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Hi all, I am doing a bit of tumbling in addition of the GB program. I can do standard front roll, pike , layout as well as roundoff back tuck. I struggle with cartwheel, when I work on the form, I have a pain on the right glute (back leg on the cartwheel). It is quite deep. I tried a few time to stop for a few weeks, but it always comeback. Really hard to say if I lack of mobility or strength on the glute. Anyone had the same issue? Any advices ? Cheers

Hello, fellow trainers! My name is Ben and I was born with f*cked up elbows! Before delving into this topic, I'd like to provide a brief disclaimer that this is NOT a recommendation of how to fix your elbow pain. This is merely my personal journey with my specific joint problem, and how I've gone about fixing it. My hope is that other members of the forum can read this and perhaps share their own personal journeys with their own problems. Knowledge is power, and I can only assume that there are more trainees than just me who are suffering from their own anatomy. It can be a hindrance. It can make performing some of the GST progressions dangerous if your body can't anatomically handle it. PLEASE consult your doctor/orthopedist if you think you have these kind of structural issues. There just might be a solution. And now, back to my f*cked up elbows. To be more specific, I have/had subluxation of BOTH of my ulnar nerves at my elbow joints. If I bend my arms more than 90 degrees, the ulnar nerve slides out of its home in the cubital tunnel and across the bone that is supposed to hold it in place. It doesn't hurt, really. Just some slight discomfort the longer I hold flexion of my arms. It wasn't much of a problem until I started Gymnastic Strength Training. Foundation One is where I began, and things were going swimmingly until I reached the second progression of the push up variation. To begin with, I couldn't get my chest to the bar in progression one, so I thought I would just bend my arms up to 90 degrees, avoid the violent nerve shift (it was worse under load), and I would be fine to progress with that modification. BOY was I wrong. I got stuck doing regular push ups for MONTHS, until I finally woke up and realized that my modified push ups weren't going to help me progress through this program. I use push ups as the primary example, but it was a major set back in my row progression as well. This was enough incentive to get me to pay my local orthopedist a visit. He confirmed what I had already guessed was subluxation of my ulnar nerves. My hope was that this could be fixed with a brace or some physical therapy, and we wouldn't have to resort to surgery. Surprise! We had to resort to surgery. If I were to leave this unchecked, I would eventually begin to lose feeling and strength in both of my hands. So, I could either get it done now, or wait until it manifested later. To me, this was a no brainer. So, I got myself scheduled for surgery on my left (dominant) arm. It was called a cubital tunnel release with anterior transposition. Basically, they took my ulnar nerve out of the tunnel and replaced it outside in a new tunnel made out of excess skin and fat. Yummy. A new discovery was made by my surgeon during the procedure. The lower part of my tricep was somehow wrapped around my ulnar nerve, which may have been the culprit of the subluxation in the first place. He had to make an incision to free the nerve. What followed was two weeks in a splint (which I just got off two days ago). I absolutely hated that thing. Now, the stitches are out and the process of healing is still in progress. I'm still working slowly to get back my full range of motion, but I can already tell that the problem is, indeed, fixed. I will be scheduling surgery for my other arm before the year is out. That's my story, and it's far from over. I will keep y'all updated as I heal and get back into the swing of things GST-wise. I welcome any and all members of the forum to engage and discuss with their own experiences and knowledge. Train smarter, not harder. And most importantly, train SAFE.

Hey! I was wondering what the causes of pain in the SI joint after twisting motions could be. It was noticed during yoga. Supine position, knees tucked and moved from side to side. And then other times, just twisting in general. Anyway. It’s the first incidence. Any guidance as to where the problem might be? Weakness or tightness or something?

