Realistic expectations may look something like this

Hi--

I'm 46, not particularly athletic, a stay-at-home dad and part-time educational app developer... and tight everywhere you'd expect from that description. Pointed at Gymnastic Bodies and the Fundamentals course by the Tim Ferriss podcast, like so many others, and love the idea that---with consistent work---I could be able to do a press handstand or a rope climb by the time I'm 50.  Keeping in mind that these are things I have never been able to do in my life.

So Crab and Ape.  Grace executes these mobility exercises with, well, grace!  Me...not so much.  So, to encourage the other beginners, here are a few shots of me in my absolute best execution of these exercises.  Furthermore, in these positions, I can barely move let alone gracefully travel across the room.  The up side is that,  given this starting point, I would have to work harder not to improve.  Good luck to all!

Greg

S

Haha! I'm 47 and my attempts mirror yours, if not worse! I've always been as stiff as a erm, well, a very stiff person, so it will be interesting to see what progress I can make. Am looking forward to it. Just wondering when day 2 becomes available to me as it's longer than 24 hours since I signed up. Eager to get going.

Greg - thanks for posting.  

Great to see I'm not the only one in their 40s taking this on!

I'm 49 and look very similar, I liked day two more, particularly lying down hahaha.  Let's see where we all are on day 28

Great post. I am only 41 but I still fit your images. :-) 

Somehow I missed some variations for people that aren't able to do the 100% form of those exercises. That would have clarified more. Thought Fundamentals is for Beginners. 

Agee.   We need some variations or individual exercises that will help us if we can't quite get into these positions.   Very tight from too many hours on weights and not enough time on movement if you call zero not enough time.   Looking forward to day 2, but somehow I think I'll be working on these two well past the 4 week mark.

Yeah... 62 with bilateral hip replacements here. We'll see how this goes!

Great to see you all being very forum active and getting after your fundamentals

The goal is to put your efforts towards the positions at each stage, and to keep the focus narrow whilst beginning the process of remodelling and reopening everything  if it doesn't look perfect right now, its still a step closer than you were yesterday, and we are chasing progress before we chase perfection. Out-stubborn your body

There is a *lot* of information coming your way; mastery of the basics is fundamental to everything. Pretty much everyone here regardless of their level uses these elements to warm up.

An important but unpleasant  lesson is that you didn't, for example, tighten your shoulders to their current degree overnight. It won't be fixed overnight. Coachs approach does, however, make it more or less inevitable that we will address your physical issues one by one, arm you with the knowledge to enable you to get after particular problem areas for you, and get you on the smoothest path possible

Those who have been here a while are sincerely jealous of being able to start with one step at a time, and take the benefit of Coachs experience rather than their own trial and error.

Welcome to the forums and good luck with training

Thanks for all the replies!

Hi Greg - Thanks for posting this. I too am over 40 and well out of shape - 38% on the Zombie Scale! I'm NOT a fitness freak, though I remember being in shape fondly. I'm noticing there aren't too many females here, which is one reason I am posting. 

I'm on Day 3 and not pushing hard, just, as someone elsewhere on the forum said, putting myself in Coach Sommer's hands. My greatest strenth at this point is residual flexibility from gymnastic training as a child, which I continued to play with on my own into my teens after my family moved to the country, walking fences, attempting gymnastics on horseback (she was a very patient horse!), tumbling, and stretching.

About 15 years ago I was prescribed a cocktail of drugs to take care of a parasite which in turncaused gut dysbiosis. Probiotics were a crutch that kept me going for awhile, but were unable to replace colonies of bacteria that had been completely knocked out. My energy levels fell and fell until last year I spent most of my time in bed; getting up, dressed and showered exhausted me. In September I went to the Taymount Clinic in England and had FMT treatments, which have turned my life around. Now, in addition to having reasonably normal energy levels, I am able to amble 2 miles or so comfortably. On hearing Coach Sommer's interview with Tim, I was attracted to a fitness scheme for the first time, though I know I'll be moving slowly. I'm happy with that.

I'm hoping, aside from getting in reasonable shape, to fix the tendonitis in my forearm so I can get back to Being A Sculptor. My shoulders chronically lack stability, but experience shows that will clear up quickly with a little light effort. At the moment, the left one falls out of its socket (painlessly, and I can just push it back in) - again, nothing new. They have both done that from time to time in my life. 

I'm on Day 3 now, and try each of the movements every day, though not for very long. My Crab and Ape are improving dramatically each day, but I can't get into the Rear Supported position at all! The assessment shows my front side is ridiculously weak, but I have some strength in the back. 

Thanks for posting, your pictures look like me.  I'm a female 48 and looking to be much better by the time I'm 50.  I've always been an athlete but these exercises humble you.

I have been doing the GymnasticBodies program for a total of 9 years. Couldn't ask for a better therapy! 

