Study Notes and Workbook Ideas for "Overcoming Gravity"

by

Owen Johnston, freelance karate instructor

The book

"Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to

Gymnastics and Bodyweight Strength"

is the work of the author Steven

Low. To get a good outline of the information included in the book,
visit the page linked below and click on "A Beginner's Guide to
Overcoming Gravity" -

http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/beginners/

Also be sure to head back to the above page and click on "Skill

Guidelines for Building Strong, Useful, Adaptable Athletes", which is
a concise article on physical attributes necessary for athletes,
clear explanations on skill guidelines and how to progress in skill
level, and performance goals to work towards for each attribute. This
includes goals for weight lifting, running, parkour, and more! The
PDF version is only 11 pages and covers a diverse range of goals.

Constructing a Workbook
First, I want to recommend some pages in the book that you

should photocopy and put into your own 'Training Workbook', for quick
reference. It is a good idea to keep a binder or folder with blank
paper, to make your own 'study notes' in as well as keep your own
daily or weekly training logs in. As such, here are the portions of
the book I recommend putting into your folder or binder -

Chapter 1
All the chapter summaries
Pages 10 and 16 – for the charts
Page 276 – so you can refer back to it on handstands info etc.
Page 518 – miscellaneous exercises
Appendix C – for the extra charts – make extra copies as needed

I also recommend copying Appendix A (sample programming). This

way, you can put the copy of it in your workbook, for quick
reference, and hand-write ideas from it on blank paper. This way, you
won't have to refer to / carry around your hard copy of the book as
often. Of course, this assumes that you will have already worked
through the book enough already to understand the concepts that the
author lays out for programming and routines. Naturally, these are my
own personal recommendations. Also, I do not condone or encourage
pirating copyrighted works. Please purchase a legal copy of
Overcoming Gravity and make photocopies from it, for personal use.
Remember to put in the dedication needed and set realistic goals.
Most of all, have fun! On the next page are my personal notes on the
book. Be sure to print out this document as well if you feel that it
would be useful as a reference page in your workbook.

Next page – personal notes

My Personal Notes on Overcoming Gravity

Vertical Pushing – Dips, Overhead press, Handstands, Handstand

Presses

Horizontal Pushing – All types of pushup variations, as well as

the planche progression.

Vertical Pulling – Pullups, Inverted Pullups, and variations.

Horizontal Pulling – All rowing variations.

'...we look to balance vertical and horizontal pushing, and

vertical and horizontal pulling.'

See Appendix B in the book for supplementary exercises.

L-sit / V-sit / Manna progression 'counteracts the effects of a

pushing heavy routine...'

Review the summary of chapter 4 for the basic outline of the

push / pull system, and where to get started on progressing.

Couple handstands with the L-sit / V-sit / Manna work. See page

37 in the book for details. Alternatively, you could use another
horizontal pulling exercise or an inverted pulling exercise to keep
balance in your pushing and pulling exercises.

Straight arm press handstands make a good supplement to planche

training. Handstand pushups, climbing ropes, and working on the full
back lever are also important to building high level neuromuscular
strength, as well as in building connective tissues and integrity in
your joints. These exercises can also contribute to building skill in
higher level techniques.

Review the summary of chapter 5 and the charts for more detailed

basics on how to progress. This could help you in setting measurable,
long-term goals. It can also help you find good supplementary
exercises to help maintain balance in your routines, or even add
other types of fun skill work. From there, set up your own routines
and programming.

If you are familiar with the Convict Conditioning approach, be

sure to compare it to the approach to non-ring exercises in
Overcoming Gravity. I highly recommend the details on page 382 for
working towards one-arm chinups. It provides a great path to getting
past any sticking points you may have in mastering the higher level
steps in the Pullup progression of Convict Conditioning.

My Notes on the Summary of Chapter 7
Based on information in Overcoming Gravity.
Strength is mostly neurological – train movement patterns in

typical repetition exercises first to build the neuromuscular and
musculoskeletal strength required for more advanced strength work.
Start slow and build up your joints and foundational strength. Try
combinations for advanced strength work. They can consist of any
types of exercise strung together in a sequence. If you are short on
time, try just throwing together a sequence of a few skills and do
that several times. Be sure to flip over to Appendix A in the book
(page 243) or your own copy of it, for sample programs. See page 276
in the book for an introduction on the handstand.

My Notes on Appendix A
Use the progression charts from Convict Conditioning as quick

references for other types of push and pull exercises. Compare L-
sit / V-sit / Manna work with the leg raise series (in the first
Convict Conditioning book) and the static holds for active
flexibility (in the second book). If you're into martial arts,
especially boxing, I highly recommend skipping rope and practicing on
the speed bag as part of your warmups. If you will be doing dedicated
strength work during practice, your cardio should be done either
after practice or as a separate training session.

Some recommended skill work for martial artists – handstands,

wrestling bridges, full pushups, full pullups, vertical knee raises –
to help build skill, endurance, joint integrity etc. in these
movements. Modify as needed for your needs and goals. Dedicated
strength work will generally come after skill work. Bring in other
types of skill work from Overcoming Gravity as you become more
proficient. Keep in mind that, eventually, strength work can become
skill work.

My notes on page 248 – training for levels 1 and 2
Look to Convict Conditioning for some ideas on variations of the

push and pull exercises. In any case, keep working on level 1 and 2
exercises as recommended in this portion of the book, until you feel
ready to move on to higher levels. Training ideas for higher levels
begins on page 249. I recommend skipping over to page 269 for now to
get a concise, logical outline of how to train through the
progressions. Come back to pages 249-268 once you're ready to move up
in levels.

Make your own notes :)
Don't stop here – study deeply, learn to enjoy every nuance of

technique and training, summarize parts of the book that you feel are
important, go online and research other areas of training, seek out
experienced instructors – the sky is the limit!