“Got tired of getting injured while lifting weights in the gym, and hoped getting a better strength and stability/support base would help. I'm most of the way through the gradual Elements track, which I chose due to my age (47) and having a long history of joint injuries in particular.
I'm definitely getting stronger, with the more advanced exercises later in the program still being challenging but doable. I especially like how the program shifts focus between the workouts, so that the muscles and joints engaged most in the last workout have time to recover before coming back to them a few workouts down the line.
Overall, I really like how the program is set up. The vast majority of the tutorials are solid, and the progressions in the gradual track are at a good speed for me. I'll be going back through the program later on the General (and hopefully Accelerated) tracks next before trying some of the other programs (e.g. Resilience and Integral Strength).
My main complaints are with some of the basic exercises where there aren't any remedial or alternative exercise options given. For example, my ankle/knee/hip mobility is nowhere near good enough to do the "Walk Into Squat" or "Floating Table Top Pull To Squat" exercises. I could never get my center of mass over my feet enough for the Walk Into Squat. And I can't lift my knees far enough to get my feet off the ground for the Floating Table Top Pull to Squat, so I ended up having to use a couple of yoga blocks propped up on their long sides to get high enough to even partially drag my feet forward, which is very unstable. Considering the Walk Into Squat is a warmup exercise, I would have preferred an exercise that would warm up those joints for the following exercises (e.g. bodyweight squats), not just leave me frustrated before even starting the real workout. Maybe my body proportions just aren't amenable to those exercises.
It would also be nice if we could click a link to go back and replay the tutorials after the exercise timer starts. A few of the more advanced exercises (e.g. transitions) were difficult for me to catch the gist before the timer started, but I couldn't find a way to go back. But maybe I just missed it.
I hope this review doesn't come across as too negative. I definitely liked it enough to recommend it to anyone like me who is looking to be more comfortable moving their body around, and (hopefully) increase resilience to future injury.”
“Great training. Progressive which is good, as stuff you would not imagine to be capable of doing are eventually possible. Improved my mobility and most of all, although challenging and quite hard if you want to, it is fun”
“I'm about halfway through Elements and I am very impressed with the program. I'm a 63 year old female. I am relatively fit but I have been very pleasantly surprised with what my body has shown itself to be capable of. The gradual progressive nature of Elements is very clever because it always gives me the right amount of challenge so I am being stretched at every session, but never so much that I just can't do it, or that I get injured. Also, the explanations of the moves are excellent. I can feel how much stronger and more engaged my back muscles are. My sport is swimming (club training, not just leisure) and I can feel how much more I am using my lats when I swim, so reducing the pressure on my shoulders. I do my workouts at the gym as there is a big free workout area, and I have had some compliments on my squat. I guess people don't expect a 63 year old to be able to squat in the Western world!”
“I've been really impressed with this program! It's challenging, but structured so that I can modify to my level or my needs in that day. I've felt and seen alot of positive changes in my body, new muscles activating that I didn't know I hadn't used! I can see why people say they do the Elements program multiple times. I like that they have a small variety of models of different body types and fitness levels. I'd love to see more video examples of modifications that people with less strength can do, which is usually my problem. There is normally video for modifications for people with less flexibility, which is helpful as well. Overall, I'm quite happy and looking forward to trying their other programs.”
“I am really happy with the Elements Program. I'm 69 years old and have dealt with some injuries, shoulder, ankle, etc. I have tried several times to get through the program and have had to stop because my knees started to hurt. I have been doing PT and another program (Anatomy in Motion) which have been helping me with my knees, but what has helped me most this time is the option to do an easier, shorter version, 15 minutes of training time. I'm motivated to keep going and I'm hoping I can return back to the beginning and go for the longer training time once I mget through the basic program I'm doing now.”
“Absolutely brilliant workout program with a wide variety of moves to work on. This is working wonders on my stiff hips and shoulders, building increased strenght, mobility, controll and coordination. You can really feel improvment from session to session. I have started a second round as there is almost unlimited potential for improvment in movement quality.”
“I've really been enjoying Elements! It's challenging without being overwhelming, and I have seen improvements in my strength and flexibility over time. I love that there are multiple tracks, I started on the gradual track and when I finish that I plan on repeating the course on the regular track. I'm definitely looking into buying more programs from GMB fitness. Thanks for making such a great course!”
