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All Muscle, No Iron (/training/all-muscle-noiron)

An Interview with Coach Christopher Sommer
byChrisShugart(/allarticles/authors/chrisshugart)|10/21/04
Ithappenseveryfouryears.Bodybuildersandfitnessbuffsaroundtheworldmarvelat
thephysiquesofthemalegymnastscompetingintheOlympics.Thosehuge,muscular
arms!Thosebroadshoulders!Thosetinywaists!Thosesexy,tightbuns,liketwo
bowlingballsinasatinpillowcase...uh,um,let'smoveon,shallwe?
Andthenweallthinkthesamething:"Hmm,wonderhowthoseguystrain?Whatkind
ofweighttrainingdotheyperform?"
Well,theanswersmayshockyou.TNationrecentlysatdownwithChristopher
Sommer,agymnasticcoachwho'sresponsibleforbuildingmanyofthoseamazing
physiquesyouseeonTV.

T-Nation: Coach, let's get started by talking a little about who you
are and what you do. So, who the heck are you and what the heck
do you do?
CoachSommer:I'maformercompetitivegymnastandformanyyearsnowmyprimary
focushasbeenonpreparingathletesfortheUSAJuniorNationalGymnasticsTeam.
CurrentlyIrunthemen'scompetitiveprogramattheDesertDevilGymnasticsNational
TeamTrainingCenter.

T-Nation: Okay, every time the Olympics roll around, bodybuilders

and fitness buffs go monkeynuts over the physiques of the male
gymnasts. What's the biggest thing about their training that would
surprise most gymrats?
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Sommer:Thattheirtrainingiscomprisedalmostentirelyoutofbodyweightexercises.

T-Nation: Wait a sec, these guys with the killer biceps don't do
barbell and dumbbell curls?
Sommer: No,notasingleone!Infact,theiramazingbicepsdevelopmentisn'tthe
resultofanykindofcurlingmovementatall,butprimarilyduetothestraightarm
leverageworkwhichtheydoonthestillrings.
Thestraightarmworkisenormouslydifficultandputstremendousstrainonthebiceps
resultinginincrediblegrowth.Thekeytosuccessisbeingabletoapproachthese
exercisesinasafeprogressivemanner.

T-Nation: What do you mean exactly by straight-arm work?

Sommer:BystraightarmworkI'mprimarilyreferringtotheclassicstrengthpositions
onthestillrings(ironcross,planche,maltese,etc.)andtheconnectingmovements
betweenthem.

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RajBhavsarperforminganironcrossinthe2004USAChampionships
Straightarmworkbasicallymeansmovingthebodywithouttheadvantageofbending
thejoints.Essentiallythen,byincreasingthelengthofthelever,wegreatlymagnifythe
intensityoftheexercise.
Acaseinpointwouldbeacrosspull(basicallyastraightarmpullupwherethearms
pullouttothesides)comparedtoaregularpullup.Thebodyweightisthesameinboth
caseshowever,thecrosspullisseveralordersofmagnitudeharderthanthepullup,
resultinginsignificantlyhigherstrengthandmusclegains.
NowconsiderthatIhadoneteammateincollegewhocouldholdanironcrosswith60
poundshangingonhisfeetandyoubegintogetanideaoftheincrediblestrengthof
someofthehighlevelgymnasts.Bytheway,thissamegymnasthadanupperbody
thatwasincrediblylargeandripped!

T-Nation: That's impressive. I've heard stories that these athletes

can lift a surprising amount of weight in the deadlift and other lifts,
even though they never train these lifts. Is that true? And if it is,
how's that possible?
Sommer: Gymnasticstrainingdoesindeedbuildincrediblestrength.Forexample,I
wasnotaparticularlystronggymnast,yetIwasabletodoadoublebodyweight
deadliftandweightedchinswithalmost50%extrabodyweightonmyveryfirstweight
trainingattempts.