Hi GymnasticBodies, Ive been following and watching for a long time and im finally looking forward to starting Foundation 1, Bridge and Mobility programs soon! All around im a healthy and strong male, no worries there. However, i kind of want to get my wife in on this too and she wants to try herself. She has scoliosis with a good 37 degree curve if i remember correctly. 9/10 people with scoliosis do not experience pain from their cronic disease - unfortunately, she does. Also, since the curve is in her lower lumbar, close to the hip, it was deemed un-fixable and no operation could be made. Being athletic and keeping your body healthy is very important and also reliefs quite a lot of pain from her spine. She does a lot of yoga which is fine, but there is no progression and she is not really getting stronger or more flexible. I think GymnasticBodies would be a great combination of what she knows from yoga, but with a little extra challenge / spice for her. Of course the goals wouldnt be to do muscle-ups, levers, etc. since she has aspiration for it. I just want her to get a strong foundation so she has less pain from her scoliosis. Anyways, my point / question is: Does anyone have any experience with scoliosis in the connection with gymnastics? Is it do-able? Is there certain excersis you should stay away from? Very new about training with scoliosis so ANY tips, tricks, experiences, etc. will be a great help From Philip

Hey guys, I’ve recently bought Fundamentals course, because I’ve read here in this forum, that it is good start for developing mobility and it can be done as daily limbering routine. I‘m also considering to buy all stretch series. I want to ask you if there is some possibility, for guy who spend 40-60 hours/week in car or in the office, sitting, to develop mobility and flexibility, especially in hips and hamstrings. I’ve spent lot of time stretching for few years and I think I’m still on the same spot- one fist from elbow to toe touch, cannot sit with straight back on the ground with stretched legs without losing arch in back. I have also problems with pain in hamstring – In positions, where I’m lenghtening hamstring, some sharp pain shows on few spots somewhere between underbutt to middle of hasmtring and it feels like my hamstring will tear apart. I think it’s trigger points from that damn sitting- tried some trigger point therapy, massages, ice stretches, PNF and RI stretching – no result, still pain. When I overcome this pain and do some stretch series, it’s ok for a while- maybe few hours, but then it’s back and worse and I have to take looooong break after to fully recover and then after few stretches, pain is back. I also spent some time under Ido Portal’s team coaching, but with the same result. I was doing some loaded stretches- different exercises- cca 10 series- 4 times /week- and that made my problems even worse. Is there someone who himself, or his client had similar problems and found solution? Sorry for my english, it’s not my native language. Thank you for your answers.

Hi everyone, I have a problem and want to discuss it with you in case you would have informations or advices about it. I've been practicing gymnastics (or calisthenics I don't know) on my own for a few years now. I managed to hold the front lever for 4-5 seconds several months ago, some weeks after, I started to feel a strong pain in my upper back, on a point located between the scapulas. It's like something is burning as soon as I go in tuck front lever position. After feeling that pain, I felt it everyday for 3 or 4 days and then didn't feel it anymore, I tried resting for 2 weeks but the same thing happened (less intense of course because I was being careful). Yesterday I tried going in tuck frontlever for the first time since one month and I felt the pain again. I noticed that when I go in full protraction the pain is almost inexistant, I think I am going to train it in full protraction next time although it doesnt seem natural for me. I have few theories about that problem, one is that I think I am sometimes forgetting to breathe out during my front lever holds. Thank you in advance

Hello guys, My height is 170 cm and my weight is 56,5 kg. I'm training planche almost a year now and I can't seem to make it, I stuck at straddle planche and the only time I held a full planche was when I was ill and not trained for a week. Usually I am training every day for shoulder, planche and recently started to work with weights to speed up the process. Actually after every workout I don't feel any muscle soreness only like something that comes from very deep, my shoulder is always popping and hurts like hell when I try to attempt a planche but I can't stop working out. Well this is all I wanted to say, and I don't know if I need a rest how much, because as I mentoined above when I took a week rest I felt insanely weak and slow but I managed to hold it...

Hello everyone, this is my first post on this forum.I'd like to ask for advice regarding a rather persistent problem.I have a stable planche, and I believe im able to progress to more difficult levels such as the planche pushup (straddle in my case).My problem is that whenever i lower myself and then start to press up I feel a sharp pain in my left forearm.It feels as if one of those many muscles in the forearm were hurt, so i cant perform the exercise without pain.This isn't the type of pain deep inside the forearm that everyone encounters when going for the planche variations, my arms already got used to that.I can also "activate" this pain by trying to perform backlever pullups, or left handed one arm pullups with the palms facing away from me. Thank you for any kind of advice in advance.

