Question About Static Exercises And Progressions

Hi !

I have a question about static exercises.

At every training session ( which is 3 times a week) I am doing these exercises at the beginning:

Frog stand

Tuck L-sit

Tuck Front Lever

Tuck Back Lever

I do them with 30 - 40 sec rest and i hold them for more or less of 60 seconds each exercise ( i.e. 6 sets of 10 sec)  I read somewhere that this is the right way to do it.

But i just read that if i can't Hold L-sit for a minute then i shouldn't even begin Front Lever training.

Is that statement correct? I mean to be able to hold L-sit for 1 min it takes some serious strength, doesn't it?

( I can Hold L sit for about 6 seconds, lol ) and i weigh 205 lbs

Your advice will be appreciated !

MrPuppeh,

I actually have a similar question. I think I may have read the exact same posts you did. Given those posts, and the order of hold progressions in the book, I'm getting the impression that you begin with L-Sit work then work on Manna at some point in L-Sit progression as well as Back Lever progressions once you've reached a benchmark on your L-Sit.

What I'm getting at would look like this:

L-Sit progressions coupled with basic Horizontal/vertical push/pull, leg work and core.

Then on to:

L-Sit/Manna progressions coupled with basic Horizontal/vertical push/pull, leg work and core.

Then you move onto:

Back Lever/ L-Sit/ Manna coupled with basic Horizontal/vertical push/pull, leg work and core.

etc. until you are working on all hold progressions(each of which at a different level of difficulty given this style of progression) along with the basic FBE progressions.

If this is correct, which actually seems a rather linear and logical method to me, at what point do you branch out from the L-Sit to the other holds?

Mastering L-sit before back lever is a good idea for some basic straight arm development.  Its not too taxing but useful before BL.  Once you master L-sit you move to the harder manna variations.  

Daniel Burnham said:

Mastering L-sit before back lever is a good idea for some basic straight arm development.  Its not too taxing but useful before BL.  Once you master L-sit you move to the harder manna variations.  

My understanding is that a 60 second hold for 3 sets is considered the benchmark from moving from one level progression to another. So, would mastery of the L-Sit be considered 3 sets of 60 second holds on the floor or on the rings?

For L-sit 60 seconds on floor is reasonable.  Don't work rings until you have a 60 second support on them.

Daniel Burnham said:

For L-sit 60 seconds on floor is reasonable.  Don't work rings until you have a 60 second support on them.

I would assume a 60 second support would be a prerequisite for any holds/dips on the rings. Is that correct?

Erik Bowling said:

I would assume a 60 second support would be a prerequisite for any holds/dips on the rings. Is that correct?

Anything that is supported or requires more elbow strength.  In practical purposes this is everything except FL.  I personally think a good RTO support should be had before back lever is started.  If you are a heavy adult more elbow prep should be used be before BL in my opinion.

I have been following the exercises for a few years but never followed the 60 seconds of work rule and still progressed.  Personally, I quit timing my static holds.  You want to work to a certain level of fatigue but not to failure so I tend to focus on sets not total work time.  For example i know after 3 rope climbs I can't succeed on the 4th so I only do 3.  60 seconds of work may be a good idea but what is more important is getting in at least 3 hard workouts per week.

dmcmanam said:

I have been following the exercises for a few years but never followed the 60 seconds of work rule and still progressed.  Personally, I quit timing my static holds.  You want to work to a certain level of fatigue but not to failure so I tend to focus on sets not total work time.  For example i know after 3 rope climbs I can't succeed on the 4th so I only do 3.  60 seconds of work may be a good idea but what is more important is getting in at least 3 hard workouts per week.

60 seconds is not a magical number by any means, but it represents a good strength endurance time which is essential for the basics.  You can progress on to other strength moves without getting the full amount of time sure, but it can make future efforts harder.  For example the hollowbody position.  It is a very important position that is often used in gymnastics especially on high bar swings.  I have found that just increasing my hollowbody position time has allowed me to do more swings without tiring.

Dont underestimate a proper foundation. The further I get the more important I understand it is. Also going to failure can be quite helpful as I have found.  I regularly do static work to failure at the end of my workout and have noticed good gains from doing so.  Just make sure you have plenty of recovery time.

In the harder positions the times prescribed by coach are to make sure you have seen enough volume before increasing intensity.  If you keep jumping intensity you will find yourself running into injuries faster.

Daniel Burnham said:

Mastering L-sit before back lever is a good idea for some basic straight arm development.  Its not too taxing but useful before BL.  Once you master L-sit you move to the harder manna variations.  

What your saying is that what im doing atm ( Doing all the static strength exercises ) is wrong, right ? Then i need to work on L-sit alone, master it and then add the next static exercise, am I correct?  As Erik Bowling said -   L-sit ; L-sit, Manna ; L-sit, Manna, Back Lever etc.

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