The Secrets of Gymnastic Strength Training (#158)

Thank you Mr. Ferriss.

My question is for Coach Sommer.

I am 41 and I’ve been dabbling in bodyweight fitness for quite some time. I have disc bulging in my L3/L4, L4/L5 and L5/S1 areas from years of Firefighting, but, need to stay in some type of physical shape and be able to perform. The pain is always there no matter how cautious I am. Are there any exercises I should be avoiding and which are the ones I should be doing? Where do you recommend I start?

Best Regards,

Keith

Firstly thanks heaps for an inspiring episode.

I am a 42 wannabe mountain biker who occasionally does a pull-up or 2. I loved hearing the content and want to see if this is something that I can get involved in. I certainly could do with the increased flexibility.

clicking on the http://www.gymnasticbodies.com/tim/ link is great – but is there any way I can see what the investment actually gives me. Knowing myself – I am keen to see if this is in my ballpark before I outlay my Australian Dollars…

Thanks again,

Tim & Coach Sommers wow! incredible podcast and I have listen to it two times already. Incredible content and I cant believe the information that was put out. Thank you very much for the knowledge and I cant wait to to start on the foundation program. I was hurt in Iraq and my back and hips have never been the same. I think starting at a low level and building the connective tissue is just the thing and was my aha moment. Only wish I heard about Coach Sommers when I was going through physical rehab. Keep up the great work Tim and Coach Sommers your awesome! thanks for your knowledge!!!

George

Would you recommend going through this program for an absolute beginner? (Read overweight not athletic experience, but really want to work things right with his body)

Thanks and great podcast!

Hi Tim, Will you post updates of your progression? I’m about to start the GST foundation program.

At about 41:00 you mentioned some knee stabilizing exercises that you would put in the show notes, but I don’t see any mention of them above. I need them.

First thought, maybe EQ those consonants down. I think it’s 1.5Khz-4Khz, down 1Db or so. This isn’t the only show where the guest’s “s” and “t” sounds sharply cut through he car stereo like they are spitting at me.

Second glaring thought what happened to 80/20? I’m most of the way through this three hour podcast and I really feel like the pertinent information could have been condensed. Coach likes tangents but as the interviewer, Tim, I think you have a little more responsibility to reign in the conversation here. There are some really good points but when asked for a list of 3-5 things we get one from coach, one from you and then it’s off into the woods.

Finally I love the content but for accessibility I’m going back to Pilates. Functional movement and strength is the core of Pilates. Gymnastic strength training at its peak really takes things to a higher level, but for where most people will go Pilates is perfect. It’s the mobility and strength training you need to be healthy. Online content can be really helpful but in person training is always better. You can find Pilates instructors in every major city. Once you get that down, if you still want more sure, find a gymnastics trainer.

I appreciate you bringing us the (slightly distracted) details of this training system and I hope it inspires people to move in some way or another. I’ll certainly be looking for the cliff’s notes to add to my personal exercises.

another great episode, thank you! QL walk and the Jefferson Curl were amazing takeaways.

Tim,

What was that shoulder exercise you two were talking about around 2:30 – 2:45 that you did with a kettlebell. Coach said his athletes used dumbbells.

What is the brand of Vitamin D that Coach Sommers mentioned towards the end?

Hi Tim

I’m a 64-year-old yoga enthusiast and have been inspired by Coach Sommers approach to fitness. Does Coach think that his system would be appropriate for someone my age?

As a dude currently on the slow carb program with the goal of loosing a hundred pounds, I am not very athletic. You all talked a lot about “beasts” who lost mobility due to massive muscle gain. I would like to know how coach Sommer would approach a fat dude who wants to gain benefits from GST, especially focused on mobility.

