WOD, steady state and warmup research and scaling questions

Hi everyone,

Firstly, thanks heaps to Coach Sommer and the mods, Slizzardman, Blairbob and Mr Brady, and everyone else on the forums (for helping me know where to start) you guys have been a great help!

I've recently been doing a steady state cycle I came up with from BtGB but I think I'd like to try the WODs. After reading some of the posts here and having a look at quite a few of the WODs and trying to work out how I'd scale them I have a few questions and also wanted to check I've got the right understanding about SSC for the FSPs. I really want to be doing things right and not ending up injured, especially because I've got some health issues with pain hypersensitivity so I'm prone to hurting myself if I'm not careful.

Warmup / FSP questions:

I'm trying to figure out the 50% max hold thing. Currently I can hold 60 seconds on Plank, Reverse Plank reasonably easily and can hold 60s for PB support, chin up dead hang, hollow and arch holds but it's a bit of a strain so I'm currently doing 3 x 30s and will build up time as I feel ready until I can hold 60s without feeling any strain.

When I'm ready to move on to new FSPs do I test my max hold and then do 50% of that time for sets up to a minute, working up to 3 x 30s and then building up to a 60s no strain / perfect form hold from there?

The next FSPs I was thinking to work on are german hang [should I go rings or bar first?], ring support hold, frog stand, PB L-sit tuck, FL tuck..

WOD questions:

1. When I find the appropriate scaled exercise for the WODs that I can do for suggested reps, do I stick to that variation until it becomes easy (for a few weeks?) before moving onto the next harder one? Or, when should I be testing strength for progression?

2. When the WOD asks for an embedded FSP, how long do I hold it for? Do I do the hardest one I can manage for as long as I can manage because I'm doing easier FSPs in warmup?

3. When PL is recommended in WODs because I don't have a 60s L-Sit, should I train an L-sit variation instead, or frogstand maybe?

4. Because of the health condition I have some of the dynamic and high impact WODs will probably cause more harm than good if I try them at the moment. Would it be okay to substitute low impact exercises until I have a bit more joint strength / integrity? Like kettlebell swings for sled sprints or shuttle runs? Weighted lunges instead of killers? Is there a low impact substitute for depth jumps, senders etc.

5. In terms of the ring series in the WODs, I did gymnastics training when I was somewhere around 8 - 12 but no rings since then. Should I start working on ring series one, scaling the exercises for the rings right down (like leaning muscle up or false grip pullups), or because I don't even have a strong ring support hold should I focus on splitting up the movements asked for in the ring series and doing them on fixed bars where possible? And then when I can do easy 60s PB support and 10 controlled PB dips start working on the ring series? Any other prerequisites? I guess I'm confused because rings dips are such an advanced (for me anyway) element in BtGB.

Thanks everyone for reading and for any replies I appreciate it!

David

You should be working the german hang/shoulder extension stretch on floor prior to working it on rings or the bar. I prefer rings but it's not much of a difference to me though it's easier to get in to since I don't have to ball tuck through to start.

Another progression besides doing the german hang with knees bent and feet still on floor is to do it on a doorway entry or the parallel base rails in a squat or sitting position with your hands behind you http://drillsandskills.com/stretching/Shoulder/sd005.

"When I'm ready to move on to new FSPs do I test my max hold and then do 50% of that time for sets up to a minute, working up to 3 x 30s and then building up to a 60s no strain / perfect form hold from there?"

Well, answering that would actually divulge seminar material information.

"I'm trying to figure out the 50% max hold thing. Currently I can hold 60 seconds on Plank, Reverse Plank reasonably easily and can hold 60s for PB support, chin up dead hang, hollow and arch holds but it's a bit of a strain so I'm currently doing 3 x 30s and will build up time as I feel ready until I can hold 60s without feeling any strain."

This makes no sense. Is it a strain or not? Make up your mind. It's not the end of the world if something is a little bit difficult, ya know. Is it difficult because it merely takes effort or is it inducing as structural pain. Exertion is not something I would forego but if it hurts structurally and not just because it takes some effort, then stop.

If you cannot hold the ring support for at least 15-20s, then knock it down a notch and do just a ring support. However, do not planche lean in the support as Coach Sommer reccomends planche lean ring support after ring HS support has been mastered. Keep your shoulders above your wrists and the rings without any closed angle. 90 degrees, vertical.