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Oneofmystudent's,JJGregory,farexceededmyownmodestaccomplishments.On
hisfirstdayofhighschoolweightlifting,JJpulledanearlytriplebodyweightdeadlift
with400poundsatabodyweightof135andabout5'3"inheight.Onanotherday,he
alsodidaneasyweightedchinwith75pounds,andcertainlylookedasthoughhe
could'vedonequiteabitmore.We'llneverknowforsurebecausethecheapbeltIwas
usingatthetimesnapped.
Whygymnasticstrainingresultsinsuchhighlevelsofstrengthisstillunclear.My
personalopinionisthatthesecretliesintheplyometricnatureofthemovements.Ina
waythisremindsmeoftheresultsexperiencedbyAdamArchuleta,withtheexception
thatwe'reusingbodyweightvariationscombinedwithstraightarmworktoobtainour
results.

T-Nation: Most of the top male gymnasts are fairly light aren't they?
With all that muscle you'd think they'd weigh more. Can a hopeful
gymnast get "too big" for the sport?
Sommer: Absolutely.Worldclassperformanceisalwayseasiertoachievewiththe
correctphenotype.Forexample,mostjumpersintrackandfieldtendtobetaller,while
themarathonrunners,forthemostpart,aresmallerandlighter.
Thereareexceptionstobefoundinalmostallsports.France'sDmitryKarbanenkoisa
"giant"ingymnastics(5'8",170poundsandunbelievablythickandmuscular),yethe's
oneofthefinestgymnastsintheworld.MugsyBogueswasonly5'2"andplayedinthe
NBA,butweallknowthatthoseexceptionsarefewandfarbetween.
Thisisn'tacausefordespairthough.Rememberthattheimportanceofhavinga
particularbodytypeappliestoworldclassathletesandworldclassperformancelevels.
Forthefitnessenthusiastandtherecreationalathlete,gymnasticsconditioningcanbe
ofhugebenefittoeveryone,regardlessoftheirsizeorshape.

T-Nation: I've added a little gymnastics training into my personal

program, but honestly, is there really any hope for an adult who
wants to have a build similar to these guys? I mean, is it possible
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with normal genetics? And is it possible for someone who didn't

start doing this stuff at age four?
Sommer:Manyweightliftersofthe1940'sand50's(theoldMuscleBeachdays)
believedthatacombinationofweightliftingandgymnasticstrainingwasrequiredto
buildtheultimatephysique.OneofthemostfamousofthosetraineesisJackLaLanne,
anamethatallofyourreadersshouldbefamiliarwith.

JackLaLanneinthe1940s
Manyknowofhisreputationforincrediblestrengthendurancerecordsforexample,he
performed1000pullupsand1000pushupsinonehourandtwentythreeminutes!
WhattheymaynotknowisthatMr.LaLannewasalsoanaccomplishedgymnastand
didn'tbeginsettinghisamazingrecordsuntilhewas43yearsoldandcontinueduntil
wellintohis70's.Infact,nottoolongago,attheageof80+,Isawapictureofhim
performingoneofthegymnasticsspecialtyexercisesthatIusewithmycompetitive
athletes!
Also,thelegendaryrockclimberJohnGillcreditshisstrengthtrainingontheringsfor
hisboundarybreakingstrengthintheworldofrockclimbing.Interestingly,Mr.Gill
didn'tbegintrainingonthestillringsuntilhisfreshmanyearincollegeyetinonlytwo
yearshewasdoingcrosses,leversandbutterflies(astraightarmpullup).
Infact,Gillbecamesostrongthathecouldperformsevenconsecutivepullupswithhis
rightarmandfivewithhisleft.Yetremember,hedidn'tbeginanyorganizedathletic
traininguntilayoungmanincollege.

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JohnGillperformingaonearmfrontleverinthe1960s

T-Nation: Let's say a person reading this wants to begin to do just a

little of what these guys do. You say to start out with the "frog"
exercise. What is that and why should we ironheads be doing it?
Sommer:Thefrogstandisanintroductorystepindevelopingaplanche,whichisone
ofthegymnasticstaticpositions.Basicallyaplancheisapushuppositionthat'sheld
withthefeetoffthefloor.Thinkofitasdoingabodyweightbenchpressonastability
ballwithyourfeetintheairandthenmultiplythatbythree.

