Just asking ...

Hello everyone.

I did some calisthenics in the past, but then I stopped due to life circumstances for a couple of years. I've decided to start again, and I started with a full body routine 3x a week. I've run that for a few months, but because of a somewhat stressful uni life, I've seen that having one full body workout with 2 push, 2 pull, 2 leg exercises 3x a week is just psychologically a bit daunting. Too many muscle groups and exercises to switch up in one session, and because of this I haven't been making good progress. I tried to reduce the volume each session, but that didn't work either. My idea is to still do full body, but have two different workouts in which I do just 1 push, 1 pull exercise. My goals are still those of a beginner, 10-12 ring Chinups, 8-10 ring dips and to build muscle.

Here's the program: Workout A:

• Ring Chinups 3-4x4-6r
• Deep Pushups 3x8-10r
• Sissy Squat 3x8-10r
• Hamstring Curl 3x10-12r

Workout B:

• Ring Dip 3-4x3-6r
• Inverted Row 3x8-10r
• Romanian Deadlift 3x10-12r
• Bulgarian Split Squat 3x10-12r

Week 1, I do 3x a week ABA, then week 2 I do BAB, and so on.

Hi,

I have been progressing dips with weight and hurt my elbow.

It only hurts just before the elbow goes into full extension with the hands in a parallel position on the dip bars.

Usually the last 10-15Deg or so.

The pain is located on the lateral side is similar to tennis elbow but when doing tests for wrist flexion had no pain.

This has lead me to believe that the anconeus is the main culprit for the pain.

Has anyone had much experience with this type of injury? Thanks.

I’m currently on my deload week and I’m looking into incorporating a yoga routine 3x a week that will eventually get me to achieve the full split and the pancake stretch as well. Anyone recommend a detailed YouTube video that has helped them achieve this? How long did it take for you to achieve the full split and/or the pancake? And how has this level of flexibility helped you on your calisthenics journey? Thank you!

I have had ulnar sided wrist pain in my right wrist for about 3 months now. I was bench pressing with a barbell and passed out. I was benching 145 lbs, something that I've done previously for repetitions. Passed out possibly due to almost 0 fluids drank that day and improper breathing. I "woke" up with the bar on my chest, but I didn't particularly feel any kind of pain.

I took a little break and finished my set with a spotter this time. I decided to cut my chest workout short and do some barbell squats instead. I felt a twang of pain in right wrist about 30 minutes after the benching.

Next day I woke up and my wrist was incredibly hard to move. I had maybe 15 degrees of rotation left and right from the neutral position. I stopped working out and doing anything strenuous. After a week, things started to get better and I had about 30 degrees of free motion. I wasn't completely resting it as I was still using it to write, use computer mouse and eat. I had accidentally put my entire body weight on it instinctually. Very slight increase in pain the following day(placebo maybe).

I visited my family doctor(I am 16) about 2 weeks in when things still felt dicey. He thinks that I have ECU Tendonitis but he doesn't specialize in tendons or the wrist. He gave a velcro wrist brace and told me to rest for a couple weeks. He also had me take a X-ray to make sure that I don't have any fractures. About 2 months in, things feel a bit better but the ulnar pain still persists. I had stopped using my right hand for the computer and writing, basically left handed at that point. My left hand was starting to develop some ulnar pain(mostly gone now) and makes a snapping noise when I go from pronation to supination(still present, mostly in the morning). My right wrist started developing pain on both sides of forearm and at the point where my pointer finger tendon and shorter thumb tendon meet. My family doctor recommended that I take an MRI and go see an orthopedic.

Took the MRI and saw the orthopedic. At this point wrist pain was getting better and the only problem was pain when supinating, pronating, and ulnar deviating(less than the other two). Because of this and the fact that my MRI showed no tears, the orthopedic told me rest for another 3 weeks. I have rested for about a month now with the velcro brace. I wear it during school(take it off when I'm sitting down), take it off after school and put it back on for the night. The past entire month hasn't merited any improvements. I have started to develop crepitus (cracking) after long periods of inactivity like sleep. There are times when I can supinate pain free but it seems to go back to painful very quickly. I am going to visit my orthopedic next week again. Do I possibly have chronic tendonitis? Maybe reactive on degenerative tendinopathy? Or could it stem from my shoulder or forearm or maybe the TFCC?

*note: I had previously had some issues with my ulnar nerve. Pinky numbness and such, but went away in about a week of flossing.

Remedies I've used: Past month only: TENS 7000, Zyflamend inflammation pills softgels, Collagen Peptides, Running (about 1/2 - 1 mile)

Sorry for the big ol backstory, but I think its relevant.

