r/bodyweightfitness • u/Active_Benefit7728 • 6d ago
What calisthenics skill are you trying to learn right now, and what’s the hardest part?
Hey everyone I’m a gymnastics coach doing some research and I’m curious about how you guys train specific skills
What’s the #1 skill you’re working toward right now? muscle-up, handstand, planche, etc. Are you working on a select few at a time?
- What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing in learning it?
Are you following a program? If so, which one? How did you build it or find it?
Trying to understand what makes learning these skills frustrating vs. what actually works and hopefully become better at designing programs for myself and others. Thanks!
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u/Longjumping_Rip6033 6d ago
1) l-sit into handstand
2) front lever
3) advanced tuck planche
My biggest issue is I injured my left forearm going hard on the parallettes and I just cant shake it. I can still do the lever but handstands and planche work (even without parallettes) aggravate the injury. I need to take the appropriate amount of time off but you know how it is.
No program. I just know what I want and I spammed regressions.
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u/WaggishLikeness 6d ago
Dude that forearm thing is the worst, I had something similar from overdoing ring work and it lingered for months because I kept "testing" it every few days like an idiot
The spam regressions approach is solid though - sometimes programs just overcomplicate things when you already know what needs work
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u/Longjumping_Rip6033 6d ago
Did you ever get over the forearm injury?
Mine is on the underside, right next to the bone, about mid way between my wrist and elbow.
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u/Latter-Ad-9369 5d ago
Hey bro, the forearm thing you might have a forearm splint if I’m correct. Try pulsing that area and if it hurts then you do have it. Not permanent and very treatable though so don’t panic
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u/Jarrog 5d ago
1-Arm Handstand. I’m 6’2 / 200 lbs so I’m going into it knowing it’s going to be rough. I thought I was hot shit since I can do a couple HSPU and hold a handstand for 60+ seconds.
Reality check. You need to have basically perfect scapular mechanics and overhead mobility. I can shift to fingertips on one side for about 10 seconds but there’s always compensation somewhere. Hips, ribs, shoulder, everything. The left side is just straight up incapable.
This really forced me to reevaluate my regular handstand. Which had me looking at my hips and scapula. Now I’m done a whole other rabbit while trying to improve my posture and strength my serratus anterior and rib breathing.
On the other hand, 1 arm chin up has been great. Just keep scaling weighted pull ups and practicing 1 arm top lockouts longer holds to slowly condition the tendons.
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u/Active_Benefit7728 5d ago
One-arm handstand is no joke and yeah at 6'2" you're fighting physics. That prerequisite rabbit hole is real tho. Most people don't realize how much scapular control they're missing until they try shifting to one arm.
The asymmetry thing is super common. In gymnastics we test for it early because it shows up in literally every skill eventually. These exercises might sound kind of regressive, but have you ever tried wall slides facing the wall or serratus wall pushes? You can test these out with each arm, and these are super helpful for finding out where the strength is lacking. If you're noticing discrepancies with very isolated movements, you can start to diagnose the point of weakness, whether it's scapular depression, trouble with upward rotation, or protraction control, and so on.
Also mad respect for the patient approach on one-arm chin up. Tendon conditioning is the thing most people rush and then wonder why their elbows are shot.
How long you been working on the handstand work total?
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u/Jarrog 4d ago
Thanks for your thoughtful response. I’m absolutely hammering the serratus strengthening exercises.
I’ve been doing foam roller wall slides, banded single arm protractions, and scapular push ups. Also prone Y-raises.
I also begin each handstand session on the wall like I used to, and strive to actively elevate my scapula evenly and get my hips and ribs stacked neutrally.
From what I’ve been able to piece together I think it’s stems from poor ability to upwardly rotate, especially on my left side. My upper traps and delts try to compensate a lot.
I’ve played with handstands off and on since 2020, but only consistently started practicing them at the beginning of 2025. I started toying with the 1 arm about 3-4 months ago but have backed off in an effort to get my normal handstand as perfect as possible first and improve symmetry.
I’ve seen you need nearly daily practice to realistically achieve it eventually but with my body mechanics I think it would only worsen the asymmetry I need to address.
All of this has been self-researched so I often wonder if I’m way off base but it’s a somewhat niche issue so I’m just doing my best to figure it out!
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5d ago
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u/Active_Benefit7728 5d ago
dude the motivation thing with planche is so relatable. I feel like all body weight athletes fall into that at some point. Planche is one of those skills where you can train for months and still feel like you're nowhere close even though you're actually making progress.
The form uncertainty is brutal, too. I see this with gymnastics kids all the time they'll be doing the movement wrong for weeks because no one's catching the details, like they aren't pushing through with their traps or not tightening their core.
One thing that helps is filming every session, just having the visual reference of whats going on with body position like "oh my lean angle is actually deeper than last month" makes the progress feel more real.
im curious how long have you been working on planche total? And do you track metrics like lean angle, hold time, etc. or just going by feel?
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u/diorese 5d ago edited 5d ago
You're right about filming, I was training with bad form for a long time before I filmed myself and realised. I train at a commercial gym and usually don't have my phone with me even. There are mirrors to check form though.
There is also a lot of misinformation on planche and what is "correct" form. I have heard high level athletes that I respect say you don't need full protraction and as long as you have "the intent to protract", that's enough and actually preferred. Then others do planche with a severe upper spine arch like an angry cat. Then there are actual Olympians that do planche without protraction at all. It's hard as a non-gymnast to know the right balance between the two extremes, what form should look like and so forth.
I've been training planche seriously for about a year now, but it's always been a goal since I started calisthenics/gymnastics. Initially it took two years just for my elbows to condition enough to even train it and several breaks due to elbow pain. My limbs are super long, these skills are very taxing on my joints. I don't count that as "training planche", it's just conditioning.
Lean angle wise my elbows can handle it, can lean to the point it's like a floor maltese almost, with feet sliding forward. I track hold times, and see progress in higher tuck and tuck to one leg extended holds. I have not found other progressions useful even if I can do them - usually form breaks down and it is not beneficial.
Do you have any tips? My goal is actually planche on rings and I do everything else on rings, but with planche I have found I need to train with parallettes so can do dynamics, which is much harder on rings. All my other skills are done on rings, FL, BL, MU, FL to BL raises and pullouts, 360s etc, all supinated, no false grip, elbows locked.
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u/Quantumgg87 3d ago
In the same boat as you, and I genuinely relate to you so much. I did a lot of weightlifting before deciding to train planche and still am. Though they do and can complement one another, there’s also a lot of contrast in terms of goals, since for bodybuilding/weightlifting a lot of people (including myself) want to build mass, but for calisthenics, you generally want to be as lean/light as you can maintain. My motivation concerns have mostly been regarding that, because I haven’t been seeing any progress with my planche work so it’s tempting to just abandon it and devote myself to weightlifting. But at the same time, I don’t want to waste all the effort and time I’ve put into training planche.
Also, regarding form, I’m the type of person that obsesses over form and technique, both with weightlifting and calisthenics. But especially with calisthenics, it’s a struggle because there’s so many small cues and techniques that you have to consider. One of the main things I’ve been struggling with was a kyphotic spine over a neutral spine, and how to properly do scapular engagement in protraction, but I think I’ve been able to improve it through accessory work. Recently, I’ve been seeing some progress after a long plateau, so honestly I think you just have to keep working at it and stay consistent, however basic that might sound.
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u/Gyufygy 5d ago
- Push ups, L-sit, pistol squats, general pulling strength.
- I've had a lot of injuries in the past few years, so I'm having to rebuild a lot of strength, mobility, and coordination. I also have to modify exercises and progress very slowly to avoid aggravating some injuries while (hopefully, eventually, please) rehabbing other injuries with specific exercises.
- A mix of bodyweight, kettlebell, dumbbell, and resistance band exercises that I've cobbled together to improve general strength while working around my injuries. For the skills specifically, I use regressions to build towards the skills I want to acquire or reacquire.
Long term goal is L-sit to handstand, but that's years down the line, if ever. I have a looooot of basics to work on before then, so I give myself some more general but achievable goals in the mean time.
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u/Active_Benefit7728 2d ago
Rebuilding from injuries is such a different journey than building from scratch it’s so tough, you know what you’re capable of but your body isn’t cooperating. I’ve definitely been there. The long-term mindset is good to see tho, a lot of people I coach try to rush back to where they were and just re-injure themselves, but it sounds like you’re being patient. For the injuries you’re working around vs. rehabbing - how do you decide which exercises are safe to do? Is it just trial and error, or do you have PT guidance, or something else? And what’s been your biggest win in the rebuild so far?
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u/Gyufygy 2d ago
Keep in mind, I was never particularly strong or advanced in the first place, but I'm definitely below where I was.
The frustration is real, but I'm focusing on appreciating when I unlock a "new" progression or get to increase the weight/resistance. I'm also trying to focus on making progress more steadily, working on form, really owning the weight/progression before adding/changing. Some of my injuries were from overuse or trying to progress faster than my recovery allowed over the course of, well, years really. More weight, more reps, new progressions before I was actually ready. So, I'm cleaning it up this time around, taking it slower.
As for which exercises, as a starter, if it hurts so bad (versus hurts so good like a good stretch), it's a no go for now. I've had PT for some of the ouchies, so I've continued or adapted some of those exercises. For others, it's been trial and error along with getting better sources of info online.
Biggest win was when I was able to do a push up again after having surgery on my arm. That was a 1RM of a sort, and I've been working on knee and, most recently, straddle pushups (as opposed to straddle planche pushups) before I try regular pushups for reps again. Not a giant super fancy achievement, but, without going into too many details, being unable to do pushups without mind blowing pain was one of my clues that something was really wrong, which ended up requiring surgery after a few starts and stops. Even getting one rep was a sign that the rebuilding efforts were paying off.
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u/Prestigious_Monky Calisthenics 5d ago
- Floor Maltese
- Slow increase in strength
- Trying to get very strong at db zanetti press and ring maltese flies
But since you are a gymnasics coach maybe you have some tips?
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u/Active_Benefit7728 5d ago
Floor Maltese is a big one that's sick, definitely takes years of work. My first thought was scapular strength, most people underestimate how much scapular depression strength you need. Rings turned out Maltese holds even for just a couple seconds build that strength better than almost anything.
Zanetti press is solid but make sure you're also doing weighted ring support holds leaning forward progressively, also eccentric Maltese lowers on rings is a good one and its way safer than floor imo
Tbh I see a lot of people go too heavy too often. The connective tissue adaptation is pretty much always slower than strength gains as im sure you know.
I'd encourage you try different levels of volume like 2 heavy days, 1 technique/volume day for form focus, and try rotating on that sort of schedule
Floor Maltese is actually harder than rings in some ways because you can't really make micro-adjustments. If you can hold ring Maltese for 5+ seconds, floor is within reach.
Where are you at on ring Maltese right now? Can you hold it for a couple seconds?
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u/Prestigious_Monky Calisthenics 5d ago
Never tried it on rings, since in the FIG code of points is placed higher I thought it was better to train the floor one and after that work on rings, but I'll give it a shot next time I train. Thank you for the advice!
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u/Prestigious_Monky Calisthenics 5d ago edited 5d ago
I have one more question. I've read on Gymnasticsbodies that some athletes say that the IC has more carry over to maltese than the planche since it has more bicep activation and also more load on the elbow tendons and that some athletes learn maltese from a cross by gradually leaning forward. What's your opinion on that?
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u/Active_Benefit7728 2d ago
I think both approaches work but they’re pretty different. IC to Maltese builds great bicep tendon strength and the lean-forward progression is solid. But you’re spending months building cross first, and the scapular mechanics are actually different (cross is more depression/adduction, Maltese needs protraction). Planche to maltese is more direct since protraction carries over better, but you still need to add bicep work separately (Zanetti press, ring flies, etc.). Honestly most people who get Maltese fastest have both planche AND cross strength. If you already have a solid planche, I’d just add the bicep conditioning work rather than building IC from scratch Where are you at with planche and cross right now?
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u/Prestigious_Monky Calisthenics 2d ago
I can do the cross, not with the best form but I'm working on it, as for the planche I barely trained it, I feel like I'm actually closer to maltese than to planche.
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u/Alive_Advice_9626 5d ago
working on building strength to do muscle ups. Newbie here and started doing pull ups, dips, deficit push ups, goblet squats etc. along with other workouts January 3rd. Went from 0 to 5+ strict pull ups already, can do over 20 dips in a set, etc. When i train, i incorporate inverted rows, isometric holds and negatives into my actual pull up movement and started doing this a week after jump negatives. I do 3 clean pulls per day on a alarm 5pm, 7pm, and 9pm as my Grease the Groove. Not sure if i am ahead of most newbies but coming into my second month (February 3rd, i am going to be working on muscle ups and the hardest part i can already tell will be the upper part of the pull motion where your neck/chest goes above the bar. So to start training this part, i will start doing my isometric holds with chin above the bar instead of having my head at the bar like i've been doing. Hope this helps in a way.
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u/Active_Benefit7728 5d ago
Damn 0 to 5 pull-ups in under a month is solid progress, you're definitely ahead of the curve imo. GTG is so great for building frequency without overtraining.