Hello! I am requesting a bit of help. About a month and a half ago, I started having wrist and elbow pain after doing bar muscle ups. I believe it stemmed from using too much momentum and a lack of wrist mobility. For example, I can't even bring my wrists to a 90 degree angle (I'm almost there but not quite) without using an external object such as a wall. So far, I've rested my arms for a month while using ice and occasionally heat. For about three weeks now I've been using heat only. I've also been doing eccentric wrist curls for about two weeks with very low weight. I do not feel random pain anymore. The only time I feel pain or discomfort is occasionally when driving, lifting or carrying objects, and sometimes when drawing (I'm an artist). It occurs on the insides of my elbows. This pain, out of 10, is probably a 2 or 3. I would more so call it a brief discomfort at this point. Do you all believe that I can begin using Handstand One to rehab/strengthen my wrists and elbows? If not yet, when can I use Handstand One to start strengthening my wrists? Would it be beneficial to begin Foundations One? If you have any advice pertaining to my questions, please help me out! I also welcome any advice that you can offer that does not deal with F1 or H1. Thank you!

Hi guys, I wanted to get some information about trigger points... Lately i've been experiencing quite many trigger points in my back muscles... I am very frustrated because they are happening quite often. I have a foam roller and I use it quite frequently but yet they are still appearing here and there... I've asked some friends that have similar trainings like mine and they didn't experience any. What am I doing wrong? I have to say that i mostly have strength trainings (for maltese, iron cross, planche, etc...) and not really take a lot of time to stretch after the training or in the rest days. I've read that trigger points are more of a poison in your muscles and not really a result of overtraining. What provoques them? Is it the lack or mobility and stretch? Lack of vitamins? Lack of muscle-relaxation? What should I do to prevent their appearance? Is it possible to get rid of them forever? What should I do in the case I get a trigger point (apart from massaging the area regularly with foam roller/golf ball)? HELP Thanks in advance, Oscar

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, oh, and beasts, there should be some in here, judging from the coach's work. XD I'm new to this forum. Coach Somer directed me here after contacting him online to adress my problem so that everybody could benefit from whatever needs to be said about my condition. I guess that injuries in this part of the body may not be as popular as shoulder-elbow ones, yet I believe it needs to be addressed as it attacks athletes of any status, be it proffessionals or amateurs, gymnasts or gym rats, vertical leap freaks or desk-syndrome junkies! What am I talking about? The dreaded JUMPER'S KNEE. Getting started on the condition I feel like I need to post a brief summary of who I am and what i do, so that you may better understand my goals, and then get on the more general side of things... First of all, I am a Greek basketball athlete. My goal is becoming a proffessional in the sport. For the moment, my knees are thwarted by tendinosis in the patellar tendon, to be exact the lower pole of the patella. It has kept me one year and something TOTALLY OUT of my sport. I used to be quite the athlete when it came to basketball (see, I'm talking like a grandpa, but i'm only 20!) Had about a 2xsquat and deadlift when i was 18, could jump about 92cms with running approach, could dunk it while being 5.8ft tall etc etc. The problem came due to overworking, extrinsic factors such as concrete courts and my inability to give it a f*king rest when my body told me for two goddamn years to stop (through pain) Well, enough with the bragging, down to the problem. One knee (left, my primary jumping knee as a right handed basketball player) is severe enough to have warranted a prior (failed) surgery done arthroscopically (debridement) The other is just your regular run-in-the-mill jumper's knee. The severe condition presents fibrotic tissue in about 1/3 of the tendon's width coupled with the usual tendon thickness, and some other menial sites of fibrotic tissue under recovery due to the (stupid) doctor's choices to debride tissue that should have been left alone. There is evidence of a previous partial tear of minimal importance (as it has healed now) yet scar tissue remains present there (at the insertion) too. It has all the characteristics of insertional patellar tendinosis plus some. NOW: My plan of action is using a recently popularized method called Tenex to debride the faulty tissue, a couple of prp+ Stem Cell injections and a peptide (called tb500) to warrant quality healing, aka no more fibrosis and re-injury. The less injured knee will recieve about the same treatment except for the Tenex procedure, which is out of my league (cost-wise) for both knees, which will be interchanged for percutaneous needling to make the injury acute again and warrant a new healing cycle. Lengthy introductions have been made. Now, the three REAL questions i got. 1.Has ANYBODY here used the Tenex procedure, Stem Cells, Peptides (yes, I know they are considered and technically are anabolics, thank you) to get ANY tendon rid of fibrosis, aka curing tendinosis in ANY site, not necessarily the knee? Do you know about somebody who did? 2.Has anybody gotten rid of severe Patellar Tendinosis-Jumper's knee by any OTHER means? 3.(probably most important) What can I do with a damaged knee except terminal leg raises and isometric holdings to keep excercising to avoid further atrophy of my quad-bicep femoris? Also, what will I do to condition my knees AFTERWARDS to turn them into IRON SPRINGS? Is there any gymnastics protocol? I'm aware there is one discipline in gymnastics where they jump doing flips and so from one corner to another (don't know how they call it in English, sorry) and they seem to have really conditioned legs... Thanks to everybody willing to read all this and respond, and sorry for the lengthy post. All questions, answers and general contributions are welcome, thanks to coach Sommer for giving me access to this forum