Thank you for reading this and if you have even anything that may help please do tell me.

Much love.

Hello everyone. I sprained my ankle 9 months ago, while coming down some steps. Sprain wasn’t bad as I was immediately able to walk on it and put weight. Did limp for first few days. Till 2 months after the injury, I didn’t see a doctor and continued doing some strengthening work at home. But when it wasn’t healing, I saw an orthopedic surgeon who recommended official physical therapy, I did that for 2 months and my foot got way better than before.

I then stopped going to the physical therapist but kept doing those exercises 3-4 times a week. It feels like the recovery has flattened where it’s not getting better or worse. My orthopedic doctor says at this point it’s my personal choice if I want a surgery or not, depending on how uncomfortable I am with my day to day. Btw, x rays were clear, never did MRI.

In my current state, I can squat and do all weighted lower/upper body workout without pain but long walks/jogs on trails makes the side of foot achy and stiff.

Any suggestions or similar experiences?

Edit: My doctor also told me I have slight high arch so he gave me arch rival (support)

Thanks!

I will see a doctor if this doesn't go better. I'm just trying to read/get some more information over the weekend while I rest. Basically I had a really high volume/high intensity session (dumb mistake on my part) of pull ups, push ups, dips, rows and all of their variations on rings and bar. Now on my right side below the armpit there is pain and it's visibly swollen (see the image for rough area). I can move and use the arm, but I can tell it's injured. https://imgur.com/YgutnOP

Anyone with similiar experience? Any help is welcome, because this is my first injury with bodyweight exercises.

Hello everyone !

Just wanted to share something that I am not quite understanding but that could help some people. For the longest time I had a sharp pain in my elbow during heavy dips, nothing until 25 lbs but starting around 45 lbs the pain increases especially on the first rep and after I finish the set.

I experimented to get what caused it and using fat grips on the handles actually helped a lot. The handles on my bars are 1.2 inches / 3cm and with the fat grips I got to 2 inches / 5cm.

So I don't really understand why my elbows used to hurt when I am as stable with the fat grips, maybe some nerve issue ? Either way that's my story. Thanks for reading I guess :)

The book said we shouldn’t consider those kind of exercises as skills since they are strength based. I was always told to not try to learn too many skills together (so I planned to not start training planche until I mastered hspu) but can I train many isometrics like planche and fl together if they are just considered strength exercises?

Hey, not so long ago I made my first workout plan and posted it here, and I've changed some things with the help of this community.

High intensity is going to be once a week, and the rest will be low intensity.
Doing full body every other day.

My Goals, and current status

https://imgur.com/a/YSJDrlK

With this stats I built this program:

https://imgur.com/FYFKqPk

Coming with a background of doing all sorts of sports, recent 2 years mainly bouldering with some additional calisthenics i am now looking to just concentrate on the latter one.
Had a nagging shoulder pain, according to orthopedist just an inflammation , but it felt like an impingement-case probably coming from office job posture, as left side seems to be my resting side when sitting on the pc i tend to lean all my weight to the left.

After quitting the job and having finally some time(for now) am looking to get back into bodyweight even more, i want to focus on shoulder health n posture if possible as i feel my whole left body side is dealing constantly with a different tension than the right side. Prolly a follow up problem from the shoulder issue, at least what my physiotherapist said, but i need to get a new prescription first to get deeper into that with him. Just feel like i also while walking now i feel more weight is going on my left side and i dont know why and when it started, its just there and its freaking me out that i cannot walk without feeling it.

Anyway after re-reading the programming abstract of OG i ended up with the following routine, trying to keep shoulder balance in mind.

2x a week(3 sets a 5-8r):

• Warm up
• Handstand kick ups/holds with wall
• Skin the Cat
• Pike Push Ups(->HS Push ups)
• Pull Ups
• Push Ups
• FL tucked row with 2 sec hold bottom pos.
• tucked L-Sit hold on Rings

I also do 2x week a leg work-out at home with KB and adding some mins of HS.

I was thinking to add back bridges as well which should be benefical for HS and opening shoulders right?

As i progress i wanted to add FL, BL and MuscleUps but this would blow up my work quite a bit, so i read FL i can cover with the FL Rows if i add a short hold in the bottom pos.

Skin the cat i put into the beginning as a warm up for shoulders as its usually a skill and not a strength element, but if i see this as a starter for BL training, should i substitute it at some point with BL Holds and where to put them if so?
With muscle up, same. Its a skill but it will take focus and max effort and therefore should be done fresh i suppose? Wondering if this will affect my pulls n pushes afterwards too much and should therefore come at the end of my routine?

