OAHS slowly coming back

[frolosophy]

It's been a while since I've been on here. Last year around this time I fractured my right scapula mountainbiking. The resulting nerve damage caused me chronic pain in the upper back and put an end to my strength training for almost a year.

Overall, I haven't lost too much strength, but alas my handstands have suffered greatly. My injury came at a pivotal point in my OAHS training (only just having surpassed the 5+ second milestone) and as you might have guessed, a year off my hands has put me essentially back at square one. Low mobility. Bad form. Weak wrists and shoulders. No more presses. Even my normal HS dropped from minutes to barely staying up for 30 seconds, much less with good form. I am but a shell of what I once was.

However, a couple of months ago, the pain finally subsided. I decided, tentatively, to start training again. First it was a few push ups here, a few pull ups there. I hit the weights again to help me regain some lost muscle mass. About a month ago, I started working out in earnest, three to four times a week for about an hour each day. I decided to finally return to my hands once again. 

The progress has been slow and frustrating. However well I got to know my body, I'd well and truly forgotten. In the last several weeks I've been dedicating one hour a day to handbalancing (a mere third of what I had set aside in the past). It's not pretty. In fact, it's downright ugly. But after weeks of barely managing to keep my weight up on one arm, it's something.

Untitled.mov

It's hard to be happy with it; the duration is short, my flexibility is poor, my back is arched, I'm twisting all over the place, and I barely look like I know what I'm doing, but I'd be lying if I said I was anything other than ecstatic to finally have a shred of my former self return. It's a long road back to where I was, and an even longer one to where I want to be. Hopefully the coming weeks and months will yield better results as I regain some mobility.

Thanks for watching, and a special thanks to those who read all that crap. Any and all criticism is welcomed with open arms. Be harsh. It'll strengthen my resolve.


 

[Biren Patel]

I'm no handstand expert so I can't comment on the video, but I just want to remind you that you are not alone! Been there, done that - broke 3 of my bones in one go and my body took a big toll. But, hey, you are only one year in. I struggled much the same way as you did, albeit in a different atheltic endevour. Now, looking back 3 years I am stronger, faster, and more alive than I ever was pre-injury! I would say take the lessons you learn from your injury and don't forget them. Looking back, I am actually more glad than upset that I got injured. It taught me some valuable lessons I am sure I would never have learned otherwise.

 

So push on, enjoy the struggle! Enjoy the small successes in your handstand training and enjoy the big defeats! A gargantuan goal like handstand is enough to fill a man's heart

[frolosophy]

Thanks for the kind words, Micawberian. I'm glad you've managed to overcome your injury and take so much from the process. I constantly have the risk of injury looming in the back of my mind as my first love is a quite dangerous sport, but you gotta do what you love, no matter the consequences. Nothing to do now but accept it and refocus on the goal at hand.