Can GB Be Useful If Only 20% of an Athlete's Strength Program?

Hi All,

My earlier post title was not too clear, so I am putting up another one hoping someone reads my question.

I am recovering from a shoulder rotator cuff injury and my physiotherapist, who is very experienced, advises only 10%-20% of my strength programming going forward include GB programming.  I am 90% better, but the shoulder may remain vulnerable.  He feels Bands and other strength methods are more appropriate, given my particular shoulder problem.

My sport is grappling/wrestling/BJJ and strength conditioning 3 times a week is to supplement this sport and, most of all, prevent future injuries.

So my question is: Can GB programming be done Light? Can an athlete pursue meaningful GB goals where other forms of strength training comprise 80% of the strength portion of her/his routine?

For example, could I pick 1-2 dimensions of GB training -- such as handstands and/or front lever -- and pursue these in conjunction with a complementary set of exercises using different modalities?

Thanks so much for any expertise and advise! Love this site!

Jeremy 

Yes. More information on routine development in the private course forum.

Jeremy said:

Hi All,

 

My earlier post title was not too clear, so I am putting up another one hoping someone reads my question.

 

I am recovering from a shoulder rotator cuff injury and my physiotherapist, who is very experienced, advises only 10%-20% of my strength programming going forward include GB programming.  I am 90% better, but the shoulder may remain vulnerable.  He feels Bands and other strength methods are more appropriate, given my particular shoulder problem.

Has your therapist seen the course material? If not I'd recommend showing it to him just to be sure. It's very much oriented towards developing shoulder stability, strength, and mobility. My guess is that he's worried you're going to run off an do something silly like weighted dips as heavy as you can while neglecting mobility and rehab.

If he *has* seen the course material, and *still* thinks bands are a safer options, then you should probably listen to him, as he knows a lot more about your shoulder injury than I do

My sport is grappling/wrestling/BJJ and strength conditioning 3 times a week is to supplement this sport and, most of all, prevent future injuries.

 

So my question is: Can GB programming be done Light? Can an athlete pursue meaningful GB goals where other forms of strength training comprise 80% of the strength portion of her/his routine?

Sort of. You can do it, but if you're spending 80% of your effort on other strength training, your progress is going to be very very slow.

For example, could I pick 1-2 dimensions of GB training -- such as handstands and/or front lever -- and pursue these in conjunction with a complementary set of exercises using different modalities?

No. The exercises are all synergistic with each other. The way to do it would be to train all the exercises at low volume (e.g. once per week).

Thanks so much for any expertise and advise! Love this site!

 

Jeremy

Happy to help, and welcome!

Hey thanks for the replies!

My physiotherapist actually saw the Gold Medal Bodies program. I know these programs are different, which is why I thought GB might be better for me as it seems a bit more adaptable. Should I show him GB in particular?

Yeah, my whole idea was the GB would be awesome because of the emphasis on joint stability! I mean, what could be better for injury prevention? So I'm not sure of my physio's logic on this. He is not an expert on GB, but he is a very good PT and I've seen quite a few.

Okay, I see what you mean about low volume, once per week. I do have the GB basic strength book. Would it be possible to skip dips? My physio advises against those too The approach of 3-5 reps kind've concerns me insofar as the shoulder. If once a week, would this be just holds?

If you start at the beginning and take it slow, you won't be doing dips for over a year.  GB starts at a low strength level and builds slowly, with a HUGE focus on joint/connective tissue health.  I'm pretty sure it starts at a much lower level than the GB book.  You'll almost certainly be able to start with Front Lever, Side Lever, Single Leg Squat, and Manna progressions. Straddle Planche, Hollow Back Press, Rope Climb, and Handstand will probably be good (and beneficial) since you're 90% but they might need some slight modifications or delay.

My advice:  Buy the starter pack a couple days before your next PT appointment.  Read and study the course material.  Ask questions on the private forums so you're fully educated.  Then show the material to the PT and get his opinion.  Then either start training or take advantage of the return policy.

It sounds to me like you're talking about BTGB. I'd highly recommend looking into the Foundation (and Handstand) series instead - it has more detailed progressions and a much greater focus on shoulder preparation and mobility.

it seems strange that you're going to be grappling 3x a week and want to limit your Gymnastic Strength Training™. 

if anything, bjj is super dangerous for your joints.  I did bjj for four years, so I'm very familiar with it.  the whole point of bjj is to choke or twist your opponent's joint into submission.  and in my experience, people get even more injured doing wrestling than bjj.

Yeah grappling is dangerous for jonts, but there is also the saying "tap early; tap often" and one of the things that got me into this mess was not tapping early!  Too stubborn to tap, and shoulder issues emerged years later. True story

To be honest, my shoulder was nearly better the first time December 2013 when I did weighted dips from the BTGB basic strength book, and I got a small tear in it again. That incident is what put me out all year. Just went too heavy. The book says nothing about progressions before that, so not sure what that is about. Wish it was mentioned in the book.

Maybe it would be better to do Foundation and Handstand build up programs. I'd love to do handstands, and all the gradual progressions leading to them.

Also appreciate the advice around the starter pack.

Tough decision.

If foundation and handstands are more basic and lower volume than the starter pack, might they be the best way to start? Could fit with a band program as well.   

The starter pack is a bundle that contains Foundation 1 and Handstand 1. Definitely the place to start, but definitely have your physio take a look at it. 

Okay, thanks for that. Looks great.

Foundation 1 may be more than 20% of the strength workload I can handle. Handstand 1 seems more management. Can Handstand 1 stand alone (no pun intended)..

They're intended to be worked together but H1 doesn't necessarily require that you be doing Foundation at the same time.

Hopefully that works!

To be a bit more specific, the ball of the right humerus sits on the front of the joint, a cople milimetres too far forward. The physio is building up strength to increase the functionality, but, as far as retraining the muscles to hold the ball in the middle of joint, no luck. Have you heard of this before?

Nope, but I'm neither a physician nor a PT.