BtGB beginner

Hey everyone!

I got BtGB last week, and was so excited to get started that I jumped str8 into the frog stand planche progression. Unfortunately, b/c I am overweight, recently turned 30, and have not done anything similar in the past, I ended up straining the palm of my right wrist. My right hand is still more or less 100% functional but it do feel strain and soreness when I try to do something as simple as regular plank or an L-sit-PB tuck.

I really want to start on static strength work, so for now I decided to focus on different variations of the elbow plank. The 4 variations are: 1) regular plank on the knees and elbows, 2) reverse elbow plank 3) and side elbow knee planks for each side. I'd like to follow the steady state cycle for these 4 exercises but at this point am a bit confused as to how to structure the program inline w/ the SSC principles. What I am confused about is "conflicting" info on these forums. In some places it says to build up to 60 seconds for one set. Other places it says 3 sets of 60 seconds before progressing to a harder variation. And somewhere else I saw a recommendation of 3 x 30. :confused:

In my particular case, lets say my maximum hold for each of the 4 exercises above is 30 seconds. My understanding is that the length of my training set will only be 15 seconds. What I am confused about is whether to do 12 sets of 15 seconds each for each of the 4 exercises, 4 sets of 15s, or 6 sets or 15s, while "religiously" following the SSC for the next 8-12 weeks as my wrist heals and I lose excess weight?

Thanks in advance!

DannyCE said:

Hi Keto. There is a 2nd edition of the book to be released soon that should clear up much of the confusion for pure beginners to Sommer's style of gymnastic conditioning. This forum has grown a lot and can be a chore to dig through if you don't know what you are looking for. If you haven't already, check out the following two threads - they may clear up some of your questions:

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=5265

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4313

DannyCE, thank you, much appreciated! Do you know if there is a set date for when the 2nd edition will come out?

DannyCE said:

Wish I did. The last update made was that copies were "out for review" so its coming soon!

Is this the Liquid Steel™ book or it is another book (the first one with upgraded information)?

keto said:

Hey everyone!

I got BtGB last week, and was so excited to get started that I jumped str8 into the frog stand planche progression. Unfortunately, b/c I am overweight, recently turned 30, and have not done anything similar in the past, I ended up straining the palm of my right wrist. My right hand is still more or less 100% functional but it do feel strain and soreness when I try to do something as simple as regular plank or an L-sit-PB tuck.

Thanks in advance!

Lose the fat! Everything becomes much easier after that! There is one major danger though. While losing fat you might lose muscle mass and strength. If you are just starting working out that might not be an issue. You could even get strength and lean muscle mass. Once you are already used to physical training, losing fat and maintaining strength and muscles becomes more difficult.

Keep also in mind that if you are overweight you are prone to injury even if you are doing body-weight exercises. Be careful with injuries because they can plague you for many years. So start slow and do not haste.

When I started working out (at 30) I did way too many dips in one session and my shoulder started hurting. 5.5 years later it still bothers me. Also during my first couple of months I have managed to tear a muscle fiber of my abs too. Now that was a nasty pain but fortunately it lasted just 3-5 days. Joint and tendon injuries last forever.

Well, the solution seems to be easy Stay lean all year round and never ever get fat again!

Good luck with your training!

keto said:

In my particular case, lets say my maximum hold for each of the 4 exercises above is 30 seconds. My understanding is that the length of my training set will only be 15 seconds. What I am confused about is whether to do 12 sets of 15 seconds each for each of the 4 exercises, 4 sets of 15s, or 6 sets or 15s, while "religiously" following the SSC for the next 8-12 weeks as my wrist heals and I lose excess weight?

Thanks in advance!

BTW. Somewhere I have read the following: Your goal should be to hold a particular exercise for 60s. So if you cannot hold 60s. You could do first 6x10s, then 3x20s, 2x30s, until you can do 1x60. When you are able to hold a particular position for 60s, you move to a harder variation/or more advanced exercise.

Also gathering the proper information and learning/understanding the principles takes also months and years. So the first and most important asset is patience and the second one - persistence. So if you have them, one day you'll be amazed by yourself.

I still remember when I was at school and we had to run 1/3 mile. Damn I could not even finish the distance. It seemed impossible to me. 2-3 years later I was trying to jog with a friend. He wouldn't even sweat after 1/2 mile, while I felt that I would die.

Last year: We went jogging together with my friend for the first time in 15 years. He gave up after 2 miles while I finished my regular route of 4.6 miles faster than ever before. And just recently I decided to test myself - I managed to jog for 80 minutes and I felt as if I could go on forever. I forced myself to stop because I wanted to avoid injury. Then I felt something strange for the first time: walking was more difficult than jogging at that moment... :shock:

The moral is: Keep on and just do it! Gymnastics seemed impossible to me and now I feel like I could do it.

But keep in mind that I first lost quite lots of fat. I can fit in a pair of pants that I bought when I was 20 - size 32. And 6-7 years ago I think I bought pants size 41-43??? :roll:

Zingam said:

keto said:

In my particular case, lets say my maximum hold for each of the 4 exercises above is 30 seconds. My understanding is that the length of my training set will only be 15 seconds. What I am confused about is whether to do 12 sets of 15 seconds each for each of the 4 exercises, 4 sets of 15s, or 6 sets or 15s, while "religiously" following the SSC for the next 8-12 weeks as my wrist heals and I lose excess weight?

Thanks in advance!

BTW. Somewhere I have read the following: Your goal should be to hold a particular exercise for 60s. So if you cannot hold 60s. You could do first 6x10s, then 3x20s, 2x30s, until you can do 1x60. When you are able to hold a particular position for 60s, you move to a harder variation/or more advanced exercise.

For the Prerequisites (plank, reverse plank, dead hang, arch hold, hollow hold, and PB support) you should be going ultimately for 3x60s. Once you reach 3x60s then you can revert back to 1x60s for a warm up set. Always keep the prerequisites in you warm up, that is very important.

Thank you, for clearing this up!