those?

Actually no I can't. I am really bad at pommel horse....like really bad. I tried too, my body just didn't like it

Dillon Zrike said:

If you do something too hard people just don't understand and they write you off.

This is so true, and somewhat interesting

Sternford said:

Dillon Zrike said:

If you do something too hard people just don't understand and they write you off.

This is so true, and somewhat interesting

Agreed also, when people saw me doing standing back flips they did not really care 2 cents, but when I did something so simple as a HS They almost could not believe it Also I had one person who did not understand gymnastics so much, that he wrote me of cuz I did a BL!

People do not understand why I thought the video coach put up of Galimores was amazing