Please help.

Hey guys!

I'm new here and I really want to get started on foundations 1 and progress from there. But I have a couple questions.

First, for the foundations 1-2 etc are you able to do it at home and do I need any kind of special equipment?

How long does it usually take to progress from 1 to 2?

Lastly, I have had 3 shoulder labrum surgeries (2 on my right, 1 on the left; most recent was August 2014) do you advise against this or are there special things that I need to know? I have to keep my shoulders from ever dislocating and tearing the labrum again. I eventually want to compete in CrossFit but I wanted to start by gymnastics. I have a primarily powerlifting background with some CrossFit pre surgery. (My surgeries are 2/3 football related) any suggestions?

Thanks so much!!!

-Joseph

Rings, high bars, parallel bars, stall bars, maybe some Therabands (or something to that effect) and a partner if you don't have anywhere to hook your feet for body-weight hamstring curls and GHR. 

How long is a piece of string? It depends on your genetics, diet, sleep patterns, and how strict/disciplined your training routine is. The earlier progressions have a 12 week set&rep scheme before moving onto the next progression, which should be more than enough, because if it took 12 weeks for each progression, each Foundation 'chapter' would take around 1 to 1.5 years to complete. 

My advice would be take it slow. Put your ego in your pocket and don't rush things. If it hurts; stop. Provided you're cautious and conscientious, Foundation will make your shoulders stronger than they've ever been. Just make sure not to neglect rehabilitation, and remember that mobility is just as important as strength!

Mercurial Flow said:

... How long is a piece of string? It depends ...

Great answer.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

You guys are great! Thank you so much for the replies.

-Coach Sommer I enjoyed the episode you were a part of on Barbell Shrugged. I actually listened to it twice to make sure I didn't miss anything.

-I understand it will take time. But I'm committed to put all weight training aside and taking as long as necessary to become successful at gymnastics to reach the long term plan of having more shoulder stability, strength, and excelling at CrossFit.

- It does sound like this may be difficult to do in my apartment, fortunately there is a gymnastics center here in town. I'm going to see what I can do to train there during their non class hours.

- Once again thank you so much!

Joseph_DubYa said:

You guys are great! Thank you so much for the replies.

-Coach Sommer I enjoyed the episode you were a part of on Barbell Shrugged. I actually listened to it twice to make sure I didn't miss anything.

-I understand it will take time. But I'm committed to put all weight training aside and taking as long as necessary to become successful at gymnastics to reach the long term plan of having more shoulder stability, strength, and excelling at CrossFit.

- It does sound like this may be difficult to do in my apartment, fortunately there is a gymnastics center here in town. I'm going to see what I can do to train there during their non class hours.

- Once again thank you so much!

We are positively poised for further questions :)Like everything else, it comes faster than you think, slower than you want. But it definitely happens.

Hey Joseph_DubYa, I'm resurrecting a very old thread here I know, but I wanted to share my experiences with labrum tears & GST with you. 

TL;DR: the GB GST work was fantastic for me.

It started in Summer 2010; the courses weren't out, I had been doing Stronglifts 5x5 for a few months and starting to get bored of the same 5 things each workout (even though my linear progress was clearly visible), and saw (for the first time) a photo of planche. I said "I want to go to there," and picked up Building the Gymnastic Body. 

A few months later I had made progress in some of the progressions in the book, including back lever (which Coach now tells beginners not to attempt). I had a decent full-tuck BL, and one day, playing around, I tried a flat-tuck BL, then straddle BL, then full BL. And then, boom, pain in the shoulder. It felt like a pull/strain, so I worked through it... for months. Then took some months off as a break. Then went to a general doc, a physical therapist, then an orthopedic doc (who diagnosed it as impingement). Then I moved and got married, and got an opinion by another orthopedic doc who diagnosed it as a labrum tear 1.5 years after the original injury. By this point my left side, the side with the injury, was clearly less developed than the right side, and I had developed a ton of compensatory motions.

After surgery, and several months of PT (at this point I can't remember exactly; 3-6), I started in on the GB GST progressions, as the courses were now released. Progress was good; there was tension/strain in the shoulder, but it was the good kind. Over the course of 6-9 months, my shoulder gradually got better and better -- the compensatory patterns disappeared, and the musculature imbalance disappeared. I started playing soccer again (I'd played goalie) and was feeling great; 95% of pre-injury status. Then I dove on a ball, landed prone with the ball under my elbow, and tore the labrum again.

The tear was less major this time around, and recovery went faster (about half the time of the first tear). I can't be sure whether this was because the injury was not aggravated by 1.5 years of mis/non-diagnosis or because of the positive effects of GB GST, or some combination of both, but my impression was that the GST helped a LOT. I can say for certain that the mobility elements of F1 and H1 took the clicking and grinding that was the status quo in my left shoulder away after the 1st surgery. 

So, if nothing else, go into GST confident that it will do much to strengthen your labrum repairs, based on the anecdotal report of one GST practitioner : ).