I'm also in the senior group at 62. I was in pretty good shape, but with hip arthritis that gradually reduced lower flexibility over 10 years. I got a total resurfacing in August and am easing into Fundamentals in parallel with PT. My Crab is about like Greg's but I cannot yet get a basic (modified) Ape going. The rest of block 1 is pretty good though so my upper body is starting out OK. My goal is to recover as much mobility as possible in the next year while the scar tissue is pliable and use that foundation to build strength. It's refreshing to see Jonathan's post amid so many other forum posts by 30 and 40 somethings who consider themselves old :-)

At 62 you will notice a dramatic improvement in how you move and feel. The next 10 years are critical in terms of health. Being mobile and strong means that you will be healthy.

I have started the Fundamentals program this week and find the Ape and Crab difficult like everyone else.  I am 67 years old and hope to find inspiration and encouragement on this forum.  Coach Sommers approach of slow progression with emphasis on joint mobility and tendon strength sounds right on.  I have always been stiff and inflexible so this will be a challenge for me.  Golf is my sport and passion.  Recently I have developed right shoulder pain which effects my golf swing.  I am looking to fix this, prevent future problems and not damage myself from improper exercise.  For the past few years, I have been doing strength training with barbells using the Starting Strength program.  It has been very effective in reducing my knee pain by 75% by doing barbell squats.  Now I hope to further progress in strength without trashing my tendons or popping a biceps. I am a family doctor and see a lot of geriatrics.  I see myself already using the wrist mobility exercises for carpal tunnel and elbow problems on my patients.  I think I will learn a lot.

44 year old mom here. Hi!

Hi all, I'm a 44 year old dad, always been active but as stiff as a board. I signed up to fundamentals after rupturing a disk in my back mountain biking. I thought, "Oh no, I'm at an age now where just trying to ride my pushy, I snap in half!" After fundamentals I signed up for foundation with a long term view. I'm 4 months in now and have been doing 4 days a week. Here's my update as to what realistic expectations may look like for others just starting out.

1. My confidence in my body is back! I feel like I can lift anything, ride anywhere and even break into a run to the point I've signed up for touch rugby after saying at 35, "My running days are over." I now wrestle with my 16 year old until one of us taps out where before I'd be like, "I don't want to wrestle you mate." I just kicked his butt in a head stand competition and a plank holding competition!

2. My back feels great, and this pays off every time I bend over to do up my shoe or put my pants on. Jefferson curls I thought were the worst looking thing for your back and was sure it would hurt me so I started with an empty bar and I was so tight the heel of my hands reached my knee caps and it felt tight and dodgy. Now I have 17.5kg on the bar, my hands go to my ankles (nearly toe touch but not yet) and it feels strong and stable!

3. I'm wanting to do other things like handstand work and every time a photo is to be taken, I do a head stand! My wife and brother in law say, "Don't be silly you're going to hurt yourself" but it feels rock solid!

4. My body looks the best it ever has, and I've worked out a lot. My weight dropped 9 kilo due to an intermittent fasting diet and feels lean. I can flex my lower traps at will. It just feels weird to have such muscle awareness.

It's not all plain sailing though. I can't get past 4x48 seconds on hollow body holds. It's driving me mad. The pain starts at the 30 second mark and I shout and huff and puff and grit my teeth and still can't get there.

I still can't touch my toes. Even with 4 months of consistent work. I seem to be stuck just above them, but I've adopted the advice that mobility work takes a long time.

I've had to wrap my head around the fact I'm not going to set a new Personal Best each time I enter the gym and that some levels you can be stuck on for months.

When I signed up I was after functional fitness and energy. My wife was going to love me whether I was fat or fabulous. Only 4 months in, it has delivered.

Hi Steven,

Thanks for sharing that post. Congratulations on all of the progress you have made! I'm looking forward to seeing that handstand picture in a few months!

Maybe in months a photo of a handstand against a wall, and in years a photo of a handstand on a rock!

Thanks for this.  This thread gives me hope.  I am attempting this again as a soon to be 60 year old woman.  I was super fit when I was younger but allowed that to slip.  I'm going to do the fundamentals for a couple months and then jump into Foundation one.  I didn't make it past the beginning stages of foundation one the last time I tried, but hope with fundamentals I can pull it off.   I am reasonably flexible for my age, as I can get into ape position but have trouble with the walking in that position.  

Hi @Mary-Anne Wise.  Good luck with Take 2 of GST.  I should point out that some pretty big changes were made to the exercise progression in Foundation One over the last year.  Some exercises that were just too hard for a lot of beginners (myself included) like "Hinge Rows" and "Tuck Ups" have been moved later in program and PE1 for each movement is now much more accessible.  Which isn't to say that it's **easy** :-)  Don't hesitate to jump back into Foundation 1; you surprise yourself.

BTW, almost a year, my Ape is about half way between the picture above and the target, so I'm happy with that.

Thanks Greg for the encouragement.  I will look into the changes.  Some of the moves were a real challenge for me.  Especially that one where you roll back and come up on your feet.  LOL

Congrats on improving your ape.  It is just about moving forward, isn't it?   My new goal is to be able to do a side lever before I turn 61  .. that should raise some eyebrows.