How do you go about adding these things? One at the time or you go for splits just for that? Or would you take out one of the exercises for one of the goals(FL, BL, MU)? I think right now it feels balanced in terms of shoulder health.

Thanks!

Looking to understand the pros and cons of two different ways to structuring a workout.

Say I have 4 exercises in a given workout:

3x10->15 Pullups 3x10->15 Rows 3x10->15 Dips 3x10->15 Pushups.

One way to organize them is by pairing, for example:

3x(10->15 pullups, short rest, 10->15 pushups), longer rest between the series. 3x(10->15 dips, short rest, 10->15 rows), longer rest between series

An alternative I have seen is to combine them into what looks like drop sets:

3x(10->15 pullups, short rest, 10->15 rows), longer rest between series 3x(10->15 dips, short rest, 10->15 pushups), longer rest between series

In a few instances the programs Ive seen based on this "drop set" idea cue 3 exercises instead of 2, for example: wide grips pull-ups > pull-ups > rows, with rather short breaks between the exercises (60secs).

Is there any advantage or drawback of using one approach vs the other? For instance, would one approqch be better suited for hypertrophy vs strength vs endurance?

Thanks for any insight

Hey Steven (and everyone). I've read your inputs regarding golfer's elbow and I've tried many things with little to no results. What I've noticed is that contracting my ring finger triggers the golfer's elbow pain, and nothing else apparently. I tested with a hand grip trainer and my right ring finger (where I have the issue, and my dominant hand) is definitely weaker than my left ring finger.

Do you think training my ring finger specifically would be beneficial for my golfer's elbow?

Thanks in advance!

I’ve been lifting for 6 years and “trying” to get the planche for 4 years without a methodical approach. Every time I try…I get overzealous and end up overtraining my connective tissues and getting injured. I seem to have terrible genetics for connective tissue integrity and seem to get injured very easily when I push the intensity. I’ve noticed this on slightly aggressive powerlifting programs too. I’m used to really heavy weights but not the joint specific angle strength that comes with advanced bodyweight movements. I get injured, and go back to hypertrophy training to rehab my joints and then I get back to gymnastics style training and I re-injure myself. I decided to take a more conservative approach this go around (still could be considered too aggressive and high volume) and decided to use a dream machine for consistent overload.

My question is…is this program too high volume including the powerlifting movements??? I still want to increase my bench and OHP numbers but the primary focus will be on improving statics. Did I program this incorrectly???

Push A ☘️Planche dream machine static hold 7-8 sec holds 5sets (reduce dream machine pulley weight by 2-5lbs every week) ☘️Bench press 5x5 (use fractional plates to increase by .25-.5 or 1lb every week) ☘️Ohp 2-3x12 (1lb every week) ☘️machine tricep press down 2-3x 8-10reps (2lbs every week) ☘️lateral raises 2sets of 12 drop set both (.25 lbs every week) ☘️ 4x8reps calf raises ☘️ 3x AMRAP hollow body holds ☘️ 3x AMRAP bodyweight reverse hyper

Pull A ☘️Front lever holds dream machine 7 sec hold of whatever progression x 5 sets (reduce dream machine weight by 2-5lbs every week) ☘️weighted pull-ups 5x5 increase weight (by 1-2 lbs each week) ☘️barbell rows 2-3x 6-8reps (1-3lbs every week until stall) ☘️cable row 2-3x 6-8 reps (1-3 lbs every week) ☘️pullovers 2 sets 10 reps (burnout) ☘️bicep curls 2 sets 10 reps (increase by .25-.5lbs every week) ☘️hang from a bar as long as possible 3 sets

Legs A ☘️Hack squat 2-3 sets 6 reps Dorian Yates style drop set (5 lbs every week) ☘️2-3 sets of leg extensions drop set with bodyweight squats upon failure (1lb every week) ☘️2 sets of hammie curls drop set (pre exhaust) ☘️3x7 RDL’s (2-3lbs every week) ☘️3x10 zercher deadlift (2-5lbs every week until stall) ☘️3x 12 adductor machine (3lbs every week)

Rest day (active rest, cardio stretch calves) ☘️ 4x8reps calf raises

Push B ☘️Planche dream machine practice 4 sets of 20 sec holds supinated fingertips (drop weight by 2-3lbs every week) ☘️elevated HSPU or OHP 5x5 ( try and add reps the first few sets OR 3 lbs every week ☘️Paused bench 3 sets 7 reps (2 lbs each week) ☘️Tricep machine 3 sets 7 reps (2 lbs each week) ☘️3 sets of 12 tricep cable push downs (1lb each week) ☘️2 sets 12 reps lateral raise drop set both sets increase (.5lb-1lb each week) ☘️ 3x AMRAP hollow body holds ☘️ 3x AMRAP bodyweight reverse hyper

