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Bodyweight SFB and prep for April

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Kristen Mitchell

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Hello!

I'll be attending the SFB in April in Seattle and really looking forward to it! My questions is how to prep for it without letting myself go "off the rails", which I'm very apt to do if I don't give myself a certain amount of structure.

A little about me:
I'll be 42 soon and for the past 10 years (both during and in between babies) I've participated in Crossfit, yoga, bodyweight, and barbell. This past February Ive been rehabbing my right shoulder after I pulled a ligament and ended up with bursitis doing waaay too many big yoga backbends with very little recovery time built in. In essence I tend to take things to the extreme. After getting back to training upper body regularly, I rediscovered kettlebells about 6 months ago and have been working with an SFGII to get form squared away on all sorts of skills. Although my TGU form seems like it is ok, the move from ground to elbow irritates my serratus anterior (weighted and unweighted) and I have concentrated on the S&S warmup with a few correctives to work on upper back, crawling, swings (alternating with 2H*24kg and 1H*20kg) , and an Easy Strength approach with barbells (military press, bulgarian split squat, deadlift, db row, loaded carries, and HLR). I've been peppering OAPU progressions GTG style into the mix to get me going on cert prep.

Prior to that, I completed Aleks Salkins Program ( The Anytime, Anywhere Bodyweight-Only Strength Program). I've also read his blog post From Bodyweight To Heavyweight: Mining the 1-arm/1-leg pushup for a heavier press, that was very interesting. These past few months, these routines have felt great (especially the Easy Strength) and I have few days where I feel like I have not recovered well. I don't do well with rest days and the Easy Strength approach allows me to practice everyday and I like it!

I really love the bodyweight approach and decided to go for the SFB and have started thinking about how best to prepare. The past couple of weeks, I have used @Karen Smith "Surprise Yourself with Strength Program" (Surprise Yourself With Strength on This Bodyweight Training Plan), but I'm seeing it as more of a "bus bench" type of approach and thinking I need to save this to about 6 weeks prior to the cert. The other piece is that if I do too many pull-ups (current max is ~8 tactical) and pistols, I get cranky knees and elbows. Definitely not something I want to risk happening just before the cert!

So, my question is what exercises would be best to chose to structure into a Dan John style Easy Strength approach that would have carry over to the pistol and pull-up. Front squats, 1 leg Dead, bench, KB press? I would plan to do this til about the end of Feb, then switch to a more focused BW program leading up to the April cert.

OR, is this the completely wrong way to do things?

Thanks so much for the help and advice!

Kristen
 
Congrats on registering for the SFB! It's just as comprehensive and eye-opening as any SF cert and Karen is top-notch at teaching it.

If you're looking for a "park bench" approach, I think you can safely start with the hollow body and its variations.

How does your shoulder feel with the OAPU?
 
Yes, very excited to be attending!!

I do lots of hollow body variations, but transferring the form to all the other applicable moves is still a work in progress.

OAPU have felt fine so far, but I'm still working my way down the wall so full bodyweight OAPU is also still in the works.

Love to figure out the best kinds of exercises for a push, pull, hinge, squat, loaded carry approach/5 day a week approach. Then crank it up with the more focused "Surprise Yourself etc,".

Any all suggestions would be welcome and appreciated!
 
Kristen Mitchell said:
Love to figure out the best kinds of exercises for a push, pull, hinge, squat, loaded carry approach/5 day a week approach.
Click to expand...
Well the OAPU is how you pass the certification and you can't quite do them yet so that's an easy answer. OAPU should be your press.

Don't let it fool you. It's a very hard exercise. I think you should use all the time you have to prepare.

KB Front Squats should carry just fine to your Pistol without being so unstable that your knees will take a beating.

I think the Pullup is indispensable and you should throw it in. I personally get issues with high frequency Pullups on my right elbow, regardless of weigh or reps rep set. The volume does it for me.
Instead, I go for intensity and less frequency. Consider doing Pullups less often than ES would have you do, and not as many sets. Depending on your Pullup max, you could potentially add a bit of weight. On the "off" days, you would do Deadlifts (or one legged,whatever you want) instead. The straight arm is a blessing for banged up elbows.

The hinge could be the swing and the carry the Farmer Walk. That's what Dan recommends anyways.

Is that sort of what you were looking for ? I hope it helps a bit
 
Hi @305pelusa! Yes! A huge help- thank you! I really enjoy reading all of your insight re BW and calisthenics training, btw.

Good idea with the pull up- I'll keep lower rep and concentrate on adding weight. Maybe the other days I could do a KB row or Australian pull up. Neither of those don't to irritate the elbows as much.

The OAPU is very hard and I'm still working my way down the wall. Took a while just to feel how all my parts were working together even on the wall. I inevitably end up leaving a glute or a quad behind.
 
Hello,

Kristen Mitchell said:
The OAPU is very hard and I'm still working my way down the wall
Click to expand...
I guess there a lot of progression frame but, here is the one I used
standard PU > elevated feet PU > elevated feet + a box for an arm > OA PU

Related to pistol, as @305pelusa said, swings and squats will serve you well.

Then, you can try to fix a rope (or a belt, etc...) to a door. Use the rope as an assistance to get down (balance) and eventually to get up. With practice, you will need less the rope. A good indicator : if the rope is straight, you used it, otherwise, you did not.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hands elevated OAPs, partial ROM OAPs and lots or backwards crawling will help
 
Hello,

Related to OAP, pistol and HLR, Convict Conditioning approach is pretty solid indeed.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
@Kristen Mitchell
I am excited to hear that you are attending the SFB in Seattle, I look forward to meeting you then.

For now to make sure you are prepping the best, please feel free to send me a video of our current OAPU (hardest elevation that you can currently complete 1 solid rep)
Karen.smith@strongfirst.com
I would focus on the solid planks and the OAPU while maintain your pullups and pistol with enough volume that does not aggravate the elbows and knees.

We will cover all progressions and you will walk away from the certification knowing exactly which progression is best for your training as well as those you train.
 
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