JoshWestperformingthefrogstand
Thesestaticholds,indisadvantagedleveragepositionsandperformingdynamic
movementsintoandoutofthesepositions,arethesecrettodevelopingtheenormous
strengthofworldclassgymnasts.
Also,thesetypesofexerciseshaveastrongplaceinthehistoryofU.S.weightlifting.
Firstofall,it'simportanttounderstandthat"iron"issimplyoneofavarietyoftools
availableforathleticstraining."Ironheads"havetraditionallycombinedgymnastics
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exerciseswiththeirweightliftinginfact,intheheydayofU.S.OlympicLifting,thiswas
commonpractice.ThegreatJohnGrimekcouldperformsplits,handstandsandback
walkovers.
Ifyou'reonlytrainingtolookgood,thenhowathleticyouareisofnoimportance.
However,ifyou'dliketolookgoodandbeathleticallyfunctional,thenyouneedmore
thanjustsizeandstrength.Strengthwithoutbalance,agility,coordinationand
explosivenessisstrengththat'sathleticallyunusable.Integratingthesetypesof
exercisesintoyourcurrentworkoutwillhelptoturnastrengthathleteintomoreofan
allaroundathlete.

T-Nation: You mentioned the planche and you've also written about
the front lever. Give us the scoop on those please.
Sommer:They'realotoffuntowork,requirenospecializedequipmentandyetgive
enormousreturnsinstrength.Basicallythesetwoexercisespromoteextremestrength
andstabilitythroughouttheshouldergirdlebothanteriorlyandposteriorly.Inaddition,
they'lltrashyourcoreandworkyourlowerback/hipsthoroughly.

Beginningthestraddleplanchepushup

Middleofthestraddleplanchepushup.Noticethatonlyhishandsaretouchingtheground.

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Finishingthestraddleplanchepushup

Straddlefrontlever

As for their effectiveness, I've seen many gymnasts capable of

planche push-ups do double bodyweight bench presses on their

first attempts. Conversely, I've never seen a weightlifter capable of

doing a double bodyweight bench press even come close to a
planche push-up initially.
T-Nation: That's amazing. What's the secret of building substantial
strength using these bodyweight exercises?
Sommer: Thesecretistocontinuallyprogresstoharderandmoredifficultvariations
oftheexercises.Theproblemwiththisisthat,outsideofasmallcommunity,most
peoplehavenoideahowtoevenbegintrainingtheseexercises.Thenoncetheseare
masteredtheydon'thaveaccesstothemoreadvancedexercises.
Mostpeoplewouldbestunnedattheenormousvarietyofbodyweightexerciseswhich
areavailable.Forexample,myathleteshaveaccesstooverfifteendifferentvarieties
ofdips,andthat'sjustontheparallelbars.

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Wehaveaveryfineformercollegiatefootballplayer(6'5",250)inourfacilitywho's
young,inshape,hasbenched400poundsandlooksasthoughhepowercleansthe
entiregym,yethestruggledwithonly45poundsononeofmyparallelbarweighted
pushupvariations.Oneofmylittleguysweighingonly65poundsalsodid45onthis
verysameexercise!
Thissameathletealsostruggledforabout45minutestryingtocompletejustasingle
repofoneofmymediumlevelbodyweightdips!Andremember,thatthisyoungmanis
averyfineathleteinexcellentcondition.

T-Nation: Interesting. You once wrote that for maximum

improvements, training to failure isn't necessary, but maximum
contraction is. Can you elaborate on that?
Sommer: Forthecompetitiveathleteorthereallifeathlete(military,police,firemen,
etc.)trainingtofailureisn'tonlyunnecessary,it'scounterproductive.Anathleteneeds
tobeabletosuccessfullyperformdayafterday,notjustonceaweek.Canyou
imagineasoldierunabletochasesomeonedownsimplybecausehislegsarefried
fromthedaybefore?
Forsimilarreasons,myathletesfollowaverygradualtrainingcyclewherethey
encounteroverload,thenadaptation,thenarecoveryphase.Foreachathletethecycle
willdiffersomewhatinlengthfromatleastthreeweekstoasmanyastwelveweeks
dependingontheirindividualrecoveryabilities.
Theabilitytogeneratemaximumcontractionisanotherofthecomponentswhich
makesgymnasticsbodyweightconditioningsoeffective.Infact,withoutanextreme
contraction(everymuscletightandstraining),theadvancedbodyweightexercisesare
simplyimpossibletocomplete.
Basically,theharderthefullbodycontractionrequiredtocompleteanexercise,the
moreeffectiveitis.Thismeansthatbychoosingthoseexerciseswhichgeneratethe
mostcompletecontractionsyou'llgreatlyaccelerateyourtraininggains.Ithinkthisis
whymanyweightliftersfindheavysquatstobesoeffective.