Loved the show – HOWEVER — as a now 4-year practitioner of Ashtanga yoga (VERY different from your regular yoga class, look it up) I understand about the objection to regular yoga poses given to beginner non-practiced students (liked handstands, advanced arm balances and backbends etc.) I want either or both of your to come to my home shala in Philly and see what we are about. We work every single day 6x a week at 50-70% – again so as to be able to work every day. But there is STRICT progression similar to what Coach Sommer discussed. We are simply not ALLOWED to do things our bodies aren’t ready for as set out in our practice. I feel the best I’ve ever felt because first and foremost my mobility and flexibility has increased and my strength has been built with muscle integrity. Our movements are designed to build with integrity. The movements Coach S. describes are very similar to our Primary Series which we learn a few moves at a time. shoulder and scapular rotation – wheel (bridge) is done every single day with the utmost of integrity to protect the low back (something I never see in regular yoga classes!!) and we don’t approach handstands until the 3rd series (there are 6). I urge you to check it out and I am absolutely going to check out the basic moved. I’d love to hear from you! Would be fascinating to have you evaluate our yogis “athletes.” All the best. Wicked podcast!

Trying to optimize my time – are there any tips for women in this one? Our bodies are very different… If so I will take the time to listen, if not, I’ll pass. Thanks!

-K

Thanks Tim, another great podcast that makes my train commute beneficial! Have been hitting the gym for over 20 years now, age 38. Due to the state of UK gyms (no teaching of how to lift properly) everything i did was poor form and sitting at a desk has led to the usual problems. Have self treated an impinged shoulder from 3 years ago and it is 95% pain free. Since the impingement i have been doing a lot more body weight stuff and have accomplished some recent set goals – bar muscle ups last year and holding a handstand for 10 seconds 🙂 Despite this i knew i had been rushing into the good stuff and i have definitely cut corners. After listening to the podcast i hit the gym and tried out the supine shoulder extension, not great! Pain in bicep tendons and although hearing on the podcast you may feel some weird pain around my elbows – yep agony! Knew I had to dial it back and start from the beginning. Currently on 2nd day of the fundamentals, aside from some additional cardio will be just doing this course for the next month.

Thoughts so far on the course are that it is well presented and easy to follow so far! Looking forward to hearing about your progress Tim, and thanks coach for putting me on a new track as i approach the 40’s! 🙂

When properly performed, strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being, including increased bone, muscle, tendon and ligament strength and toughness, improved joint function, reduced potential for injury, increased bone density, increased metabolism, increased fitness, improved cardiac function, and improved lipo protein lipid profiles, including elevated HDL (“good”) cholesterol. Training commonly uses the technique of progressively increasing the force output of the muscle through incremental weight increases and uses a variety of exercises and types of equipment to target specific muscle groups. Strength training is primarily an anaerobic activity, although some proponents have adapted it to provide the benefits of aerobic exercise through circuit training.

Sports where strength training is central are bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting, strongman, Highland games, shotput, discus throw, and javelin throw. Many other sports use strength training as part of their training regimen, notably American football, wrestling, track and field, rowing, lacrosse, basketball, pole dancing, hockey, professional wrestling, rugby union, rugby league and soccer.

Strength training also provides functional benefits. Stronger muscles improve posture, provide better support for joints, and reduce the risk of injury from everyday activities. Older people who take up weight training can prevent some of the loss of muscle tissue that normally accompanies aging—and even regain some functional strength—and by doing so become less frail. They may be able to avoid some types of physical disability. Weight-bearing exercise also helps to prevent osteoporosis and to improve bone strength in those with osteoporosis. The benefits of weight training for older people have been confirmed by studies of people who began engaging in it even in their 80s and 90s.

Though strength training can stimulate the cardiovascular system, many exercise physiologists, based on their observation of maximal oxygen uptake, argue that aerobics training is a better cardiovascular stimulus. Central catheter monitoring during resistance training reveals increased cardiac output, suggesting that strength training shows potential for cardiovascular exercise. However, a 2007 meta-analysis found that, though aerobic training is an effective therapy for heart failure patients, combined aerobic and strength training is ineffective.

