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Bodyweight Gymnastics

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Gravytrain

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I've reached the simple goal and want to add in some basic gymnastics for strength and mobility. Can you recommend some resources that you trust?
 
I found the progressions as laid out in Overcoming Gravity by Steve Low to be easy to understand and straightforward.
 
If you're looking to just add in some "good stuff" from gymnastics-based stuff, you absolutely need to check GMB's Youtube and website. A ton of free tutorials, program design, and more. Really good if you want to "tag in" some basic movement patterns.

The material by Low, Kalym and Lauren is certainly good (Low especially), but it's more about designing a complete calisthenics program. If all you want is to add in some HS, arch/hollow work, and maybe L-sit progressions, I would advice saving your money and using free resources like Beastskills and GMB.

@Tarzan : Sick tutorial, I had never seen it. It looks a good bit more detailed than the one he has on his page. Thanks for the link.
 
YouTube Channel GMB Fitness

I love the rings warmup and the basic rings workout.

Second this. Great channel and the head of it is very pragmatic in his approach to fitness and gymnastics. His classes actually has a lot of older folks using gymnastics as a means for fitness. I remember hearing him talking about some of his students starting at the age of 50.

Although not quite gymnastics, I'd also recommend Dylan Werner's Strength Yoga program on CodyApp. I own his True Strength bundle and his newest bundle True Strength Evolution (little to no handstands vs the other programs). I learned about his program through Mark Gonzales (if you check out his IG, he's one explosive beast, not something I used to relate yoga to). Dylan himself used to be a martial artist, dancer and gymnast.
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I know there are a lot of good free resources online, but I'm still surprised no one has mentioned Coach Sommer's Building the Gymnastic Body. It is a encyclopedia of progressions for all the "fundamental static positions and fundamental bodyweight exercises" from a very well-respected gymnastic coach. It also contains some solid methods for organizing your workouts.

If you just want to add something to S&S to start, I suggest you follow the simple static hold routine. Obviously however, you can choose any (combination) of the routines he suggests, but I think you'd appreciate the simplicity and ease of above, especially if you are adding to your training as opposed to replacing it.
 
Hello,

Coach Sommer's Building the Gymnastic Body gives really good exercises and progressions. Nevertheless, the book doesn't give sets / reps. It is above all based on the "feeling" (if we can hold a position or not). May be it is a "difficult" book to begin with ?

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hello,

Coach Sommer's Building the Gymnastic Body gives really good exercises and progressions. Nevertheless, the book doesn't give sets / reps. It is above all based on the "feeling" (if we can hold a position or not). May be it is a "difficult" book to begin with ?

Kind regards,

Pet'
Interesting. The approach is skills-based, e.g., no one prescribes reps for playing scales on the piano, either.

-S-
 
I view it as almost self-limiting, in that you stop once quality degrades. Really goes back to Pavel's idea of "practice, not a workout". I really believe in this way of exercise in that it places much more thought and focus into what you are doing.

Sometimes getting away from the whole sets and reps thing and just focusing on the structure and skill with graded progression as a guide can do wonders.
 
Nevertheless, the book doesn't give sets / reps
That's not true.
Chapter 10: Program Design Options - I just skimmed over the text, but he gives guidelines of either sets/reps or sets/seconds (for the holds) and when to progress to the more difficult versions. Ladders and pyramids are also mentioned.

I found the progressions as laid out in Overcoming Gravity by Steve Low to be easy to understand and straightforward.
Really good book. Extremely detailed.
 
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Interesting. The approach is skills-based, e.g., no one prescribes reps for playing scales on the piano, either.
Exploring this concept further, how does one "program" piano practice? What would the equivalent be for for a movement skill?

I have noticed that handstand practice defies the usual set/rep prescriptions. Sometimes I don't quite make it where I want with my kick up and do multiple "reps" until I get it. Other times I get it just right and hold it so long I have to rest awhile before trying again. Therefore following a routine or program is very hard, but going by "feel" is also difficult. Sometimes the practice is so fun one can over do it and regress. But then stopping at a good rep may be cutting a good session short.
 
I have Sommers' book, Building the Gymnastic Body. Haven't looked at it in years, but I do remember that while overall program design was hard to piece together from it, there were progressions to fall for individual skills. So while it was hard to put together a week of practice, I would be able to follow an L-sit progression without too much thinking and wondering. Am I not remembering that correctly?

I wanted to look in to the Handstand 1 video series or Rings 1 series this summer and was pretty bummed that they're not offered anymore. But they do offer a class format of some sort now. Might be worth checking out?
 
Exploring this concept further, how does one "program" piano practice? What would the equivalent be for for a movement skill?
I don't program my instrument practice; I stand or sit at my instrument (depending on the instrument) and work on a skill - that's it. If I'm practicing a scale, I might practice it however it happens a time or two but then I'll adopt a particular focus and work on that focus. E.g., the last time I practiced the double bass, I was working on a few scales taken two notes to a bow, and I focused on that aspect of it - trying different fingerings so see what worked best with two-to-a-bow for a particular scale, using some not-so-good fingerings to see if I could make smooth transitions from string to string on the same bow, etc.

Something similar could easily be said about practicing a movement, e.g., today we're going to work on the bent press, with a focus on one particular aspect of it, perhaps the rack position or perhaps experimenting with what the other hand does.

-S-
 
@Steve Freides As opposed to adding load, volume, or decreasing rest, just focus on quality, or a weak point of the lift. I know one should think of training as practice, not just work completed, but in my mind it always comes down to doing more work.

I am relearning the Bent Press, after about six months of not practiceing it, and yesterday was humbling. I need to not focus on the weight lifted for a while, and do as you say. Pick one aspect of the Bent Press per day to improve.

I need to work on the practice mindset.
 
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