Starting with extremely inflexible body

Hey guys

 I lost my father a few weeks ago and since then I have been reevaluating my entire life from my work life to personal and also just thinking about how degraded and immobile I have become.

 I have tried through the years to lift weights and to get fit but I never seemed to make any progress and after listening to Coach Sommer on the paleo solution (I have just started eating healthily too) I figured that me being physically incapable of basic movement and positions might be a reason why I can not progress on a back squat or my shoulders are always sore and impinged or why I struggle to do a single dip after not only weight gain but injuries suffered from trying to do movements i wasn't capable of.

I don't want to start "training" I want to spend the next few month doing basic movement and stretching and getting basic flexibility and a base of structural integrity before I start doing anything else.

I was thinking about something simple. Something I could do to get me ready.

My idea for a template would be something like this:

30/30 squat ( every morning do an air squat and hold it in place for 30 minutes

Foam rolling, using a lacrosse ball for rolling

Shoulder mobility work like Dislocates with progressive loading, band pullaparts

An hour of static or other kind of stretching, with emphasis on the legs which are extremely tight

20 minutes or so to work on ankle mobility alone which is very bad

I was also thinking about some kind of cardio that does not involve lots of impact while I am going through a phase of rehab. Something like swimming of very large walks.

I would usually just start with the book and progress with it as planned but I am so immobile and messed up I feel I need to get back to normal before hand.

Any help would be great, Thanks.

Start here: EXRx.net Joint Articulations  Pick your problem areas and just use your limbs as the weights they already are.

My condolences for the loss of your father.

Hey dude, the link has videos of people doing isolation stuff like bodybuilding stuff, did you post the right one?

 I think a big part of my stiffness is doing weights like that in the past.

 Out of interest if I buy the foundation course lvl 1 will I need a bunch of equipment? How do you guys feel about static stretching like yoga? I am a total newbie to this stuff and not really sure what I should be doing.

Bipocni said:

My condolences for the loss of your father.

Thank you dude I appreciate it.

My condolences as well.

To answer some of your questions:

F1 does require some equipment, but not a lot (IMO), and in general there are many substitutes that can be (and have been) found for equipment you are lacking or don't have access too.

It is worth noting that everything listed in your template can be done in addition to Foundation. I believe most members here have some additional activity they do besides Foundation and do supplementary stretching (myself included - martial arts and extra stretching for me).

Regarding the some of the things in your template: As far as foam rolling goes, just make sure to focus on the areas that really need it, IME it can be easy to pass over those areas in favor of those that are less painful. Shoulder dislocates are an excellent exercise. I had very poor ankle mobility, and spent quite a bit of time working on it to improve it... I've found that gains in ankle mobility come much more slowly than in other areas, YMMV.
 

I would definitely recommend getting Foundation 1. You can do supplementary stretching as needed, swimming or walking as you mentioned in your post would be a good idea as well. Over time, Foundation will correct your mobility issues and movement deficiencies. As long as you stay dedicated to it, I think you'll be very happy with the results.

- Cody

Pick up circus arts. It's fun, creative, you get a decent amount of exercise, and you're not likely to injure yourself. Note that I primarily mean object manipulation, not acrobatics, acroyoga, or anything like that. In addition to non-circus related exercise, I spin poi, double staff, contact staff, do circus style multihooping, juggling, contact juggling, fire dancing, etc. It's a lot of fun.

Joe Pears said:

Hey dude, the link has videos of people doing isolation stuff like bodybuilding stuff, did you post the right one?

 

 I think a big part of my stiffness is doing weights like that in the past.

 

 

 Out of interest if I buy the foundation course lvl 1 will I need a bunch of equipment? How do you guys feel about static stretching like yoga? I am a total newbie to this stuff and not really sure what I should be doing.

1. Yes, I posted the right link. Pick your problem areas and use your limbs as weights.

2. All of your equipment questions will be answered in the course related forum. A set of gymnastic rings is one of the most essential equipment needs but there are suitable substitutes.

3. If you are as inflexible as you claim to be, stick with the basic stretches for a while. A large number of yoga asanas/postures may be too advanced for you.