I'm new here but have been reading through threads for a few months now, mainly on forearm splints, wrist and finger pain. I started getting forearm splints years ago when I was a bro, curling 40kg in the gym like I was the man. Then I started to get pain, so bad I couldn't even open a door. Eventually I stopped doing curls altogether, switched over to DC training and then 5x5. I occasionally got some pain from bench / overhead press, but it was completely manageable through stretching. A few years later and I've quit the gym, focussing on bodyweight training. I needed some goals so began working towards the planche and handstand. For the planche I practised L-Sit, tuck planche & planche lean - doing sets so the times totalled 60 seconds per exercise, gradually increasing the time per set (15,15,15,15 - 20,20,20 - 30,30 etc). For the handstand I was really just working on my fear of being on my hands upside-down and only really got as far as a headstand against a wall (don't laugh). The planche training was going so well and I was really enjoying the progression, even if it was ever so slow. However it all came to a swift end when my forearm splints came back with a vengeance. I noticed it came on really strong if I was doing a hold then immediately came off the position, but if I came off gradually then the pain wouldn't be as bad, but would still be present. I've always stretched my wrists out before and after exercising ... as well as doing about 8x 30 second exercises with a rice bucket. The addition of the above 2 things really did feel as though it was working. However I ended up stopping training completely, and just doing the above stretches every few days but for some reason this just brought the strain back. I've also tried not doing any stretches or training at all. I've even started getting pain from playing guitar and typing now (perhaps all 3 are linked?). My main point of this thread is to ask if anyone has actually had any success with forearm/finger/wrist exercises that has enabled them to train hard again, without having to worry about any pain creeping in, and also if there are any structured programs out there I can follow which can help. I know this is probably about the 10th thread on forearm splints, but I really haven't found much hope online on the topic and am getting slightly desperate. If anyone can help please do! I just want to start training correctly again.

For what feels like my entire life I've had an occasional (maybe two times per year) pain shoot through the bottom of my foot, right in the middle of the arch. It seems to happen randomly and always starts just as I take a step and only lasts for a few seconds. Afterwards there is no lingering pain or pressure whatsoever and I've never had any injuries or surgeries in my foot or anywhere else. It feels as if the bottom of my foot has completely ripped open. It's a sharp, burning, and extreme sensation that really feels like my foot is starting to rip open from the center of the sole outwards to the heel and toes. Every time it happens I ask everyone around me if they've ever had that pain and I'm happy to say that just a couple of days ago, finally, I got my first "yes"... The curiosity feels worse than the pain.. what the hell is happening in my foot?

I was going about a particularly difficult hamstring stretch a few minutes ago when I suddenly felt the most intense burning sensation in my right leg. It's up on the lateral side almost near the knee. Right where the lateral gastrocnemius head and soleus tendons touch. When I try flexing my calf muscle, the outer portion of the lateral head shakes and feels a bit weak. The pain is fading fairly quickly. Have I torn muscle or connective tissue, or did I just irritate a nerve?

