Am I too broken for GB?

Hi,

so this might be the biggest waist of $99 to post a message on here depending on the answer;

So I'm a slim 46 year old with no fat, I have all my adult life been a 'weekend warrior' activity wise (snowboarding, skiiing, motocross, surfing, gardening, biking) and some running in the week. I've always had a desk job where I'm stuck at my desk all day since my late 20's. Since I turned 40 things have started to go down hill , were I have gone from one injury to the next. In the last 2 to 3 years, I've had at least 2 to 3 concurrent issues - mainly all around chronic tendonist/tendonosis in the following locations: left hand, left forearm , right bicep, right shoulder, and 'bad' ankle that no one can get to bottom off (broke it there many years ago in an motocross accident). I'm careful, and eat very well but I'm just getting injury after injury .

Some of the tendon issues are chronic now and I've had them for several years - I'm spent 1000's on physio in this time and dillegently doing the excerises but it seems my lifestyle is against me (life of a desk job). I still seem to get fresh injuries all the time. Muscle orientated ones seem to heal eventually but I can't get the tendon ones to settle down (I know they take 10x longer). I have a 4 year old very active boy and a new 6 month year old boy who keep me very busy outside of my desk and several injuries have come from 'playing' or lifting them etc.

I listen to the podcast on Rob Wolfs on of Coach Sommer discussing the connective tissues, and tendon strength etc. All of which made 100% sense to me and whats wrong with my situation.

Now here is my problem: I cannot get back to a state of no injuries  to start any form of training*** as there is always something (ankle, or shoulder, or arm, or hand) that is hurting from tendonitis (mostly), even swimming is out of the question due to the ankle. The most I can do is walking but only up to around 15K steps a day max. I was doing a lot of core  and yoga for a 8 months this year successfully but gave myself a hernia at the beginning of the summer (playing with my son) and this knocked that on the head for now (Operation booked for 2 weeks time). I've been trying very carefully now for 2 years to get back to a no injury situation, but things generally seem to be getting worse.

*** When I say 'training' I mean just being active - I don't necessarily mean lifting weights or running per se, just any form of movement would be great, especially if it got the heart rate up.

I'm VERY commited to getting my life back, and with that in mind I have rearranged my financials so that I will be working only 3 days a week in the new year in the hope that I can be physically moving the other 4 days a week and tip the balance back. I do realise that I have old injuries which I will need to work around (dislocated clavicle - old snowboarding injury from my 20's , and right knee that can't take too much load and bad ankle both probably due to a motocross crash 10 years ago, and clearfull management of the tendonitis) 

So finally my question: I have just purchased the 'Fundamentials'  - can this be done successfully for me with my chronic issues? 

Thanks

PS clearly I will need to let my operation heal fully first so it will be a few months before I start.  

Hi Wayne, honestly I think that GB is one of the most beautiful resources of the web BUT certain type of situation needs a face to face tutelage. your physique is probably weaker compared to the average and probably you will have more benefits by training with a trainer. it is difficult to arrange movements and adapt executions for your problems. It is something that should be directed personally.

10 minutes ago, Alessandro Mainente said:

Hi Wayne, honestly I think that GB is one of the most beautiful resources of the web BUT certain type of situation needs a face to face tutelage. your physique is probably weaker compared to the average and probably you will have more benefits by training with a trainer. it is difficult to arrange movements and adapt executions for your problems. It is something that should be directed personally.

Thanks. Problem for me is finding a good trainer where I live (out in the countryside), most are just doing it at the local small gyms and they just go through the routines. Hence why I'm here.

I do not know where you are located because I live in italy, you can still search on the community if there are f other people training with GB in your area. 

5 minutes ago, Alessandro Mainente said:

I do not know where you are located because I live in italy, you can still search on the community if there are f other people training with GB in your area. 

Ok thanks. I'm in the Uk. How can I do a search?

On 9/12/2018 at 12:45 PM, Wayne Pope said:

Ok thanks. I'm in the Uk. How can I do a search?

Hi Wayne, I ve sent you a private message answering your question.

Look up Joanne Elphinston's JEMS method, and find a JEMS practitioner. Joanne herself is a physio who takes a less mechanical approach to physical therapy than other approaches, and more of a slow, sensory "what is my body doing" approach. There are a range of things you can try that mesh quite well with GB (I haven't done fundamentals so can't comment on that program). Some of the external cues, for example, have helped me a lot during my 4 years of GB.

As a former massage therapist who has treated people with exuberant kids: find another way to interact with your kids. If playing with them ends up with you being injured, then don't play with them. You need to look after yourself first. I say this both from professional experience, and from observing people who absolutely smash themselves trying to "be there" for children. Really, I think that if you are "present" or "attentive", that will suffice for them. They don't care if you're injured or not, nor will they be grateful that you've hurt yourself.

A lot of people seem to need permission to care for themselves, so, on behalf of everyone here, you have permission to care for yourself.

Part of the reason I wrote this is again, observing people who say that there's always something else that comes before their health. You, on the other hand, have made some deliberate choices to get "better" (which means a lot of things). So you are on the right track, and have come to a supportive place. GB won't fix everything, but you'll be amazed at how far you will go.

Busted 40 year old weekend warrior here. I picked up the fundamentals course after a decade of chronic shoulder injury and a grab bag of other episodes in my thirties. 

I went through the course Night after night only able to do a fraction of the positions. It felt phenomenal thought. Over the next 18 months I kind of played around with the positions here and there. 

I bought the stretch series courses and found that I could barely get into the positions. A year or so later I’m making pretty solid progress on them. 

Im not a doctor. My personal experience was immensely positive. Taking this stuff slow really does remodel your tissue. If you do this you’ll get to know each and every one of your injuries... intimately. I learned to work within the limits they impose on me and can now basically do whatever I want athletically without aggravating them. Ymmv.