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T-Nation: What kind of lower body work do these gymnasts do? Is

leg work all that important?
Sommer: Legworkisveryimportantforus.Withoutit,aworldclassgymnast
wouldn'tbeabletojumptenfeetintotheairwhileperformingmultipleflipsandtwists.
Butremember,forgymnasts,it'simportanttobuildexplosivenessandstrengthwithout
largegainsinmass,asthiswouldhaveaseriousimpactofourrelativestrengthto
weightratio.
Asfarasexerciseselection,ourlegtrainingrevolvesaroundavarietyofjumping
exercisesandweightedsinglelegsquatvariations.

T-Nation: What about targeted ab training?

Sommer:Wedoquiteabitofcoretraining,rangingfromwholebodyplyometricdrillsto
heavyweightedhangingleglifts.Primarily,Ifocusonworkingthecoreasaunit,rather
thantryingtoworkaspecificareainisolation.

T-Nation: These top athletes, obviously they train hard and have
dedicated their lives to this sport, but it's hard to compete at the
world class level without using performance enhancing drugs, at
least in many sports. What's the drug scene like in men's
gymnastics?
Sommer:Tomyknowledge,there'sneverbeenanincidentofagymnasttesting
positiveforsteroids.Foracompetitivegymnast,theextrasizeandbulkthatsteroids
providewouldbeadecideddisadvantageinasportwheretheathletewiththehighest
relativestrength(strengthtobodyweightratio)isoftentheonewhocomesoutontop.
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Also,steroidusewoulddonothingatallinhelpingagymnasttolearnaskilllikeatriple
backsomersaultonthefloor.Thatcanonlybedevelopedthroughmanyyearsof
correctandstructuredtraining.

T-Nation: True, but it's possible to use steroids and other

performance enhancing drugs and not get bulky. Plus, there's a big
difference between someone testing clean and someone actually
being clean. So you're saying that world class gymnasts don't use
performance enhancing drugs?
Sommer:OfcourseIcan'tspeakforallofthecompetitiveathletesoutthere,butIcan
saythatofalloftheU.S.NationalTeam,WorldChampionshipandOlympicathletes
thatI'veknown,trainedwith,andobservedovertheyears,Idon'tknowofanythat
haveusedsteroids.

T-Nation: Fair enough. I understand you have a book coming out on

all of this. Plug away!
Sommer: BuildingtheOlympicBodyisthefirstandonlybookeveravailablewhich
providesdetaileddescriptionsandprogressionstoallowboththefitnessenthusiast
andthecompetitiveathletetodeveloptheamazingphysiqueandpowerofagymnast.

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InthesamestepbystepprogressionsbywhichIteachtheplancheandfrontlever,I
coverallofthebasicfoundationsofgymnasticspreparationandconditioning.Itcovers
staticstrengthpositions,generalphysicalpreparationandgymnasticsspecific
exercises.There'sliterallynothingelselikeitavailableanywhere.
Inaddition,I'llalsohavetwootherbooksfollowingshortly.There'llalsobeDVDs
availabletosupportallofthebooks,plusmyCrossLeveltrainingdeviceshouldbe
availablesoonfromTorqueAthletic.

T-Nation: We look forward to seeing these. Stop back by T-Nation

and let us know when they're available. Thanks for the chat today,
Coach!
Sommer:Anytime,Chris.Iappreciatetheopportunity.

Chris Shugart

(/allarticles/authors/chrisshugart)
Chris Shugart is T Nation's Chief Content
Officer and the creator of the Velocity Diet. As
part of his investigative journalism for T
Nation, Chris was featured on HBOs "Real
Sports with Bryant Gumble."
(/all
articles/authors/chris
shugart)

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