1. Difficult question to answer as certain exercises will only be done so often sparingly during each month. I would test after 1-3 months on an off week from the WOD.

2. Generally, during the WOD"s that ask for an embedded FSP, it states they are to be held for 15s. Normally for other people I would, but when I do it my elbow tendonitis likes to flare up for a few days afterwards. Before the elbow injury it would not have affected me so.

3. Depends if it is on rings or floor. Working the L-sit variation will focus on core strength+support strength but the PL does not require as much core strength.

4. For the depth jump, start off with a fairly low surface. It shouldn't be too demanding even if it's from half your body height. Is sprinting or running really that hard on you compared to KB swings? You should not do "senders" if you cannot do tuck jumps on floor and bare in mind doing them on harder surfaces than a sprung surface is very different. You should not do weighted lunges until you can do them well with your own BW. You should not do jumping ones until you can do them well with your own BW, possibly even delaying them until you can do them with a certain % of your BW.

5. You should work these first. K8JQhb-mWUg They are pretty easy, especially if you are standing with only a 30 degree angle off vertical. Find an angle that you can do 3-5 reps with. You can also start working the progression of 360's by doing basket (inverted pike hang) to german hang (with the feet touching the floor when needed). After you can do the MU rows and have a decent ring support and false grip pullup, you can work on negative muscle-ups from support.

I don't mean to be rude and it may seem that but I prefer straight forward statements and answers. Can I ask what your health condition is that limits your abilities? Fibromyalgia?

Hi Blairbob,

Thanks for the in depth reply, it gives me some good stuff to work with! Sorry if my questions were a bit convoluted.

I have a sleep disorder (currently trying to treat) and because my body doesn't get good rejuvenative sleep it is overly sensitive to any kind of stress and compensates with pain and getting sick. For instance, when I started doing kettlebell swings if the weight was too heavy I'd feel good after the workout but then get sick. I did a pullup on an uncovered bar recently and so the insides of my knuckles hurt for 1-2 weeks. I spent a few months where it hurt to walk even in padded shoes because I spent too much time earlier walking in bare feet on floorboards.

Any repetitive movement I do for too long ends up causing me pain. This has been going on for about 4-5 years and so far despite trying lots of different things I haven't been able to fix it, maybe because I haven't been able to sort out the sleep issues yet. Exercise is helping my body feel a lot better and I can tolerate bodyweight exercise more easily. There's a difference between pain I can work through and feel better afterwards and pain where I've pushed myself too much and caused an injury. Even minor injuries last a long time, for instance I injured my shoulder because of the position I was using for computer work at my job, it's been six months and despite correcting my position, rest and stretching it still hurts almost daily. My strength is not too bad, but it feels like my joint strength is lagging behind. I'm still learning patience and how to not push myself too much.

"I'm trying to figure out the 50% max hold thing. Currently I can hold 60 seconds on Plank, Reverse Plank reasonably easily and can hold 60s for PB support, chin up dead hang, hollow and arch holds but it's a bit of a strain so I'm currently doing 3 x 30s and will build up time as I feel ready until I can hold 60s without feeling any strain."

This makes no sense. Is it a strain or not? Make up your mind. It's not the end of the world if something is a little bit difficult, ya know. Is it difficult because it merely takes effort or is it inducing as structural pain. Exertion is not something I would forego but if it hurts structurally and not just because it takes some effort, then stop.

I feel like I have enough strength to hold for 60s, but in the chin up dead hang for instance by the end my elbows feel like they are being strained. Your answer helps though, I'll hold for effort but not structural strain and build up the time as I feel able too.

Thanks again, I appreciate it!

Blairbob said:

"When I'm ready to move on to new FSPs do I test my max hold and then do 50% of that time for sets up to a minute, working up to 3 x 30s and then building up to a 60s no strain / perfect form hold from there?"

Well, answering that would actually divulge seminar material information.

That may be seminar information, but it's also a pretty basic question that should've been spelled out in BtGB more clearly (I'm talking about the whole subject of progressing and rep/time of hold range). Don't get me wrong, I love the book, jsut that section of it was a little weak on the whole clear explanation thing.

I'm not saying you should answer the question necesarily :wink: , but...it shouldn't need to be seminar material, that's all.

maybe it will be cleared up in the 2nd edition. I DO NOT KNOW. I'm not angry, I just do not want to infer it will be.