Pull B ☘️Dream Machine Front lever 4 sets 20 sec on whatever progression (drop weight by 2-5lbs each week) ☘️3x12 lat pulldowns (increase by 2-3lbs per week) ☘️4 sets of cable rows 2 sets lat biased 2 upqper back biased (2lbs per week) ☘️2x10 bicep curls ☘️Direct Forearm work ☘️ 4x8reps calf raises

Legs B ☘️Adductor machine 2x12-15 ☘️Zercher deadlifts 3x10 reps ☘️Hamstring curls 3x8 ☘️Hack squat 3 sets of 12 reps to failure ☘️RDL’s 2x15 reps ☘️quad extensions 2 sets 12 reps to failure

Hi everyone, so in OG2 book I saw there Is a correlation Between OAC strength and iron cross, precisely if someone can do 3 OAC's, usually then that Person has the needed raw strength to perform a few seconds of the cross (if we don't take into account the conditioning work needed for It). Now despite the fact that I'm having good progress with my One arm pull up training, I still Need probably 2/3 more months before achieving my First rep. So my questions are:

1. this correlation Between OAC and Iron cross, can also be applied if instead of the OAC we would be considering the OAP or the increased bicep activation of the OAC Is that important for the strength carryover to the iron cross?

2. If I were to achieve my First OAP (let's say 1 rep with both the right arm and the left arm) and I wanted to start training for the iron cross, does the iron cross training would somehow "mantain" the OAP strength or would I need some specific OAP work with low volume along the cross work in order to mantain/not lose the OAP?

3. a Little bit out of context, but I noticed that the iron cross works pretty much the same muscles as the planche (so chest, shoulders and biceps), how would u go with the programming of these two movements in the same program? Would u be choosing to prioritize One more than the other (in terms of volume and intensity) or they can be trained together with moderate-high intensity without risking injuries?

Thank u in Advance for all the answers.

Hello! A bit of a background to me is I work for myself as well as have been a hardcore gamer for all my life. I have dedicated my entire life to my craft as well as gaming. I played for 40+ hours consecutively at times to achieve my gaming goals, for weeks on end before.. I recently started a new business that utilizes my hands as it is a Cultivation facility and I am low funded and only have my partner to help me so I work 80+ hours a week currently..

My injury/tendinosis is mainly in my Right index finger (my mouse hand). I got a sharp pain while pushing myself in gaming and ignoring the pain about 3 or 4 years ago, I ignored it and continued playing.. Weeks later I noticed my PIP joint seemed a bit larger on my right index than my left and it was hurting a lot.. I gave it a month of rest.. didn't get better, I gave it 2 months etc to the point I didnt turn on my PC for 6 months! My PIP joint never fully felt normal.. I would click the mouse and have a lot of pain even if on the PC for 1 minute at this point in my life.. I had just turned 25 at this time. New/ release of my most nostalgic games were coming out, I was super eager to play, I had rested for over half a year in hopes i'd get better to be able to play said release of game.. I played and after one week quit due to how much pain I was in. I tried full rest, then went to stretching, regular exercise/cardio etc.. I had some feet pain that I developed and lingered for about 6 months and eventually went away with me focusing on stretches and exercise, this is all when I was 25 still. By the time I turned 26, my feet pain was gone but my index finger was still very much there.. I occasionally would game as that is one of the few things that truly brings me peace and happiness and was the best way for me to hang out with my friends as they live in another state since I moved to pursue my career..
I realized my situation had not been getting better, I began to worry more and more as each month went by.. I went to doctor apointments, seen a rheumatologist got tests done, did MRI and ultrasound imaging on my hands and got everything checked out.. My bloodwork showed no arthritis, no RA, nothing abnormal besides a lack/deficiency of vit. D... I then began going on walks shirtless to absorb as much Vit D. as I could and started supplementing vit D.. I eventually turn 27 and have a bit less pain in my PIP region of index finger, still there but not nearly as bad as when I was 25.. another release of the same game (new expansion) and I commited to playing as it was one of the most nostalgic games/releases of my early childhood and I had to relive it. I started playing and somewhat overcame the pain in my index for the most part, I'd say about 75% of it was gone but there was a 25% lingering feeling always there.. I kept playing, and had a period of my life that became EXTREMELY stressful, as stresful as life can possibly be... not to share too much personal details but I got into extreme trouble with the law, was facing a prison sentence for a nonviolent crime and lost almost everything besides my house/car etc.. this took about a year and I ended up getting the entire case fully dismissed, so was a massive relief.. I realized I had to change how I go about my career path and needed to do it legally in the market but I had no funds.. I worked and grinded for a while and now have my own business which I am legally grinding 80hrs a week and loving every minute of it but it is still extremely stressful as I have not paid myself a dollar yet in the past 8 months and have no employees and am just getting by as I slowly build my facility and expand..