Strength training may be important to metabolic and cardiovascular health. Recent evidence suggests that resistance training may reduce metabolic and cardiovascular disease risk. Overweight individuals with high strength fitness exhibit metabolic/cardiovascular risk profiles similar to normal-weight, fit individuals rather than overweight unfit individuals.

For rehabilitation or to address an impairment

For many people in rehabilitation or with an acquired disability, such as following stroke or orthopaedic surgery, strength training for weak muscles is a key factor to optimise recovery. For people with such a health condition, their strength training is likely to need to be designed by an appropriate health professional, such as a physiotherapist or an occupational therapist.

The basic principles of strength training involve a manipulation of the number of repetitions (reps), sets, tempo, exercises and force to cause desired changes in strength, endurance or size by overloading of a group of muscles. The specific combinations of reps, sets, exercises, resistance and force depend on the purpose of the individual performing the exercise: to gain size and strength multiple (4+) sets with fewer reps must be performed using more force. A wide spectrum of regimens can be adopted to achieve different results, but the classic formula recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine reads as follows:

8 to 12 repetitions of a resistance training exercise for each major muscle group at an intensity of 40% to 80% of a one-repetition max (RM) depending on the training level of the participant.

Two to three minutes of rest is recommended between exercise sets to allow for proper recovery.

Two to four sets are recommended for each muscle group

Typically failure to use good form during a training set can result in injury or an inability to meet training goals – since the desired muscle group is not challenged sufficiently, the threshold of overload is never reached and the muscle does not gain in strength. There are cases when cheating is beneficial, as is the case where weaker groups become the weak link in the chain and the target muscles are never fully exercised as a result.

The benefits of strength training include increased muscle, tendon and ligament strength, bone density, flexibility, tone, metabolic rate and postural support.

For developing endurance, gradual increases in volume and gradual decreases in intensity is the most effective program. Sets of thirteen to twenty repetitions develop anaerobic endurance, with some increases to muscle size and limited impact on strength.

It has been shown that for beginners, multiple-set training offers minimal benefits over single-set training with respect to either strength gain or muscle mass increase, but for the experienced athlete multiple-set systems are required for optimal progress. However, one study shows that for leg muscles, three sets are more effective than one set.

Beginning weight-trainers are in the process of training the neurological aspects of strength,[citation needed] the ability of the brain to generate a rate of neuronal action potentials that will produce a muscular contraction that is close to the maximum of the muscle’s potential.

In one common method, weight training uses the principle of progressive overload, in which the muscles are overloaded by attempting to lift at least as much weight as they are capable. They respond by growing larger and stronger. This procedure is repeated with progressively heavier weights as the practitioner gains strength and endurance.

However, performing exercises at the absolute limit of one’s strength (known as one rep max lifts) is considered too risky for all but the most experienced practitioners. Moreover, most individuals wish to develop a combination of strength, endurance and muscle size. One repetition sets are not well suited to these aims. Practitioners therefore lift lighter (sub-maximal) weights, with more repetitions, to fatigue the muscle and all fibres within that muscle as required by the progressive overload principle.

Commonly, each exercise is continued to the point of momentary muscular failure. Contrary to widespread belief, this is not the point at which the individual thinks they cannot complete any more repetitions, but rather the first repetition that fails due to inadequate muscular strength. Training to failure is a controversial topic with some advocating training to failure on all sets while others believe that this will lead to overtraining, and suggest training to failure only on the last set of an exercise. Some practitioners recommend finishing a set of repetitions just before the point of failure; e.g. if you can do a maximum of 12 reps with a given weight, perform only 11. Adrenaline and other hormones may promote additional intensity by stimulating the body to lift additional weight (as well as the neuro-muscular stimulations that happen when in “fight-or-flight” mode, as the body activates more muscle fibres), so getting “psyched up” before a workout can increase the maximum weight lifted.

