I'm halfway through the Fundamentals course and am loving it.
In addition to gaining overall mobility and strength, I do have a specific long term goal; I'd like to be able to jog again.
I'm 52, and about 10 years ago I herniated L-5. It was considered mild, and though I don't feel the L-5 bothering me, I question if that injury made me be less flexible. A couple years later, I herniated L-1. Both injuries happened simply while sitting. Like the L-5, the L-1 was deemed relatively mild and I'm NOT a candidate for surgery and I've NOT experienced nerve issues like other people. Nevertheless, that L-1 issue prevents me from jogging. In just a few hundred paces, I sense the repetitive foot strike putting my lower left side L-1 into spasm. Over the years I've tried all kinds of compensations, including highly cushioned shoes and barefoot running (which helped the back, but killed the feet). I did CrossFit for about nine months with a smart trainer who was careful and gave me alternative exercises for burpees, jumping jacks, jogging and rope jumping. Interestingly, I can endure a weekly basketball game by running and jumping cautiously, but when I do land poorly, my whole spine feels like a rigid pole. Both hoops and CrossFit also exposed how tight and painful my left leg groin/psoas tight and painful have become.
It's possible that my L-1, though not crippling, is deteriorated enough that I'll not run again. But it seems most people can return to running after herniations, so I hold out hope that over time improved mobility will allow me to run too.
To that end, I'm open to advice on which courses or exercises I might focus on. I plan on doing Foundations next. Should I do Foundations and Stretch simultaneously? If so, is there a certain Stretch component I should focus on? Should I do the Stretch series components in any certain order?
I do have this vision that if I can ever build up the strength and mobility to do a left-side single leg squat, then maybe I'll be good enough to run. That seems like years away right now. But I've always been a technician when it comes to athletics, and I'll be patient with this. Thanks.