During this 8 months of my grinding my business hard, I was able to go to PT twice a week due to medicare and I went to a hand specialist.. I followed all their instructions and tbh never found any relief.. My pain at somepoint transitioned from my PIP to underneath my MCP joint in the index finger.. The tendon area right underneath the MCP had a bulge there for about almost a year now. I got it checked out and my MRI scans seemed perfectly normal they told me, so no "structural" damage.. but I have a ton of pain if I use my hands.. My only diagnosis when I was 26 I believe was that I was Hypermobile there for prone to tendon injuries easily the doc told me..

I came across Chronic pain/ TMS ideology that sometimes pain is not structural but just our nervous system.. I tried implementing the strategies to not think about my pain, tell myself I am okay and such.. This was around age 26 or 27 I believe BTW (forgot to mention this)..

I am currently almost age 29, I do occasionally play video games but resorted to Controller instead of mouse and keyboard like I used too, still feel pain but mostly in my palm/MCP region not PIP now, I do have "trigger finger" but never to the degree where it gets stuck its just that my fingers click and I can feel that my tendon doesnt glide smoothly when I am closing my fingers, but I feel this in many fingers and only have mcp pain in my index still. I am working 80 hours a week and do use my hands but I try to use tools and such that put less stress on my hands, like an electric scissor rather than a regular scissor for example. I have re-started doing strengthing exercises for my fingers/hands daily now such as Band finger extensions afor extrinsic muscles and using a 5lb dumbell for intrinsic muscles/tendon by having it in my hand, and slowly opening my hand and letting the dumbell go with gravity untill its just in the tips of my fingers, then bringing it back up by closing my fingers and bringing the dumbell to my palm. I stretch my hands daily, I use a gua-sha tool and scrape my tendon/hand every other day or 3 days to try and break up scar tissue/adhesions since I know I have trigger finger/nodules developed that I'd like to get rid of, I take vitamins/supplements and eat a pretty healthy diet. I feel like I easily get new tendon pains/issues in other fingers/hand by me overworking myself but they end up going away always with rest but my right index finger has been nonstop chronic since I was 25.. My PT told me she thought my issue was tendinosis, but I believe its just chronic pain at this point and not a tendon issue?

Any help or suggestions? I'd like to go back and live my life pre age 25 as I took my hands for granted and used to abuse them and now I just keep wishing I could go back to having normal hands and live a pain free life of normal hand usage etc.. Should I just stick to my daily hand exercises? I did other exercises before but my current regimen which I stated I am doing I have only been doing for about 3 weeks and hope it will help.. should I add some more exercises to my regimen? I read and heard a lot of people tell me stretching is pointless due to me being hypermobile, but I feel good when I stretch for a brief period so I do it anyways, Should I stop stretching? Should I continue to use gua-sha on my hand? I feel as if I tried many things and never considered surgery as I was scared it wouldnt fix my issue and could make my life even worse with something I can't go back on, but I am at the point that I feel like I am willing to do anything to fix my issue.. I think I did approach my "injury" incorrectly at first, and now regret it as it has lead me down this chronic pain path..

Any help is gladly appreciated! Been reading a lot trying to be sure I am doing the right thing for my progression towards a pain free life with my hands but I am always in doubt when I have those days were I really feel it in my hands.. 1 step forward, then 1 step back etc..

A

My current goals are to build bigger triceps, a bigger chest, and learn the handstand pushup. Is this routine going to help with my strength or is it just junk volume?

DS Elevated Pike Push Ups: Failure Till 100

Archer Push Ups: Failure Till 100

DS Dips: Failure Till 100

After every failure I take a 3 minute rest, and before every new workout I take a 5 minute rest. This is only done twice a week with my pull, leg/core, and rest days inbetween.

