all posts post new thread

GTG for Straight Arm Strength / Gymnastics

tijuana_black

Level 1 Valued Member
Hey guys,

I recently started Q&D (10/2) twice a week.
On the off days I'm starting to experiment with GTG handstands, L-Sits, Etc.
I was wondering, has anyone here had decent success with GTG and gymnastic exercises?
It would be nice to incorporate some of that strength on top of building the power from Q&D.
 
GTG was a way to go when I wanted to become proficient in hand balancing. I can't imagine other way of doing this. However, it was not just jumping into handstand and trying to hold the position, but I was slowly progressing from crow/frog stand (whatever you name it) to full handstand. It took much more time, but I gained strength, esp. around shoulder girdle and it was much safer.

Same for L-sits. And when I was somehow proficient in both positions, I started to train L-sit to handstand, again, in GTG style. And it worked.
 
Hello @tijuana_black

I used it with HS and L-Sit and it works very well. However, and that's especially true for the HS, work on it while 100% fresh because otherwise your technique will suffer. I found that pairing HS and OAP is a nice combination.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
tijuana_black said:
Hey guys,

I recently started Q&D (10/2) twice a week.
On the off days I'm starting to experiment with GTG handstands, L-Sits, Etc.
I was wondering, has anyone here had decent success with GTG and gymnastic exercises?
It would be nice to incorporate some of that strength on top of building the power from Q&D.
Click to expand...
Totally doable. As @pet' said, you want to be pretty fresh when going for HS. Handstand is a skill, not a strength move, once you have the basic strength to remain inverted for 30+ seconds (with a wall support if needed). If you're tired or sore it's considerably more difficult to gain any appreciable balance skill.

The only thing I would advise is to watch your total volume/how many different gymnastic moves you are GtG-ing. Handstand, if volume is moderated appropriately, can be done practically daily. L-sits as well, though they are a strength skill. Depending on your training experience and current conditioning/strength levels, GtG with more than two gymnastic moves might be too much. You could also do your Q&D training two days per week and then do 2-3 days a week of dedicated gymnastic strength, then sprinkle in GtG HS work.
 
Have you read Naked Warrior book? Pavel describes the GTG in a brilliant way. There is, I believe, a wisdom in selecting as few exercises as possible. Whenever I do GTG w Pushup and squats I stick, whenever I add more and sophisticated moves, I quit. Please be conservative w number of exercises.
 
GTG is a wonderful way for developing straight arm strength. Do 50% sets and you are likely to find yourself improve significantly. Q&D twice a week is a rather conservative volume. It would be reasonable to add 2 to 3 gymnastics exercises to your routine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom