My name is Brandon Wynn, Captain of the US Mens Gymnastics Senior National Team, AMA!

@snowy123 Have you ever had issues with elbow tendinitis? I do (from baseball, not gymnastics), and was wondering if you had any tips for it. I'm done with baseball now and am focusing on weight training and body weight training and want to make sure my joints (especially my elbows) are healthy for the long run.
 
@snowy123 Hey BRANDON!! You are an awesome INSPIRATION man!

What & when is the LAST thing you eat before a big comp/routine?

What does your food/nutrition/liquid intake look like in the 4/5 hours before you actually compete?

Thanks man - if you come to Sydney Australia - please come train with us at the Bondi Beach Bars and Rope Climb!

Also - Does that '1st Form free-shipping promotion' include Australia?
 
@snowy123 Hey Brandon,
A question, what would be a good way to develop the necessary tendon strength for an iron cross? What would be prerequisites?

Also, What supplements do you recommend to 'hobbyist athletes?
Also[sup]2,[/sup] is there any sport besides Gymnastics that you'd like to follow or even do yourself?
 
@dawn16 the tendon strength will come with the repetition of the skill training for the cross. don't worry about addition tendon training. I recommend 1st phorms level-1 protein for a good protein blend to ensure your body is fueled throughout the day. Phormula 1 protein is also great for immediately after workouts. Like i mentioned up top. Any orders during April from brandonwynn.1stphorm.com will get free shipping and qualify to win a tailored training plan from me to you!
 
@snowy123 Hey Brandon, what is your opinion on fasted training programs such as LeanGains, or having a "fasting window"?

PS: Thanks for coming to answer all our questions and show your support for this community
 
@carmbear Great question! i have been playing with fasted training sessions for years now. 2 things to consider.
1)do you feel better training on a full or empty stomach
2) is your goal to lose or gain weight

i think the leaner you are the further away you should get from fasted training. If you are a bit heavier then you would like, fasted morning cardio is great way to jump start fat burning. i believe in the concept of the "fasted window" but the important thing to remember is that when you are already very lean, you could be doing more damage then good!
 
@snowy123 Chris Sommers, who used to be a coach at xtreme gymnastics in Scottsdale Arizona (Allen Bower of the U of Oklahoma's former coach) made a line of products that includes a "foundation" program that involves progressions leading to the straddle planche/front lever/manna/side lever/rope climbs/hollow back press/some leg work, as well as mobility including bridge, pancake and a few other things. Other components include a ring training program that leads to iron cross, inverted cross, maltese, a handstand package that leads to a quality 2 minute handstand and pike press to handstand from l seat, and a stretch course that leads to front and middle splits and bridge.

Theyre mostly made for adults who are not in particularly good shape, and are a long term type product (estimated to take 4-7 years to get to the advanced ring elements), and are considered to be probably the top of the line product for developing gymnastics strength elements, in an electronic format.

The main contention with the product is that it is made primarily for adults, and the most common issues they (we) are having are three fold:

Firstly, that many adults have had trouble completing the work to the reps that Sommers advises for some of the progressions (i.e. 5 sets of 30 seconds of tuck planche with 10 seconds of bent arm straddle planche in between as the rest, or 5 sets of 5 reps on each leg of 100% bodyweight added weighted lunges, with glute ham raises or weighted back extensions as the rest component). So the question here would probably be, how much rest do you recommend between sets of strength elements?

Secondly, that there are at times huge jumps in difficulty for adults that seem like they would require extra work, because the jump between movements is so large. That's the main reason some people have discussed adding in extra weighted work (weighted pullups, dips, deadlifts, weighted decline situps and overhead press being an example of a set of exercises that is being added) to supplement what is being seen as a less incremental ordering of exercises, as to aid the jump between different elements in which the gap is particularly large. Where as it may be easier for a younger person who's 5'3 and 130 lbs to make that jump between tuck planche to advanced tuck planche (straight back version), or whatever else, it's harder for a 5'10, 190 lb person to have the same control over adding resistance. So I think a common question is whether you have any thoughts on adding in weight training for older, larger adults, or would rather just recommend cutting weight significantly, as to decrease leverage, or whether you had some other manner of addressing this.

Thirdly, the "mastery" of the elements is pretty arduous. For example, the ring program is recommended to only be done after you can perform 5x10 seconds front lever, 5x10 seconds manna, 5x10 seconds side lever, 5x5 reps on each leg 100% bodyweight added weighted lunges, 5x10 meter rope climbs and 5x5 hollow back press. Further, elements like the manna are as described before, to be done with what many would consider to be a taxing element as the only "rest" in between sets (for the manna for example, 5 reps of manna swings on P bars). So I think the question here is, how do you know when you're ready to move between different progressions for strength elements? And do you have a recommendation on what you'd have as a strength base before moving on to training ring elements, such as ring straddle planche, iron cross etc? And when do you consider yourself as having "mastered" an element like for example a straddle planche, to the point where you can just work on maintenance (performing the 7 elements for 1 set each being the recommended warm up for the rings component, with this probably being maintenance as well as a warm up)?
 
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