Athletes undergo intense training for any type of sport they play, but it takes a unique approach to rise to the top of the gymnastics world. Gymnasts turn to the Gymnastics Strength Training Method in order to hone their core, fine tune their muscles, and compete with the best of the best.
Tim Ferriss recently released a podcast titled The Secrets of Gymnastic Strength Training, in which US national team coach Christopher Sommer revealed some of the secrets behind this intense and fascinating workout. So, what makes this regimen stand out from the rest?
Table of Contents
A Quick Summary
This method of strength training is a way of building up your baseline level of strength with a mix of both gymnastics and bodyweight exercises. It involves:
- Advancing into more difficult progressions, such as those done on the floor or using rings.
- Advancing into weighted variations of basic exercises, such as pull ups or dips
- Transitioning into a conventional strength training protocol, typically powerlifting or bodybuilding.
- Finding a balance between these three aspects to create a solid routine.
This form of training is designed to help you manipulate your body weight, perform weighted exercises, and achieve a higher amount of reps when performing heavy compound movements via barbell. It isn’t easy, and progress is often slow, but the results continue to be incredible. Here’s why you should make this your one and only routine.
You Can Do It Anywhere
There’s no gym membership required to get started. The majority of these exercises can be done in the comfort of your own home. All you need are a few weights to get started.
If you’re working towards pulling off an expert planchet, simply pick up a pair of parallettes that fit inside your living room. There are several home-friendly options available. As for rings, you can take a pair to the park or choose a home friendly option that hangs from a door or ceiling.
Continual Improvement
Gymnastic strength training starts out with simple maneuvers and exercises, then quickly progresses into complicated variants with weight. That factor alone is a proven way to see continual improvement, but there’s more to this style of strength training that creates an added benefit.
Instead of doing the same bench press or push up throughout the regimen, these moves enhance and change to up the difficulty level. Hold times in isometric exercises allow you to spend more time on muscle contractions, decreased speeds forces you to work muscle groups harder, and adjusting the height of your rings allows for the constant change that brings constant gains.
Straight Arm Strength
The majority of body building programs do not focus on straight arm strength, which is moving your body without bending your joints. Instead of decreasing the angle of your joints in a bicep curl or pull up, planches require you to increase that angle.
Greater increases equal greater difficulty, but the true benefit is in working multiple muscle groups at the same time. A straddle planche, for instance, works everything from your deltoids to your triceps.
Building up your straight arm strength creates an impressive base that transfers over to deadlifts and weighted pulling movements. Why? The amount of time under tension for the upper body muscle groups works to strengthen and stretch your tendons, as well as your ligaments.
Aside from making traditional strength training easier, this also helps to eliminate injury. Straight arm strength is a win-win situation.
Tying it All Together
Gymnastic strength training creates the upper body muscles that many traditional strength trainers crave, but it does so in a superior way. By working multiple muscles at once and increasing joint bends through straight arm strength, this is an excellent way for anyone to achieve the body they desire.
You can continually improve by adjusting the exercises to make them more difficult, ensuring that your improvement never peaks. Best of all, you can do it right inside of your home.
Working on Your Physique
Everyone knows that customized leggings create a uniform look for the team, but you want to look as good as possible in those leggings when you wear them. This strength training routine builds a proportionate physique by working multiple muscles at once.
This creates a more uniform look for your muscles, giving you a smooth yet strong appearance. While it does not emphasize any lower body exercises, one “leg day” a week is more than enough to keep your entire body looking like a toned machine.
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