The UK's Premiere Gymnastic Fitness Gym - bodyweight training, calisthenics, flexibility, mobility, handstands and more. Fitness classes at their best!
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With our Professional Osteopathy & Massage Clinic also, we have your physical health covered. We were the first to offer Gymnastic Fitness classes in the UK and Europe back in 2013 and have since helped hundreds of members to achieve excellent levels of health and fitness. Tried, tested and proven on thousands of everyday people from across the globe from everyday Mums and Dads to Elite Professional level athletes. Be a part of a true revolution in fitness and join us.
20/04/2026
New skill unlocked for 🥳🙌🏽😎
Long time Forma Fam member Joe has put in some specific work to gain his press handstand and we’re stoked 💪🏽🔥
Learning a new skill as an adult is what keeps you young and healthy, so much work goes into obtaining the press handstand, consistency over time, it becomes fun, almost essential… the body doesn’t feel as good if you miss sessions!
Big up and big love for the support and dedication to moving ❤️
15/04/2026
Straddle, middles splits and pancake - all nice ranges to achieve in terms of flexibility, but for those wishing to achieve the press handstand your time would be better spent training for specific strength and awareness in drills that directly transfer to the press.
2nd slide shows an active compression drill that targets hip flexion in a narrower straddle range but with the specific flexed position of the lumbar spine with the global tension experienced with shoulder flexion and scapular elevation strength when pushing in the overhead position. Working the hip flexion or overhead push in isolation will be beneficial, but together it becomes much more beneficial and functionally related to the press handstand.
3rd slide really highlights the articulation of the spine from flexed lumbar to straight, whilst simultaneously activating maximum compression between torso and legs. This awareness and control we would say is the major component lacking for achieving a well executed press to handstand. Again, active elevation through the shoulder girdle at the same time adds a whole other dimension to the global tension.
Train both, train the one you find most difficult more for more efficient progress!
11/04/2026
We’re back with our Sunday morning double after a week off over Easter for some rest & recovery 🤗💪🏽 with coach
9am Foundations - Strength & Mobility class followed by 10am Handstands 🤸🏻
1st Video Annette and Gareth beautifully demonstrating the Rear Support (think reverse plank) with a combined wisdom of +110 years 💪🏽 😊 a great test of active balance between the front and back myofascial chains of the body. External rotation of the shoulders coupled with scapulothoracic retraction and spinal extension opens the chest and arms beautifully whilst the posterior chin activates to provide uplift against gravity.
2nd Video shows pike fold push ups, a very useful progression building toward handstand pushups (if wanted) and a great bodyweight drill that builds overhead pressing strength without spinal compression. Resistance can be altered by brining the feet closer to the hands and maximising plantarflexion at the ankle (tiptoe).
3rd video we have the basic standing kick to handstand entry but with the added challenge of a split hold. This position requires the shoulders to travel past the wrists slightly in order to counterbalance the bottom leg. Overall more challenging in both control and flexibility from the standard standing kick to handstand.
29/03/2026
24/03/2026
Week one complete of a 6 week strength cycle specifically geared towards the Single Arm Pull Up - SAPU by coach 😅💪🏽
Slides show:
1. Single arm scap pulls- these target the very bottom position, the hardest/heaviest part of the pull. Other hand is simply stabilising body rotation. Really targets teres major, lats and rhomboids from their lengthened state.
2. Weighted pull ups 5x3 . First time in 2 years doing any weighted pulls and they felt good - consistent basics carry over. Aiming for 60% bodyweight by end of week 6 for 1 rep (approx 40kg).
Slides 3, 4 & 5 single arm assisted pulls - using the rings as these allow for a closer to true function movement, specifically supination of the hand during the upward phase.
2 finger assisted, archer pull ups and rope assisted. All offer slight variations in the assisting arm and make training more fun (if you like variety? 🙋🏽♂️)
6. Top position lock offs. Isometric for the closed elbow angle and only 5 secs to begin with. Mid position and low position will be attempted further into the programme (s**t, those will be tough) as welll as single arm negatives and some rope climbs.
And as a side note, the lower back felt amazing the next day!!
19/03/2026
Flexibility Thursdays 😅
It’s not just relaxing passive stretches.
This drill is a great one for targeting both the short (bent knee leg) and long adductors (straight leg) simultaneously, focusing on improving end range under load - where the stick can be used as much or as little to grade the load placed on the adductors - eccentric lengthening phase. Followed by the concentric contraction phase - pulling the legs into adduction to return to the start.
16/03/2026
Stalder Press handstands are built through layers.
There are many drills to help you get there and refine the skill but here are a few of the drills we’ve been working on recently.
We’ll explore these ideas in more depth at the Handstand Workshop on Saturday 28th.
08/03/2026
Snippets from last weeks foundations class 😊💪🏽
It feels so good working with our community of dedicated members, to be of service sharing what we love to do each week. Looking after yourself and taking care of yourself is ultimately of service to others, you feel better, function better and interact with the environment and beings all around you in a more wholesome way.
ens
03/03/2026
Related positions - different movements, different planes of resistance, but related all the same.
How’s your straddle? We’ve found having good hip mobility has definitely helped starting with bouldering… as well as the general mobility and alls round strength from gymnastic fitness 😅💪🏽
The Beginners workshop is suitable for complete beginners who may have never done handstands before as well as those who are still at the early stages of handstand practice.
We’ll focus on all the basics of joint preparation, correct handstand shape/alingement, how to get into a handstand against a the wall, how to exit and much more. All the tools for safe amd efficient practice.
The Improvers | Intermediate workshop is for those who have an established practice. We will focus on noticing free balance, press handstand progressions, various entries and then laying with shapes and the foundations for single arm handstands.
Booking available via our schedule, regulars can DM us for discounted rate.
02/09/2025
Press Handstand Workshop
Saturday 20th September 10am-1pm
DM for bookings Cost £60
All things gymnastic come together in a Press Handstand… you have one body capable of more than you may think, but it only goes where the mind directs 🙃
Address
Griffin Mill, 14 London Road, Thrupp Stroud GL52AZ
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We are the UK’s premiere Gymnastic Fitness facility based in Gloucester and Stroud.
We teach and promote a totally new approach to fitness and training that simply gets you fitter, stronger and more flexible than you will have ever been before. Utilising methods of flexibility and strength training from the world of elite level gymnastics but reformulated for everyday normal adults, our eclectic community of average adults are fast becoming bonafide high level athletes!
Led by a team of highly experienced Osteopaths in Wesley Tan and Claire Berthier, our team of expert instructors are themselves a testimony to the results of the training methods we use. Each one of us has been a student of the system ourselves for at at least 3 years and we continue to progress and refine our understanding day by day.
The emphasis of Gymnastic Fitness is on restoring our natural joint ranges of motion and balanced muscular strength, that most adults have lost since childhood. Flexibility and strength are trained in equal measure and quality of movement is always paramount. In all of our classes students will receive expert guidance and coaching in all of the exercises. We have an extensive library of exercises that start form beginner level all the way to advanced, and we move forward step by step building resilience in the bodies joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles methodically and in line with our bodies natural physiological time frame.
Check us out at Forma Gloucester, Unit D, Goodridge Business Park, Goodridge Avenue, Gloucetser GL2 5EB
Follow us on Instagram @forma.gst and on Twitter @formastrength
