“I’ve been training callisthenics for 10 yrs so I have some basic knowledge of and experience from strength training and agility. A couple of years ago I suffered from tendinitis in my elbow and the a persistent shoulder inflammation from working around the tendinitis, after about two yrs of rehabilitation I eventually started Al and Danny Kavadlo’s ‘Get strong’ protocol which with its progressions served as a perfect rehab/prehab. However I plateaued but kept on grinding for about six months until the elbow tendinitis reoccurred. After some rest I started one of GMB’s older programs (I bought the old bundle when they switched up their programs) parallettes 1, after completing P1’s A series’s I began the B series’s and it was significantly harder. Having to choose between repeating P1A and doing something else, I started Integral Strength after some consultation with one of the coaches of GMB.
I don’t regret this one bit, it’s been a really fun 36 training sessions that I’ll definitely come back to in the near future. I had no idea that front to back scale to full shrimp squat was my favourite exercise! (I can only do it fully on one leg thus far). Full shrimp is something I’ve never been able to do before, the carry over to full pistol squat is great so now I have that one too. Overall it’s been great to increase mobility, working smaller stabilising muscles and for me especially strengthening my knee joints. And I don’t feel any of the tendinitis anymore, much thanks to focus on form and quality before reps and quantity (even if quality and form is emphasised in progressive callisthenics I end up chasing reps since that’s how you progress to the next step).
I did the the rings program and it was a good introduction to them.
Pros: Fun! Cheap! Varying from session to session. Minimal or no equipment needed. Focus on quality and form, no reps chasing! Learn new skills. Low intensity sessions for sore days.
Cons: app have minor bugs (nothing that will affect anything really, just a little annoying). No variations for low intensity session, so if you feel too tired for regular session two days in a row you’ll do the same low intensity session both those days.
There should be a library with all exercises, warmup and cool down movements and stretches to access when you’ve completed the program.
Enjoy!”
“For me, a person with practically no upper body strength before gmb (think T-rex body type), it's been challenging but great. Right now I'm on my second time through the program. At 43 I'm doing bridges for the first time in my life! Almost mastering the full pull-up now and I NEVER thought I could do that. So. Thank you!”
“I love the progressions as they keep the program exciting and keep me motivated to return the next day.
All in all the GMB method is very intuitive and makes perfect sense. Also the crew is always helpful and they provide wonderful guidance when necessary”
“While I do enjoy trying modalities outside of GMB, there are plenty reasons why GMB is my primary practice. Integral Strength is one of their programs that remains a staple in my yearly training cycle. With the new update for different apparatus pathways, it's a no brainer to continue to keep it that way!
The skill development based practice of a wide variety of moves helps provide access to different layers and levels of gains (strength, control, and flexibility). This makes revisiting GMB programs for multiple iterations well worth the investment.
Oh, and of course it's worth mentioning the getting strong part 10/10 definitely recommend!”
“I have been through both Elements (several times) and Mobility. I consider myself a pretty die hard GMB fan. I am now on my second work through of Integral Strength. First time was body weight only, this second time through I am using bar option. The course rocks - challenging and fun with TONS of room to grow and get better. I am feeling stronger than ever and as an added bonus, some nagging pain I have had in both my bicep and knee have cleared up (which I think is due to the exercises isolating each side, helping to smooth out cross body weaknesses but I am no expert in this space). Highly recommend to anyone looking to improve their fitness!”
“I used to be a fairly "strong" guy. I climbed a lot and I could do a strict one arm pullup. Then I caught COVID early in the pandemic and nearly died. I was in intensive care for a while and came out 40 pounds of muscle lighter. To cut a long story short, I had no strength any more. I had been using GMB mobility to deal with injury problems before my illness and liked it, so I went for integral strength to try and get back some strength. Best decision I ever made! I now have balanced strength. I can pull, I can push and both legs have equal strength (turns out my right leg was very dominant in two leg exercises, integral strengths focus on one leg drills really helped with that). I am now performing as well as ever in my chosen sports, despite having less sports specific strength. I also get injured less. The negatives? Not much really. I found it a bit repetitive, but nothing like as boring as mindlessly churning out "reps" in the gym. I am not jacked, but then size is the enemy in my sport of choice, climbing. Overall a great program which compliments climbing brilliantly, as it tends to emphasize pushing strength slightly more than pulling strength. For those that have not climbed, pushing is an antagonist movement that needs to be trained to avoid muscular imbalance.”
“After several of the GMB programs, this one is my favorite. I've worked with the programs enough that I'm now pretty comfortable adjusting exercises and timing as needed for that day, which works great for me for working around multiple chronic aches and pains, weariness from a day of work, etc.
I also do other workouts through the week, but I consistently feel best the next day after doing a GMB program.”
