Foundation, Stretching and Handstand - how do the programs integrate

[Edward Norton]

I'm a little unclear on how different courses integrate. After reading many forum posts, I often see advice like 'Start with Foundation and then add Stretching'. Looking at the software screen shots on product pages, I'm unsure of what each day / session looks like if I'm doing two courses - is the software aware? Does that mean two training sessions a day or would I be alternating days? What if I then end up working the same muscle group on consecutive days? And what happens if I add the handstand course? A lot of questions, I know.

[Tanya Hill]

Hi Edward, 

Great questions! Many of the GB courses can be worked simultaneously. The system allows for you to customize your training schedule and pick what days you wish to train and for how long each day, then the workouts are adjusted accordingly. The stretch courses will take about 45 minutes to complete so on days that you have stretch you may have a training schedule of 90-120 minutes. Adding in the Handstand course is a great idea.

For example : Lets say you train Foundations and Stretch Mon, Wed and Fri and stick handstands on Tuesday and Thursday. You will be given a workout for each day. 

We love questions, so let us know if we can assist you further. 

[Edward Norton]

Hi Tanya,

Thanks for your response. That makes sense. I look forward to finishing the fundamentals and get started on the full GST program.

[Aileen Van Boven]

Hi Tanya, do you suggest doing stretch more than once a week. I only have one of the stretch courses so far, could I do that twice? or only if I have more of the stretch courses.

 

[Matthew Robertson]

Hi Aileen, coach Sommer recommends going through each stretch series once per week. Any more frequently will slow progress due to soreness from the previous stretching.

[Tanya Hill]

Hi @Aileen Van Boven, great question.

Coach does recommend all you need is once a week.

However, you are welcome to double up. All depends on how your body responds the day after stretching, if you are extremely sore I would give a few days rest before you do it again. 

[Scott Garfield]

Hi Tanya, in your reply above when you say Foundation on M, W & F, do you mean all the Foundation components (core, upper and lower) on each day or different components on different days?  Thanks.

[Darin Phoenix]

Hi Scott,

She was referring to Coach's recommended schedule which is to train a different component on the different days. For example Monday would be Upper, Wednesday - Core, Friday - Lower.

[Scott Garfield]

thank you Darin

[Paul Del Casino]

On 3/22/2017 at 11:55 AM, Tanya Hill said:

Hi @Aileen Van Boven, great question.

Coach does recommend all you need is once a week.

However, you are welcome to double up. All depends on how your body responds the day after stretching, if you are extremely sore I would give a few days rest before you do it again. 

The problem I run into is recovery. I have Foundations/HS/mobility and due to my schedule, it's rare that I can complete them all in a week. It's closer to a 9 or 10-day rotation if that. The problem is how they overlap. So for instance if I do front split mobility, there's almost no way I can do single leg squat the next day, sometimes the next 2 days. If I do HS, that may make my shoulders too sore to do side lever work, etc. Based on my recovery times, which are sometimes 2-3 days, there's no way I can fit everything in in one week, even if I had the time. Throw in a pulled muscle or injury and the time just lengthens.

A follow up question: Should I train through soreness? I did HLL yesterday, which left my lats too sore to do FL work, and when I tried it today, it just didn't feel right. Like I was going to strain something. I always defer to pain, but I'm wondering if I get benefits without a full recovery. I'm having some frustrating issues trying to progress. 

Thanks.

 

[Leo Trinidad]

Hi @Paul Del Casino,

My suggestion is to restart everything to build up volume. When I was first starting GST, I have encountered the same problem since I was doing HS One 3x a week along with the other Foundation Exercises. I have restarted to make sure to be consistent with training and not miss/deviate from the program. I train through soreness but not through pain. I also make sure that I train differently each day. As I restarted back to the first PE, I realized my work capacity and adjusted it accordingly. Never got any strain or injury from before except when I was doing too much press handstands last year. I hope this helps.