Astonishing / depressing read

https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/4vel3q/how_many_of_you_have_regular_little_aches_and/

Went over to the bodyweight fitness forum on reddit just to check what was up (out of boredom, I seldom find anything particularly useful over there).

Stumbled across that thread, where most people tend to associate chronic pain with a normal state of life, and many express the view that exercise just causes you pain. 

Although I was of the same attitude before I began foundation, it is a bit shocking to see how people just accept this destructive notion. Personally, I've been completely injury and pain free since I began foundation, but in better shape than ever. 

What are your thoughts - do they have a point? 

Just shows you how clueless most people are :/

I think they are spot on in the description of life for people 30+ who live an active life, not just working out, but also pursuing careers and chasing kids around.

Those nagging minor injuries and the flare ups that the GST crowd seem to avoid after a certain time ( x number of restarts and getting to grips with the required patience) I attribute as much to stress as to training method. 

Twenty years ago high achievers had ulcers, today they have a bad back, impinged shoulders and bike seat callouses. It's a (the) social acceptable avenue to went unspecified stress and frustration, and this to will fade into something new.

It gets interesting when you then start to look on a group of what apparently are dedicated achievers like the GST crowd where the frequency of those  little aches and injury seem to be inversely proportional to the time spend training as opposed to the others. The easy answer is that Coach Summer's method is optimal for a well functional body, but to me it is as much the forced patience training coupled with the fact that you need to embrace the shit you suck at and work on it with dedication if you want to get better. Elsewhere in society today we're all about chasing our strengths from win to win and posting the results on FB without a seconds pause to contemplate if this makes us better on any level. I like following GST with foundation, but I revel in the humility lesson, and my aching back and shoulders are better than ever

sincerly

F

Agreed. 

I often feel like I've found a fountain of youth (or rather a very deep well, of which I'm only swimming in the surface), and roughly 99% of my social circle seem to think that the same methodology couldn't possibly apply to them because of [insert favourite excuse]. 

9 minutes ago, Mikkel Ravn said:

I often feel like I've found a fountain of youth (or rather a very deep well, of which I'm only swimming in the surface)

 

Nice. Totally agree 

On ‎2‎-‎8‎-‎2016 at 0:10 AM, Mikkel Ravn said:

Agreed. 

I often feel like I've found a fountain of youth (or rather a very deep well, of which I'm only swimming in the surface), and roughly 99% of my social circle seem to think that the same methodology couldn't possibly apply to them because of [insert favourite excuse]. 

 

Totally! Used to have all sort of pains and aches. Thought it was just 'part of the game'. Since I've been doing this, I feel so much better. My body just seems to work better. Plus the whole 'don't rush' mentality of GB makes if impossible to really hurt myself. I just do what I have to do. Might play/experiment with a next step and then just head home pain free.

On 8/2/2016 at 6:10 AM, Mikkel Ravn said:

Agreed. 

I often feel like I've found a fountain of youth (or rather a very deep well, of which I'm only swimming in the surface), and roughly 99% of my social circle seem to think that the same methodology couldn't possibly apply to them because of [insert favourite excuse]. 

 

Yes. Totally! A lot of people really would settle for less and would want an instant personal gratification. Sad.

I feel more youthful now at 31 than I have ever felt. 

Dislocates , Jefferson curls & knee series should be taught in schools as part of regular curriculum. Think of all the suffering in the world that would end. I think here in Coach Sommer's curriculum , we have found the cheapest solution to humanity's most common physical problems.

This place is focused on reaching one's potential , but I also think GB is absolutely the right place to for those who only want to fix/repair their bodies. Even if someone doesn't want to do a handstand , just doing the mobilties will fix their shoulders BOOM.

On 8/22/2016 at 2:20 PM, Rahul Kher said:

Dislocates , Jefferson curls & knee series should be taught in schools as part of regular curriculum. Think of all the suffering in the world that would end. I think here in Coach Sommer's curriculum , we have found the cheapest solution to humanity's most common physical problems.

This place is focused on reaching one's potential , but I also think GB is absolutely the right place to for those who only want to fix/repair their bodies. Even if someone doesn't want to do a handstand , just doing the mobilties will fix their shoulders BOOM.

I've been relatively active all my life, and I can honestly say that my body feels better than it has ever felt since beginning GST.

Although I didn't want this to sound like a testimonial, I have no qualms if it does indeed sound like one.

*1)- Thanks to Handstand, I can now do wrist pushups (though I'm not yet at true mastery as I use a little bit of momentum). Bottom line: My wrists are pretty damn strong, which is something that not a lot of adults can say.

*2)- Because of my lifelong active lifestyle, I sustained a few injuries to my right shoulder, and it's still a tad weaker than my left, but not as bad as it used to be prior to GST. Case-in-point: I can now do Xiaopengs with 15lbs on the "weak" shoulder, whereas such a weight would have been inconceivable less than 2 years ago; more like a dream to be honest.

*3)-My knees are boatloads of magnitude more supple, more mobile, and I'm soon reaching the full expression of Natural Leg Extensions (ATG). Which is something that can only be done with strong and mobile knees. I still have a ways to go with inside squats, but I think I'll be able to do them ATG when I do eventually get my middle split.

*4)-As stated before, I can see myself reaching a full middle split, as I'm now doing all the three stretch courses each week; it's only a matter of time.

Now consider this fact: I'm in my mid-40s and can do the aforementioned exercises, none of which I was able to do during my "prime" (i.e., mid-to-late 20s). Nor do I think most people in their prime can do.

Thanks Ravn for sharing this.

I'm happy to say that I'm now doing natural leg extensions all the way down with shoulders and ATG. I've been working on this iteration for quite a while after having seen @Jon Douglas do the same when he posted a video.

I'm now a firm believer in the GST methodology. Too many previously "impossible" things have become possible with just a little bit of patience plus consistent training.

I've been doing all stretch series every week now since may 2016. It was eye-opening to discover how horrible my mobility was. I was "that guy that couldn't even get into the stretch starting position". Sitting down for 20 years fucked me up badly.

Now that I've seen my body change in so many ways I realize stretching/mobilization is actually essential to life. My tendons? (the things inside your body besides fat and muscle) are stronger. My skin looks better. My body shape looks better. When I stub my toe it's actually not that painful anymore. General pain or discomfort is nonexistant.

The part that makes me stick with the program quite easily is that I'm really curious to see in which ways my body will change, and to see what I'll be able to do next.

Thanks Coach Sommer & GB crew

You're welcome Nico.