Anyone doing dip holds?

I'm only on HBP/PE2, but I know we have dips coming up in PE4, 5 and 6.  Dips make me nervous.

I have chronic rotator cuff tendonitis that needs to be managed very carefully.  It almost kept me from going down the GST path, but I decided to give it a try and I've been doing F1/H1 for almost 3 months and so far so good.  I've had a couple of flare ups but not bad ones and nothing an extra rest day or two didn't take care of.

Dips could be a different story though.  Dips have given me a lot of trouble in the past in the anterior capsule area, along with most movements that put my elbow behind my body.  I'd sure like to master them though, so in preparation I've started doing parallel bar top support holds and will slowly work up to 5x60 seconds.  Then I plan to do a mid-range hold, and finally a full bottom-position hold, always with impeccable shoulder position and again working towards 5x60 secs.  Then when the dips come, I'll progress extra slowly.

Anyone think this is a good approach?  Any other suggestions? 

Bench dips are particularly worrisome and I think I may need to leave them out entirely.  I hate the idea of skipping a movement but with bench dips the elbow is behind the body the entire time and the position really encourages humeral-head anterior glide, which is sure to aggravate tendonitis in that area.

I'm not an expert on this although I share with you a similar problem to my right shoulder. IMO building up to 5x60s of pb support is just gonna put a lot of stress on your elbows. I would tell you to stick with PE4: I've read somewhere in the forum that it's a great exercise for people with shoulder problems or shoulders flexibility issues to develop the required ROM for full dips without using you full bodyweight. This is a general rule but I can't speak about your scenario, since you have some specific "injury"

BobH said:

 

Bench dips are particularly worrisome and I think I may need to leave them out entirely.

This seems like a terrible idea. If you can't do bench dips, korean dips will destroy you. If you're going to advanced in Foundation, you're going to need to develop serious pushing strength behind your back.

I don't have a solution to your problem, but this isn't the answer.

I think Coach would recommend to fix that shoulder and then move on to GST

Physio and stretch course for thoracic bridge will probably solve possible capsule tightness .

MrPuppeh said:

I think Coach would recommend to fix that shoulder and then move on to GST

It's both shoulders actually, and unfortunately there is no fix to speak of.

In another thread (https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/19932-tfcc-problems) Mark Collins had this to say:

If you have a chronic tendon injury with structural change then you are stuck with it for life. In that case you can still train these exercises but make sure the pain in the tendon does not exceed a 5-6/10. It is normal for symptoms to be aggravated for 24 hours. This is how you adjust your intensity. For example you may be able to do 3x6 of RC1 but 5x6 causes pain for 48 hours. So you stay on 3x6 for another 4 weeks and then retest 5x6. Keep doing this process with all of your exercises. You will progress slower but will get there in the end.

That describes my situation exactly.  The tendonitis is always there and I've been told by doctors, PTs and trainers that it's not going to "heal".  Precise movement and managing my intensity/volume allow me to continue training.  I don't want to give up on dips just yet, so I guess I'm just trying to think of ways to prepare. 

Thanks guys for the other suggestions.  Sounds like I definitely need to master bench dips.  It will probably be a hassle but I'm thinking of starting with negatives.  And I will definitely be checking out the thoracic bridge series.

BobH said:

 The tendonitis is always there and I've been told by doctors, PTs and trainers that it's not going to "heal".

Avoid thinking that you have some sort of inherent, intractable physical limitations. With a careful approach, I'm sure you can improve. Before Foundation, bench dips made my right arm go numb, now I can do slow, full ROM Korean dips cold.

Mark Collins also posted some really excellent stuff on diagnosis and pain that you should check out.

https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/20406-back-pain-and-an-mri/

It sounds like you know how to read your body and have patience to work with your situation. That's a huge plus.

If you are worried about bench dips putting you in a bad position, you can try using parallettes which will give you a bit more leeway.

Seeing as the bench dips are still in your future, focus on your current element and keep using the forum when you need advice.

I've had a very bad case of golfer's elbow, with a tendon that broke with an audible snap. Yet I have been able to work through all the RC progressions by going slow and deliberate.

Slow and patient is the key. If you think an exercise is likely to cause pain, ease into full, single reps over a period of weeks. The advice quoted from Mark above is spot on.

Sounds like I'll just follow the regular F1/H1 progressions, along with the thoracic bridge series.  I'm pretty sure I can handle one set of three and take it slowly after that.  I like the idea of parallettes though.  I'm definitely going to start there before moving on to bench dips.

Still, I'm a little surprised no one agreed with my idea of starting with holds.  I see this as an intermediate progression to gain additional strength in the positions before moving on to the movement.  I know that any forward glide is going to cause me trouble, so I need to be strong enough in the bottom position that this doesn't happen.  Hopefully all of the other PEs, including those for other elements, will provide the needed stability so that I can be safe doing dips by the time I get to PE4.

I think you are better off using that time to perform your rotator cuff exercises. I would not even worry about bench dips as you have to get through pseudo plan he push ups first. Keep working on the thoracic bridge series and active shoulder extension from H1.

When you can do the above with no difficulty bench dips should be no problem. If they are then we can work on ways to help.

Thanks a lot Mark. Sounds like good advice.