Biceps femoris/ hamstring problem

Can anybody give me some advise how to reduce the pain in my hamstring? I’m working as a server for the last 2 years (before bartender and cook for 4 years) - so my job requires constant walking or standing. I was trying to heal my lower back at chiropractor for the last month. After around 9 sessions almost got rid of back pain but started feeling pain in my left leg: buttocks and hamstring. Pain was okay for the first couple of days, but today I woke up with never ending spasms on the back side of my left leg. Hurts a lot even when I’m lying down. What should I start with not to harm myself even more? How to reduce the pain? What’s a good routine? How to heal it? Thanks in advance!

For some context I had an overuse injury from climbing + working out that I rested until it went away, but I jumped back into resuming activities too quickly and it came back. Pain levels are more or less the same as the first time but it's long exceeded the duration it took for it to improve previously (approaching 3 months now) with questionable improvement. The frequency of pain has decreased but pain levels (probably like a 1-2/10) have barely improved. I had an MRI scheduled but had to move it due to personal reasons, but for now the doctor is suspecting that my supraspinatus is the problem based off my symptoms and history which was in line with my conclusion based on my research as well.

I'm completely pain free 99% of the time but occasionally I'll do a random movement and I'll feel a sharp pain around the supraspinatus deep inside the front of my shoulder. No weakness or reduction in ROM, and I can do day to day activities perfectly fine.

It never hurts during workouts but I noticed it will be aggravated by things like wide grip pullups and pushups where it would hurt a few hours after the workout so I've cut those out completely and scaled down to narrow grip active hangs, tricep pushdowns, and really light face pulls for now. I also recently found the Overcoming Tendonitis article and have incorporated some of the eccentric movements there into my program as well.

Given the complete randomness of the pain (I genuinely cannot pinpoint a specific angle or position that will irritate the injury consistently, I've done all the tests) it's very hard to determine whether the rehab process is going well or not. Am I doing something wrong? I can probably count on my fingers the amount of times it hurts within the span of a single day, and the pain is a 1-2/10 at best, so it's not driving me crazy or anything but it's definitely something concerning.

Does anyone here have experience with this problem?

Hello! I’ve been working out for about two weeks using a routine I made after finishing the book. I have some questions and was hoping to get some guidance.

1. I settled on doing an upper/lower split, 6 days a week. I’m in my mid 20s, and I’ve been doing weight training for ~8 years (but not calisthenics), so I figured I’d have the work capacity for that. So far it seems fine, but in the Overcoming Gravity book I’ve mostly just seen examples of 4 day upper/lower splits. Is there anything wrong with doing it 6 days a week? The main reason I settled on this schedule is so that I can still train all the upper body movements 3 times a week, while still being able to go in fresh for heavy squats / deadlifts on lower days without being pre-fatigued by upper body movements. 
2. I’ve been doing wall handstand practice every day except my rest day. However, on upper body days, I’m also training wall headstand pushups. Should I skip the wall handstand practice on upper days / am I getting that practice through the wall headstand pushups? I don’t want to over-fatigue my shoulders. One of my push goals is to achieve a free handstand pushup, so it seems to me that training them concurrently makes sense.
3. My other push goal is to achieve a planche (or at least a straddle planche, since I’m fairly tall and not sure a full one is possible for me). So far I’ve just been doing semi-advanced tuck planche holds (straight back but not full 90-degree legs). The book talks about also training concentric versions of isometric exercises (i.e. the planche pushup) , but I’m a bit unclear what the _optimal_ strategy is for achieving the planche. Should I alternate isometric holds and tuck planche/pseudo planche push-ups? Or just stick with the isometrics for specificity?

Hi all,

I want to start by saying that I appreciate this subreddit and all of Stevens work!

I'm 37/M, I am what you'd call an "untrained beginner." I started exercising more seriously in mid-January using the RR as a guideline while following Stevens OG2 progressions. I've definitely seen some results so far, which has been encouraging.

I started this journey with long term wellness related goals as the primary reason. I have a couple of conditions that could lead to long term bone density and/or arthritis issues, and I figured getting into a strength training routine would give me a better outlook as I get older. My short term goals are to stop getting muscle strains. Long term I'd like to develop a respectable level of strength, using Steven’s levels 9-10 of the progressions as something to work towards. I'm between levels 2-4 on my exercises right now.

I've probably been overdoing it for a beginner. I'm on my 5th muscle strain in 3 months. I've had them in both shoulders and my chest.

Interestingly, with one exception, these haven't happened "during" a workout, but during "normal life." Pulling a table open to add a leaf, throwing a Frisbee, playing with my small children, that kind of thing. They have healed fairly quickly. I stretch them out and use rehab exercises, but I probably need to change what I'm doing or it's going to keep happening.