Hello everyone, It's been 3 months since I first noticed this pain in my shoulders. But before I talk about it I want to say that I've already did an MRI scan and it showed that nothing in the shoulder is damaged, and I have been visited by an osteopath and a physiotherapist which made me do some exercises (it didn't help). So the pain is basically a line between the middle and the rear deltoid, and I feel it most when doing exercises like HS push ups (and of course tuck planche push ups) and when I try to push the arm (being straight) laterally against a wall. The strange thing is that I feel the pain (for 3-4 seconds) AFTER I stop pushing...of course this also happens when I lift something up and then I release it. And I noticed it's painful when I try to stretch the infraspinatus by putting the hands on the hips and squeezing the elbows in but I don't know if that's related to the problem. Now it's been 3 months and it's still persistent I don't really know what to do and I hope someone here will be able to tell me what this type of pain is. Sorry for wasting your time but I tried a lot and it won't go away

Hi Sorry if my question was explained in details somewhere else and I repeat myself. Is extreme stiffness and pain something normal after stretching for pancake and pike ? I tried all advices so far. I stretch 5-6 times a week. I hoped that after 3 weeks Doms or whatever it is would pass. But still, every morning my hamstrings feel like 100 years old paper that is about to snap, and take a good 20 minutes of warming up and pain fighting before I start working on further progress. Someone said that I overstretch, but less intensity takes me nowhere in terms of progress. If I stretch 3 times a week it's even worse, same pain but without a progress. I have to admit that summer time of 20C+ helps a lot. Could it be this dump, crappy English weather ? Thx

Hi, I'm new to rings training. I've been training for only 1 month. The thing is... When I do the German Hang or Tuck BL with the chin-up grip, everything is fine. But I believe the right way is to keep a chin-up false grip, right? Well, when I do that, I can't even get into the German Hang because I feel a pain on the right/outer side of my right wrist, as if it is twisting too much. But on the left wrist, everything is fine. Considering I've never injured my wrists, how can I solve this pain & mobility issue?

Hi, I've got a strange sensation in my back, if I lean my head down as if to stretch the back of my neck or do pike fold I feel a strong tight sensation just to the inside corner of my left shoulder blade. I also get a a grating noise coming from the inside top of my left shoulder blade if I roll my shoulder back and down and my left shoulder clicks slightly if I'm doing overhead pressing movements. My right shoulder is fine and I don't ever remember injuring either side of my body. I've been doing rotator cuff strengthening exercises in case it is that but it hasn't made any difference so far. I've tried using a theracane to hit the spot but it's quite hard to pinpoint and it hasn't made any difference I've also foam rollered the area. I got my wife to look at my back and she couldn't see any asymmetry. Basically my questions are what muscle(s) do I need to be stretching or strengthening to help this and what stretches/exercises should I use? Many thanks to anyone who can help me Ian

Hey guys, I posted here about 2 months ago about the Injury i had on my Upper left arm. After giving my arm some rest..Now ive been feeling this bump, like a muscle knot right where the injury had occurred..It is exactly where the brachialis is. The knot is movable..when I put any pressure on it, it slides under my fingers. Its like this little bump in my arm that when i put pressure on it just jumps from side to side. It is a tight knot, and it has not been going away. It might be getting better but its at such a slow rate that im not able to even tell. Does anyone know what this is? It doesn't hurt all the time, the pain just randomly comes and goes. I still have not really worked out because of fear of re-injury. I just want to know what this is, what its from...and how i can make it go away to start training again. Also, it appears to be so that i have the same bump on my other arm, but it is much smaller than my injured one, I am thinking that they are both injured, but my left one is way worse. If I follow the bump with my fingers...it starts where the Tricep is at, and moves its way down until its right next to the bicep tendon where it attatches to the elbow. The bump is easier to feel when my arm is resting, like if its put down on the table. Any sort of help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Hi everyone, I'm seeking advice about a right shoulder pain that I now experience while holding either a L-sit, or a static hold on the rings or on dips bar. I feel like my my right shoulder blade cannot support me and the pain is located in the lower portion near my spine (almost under it) of my right shoulder blade. The pain appeared after I managed my first muscle up on bars. Did it happen to anyone before? Does someone have an idea what it could be and what I can do to keep training (I don't want to lose all my progress!!!)? Thank you in advance JS

