Building the Gymnastic Body ($44) is the name of a must read book by respected Arizona MAG coach Christopher Sommer.
I first met Chris at a competition in 2004, and have been a big fan of his coaching ever since.
If you’ve not met him, you’ve likely seen his very popular videos. One sample: Click PLAY or watch Bowers on YouTube.
This book is geared towards MAG though it’s useful too for CrossFit and other strength sports, for both male and females.
… Building the Gymnastic Body allows you to go deep within the world of gymnastics strength training. Extremely comprehensive and detailed, with nearly 200 exercises (many of which have never been seen before by the general public) and well over 500 photographs, it is a complete developmental template for building the essential foundation of strength required for all gymnastics success. Whether you are a competitive athlete looking for an edge, a fitness enthusiast or just beginning a healthier lifestyle, Building the Gymnastic Body is the answer you have been searching for.
CHAPTER ONE – Gymnastics as Conditioning
CHAPTER TWO – General Information, Tools of the Trade – 9, Basic Gymnastics Terminology – 11, The Selection of These Exercises – 15, Handstands & Press Handstands – 16
CHAPTER THREE – Basic Strength – 21
CHAPTER FOUR – Fundamental Static Positions; L-sit – 26, Straddle L – 30, Manna – 35, Back Lever – 41, Front Lever, Planche – 49
CHAPTER FIVE – Upper Body Pressing; Fundamental Bodyweight Exercises, Push-up Variations – 61, Dip Variations – 68, HSPU Variations – 76, Multi-plane Pressing Variations – 83
CHAPTER SIX – Upper Body Pulling; Row Variations – 91, Pull-up Variations – 96, Curl Variations – 103, Multi-plane Pulling Variations – 106
CHAPTER SEVEN – Combined Pull/Press; Muscle-up Variations – 113, Other CPP Variations – 118
CHAPTER EIGHT – Core; V-up Variations – 123, HLL Variations – 127, Lower Back Variations – 132, Oblique Variations – 138, Straight Body Variations – 144
CHAPTER NINE – Legs; Deck Squat Variations – 156, Single Leg Squat Variations – 159, Hamstring Variations – 165
CHAPTER TEN – Program Design Options; Static Strength Training – 171, Basic Strength Training – 175, Integrated Training – 178, Managing Intensity – 179, Group Training – 182
APPENDIX A – Tips for Increasing Pull-ups – 185
APPENDIX B – Static Strength Only Training Results – 186
APPENDIX C – 120 Muscle-ups in 15 minutes – 187
Here’s a review of the Book and companion DVDs from Robb Wolf.
Everything is available through GymnasticBodies.com.. Click through the link on the top right of every page for more information. Every gym should have a copy.
10 comments ↓
Rick, I recently got a chance to meet Coach Sommer at Region1 Championships and it was a delight.
As well, I’m hoping to make the GB seminar on Memorial Day weekend.
Gak. Would love to get to that coaching workshop, Blair. … Especially with so much excitement in the U.K. these days.
The one thing that I got from Sommers was something he said irrespective of training method: “Strength training takes time. Don’t expect any big difference for at least 4 weeks. But stick with it.”
I have lifted weights on/off all my life and never gotten anywhere with it. but these last several months of health increase, I have lifted religiously (did not miss a workout for 6 months, no kidding).
I am now up 60% in strength on every lift except calves (fat men with no training actually get stronger calves than trained skinny men). On select lifts, I’m actually stronger than when I (tried to) did gym. Nothing spectacular. But every two weeks, I am able to make about a 2% increase in weight on the bar. And over the months, that adds up!
My body will never get back to doing the manna-like V-seat on rings or pounding out 20 pullups (too many injuries). Even squatting and deadlifting give my knees problems. But the Sommers philosophy of “give it time” has worked for me, even on the wimpy Life Fitness machines. Feels good to be maxing out some of them!
One of the strongest pound-for-pound guys I’ve ever seen is Mako Sakamoto. He seems to buck the conventional wisdom to strength-training. Anyone seen what he’s been up to, lately (strength-wise)?
I asked him one day how he got so freakishly strong and he told me he maxed out every day. I don’t think that approach works for most people. And it goes against the standard belief of 48 hrs rest for muscle recovery and growth…But everyone should experiment and buck conventional wisdom if it turns out they are the exception to the “scientific” rules regarding what’s supposed to work for the general, generic populace at large.
I’d love to get the book, but not when he’s charging $27 to ship it to Canada!
We should find a Canadian distributor. … hmm
That would be awesome! An ebook version would be great too.
Eventually, Coach Sakomoto got into the rep scheme of doing something that was not a maximal effort but endurance.
John Broz, a WL coach who has a protege named Pat Mendes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xFm9q1HBKY&feature=player_embedded states there really isn’t such an idea as overtraining. It more of becomes a slump where you just drag and eventually get over it. He does seem to regulate volume but notices that auto-regulation happens as well.
Still, I’m not sure we can do that so much in our sport because of tendon issues and wear and tear.
My brother is an ex-gymnast who is now training for a body sculpting competition and has made some vids on exercises for toning and strength and proper technique. I think part of his passion about technique comes from the discipline of gymnastics:
http://www.youtube.com/user/JeffVlahovich
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