Fingertip/first knuckle and elbow tendos

Ok, I'll try to keep this short.

So last year at a 210lb. bodyweight I was doing a lot of pulling exercises... bent and straight arm. Lots of pullups, including weighted pullups with up to 60 pounds for reps and occasionally 100+ for a single. Also lots of rope climbs with at one time with a 60 pound vest. As well as front and back lever work... but not the early foundation progressions... right into tuck and advanced tuck holds and things like that. Also at that point I was doing all the push exercises in the HS series... fingertip/first knuckle/wrist rocks/wrist pushup. The rocks and wrists pushups I can do the full version of for reps but not the fingertip and first knuckle.

So with that background, moving on to the point of this... Around the middle of last year I started to notice an increasing pain in both elbows... arms out, palms up it would be the inside of each elbow right below the joint... I believe referred to as golfers elbow... but I don't golf. As months moved on it got progressively worse and because I'm to stupid to back off early enough it got to the point where doing simply bodyweight pullups was impossible without pain as well as all most of the other exercises I mentioned. I eventually had to just not do most pulling exercises for a few months which totally sucked. I can do them now but I still have to be a little careful. There's no way to be sure exactly what caused the most damage at this point... I was just doing too many different things with too much volume probably. I just assume that most of the things contributed to a certain degree. But, and the one thing at the time I would have never considered to be a cause until after I stopped most of the pulling exercises and was starting to heal... I would notice that fingertip/first knuckle pushups would remind me that that injury wasn't 100% healed.

So about about 6 weeks ago I started F1 from the beginning hoping this would work some of that ligament/tendon strength I may have been lacking.

And I also started H1 today. And while its nothing to cry about the FKP and FTP still remind me of that injury... and I certainly don't ever want to get to that point again.

So is there some kind of tie in with the fingers that reaches all the way up to the elbows? Are there any supplementary exercises I could do to strengthen something up here?

If I do FKPSE3 with my shoulders depressed/protracted it seems as long as I keep my elbow pits rotated inwards it doesn't bother me so much. This exercise isn't hard for me but I don't want to screw myself up again... Should I kick the ego aside and do these on the wall for bit and see how that goes first?

Its just hard to know exactly what caused my problems and not sure what specific things I may want to avoid or back away from... Could these two exercise cause real damage up there or are they just more or less irritating the problem?

Hi Andy,

Thanks for reaching out.

Sorry to hear about your injuries. Sounds like you've been doing too much too soon without the proper preparation. I'm glad to hear that you're stepping back and making sure to master the basics. 

I would highly reccomend to work closely with a physio or other medical professional when beginning a new workout regime. They will be able to assess you properly and let you know whether there are movements you should avoid.

You should absolutely kick your ego aside and make sure to not skip any of the progressions. Skipping progressions and not mastering the basics elements is one of the most common reasons of setbacks and injuries. I also reccomend to submit a form check of each element before you move on to the next progression to make sure that your form is good.

Your elbows and fingers are all connected and it's not unusual that finger movements reach up to the elbows. To get specific advice related to your injury I'd reccomend to work with a medical professional. From my experience getting proper bodywork and go back refining the basics elements of Foundations have helped many athletes overcoming pain in elbows, wrists and shoulders.

First rule when it comes to training is to never train through pain. If you have any pain while performing any of the exercises, stop immediately. Also, do not attempt to skip any progressions! There's a reason why Coach Sommer has designed the program the way it is. He has years of experience, so my advice is not to change anything in the program designed by a world class Coach. As Coach Sommer says: "go slow now so that you can go fast later"

Please let us know how you go with your training  

Hey Pauline,

Thank you for the reply.

Well, it takes a lot for me to go to any doctor for any reason and since the pain is nothing like it was last year I'll hold off on that for at the least the time being... if it doesn't get better or if it gets worse then that may change my mind. At the moment it more of an ache than a pain if that makes sense.... like its just reminding me to be careful.

I have worked out in one way or another most of my life so many of these exercises aren't new to me which is the only reason I bypassed any of the progressions... like I said I was already doing all the wrist prep stuff for awhile... I'm thinking those exercises nag the injury more than causing it... (my unprofessional opinion, lol)
But I guess regardless of all the different types of training I've done from weight lifting to flipping tires and beating them with sledge hammers among other things... none of that stuff seems to beat down the ligaments, tendons and joints like gymnastics/bodyweight training!!...If not properly prepared that is... If I could go back in time I would have done gymnastics when I was younger!

So, I'll follow your advice on going back to stage one on the FKP/FTP progressions just to be safe. Between these and all the prep work of Foundations One I'm hoping that bullet proofs all these types of issues.

I'll try to send up some videos soon.

Thank you again

What the hell is this weird egg for?....

Always welcome, Andy.

Regardless of training background you should always make sure that you master all the progressions. If you just look at the exercises and skip them because they seems easy you are not following the program properly. You will need to gradually get used to the load in order to advance safely in GST. We have many advanced athletes from various backgrounds (dance, rock climbing, Olympic lifting..) and regardless of level they all have to start on square one when it comes to GST.

GST done the right way will not "beat down" the tendons and ligaments but actually strengthen them and prepare them to handle more load later. Anything done without proper preparation will eventually beat you down. So make sure you do your prep  

It's never too late to start GST. We have had students starting in their 50s and even 60s achieving great results! These students have worked patiently and consistently through the progressions of GymnasticBodies. 

I'm looking forward to see your videos and follow your progress. Let us know if you have any other questions, we are always here to support you on your GST journey  

I am not sure what the egg is for btw, maybe a reminder for you to get your protein and fats for breakfast  

Well, I eat 3 with my breakfast every morning so I'm good, lol.

And I know you're right... I'll hit all the progressions!!