Weight training can be a very effective form of strength training because exercises can be chosen, and weights precisely adjusted, to safely exhaust each individual muscle group after the specific numbers of sets and repetitions that have been found to be the most effective for the individual. Other strength training exercises lack the flexibility and precision that weights offer.

Split training

Split training involves working no more than three muscle groups or body parts per day, instead spreading the training of specific body parts throughout a training cycle of several days. It is commonly used by more advanced practitioners due to the logistics involved in training all muscle groups maximally. Training all the muscles in the body individually through their full range of motion in a single day is generally not considered possible due to caloric and time constraints. Split training involves fully exhausting individual muscle groups during a workout, then allowing several days for the muscle to fully recover. Muscles are worked roughly twice per week and allowed roughly 72 hours to recover. Recovery of certain muscle groups is usually achieved on days while training other groups, i.e. a 7-day week can consist of a practitioner training trapezius, side shoulders and upper shoulders to exhaustion on one day, the following day the arms to exhaustion, the day after that the rear, front shoulders and back, the day after that the chest. In this way all mentioned muscle groups are allowed the necessary recovery.

Intensity, volume, and frequency

Three important variables of strength training are intensity, volume, and frequency. Intensity refers to the amount of work required to achieve the activity, and is proportional to the mass of the weights being lifted. Volume refers to the number of muscles worked, exercises, sets and reps during a single session. Frequency refers to how many training sessions are performed per week.

These variables are important because they are all mutually conflicting, as the muscle only has so much strength and endurance, and takes time to recover due to microtrauma. Increasing one by any significant amount necessitates the decrease of the other two, e.g. increasing weight means a reduction of reps, and will require more recovery time and therefore fewer workouts per week. Trying to push too much intensity, volume and frequency will result in overtraining, and eventually lead to injury and other health issues such as chronic soreness and general lethargy, illness or even acute trauma such as avulsion fractures. A high-medium-low formula can be used to avoid overtraining, with either intensity, volume, or frequency being high, one of the others being medium, and the other being low.

When I first saw this podcast was 3 hours long I cringed and put it off, boy was I wrong! This and Pavel have been my favourite episodes so far-although they are almost all interesting and enjoyable these are the only two (so far) I want to listen to a second time and take notes. In fact this is my only problem with podcasts, you cannot highlight and I listen to them while driving. Keen to try out some of the foundation work you discuss. As a coach and PT there is just so much in this that will be useful to me. Thanks Tim and Coach Sommer!

Thank you for this!! I just finished listening to this episode for the 3rd time. What you share resonates with my beliefs when it comes to training and you are such a pool of knowledge, I feel lucky to have come across your programmes. I’ve been doing the Fundamentals course for over a month and it’s great, thank you for such an amazing resource. I’m 30 now and have been training (martial arts mostly) and have stayed active most of my life. I’d like to think of myself as having average mobility and a good core strength. My flexibility was also good but began to suffer once I started doing Crossfit 2 years ago, because of the soreness and tiredness I often (not always thank god!) skipped the so important stretching. It was in the past month or so that I made it a point to stretch a lot more and started the GB Fundamentals. I thought I was doing great combining that and my version of Crossfit (olympic lifts and all but more focused on the gymnastics elements on ground, bar and rings). I strained a muscle (serratus or oblique now sure yet) last week doing a front lever progression and have been in pain since. This injury gives me time to think of what I might be doing wrong and what is it that I might be not seeing. I’d appreciate any of your thoughts on this. I’m considering booking the Stroud workshop and hopefully learn more there.

Champ you thought of talking to Pat McNamara. 14 years in the Unit.

Away the lads

ps half way through Fundamentals. The missing link in training. Already healed shoulder, neck and forearm issues ive had for 8 months. Pre hab /re hab magic.

Hi everyone,

Thought you might enjoy this video companion to my podcast with Tim which one of our listeners created. Great watch to become more familiar with gymnastics lexicon.

https://youtu.be/EzyAPEWOlxw

thanks for this article and really impressive. can you please suggest us some home based tips because at present i am busy with my study and office so i have no much time to do this but wanted to do this.

