Book: Building the Gymnastic Body

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
21

The book arrived in the mail today and I tried out a few things. I agree with IronAbrams in that the programming/routines section was pretty weak but the rest of the book is fantastic.

So for anyone else who has the book or uses gymnastic techniques in their training, what do you do?

I don’t have enough time to progress with every movement in the book so I’m going to focus on the planche, the L-sit, manna and v-sits.

So today (I’m starting at the lowest of the low here) I did:

Frog Stand

Manna middle split holds

L-sits

V-ups

Each for 60 seconds cumulative time.

22

[quote]Schwarzfahrer wrote:
While I’ll probably buy that book, I don’t like the assumption that you can “build” a “gymnast body” .
Yes, that’s two bold assertions in my book.

First, not all gymnasts look great.
How can it be that even pro gymnasts in their prime look just OK from an aesthetic (bodybuilding) standpoint? And average Joe cannot hope to match their talent, training volume, dedication and support.
Second, a gymnast body depends largely on the right proportions and low bodyfat. So if you’re a tall, big boned fellow with 15%bf+, you’re not cool enough for the club.

Still, I think I’ll like that book, since I got a knack for bodyweight exercises. [/quote]

you’re taking “the gymnastic body” to mean something completely different. Imo they’re referring to the athletic attributes. strong, coordinated, flexible, lean, explosive. You CAN accomplish this regardless of physical attributes.

As I mentioned previously you may not have the physical attributes of high level gymnasts (you’re too big, etc)… but a big guy doing bulgarian dips is (as far as absolute strength) the same equivalent to a guy 1/2 his size doing straddle planche pushups…

don’t get caught up in what gymnastics look like or the advanced skillsets… worry about the overall performance. gymnasts are like fucking liquid steel… who wouldn’t want that.

23

I bought the book and DVDs. The book is great, the DVDs horrible and not worth the extra money. There is just the movement demonstrated - which the pictures in the book adequately show. Also the navigation on the DVDs is very cumbersome and appears to have been made on a Mac with some cheap video editing program.

So - just buy the book.

24

I am going to get this book. I have been taking breakdancing lessons ever since coming across BBoy Junior. He has some ridic arm/full body strength.

This is the video that inspired me to try:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3vwe4_best-of-red-bull-bc-one-2004-junior_street

Just found this one recently, some of the same material but some new stuff I hadn’t seen:

25

[quote]mlellsworth wrote:
I am going to get this book. I have been taking breakdancing lessons ever since coming across BBoy Junior. He has some ridic arm/full body strength.

This is the video that inspired me to try:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3vwe4_best-of-red-bull-bc-one-2004-junior_street

Just found this one recently, some of the same material but some new stuff I hadn’t seen:

[/quote]

Yes it’s true he has astonishing strength but before he had that he broke his femur and that is why he is power move dominant.

26

A few mma forums are talking about this, but seem to recommend Diesel Crews Combat Core instead…

27

[quote]sjfou wrote:
A few mma forums are talking about this, but seem to recommend Diesel Crews Combat Core instead…[/quote]

I have Combat Core- one of the best buys that I’ve ever made. But BtGB and it aren’t even remotely about the same subject.

Real core training vs. Gymnastic training for regular joes.

Not sure why someone would make a comparison.

As for me, I’ve been training the front lever for the past couple weeks- have definitely made progress. On my way to a straddle but not there yet.