Would F1 be able to heal my elbow? +General Qs about F1

Hey there,

Ive been having elbow issues now for ~ 4 months.

It was (probably) caused by "too much too soon", it might have been the front and back holds on swedish bars that were WAY too advanced for my elbow ( they werent prepared for that stress, never really did anything straight-arm-hold-like before(!!!) - i just saw that in an ido portal video and thought "cool lets try it out" - did it 3 or 4 times- and there i had the problems!).

im actually quite sure they have been it, coach sommer also told me that in another post.

So I searched a bit around what could help me on here, and one thing im hearing again and again is the F1 foundation program.

Im not quite sure if this really is the right thing to cure my elbow ( ulnar ) problems, but if it really is the way i can rehab my elbow with, im willing to pay the money, even though im at this particular moment more convinced of another form of training ( which is Steven Lows "Overcoming Gravity" ) which i probably will start once my elbow is cleared again.

So I then would buy it and just useit ( at this point of time) as a rehab tool for my elbow (maybe also for my wrists , which seem to make trouble as well, as a result of overstretching my forearms ( and hence overgoing the possible ROM of my wrists) - which i did as a try to cure my elbows.

What do you think- would that be the right thing to do then- buy F1- or are you guys aware of some program out there that specifically and only covers ( elbow ) rehab , which would then be less expensive?

My elbow is no in a state, where it is mostly painfree in my daily life ( im not really training at the moment- some light ring rowing seems to work out most of the times (- but: specific triceps / pushing ( like triceps isometrics/ overhead tri extensions/ floor barbell presses with only 10 kg) are really aggrevating the thing.

If im typing intensively at the computer keyboard or playing the piano intensively also gives me a slight, but only temporarely, painly- ish elbow sennsation.

( Some General questions

-Is F1 a book or a computer PDF/program? ( What is it? ) ( info page isnt containing much info)

- Of how many pages does it consist of?

- Which topics are specifically covered ( here again , info page only tells me the goals that the program works towards!)

I would be glad if you coulf help me, sorry for this flood of questions but i didnt found those questions covered specifically.

Oh- and sorry for my -probably horrible- grammar, but english isnt my mother tongue.

Yours,

Jonas from Germany

Hi Jonas,

 

It does indeed sound as though you tried to train harder than you body was able to handle. 

 

1. It's a web based program. You log in and then access the content online.

 

2. It's not really about the number of pages, it's about the clarity of the progressions which are all demonstrated with a video.

 

3. Like it's name indicates the Foundation programs will cover a foundation of physical abilities (strength and mobility) which will enable you to work on pretty much anything strength & conditioning wise with minimum risk of injury. Although it's name sounds like "basics", they're basics by Coach Sommer's standard, once completed you'll be stronger than the 99% of the strongest people you know.

 

Also where are you from in Germany? I'm from Switzerland =) 

 

Mark

Mark Balsom said:

Hi Jonas,

It does indeed sound as though you tried to train harder than you body was able to handle.

1. It's a web based program. You log in and then access the content online.

2. It's not really about the number of pages, it's about the clarity of the progressions which are all demonstrated with a video.

3. Like it's name indicates the Foundation programs will cover a foundation of physical abilities (strength and mobility) which will enable you to work on pretty much anything strength & conditioning wise with minimum risk of injury. Although it's name sounds like "basics", they're basics by Coach Sommer's standard, once completed you'll be stronger than the 99% of the strongest people you know.

Also where are you from in Germany? I'm from Switzerland =)

Mark

1. Ah ok, sounds great!

2.Of course, i know, but was just curious how that book is structured- but it seems that the majority is videos, and that theres less text?

3. That sounds great as well, however (-which was somehow my most important question- but maybe this one got, in that flood of questions of mine , somehow lost, haha) im still wondering if this program could cure my elbow.

Mark, do you have that program yourself? If, maybe you could tell me- i mean , because im just wondering how this program should cure my elbow problems, with which i had problems for 4 months now and with which i tried some stuff to heal it- nothng really helped. But the idea of restrengthening it from the very bottom sounds good and makes me quite optimistic- im just wondering HOW this would do it.

I mean there are no magic cures, what can be there as rehab tools for te elbow that you can do yourself other than stretching( biceps/triceps/ forearm muslcles) , SMR(?same muscles, maybe also chest, neck as the nerves run down there), mobility work, and basic strengthening of the foremarm muscles, biceps, and triceps? I heard some stuff of straight arm work/leans that should be in that program, but im unsure how that would work as - as said- lightest repetitive ( i did high repetitions , ~30) pushing like e.g floor barbell presses with only 10 kg, which I tried out recently to investigate the state of my elbow- seem to aggrevate those elbows.

Also we have to consider that its ( the most likely- the best PT and osteopath i could find -who is actually really quite reknown- diagnosed me with ulnar nerve aggrevation or something similar....