Hey folks, first post by me, great forum though! my question to you: Im basically doing strength workouts 4 times a week (back/biceps, legs, shoulders, chest/triceps, slightly more pulling than pushing) and want to implement some more functional bodyweight exercises. what ive done recently is chest-to-wall handstand holds, L-Sits, "straight-arm pullup-shrugs"/lat-activation pulls as called by goldmedalbodies and some Ido Portal- inspired things: Scapula Archer Straight Arm Pulls, swedish bar front holds, swedish bar back holds; furthermore im doing shoulder mobility stuff like dislocates and rotator cuff and a little bit of lower traps exercises. Now most of my described bodyweight exercises are obviously pressing exercises ( bu pressing down !) i learned you need to do balance out pushing and pulling movements... but those exercises are also STRAIGHT ARM SCAPULA STRENGTH exercises, so im somehow adressing my shoulder stabilizers and hence shoulder health, right? what do you think? do i haveto do more pulling exercises ir anything to balance my current beginner "gymnastic" stuff out?

Does anybody have experience with loosening up stiff big toes? I'm experiencing a lot of pain from them even when I'm not working out. Doing a search online seems to indicate that there might be some kind of buildup in the bone that is causing a problem. I'm 45 so maybe I'm getting to this too late? I'd certainly like to avoid surgery so if anyone has experience and suggestions that would be great!!

So I have wrist pain here under the wrist and I was wondering if anyone else have this kind of pain, the pain is not so bad and becomes more worse the longer I am in the handstand/pushup position (90 degree angle with hand and forearm) with my hand (only my right hand) I have had this for soon a year and rest doesn't help. I went to a chiropractor (i think it is called) well he said that it was my "flexor carpi radialis" (google it) that was short and when in pushup position with my hand it was getting irritated. He said that I needed to stretch and also some strenghtening of that muscle. I have done that for some time now and the pain is minimal but when I do a couple of pushups I don't feel it at first and then it starts to come slow. So anyone had any experience with this? is it tendonitis? if so what should I do? Should I just continue with the exercises because these things take time or am I doing it wrong? I am still training other things like pushups with handles on the ground because the chiropractor said that was safe because it is only when in that 90 degree position with the hands. I'm also doing pulling exercises like pullups and other stuff with bars and rings. (I don't feel any pain when doing stuff when I grip and for example do dips).

I'm experiencing some pain and stress in my sternum-clavicula-acromion (or, the bones between my chest and shoulder) when I do dips on parallel bars (haven't tried rings in many months). To give an idea of my strength level, I'm doing F1, currently can do 4 x 12 pushups. I'm doing dips because I mix in a muscle-building routine with F1. I read that popping your clavicula joint or having it "wear out" due to excess chest-workouts is a concern to be taken seriously. I certainly don't want to run into this again when I'm doing actual dip-sets from F1. Tips or tricks to alleviate this?

Hello my fellow gymnasts, A few months ago, I noticed that I was pretty close to a split, without too much training. Encouraged by this, I started training for a full split. I was aware that making progress with the split might take a while. However, I never really thought of warming up my legs much. At first this was not much of a problem, but after about two months I started to experience pain in my left groin. When this pain kept coming back everytime I trained for the split again, I decided to rest for a few months to let my groin heal. I have now been resting for two months and yesterday I decided to attempt a split again. I wanted to be sure that I did it right this time, so I warmed up with: Running in place, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, squats and the butterfly stretch. I did this for about a total of 10 minutes. So I now felt safe to go into a split, but as I slowly lowered into a split I experienced the same pain in my left groin again. (No pain felt in my right groin) How can I make sure this doesn't happen again? Did I permanently damage it? Should I rest longer? Any help is welcome! Adriaan S.