Outstanding interview. So good I listened twice. A sequel is a must. So many pearls of wisdom from a man who clearly knows his stuff, understands the human body’s capacity for training and learning and who has for several decades worked with the world’s elite.

Does someone have a link that shows the Jane Fonda Bullshit Exercise™?

Thanks! 🙂

You might consider interviewing Kyle Dake at some point. His mom was a college gymnast, and I believe he credits gymnastics as a factor in his ability to win 4 NCAA wrestling championships at four different weights…his warmups were fun to watch, full of tumbling. Dake also has some pretty cool ideas on journalling for motivation, doing away with the singlet and a professional freestyle league. As a fellow ivy league wrestler, you might dig speaking with him.

Hi Tim, At some point in the podcast Coach Sommer references taking Vitamin D3 and the fact that it reduced/prevented the incidence/frequency of him getting bronchitis (or he may have just said respiratory tract infections). I am prone to getting Bronchitis everytime I get a cold so my ears pricked up big time. Given that I actually had bronchitis I ran to the chemist and got a D3 mix (included Calcium and K2) and starting chugging this stuff down (2,000 IUs per day) and guess what? That stuff worked like magic. Instead of hanging around for 4 weeks or so (past history) it was gone inside 4 days! I could not believe it. I have kept on taking it and here I am in the middle of an Australian Winter (I know, its not like Chicago) and have not had the dreaded B return. A sample size of one but it seems to work on me. Anyone with a similar experience?

There are nuggets of pure gold in every podcast. Thank you Sir!

He had me until the “retarded” comment. Is’nt time for the athlete bro-mags to evolve?

What Coach Sommers said contradicts a lot of Kelly Starrett teaches, K.S seems a loud mouth fraud.

Tim is it possible to have a jump to button so a person can jump to the start of each section of the podcast? I was really looking for the discussion on crossfit but wasn’t able to listen to the whole 3 hours in one sitting therefore haven’t been able to find the crossfit discussion.

I am Paralyzed from the waist down and have spinal structural issues which cause chronic pain. I get most of my relief from exercise and would love to learn more about your program. Coach Sommer, I left a message on your facebook. I will be purchasing your program you discounted for Tims listeners and do what I can to adapt to you program. Any advice will be appreciated however.

Hi Coach Sommers! Contrary to majority of the people out there, I am actually “hypermobile”, I have all 3 oversplits, long and narrow bridges and able to hold my ankles in bridges, arms can extend past my ears, full range skin the cats, etc. I have been trying to learn handstands for a few years now with no success, because my back and shoulders move around a lot whenever I try to balance, and tend to have an arch in my upper back no matter how hard I try to close my ribs and stay hollow. I know its just an issue of strengthening and learning to control them, because contortionists can handbalance really well despite their flexibility. I can do a straddle press to handstand but challenging to hold it once I get up. I don’t think it’s my core strength either because I can hold plank with good form for 5 minutes straight, hold hollow position for a minute or more, hold L sit for 45+sec. Its just that when I go upside down, everything is gone. I am considering doing handstand one, will it help at all, since there’s a lot of mobility work, and my priority is to strengthen and learn control? I have been through so much frustration and hours and hours of practice (including private lessons). Should I even bother anymore and find something else to do or is there going to be a chance of being able to control my handstand? I’m tired of kicking up and falling over, over and over and over again…

Hi. I have read the Tools of Titans and I’m wanting to buy the Hitachi Magic Wand for hypertonic muscles, that is mentioned in the chapter with Christopher Sommer. Please let me know which supplier was used to buy the product, as I found many variations in price and naming of the product.

Sooo excited to start this program. I am 46 and by the time I am 50 I would love to be more flexible, mobile, fit and toned feeling good! Moving to Colorado as well soon and will be about 1 hour North of Denver. Looking forward to learning and applying then sharing.

Chris, can you tell us which probiotic from Klaire you were taking?