Maybe you, Mark, or someone else has some more input for me about this magically seeming program- if it really will help me- im keen on buying it.

( Im from the small city ( 60 k inhabitants) of Fulda, 100 km near Frankfurt. Where are you from exactly, Mark? ( Thanks particularly to you for your quick reply! )

Jonas

Hey Jonas,

 

No Foundation will not magically heal your elbow. It might be the case that if you stay at the lower progressions the intensity is low enough to no further aggravate your injury and let it heal. But I would not take the risk and stop training NOW. I know it sucks but otherwise you will be out of training for much longer! 

 

But I definetely recommend Foundation once your elbow is healed to make sure it doesn't come back again. There is no better program to get stronger in GST safely.

 

greetings from Bavaria 

Best bet is to consult a local professional such as a doctor.

Depending on the type of issue, the best bet is to probably let your elbow rest, and then do high rep, low impact work to rehabilitate the joint.

Since you're already doing the self massage and stretching of both the lower arm and upper arm, rest would be the best suggestion.  You've already identified that pushing causes you pain, so you eliminate all the pushing exercises you do.

 

After several weeks you feel like you're ready to start training again, then I would definitely Foundation for your elbows.  I want to clarify that Foundation is a lot less on rehab, but it focuses more on prehab.  What that means is, if you're injured you need to rehab it back to health, whereas when I say prehab I mean, preventing injuries, and making sure you are less likely to be re-injured in the future.

 

That is a huge part of where Foundation differs from any other strength and conditioning programs, Foundation also progressively loads up each joint in tiny doses to strengthen them as well as increasing mobility in your joints.  The end result is that your joints will have increased range of motion as well as stronger and healthier joints.  Also, it's not just that this is a secondarily focus, but this is a primary emphasis alongside strength gains.

 

You don't necessarily have to put off Foundation until your elbow is finished healing, there are other exercises for all of your other joints that could be worked on for the rest of your body while temporarily taking out any exercises that could cause pain

Does your elbow hurt when doing exercises that target the triceps secondary?  (Like bench press?)

If it has been 4 months, I would suggest seeing a professional who deals with sport injuries. In my experience, anyone else

is useless. They should be able to diagnose the injury and give you a rehabilitation program - NOT tell you to only rest and take pain medication.

 

For now, try higher repetitions of very low weight, direct tricep work to draw blood to the injury in order to facilitate healing.

 

Also, was the injury gradual? Or was it sudden pain?  If it was gradual, it should go away with rest. If sharp pain, that is more reason to seek a professional to correctly diagnose. I hope that helps

jules said:

Does your elbow hurt when doing exercises that target the triceps secondary?  (Like bench press?)

If it has been 4 months, I would suggest seeing a professional who deals with sport injuries. In my experience, anyone else

is useless. They should be able to diagnose the injury and give you a rehabilitation program - NOT tell you to only rest and take pain medication.

 

For now, try higher repetitions of very low weight, direct tricep work to draw blood to the injury in order to facilitate healing.

 

Also, was the injury gradual? Or was it sudden pain?  If it was gradual, it should go away with rest. If sharp pain, that is more reason to seek a professional to correctly diagnose. I hope that helps

Yes, even indirect triceps work hurts... I did barbell floor presses with only 10 kg of total weight for 3 sets of 30 repetitions each, and it really aggrevated it!

A while ago, i did direct triceps work ( overhead triceps extensions with very little weight, high rep, didnt turn out so well (but i also did some more intense isometrics with it, so maybe this did also contribute to it. ) But even extending my elbow overhead without ANY weight ( overhead triceps extensions, unweighted) make some crackling noise on the negative portion of the movement.

Im at the best PT/osteopath i know, he is on international sports events like the paralympics if he isnt working in my hometown, so i think he s really good. But i may find someone even better.

After his manual manipulations, my elbows totally free up, it feels great, but somehow it only lasts for a few days. ( i also dont get appointmentw regularly, he is very busy, i was VERY glad that i got just some appointments at all!

He told me to listen to my body , encouraged me to train pain-free, also put warmth in my neck too free up the ulnar nerve, which seems to be the trouble-maker, and encouraged me also to take a vitamin b complex supplement ( for nerve nourishment)

ForzaCavaliere said:

Best bet is to consult a local professional such as a doctor.

Depending on the type of issue, the best bet is to probably let your elbow rest, and then do high rep, low impact work to rehabilitate the joint.

Ive been hearing that many times- high rep- im just no sure which exact exercises to apply here...

Can you help me? Also, what is "high rep" in that case? 30 reps? 200? I really dont know, so you might can help me?!

High rep work for rehab would be anything that you could work easily for over 25 reps. 

 

It's really just to get your joint used to moving again. You can do things like wall pushups (pushups with hands on the wall) for like, 50 reps or something. It's not about building a lot of strength, just get the joint accustomed to moving.