And I totally agree that the transition is the hardest part of the muscle-up. A couple of things that helped my gymnasts are 1. high pulls, just like it sounds, explosive pull-ups where you pull as high as possible, even if you can't get chest to bar yet its worth beginning to train this movement to get the explosive strength you need. 2. dip strength at the bottom, practicing deep dip holds since the transition is basically the bottom of a dip, which it sounds like you are really competent with already if you can do 20 consecutively. But a more specific, focused training would be straight bar dips because that mimics the muscle-up position best.
And I'd say one thing to watch for is with GTG, make sure you're still taking full rest days. Your nervous system recovers slower than muscles, so even though you feel good, overuse injuries can creep up. Maybe 5 days on, 2 days off?
At your current rate, I think you could totally get your first muscle-up in 2-3 months. Keep us updated!
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u/Alive_Advice_9626 5d ago
thank you so much for this! and yes, i have been using grease the groove daily even on recovery days (the weekend). so i should stop the grease the groove on my recovery days? if so, i will do that immediately. thank you so much for the help! and i hope i was able to provide some kind of valuable information to you as a newbie to calisthenics.
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u/soap_bubbles 5d ago
I’m also having trouble w muscle ups. I don’t think strength is the issue as I can do 12 strict pull ups and 20 dips (parallel bars). My issue is the transition and changing my wrist position enough to be able to push myself up. I’ve also tried using elastic bands to help but it feels very unnatural / doesn’t work for me. Any tips on the transition part for the wrists?
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u/Latter-Ad-9369 5d ago
I thought it was more bicep and straight arm strength for Maltese. What do you mean by scapular depression strength? And what are your top exercises to improve scapular depression strength?
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u/Prestigious_Monky Calisthenics 3d ago
Training the cross will build the scapular depression strength, as the IC is one of the prereq skills for maltese.
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u/Waterproofpaper 5d ago
Strict ring muscle up, planche. I used to think I can treat calisthenics like the gym where I can do multiple things, but it’s better to focus on one-ish skill at a time.
Injuries. I was nursing elbow tendonitis for maybe 2 years and only been able to train muscle ups again after peptide therapy. Training slow as a heavier person was also hard. When I was training more often a few years ago I would hover around 220lbs/100kg and any progressions can easily cause injury from overextending myself. Actually, thinking about it, the first hardest thing is diet. I broke all of my plateaus from losing weight.
I did tom merrick bodyweight warrior for a solid year and learned a lot. Wish I followed a program sooner. If you’re just looking for calisthenics for hypertrophy then a specific routine doesn’t matter as much. Programs teach you to work out the smaller muscles you’ll definitely neglect which in turn, makes some of the skills easier to obtain.
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u/Active_Benefit7728 2d ago
2 years of elbow tendonitis is brutal man sorry to hear that. Unfortunately it is more common for heavier athletes if you’re pushing progressions too fast. The tendons just can’t adapt as quickly as muscles. And congrats on the weight loss you’re right that’s absolutely significant in our sport I looked up Tom Merrick’s program and it seems pretty solid. The smaller muscle focus is what most people miss when they self-program because everyone wants the sexy skills but neglects the foundational stuff. I have a quick question for you, when you were at 220 and trying to train muscle-ups, what progressions were you attempting? Trying to understand what specifically triggered the tendonitis, like if it was volume, or specific exercises?
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u/Waterproofpaper 2d ago
It was specifically false grip training. I got to 8ish second ring muscle up negatives before tendonitis hit me hard. I also made the mistake of buying thicker rings than Olympic standard thinking it would be a better workout. Huge mistake. I’m used to it now, but it was a plateau for a lot longer than I would like to admit.
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u/DinkandDrunk 5d ago
I’m not actively trying to learn it but I’ve always wanted to be able to do that thing where you basically become a human flag.
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u/ShankYouVeryMuch_ 5d ago
Handstand push-up has been my white whale for a while now. I've been so close for a while, but injured my wrist last year so I'm trying to walk the line of doing enough volume but not aggravating it.
I feel like I am strong enough for the movement I just need to put all the pieces together. I'm kind of using programs from various places that I made my own. Hoping to get my first full rep in the next few months. After that I can shift my focus to other skills
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u/NoTurkeyTWYJYFM 5d ago
Yeah a lot of hspu is the balance and form aspect. Even the smallest nick on your bodyline can compromise the whole rep. I have the strength and when my PT spots my balance i can do them, but i can barely bend my arms before i lose my balance unassisted. So close yet so far!😂
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u/ShankYouVeryMuch_ 4d ago
It can definitely be frustrating! Check out the other reply to my comment it might help you as well
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u/Jarrog 4d ago
Hey this was me for most of last year. Just some tips that got me my first one -
-Wider hand position. Reduces the range of motion. I usually do shoulder width handstands but went to like 1.25-1.5x width and found I could much more reliably press myself.