I also tried deloading (though practically it was closer taking a week off because we were traveling) 2 weeks ago to see if that would help but I just got another strain in my chest yesterday.

My plan right now is to work rehab only for a week, mainly just stretching the chest and shoulders. Then I'd work low intensity only for a week. After that, I plan to alternate low/high intensity each workout to try to build more endurance and connective tissue while still building strength.

The progressions I'm following are:

Pull ups, dips, push ups, rows, squats, Nordic curls, ab rollouts and L-sit/manna.

For light intensity I'd go down a progression or use resistance bands and aim for 3 * 15-20+. For heavy intensity I'd aim for 5 * 5-12.

I'm on an upper/lower+core schedule. TFSun upper, MThSat lower/core.

My loose plan is on upper days to alternate heavy vertical (Dips/Pull ups) with light horizontal (Push ups/rows) then flip flop, so I'd always be doing both heavy and light each day. Similarly, for lower/core I’d switch each day - heavy lower and light core, then flip the next time.

So … does a routine like this make sense? Any suggestions?

Thanks for reading

I've had great success with eccentrics for other pissed off tendons in the elbow and triceps but really struggling to make progress on the teres minor (and I do think this contributes to my elbow issues). My problem is that I've not found the movement that allows me to load it eccentrically through maximum length. Nothing I've tried makes me go "yes this is it" as I generate blood flow.

Most info I can find show the usual external rotation exercises to the side of the body (that also tackle the infraspinatus) but from what I can tell teres minor also rotates the humerus out and moves the arm away from the body.

With some experimentation I've figured out that the opposite of all of those concentric actions is scratching the back of my OTHER shoulder with the affected arm (well, back of the head to be precise, so higher up than the other shoulder). I tried this position lying down with a super light dumbbell lowered down slowly into this position. I THINK this gives the complete eccentric range of motion for teres minor but I'm not sure and need some opinions? It definitely highlights finally EXACTLY the area of discomfort.

Thanks

Hello everyone!

When I do push-ups, I have a slight pain in my wrist (see example picture). The pain occurs towards the end of the movement when the arms are stretched. I can't really get a full right angle between the back of my hand and my arm without pain (which I think is the problem?).

I don't have any problems with my wrist in everyday life, and I've never had an accident with my wrist. What could this be, or more importantly, is there an exercise/routine that can help?

Many thanks in advance!

It started with just an achey feeling in my left arm that came and went for 2 weeks. It was very mild and didn't stick around for longer than an hour at a time. I think it happened 4/5 times. I thought it was from sleeping position so I made sure to start sleeping on my back. However, in the last few days the dull ache has also moved to my other arm and become more frequent and transformed into a burning diffuse pain. For the last day, it has been constant and I couldn't sleep from it.

My front upper arms just below shoulder feel like they are burning from exertion (like holding something over your head for a long time) constantly. Sometimes it is harder to pinpoint and feels like its all over shoulders and upper arms. Like that awful lactic acid feeling.

Interestingly, the pain level is stable and does not worsen with any movements typical of rc tears. I have full ROM but pain is intense at rest. There is absolutely no mechanism of injury. I haven't done an upper body workout in a few months nor have I fallen or felt an acute onset of pain. no past injuries anywhere in the area either.

I don't think it is cervial disc herniation since pain is on both sides and pain is not shooting or shock like. also, elbows and hands unaffected.

Hi

Iv been working with an online calistehics coach for last year n half but have decided to start doing my own programs.

I have the volume 1 version of the book I have started reading and making notes plus starred watching the video series. Until I understand it , I have just purchased the OG program on boostcamp.

I'm going to do the 3x per week full body. My questions are;

I ride my bike to work 3x a week mon,weds,fri. It's 20km each way. Should I train also on these days as it counts as the endurance part of a program after exercises. Then I have a full rest day? Or am I better to ride one day, then train the next?

I have a pinched nerve in my neck for last few years which goes through shoulder and arm. Its mostly under control but I'm looking for specific rehab and prehab exercises to include daily?

Thanks for any input. 💪

Hey there, so I (26,m) am seeing an orthopedist in a month and consulted my physio who thinks it's not tennis elbow but cant really help me. I'd appreciate any input, maybe somebody had a similar problem once or has some ideas. Thanks in advance🙏🏼

It all started 6 months ago with tensed / cramped hands mostly during bench press. A month later pain in my left wrist developed near the capal tunnel area which is most noticeable during supination, so biceps exercises. Both issues were only present during workouts. In January pain on both arms near the lateral epycondyle developed and some medial as well. I took a 2 weeks break and afterwards 3 weeks with only 1 light workout per week. The last one was 6 weeks ago where I noticed pain and stinging during the workout itself for the first time really. Afterwards I did a week of massaging the area and some eccentrics with a bottle followed my 1 week of Flexbar 1-2 times a day. It didnt help. So since 3 weeks the only things I did was some massage of the lower arms and shoulders and the pain improved but only at the beginning and then stayed the same. So I did eccentrics yesterday for the lateral and medial epycondyle with a light DB and it's quite bad today.

