Starting with gymnastics at 33

Hello, I´ 33 year old spanish guy.

I´ve done many sports in my life since I was a child. Skiing, snowbaording, almost 3 years of competitive swimming, running...

I get tired of the gym because of the boring repetitive exercises and a friend of mine told me to go training to a park with him. He did a couple of muscle-ups and almost a perfect back lever on a bar. Then I realized that´s what i wanna do.

I always have watched the gymnasts in TV and feel amazed about his/her power, control, balance and flexibility. I know it´s late trying to emule what they do (even the easiest movement) but I will like to improve my basic skills.

I am still reading the book Building a Gymnastic Body, but I am really a bit lost trying to find a routine that can fit myself.

That´s what I´m doing right now in order to get strength and tyring to get my joints prepared for the real hard work.

I was thinking of training 3-4 days a week. I can´t still do false grip on the rings or the bar, but manage to d L-pull ups or L-chin ups. I have parallel bars and can hold a flat tuck position for 4-5 seconds. I also have rings and manage to do push ups.

How should I build my routine?

Thank you very much

P.D.- forgive my bad English if I had made mistakes

Following the GB WOD may fit your needs.

Whatever you do, you will probably have to add in some false grip hangs or false grip body rows (horizontal pullups with the feet on a box or the floor).

I´ve seen several WODs and fairly think they are really out of my reach by now.

I have not yet decided how to make up my routine.

I am regularly doing this:

Day 1:

- Warm-up, dynamic stretches

- Handstand push ups (4 x 3-4 reps)

- L-sit on parallel bars to flat tuck planche (3 sets of 3)

- Flat tuck planche (static) on parallel bars (3 sets o 5-6 seconds)

- 3 sets of arch bridges

- “Feet against the wal†pushups (3 sets x 6-8 reps)

Day 2:

- Warm-up, dynamic stretches

- L- pull ups on bar + HS (static) 3 sets (5 pull ups + 6-8 sec HS)

- Flat tuck Front lever (rings) (4 sets of 6-8 sec)

- Dips (on rings) + inverted chin ups (3 x 5 + 3x 6)

- HLL on bar (3 sets)

Day 3:

- Warm-up, dynamic stretches

- L- chin ups on bar + HS (static) 3 sets (5 pull ups + 6-8 sec HS)

- Tuck back lever (rings) (4 sets of 6-8 sec)

- Skin the cat (3 sets of 3 reps)

- Dips (on rings) (3 x 5)

- Pistol squat (3 x 6)

- Glute Ham Raises (3 x 3)

I always take a rest day between day 1 and 2 and usually take a day for running between day 2 and 3, even take a day just to make dynamic stretches and try to improve my active flexibility. That means it takes me 5 or 6 days to restart the cycle again.

I feel more confortable doing first a fundamental bodyweight exercise (such L-pull ups) before doing the fundamental static position (flat tuck front lever). I feel this way I get “activated†after the first exercise.

Have any of you tried this way? Do you think this can affect the performance?

Anything you would change?

¿Do you think i should reduce the training volume?

Ok, I will start to do some false grip attempts on the rings.

I have also tried wrist pushups, but they are too painful so I was doing them kneeling on the floor

Any opinion about the training?

After reading a lot (BtGB and forum) I realised I was making almost everything wrong.

I have had some pain in the right elbow and also tendinitis on the left shoulder and now I know it was because of the attempt to do things faster.

I have ignored the prerequisites as I was doing flat tuck back lever without having achieved enough level on the German hang.

I was also doing flat tuck planche on the parallel bars and I even couldn´t hold L-sit for more than 15".

Now I will take a step back and try to make things with more sense and knowledge

Welcome to the forum! As Bob said, the best thing you could do is follow the WOD as they are very well planed.

You are much stronger than I am and I am already following the wods with great improvements.(remember to do half volume week every 4th).

The first month you have to play a bit to get the level you'll have to downgrade the wods, if you keep looking at them you'll see how the people is substituting them.

Serotonin y yo somos de Mallorca, si tienes alguna duda mandanos un privado.

Gracias omegant. We' ll keep in contact

omegant said:

(remember to do half volume week every 4th)

I was under the impression the WODs already took into account volume and recovery times and therefore should be done as posted every day. I am not too knowledgeable though. Would anyone else care to comment?

I think it has been posted several times... Although the WOD takes care of recovery, eventually you'll feel some overtraining. If you perform the wods with the same intensity but half the rounds you are allowing your body to recover. As this is very personal you can not program it. If you feel strong keep at it , if you feel a bit burned take a half volume week.