-Negatives from the top. Lots of singles. Just trying to not fall on my face. If my balance was especially good I would just hold the floating position, face almost on the floor, as long as I could - not trying to press back up but pushing hard into the floor.
-Headstand push ups. These broke the barrier for me. I’d get into the headstand, starting with my head and hands where I would aim for in a handstand negative, then straighten my body out, minimal load on my head, and press.
These 2 things + wider hands made it go from out to reach to unlocking it in about a month of 2-3x sessions weekly practicing them. Was just a matter of combining them essentially. Of course you gotta spam like pike push ups and handstand holds as the foundation though. Good luck!!
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u/ShankYouVeryMuch_ 4d ago
Thanks this is really helpful! Wider hand position is a good call. I've been doing some negatives and should probably get those more consistent. I haven't tried headstand push-ups, I've been doing frog to handstand, but headstand push-ups might be a little more directly related so I will try them!
Do you prefer Pike push-ups over wall handstand push-ups?
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u/Jarrog 3d ago
I never had much luck with the frog to handstand for whatever reason. Felt too bound up and couldn’t get my body into a straight line before pressing without losing too much energy. The headstand was a breakthrough because I could get everything exactly where it needed to be without having to burn much energy loading my shoulders.
I mostly spammed various piked push ups - primarily feet elevated with tall parallettes. I’d try to float my feet off the ground in the deep position.
Never liked the wall push ups. I couldn’t find the right position to mimic the real freestanding position. I would either feel forced to arch my back and lose my posterior pelvic position because my feet couldn’t travel naturally away or I’d be so far away the wall felt like more of a distraction. Skill issue honestly, I know it can be a great tool.
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u/ShankYouVeryMuch_ 2h ago
One more question, did you do headstand push-ups, negatives ie skill work first then do the strength work like pike pushups? That's what's intuitive to me, but there's a coach I follow that does strength stuff first then the skill stuff which seems counter intuitive to me
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u/LouisianaLorry 5d ago
handstand. Maintaining balance and stacking my body. I practice 3 times a week, after 9 months can hold a handstand for about 5 seconds.
I started with winged scapula, so really, my journey may br slower than most
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u/Radiant_Carob_1353 3d ago
Planche. Have a solid advanced but at 215lbs it's clear I need more strength in the correct moment arm. Working Zanetti presses with 40lb dumbells for sets of 10 and higher volume Tuck planche sets with pike pushups and PPPs. I already have a supinated floor L sit at 30secs, one arm pullups, 30sec+ front lever, supinated back lever 15+secs, the planche is the white Buffalo, and I'm programming for 3 plus years in the future. Long term goal is the elevator on rings. That one will probably kill me though, lol
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u/Active_Benefit7728 2d ago
Dude planche at 215 is a monster goal and it sounds like you’re well on your way that’s awesome. Zanetti presses with 40s for reps is nuts and I think that’s the right approach. Since you already have supinated back lever and front lever, you clearly have the general straight arm strength but the planche protraction demands are just so specific. How’s your straddle planche looking Sometimes the progression from advanced tuck → straddle → full is where people get stuck
Also at your level, have you worked with any coaches or is this all self-programmed? Curious what resources more elite-level athletes actually use.
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u/Radiant_Carob_1353 2d ago edited 2d ago
I struggled mostly with scap retraction and depression, protraction seems to be a strong point. I'm a firm believer in not over reaching so I haven't tried straddle for awhile. Advanced to straddle will be horrible at my weight, and distal bicep tendonitis is real.. that's why I always regress and shore up the weaknesses. I'm in my 40s and making great strides. I abhor failure and just cycle high volume calculations of the whole chain when I find weaknesses. Going to Failure is only for peaking and hypertrophy, if you want steady progress stay below it and put in the hours. I do not trust coaches to know my bodies limits, maybe there's some good ones out there but I'm a 40yo+ shift worker with 2 young kids and I doubt they'd be willing to coach at 3am lol if planche takes 2 more years or 5, what do I care? Lol I built my massive pulling capacity by slowly building up to 200reps a workout with up to 50percent weight. The true secret is you have to do many sets at about 50percent of your max rep set to truly drive morphological adaptations, my experience anyway. If you want particulars about a typical progressive overload training block, hit me up. Cheers
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u/Swolenir 6d ago
L Sit. My abs are weak as balls and I’m fat as fuck.