My physio said it's an overuse injury maybe from maybe doing reverse wrist curls and using foam roller and not taking enough breaks and tennis and golfers elbow on both arms seems very strange. I still feel it when keeping my arms bend so using Phone, Laptop or these things. Plus the tensed hands and wrist pain doesn't improve. Soo, I know this was a lot but would appreciate any thoughts as Im quite hopeless at the moment.

I have been trying to understand how I should be prgramming for a taller, heavier athlete like myself (6 ft 4, 200lbs) in the trained beginner stage.

There are 2 parts to this question:

1 . In OG2 pg 234 , it states: "For individuals weighing 200 lbs., a program performed four times per week with two push and two pull workouts tends to work best. Upper/lower and straight-arm/bent-arm can be effective as well. Performing a full-body program three times a week may be too intense, especially if the workouts include exercises like the planche."

Why? Does connective tissue get disproportionately stressed if you are heavier and have longer levers? Is it to do with more load over a larger range of motion. I would love to understand the drivers behind this and how I can apply it to my program.

2. Based  on above, is it usually more beneficial for a heavier athlete to move to a split vs reducing/waving volume and intensity on a full body 3x week? How would this effect strength acquisition and injury risk?

Are there other factors (such as sleep, nutrition, stress) that would would swing the decision one way or the other?

prior to my injury, i was a very strong bodybuilder with no forearm/tendon issues despite the heavy push and pull exercises-- until i encountered the grip strengthener device. I'm not sure if its from both hyperextension of my elbow (from tightening tourniquets during EMT training) or the grip strengthener, but i think it is mainly the latter. i wanted to increase my grip strength for deadlifts and i didn't know much about tendons at the time, which led me to believe training with intensity and hypertrophy would help, like with any other muscle group.

i went extremely hard for both wrists. as in maxing out, PRing, forcing myself to close the grip with extremely high effort, and i did this for about a week straight until i noticed pain in both my forearms. i continued training like usual because forearm soreness wasn't new to me. it typically came after heavy pull days and would go away. this time it didn't.

i got it checked out with my PCP about a few weeks in, who told me to rest and to come back if it didn't. 2 months later it hadn't healed and my entire forearm was on fire-- i couldn't pick up anything, open doors, or drive without pain.

I've gotten referred to the hand surgeon twice now, and both times he's said that it's overuse and reassured me that there's no tear or nerve compression because my symptoms would have shown that, and said an MRI is not needed.

i have gone to the occupational therapist (OT) from january to end of march and she has given me nerve gliding, lat stretches, and your typical wrist stretching exercises, but i feel like she's more focused towards the ulnar nerve inflammation than on my tendons.

it used to be all over my forearms, but now I think I only feel it on my ulnar side (I'm assuming the FCU/FDS?) mostly under my elbow and an inch or two away from my wrists. the hand doctor reassured me that I would fully recover, but I'm worried it'll affect my career as it has already stripped me of my favorite and most stress-relieving hobby. because it has improved from my original state, I still have hope. i used to have pain writing but now not anymore. i used to have pain holding a water bottle and turning it side to side, but now not so much. however, 8 months is a long time and i sometimes doubt if I'll ever fully recover. i do not want pain meds to relieve the symptoms, i want to heal the source of the pain and return to my life pre-injury.

EDIT: i stopped lifting (at least for my upper body) 2 months in. i continued w/ leg exercises that did not require my arms, so its about 6 months w/pain without lifting.

i finally got an mri after ongoing wrist issues since last year and it came back as "tfcc appears degenerated, no fluid indicating tear" and "ecu tendon is subluxed". "All tendons, ligaments, carpal, spaces, look otherwise maintained."

The ortho told me the only way to get the tendon sheath to heal and prevent recurrent subluxation is to brace in a hard long arm cast for 6-8 weeks. Obviously, I don't want to be immobilized elbow to wrist for 2 months so I'm wondering if anyone else has dealt with this in any other way?

also, I've literally never felt it pop out and when the hand therapist who was casting my arm tried to move my hand palm up to elicit subluxation, she didn't feel anything pop out either. so I'm skeptical...