start from scratch

I know what you're saying on injuries man, I'm in the same boat. I tend to get really into something, and it's in the back of my mind (old injuries), but I always hope I'll get lucky or I've found some way of getting around them. I make quick improvements, feel great, and then get whacked with pain or injuries. Sucks, I know how ya feel. Sucks getting old especially when you're banged up from hard use. I'm 33 and woke up this morning with everything in my body feeling busted or battered.

swarovski said:

It seems that in the past ten 10 years or so, every time I start getting fit some injury will come my way, even this time that I took it very slowly and very cautiosly. Doc told me to stop any physical training until I don't heal from this sciatica. It won't be quick to overcome it. Apparently the cause seems to be a new pair of professionally made orthotics which made my lower back trouble to fade only to make this new sciatica to appear...

Shit, all I wanted was to follow BtGB. Think once healed I'll have to start from scratch once again...

Orthotics can not correct back issues. All they can do is make you comfortable with the issues you have, until they get WORSE. TO correct back problems you need to literally retrain your entire body to hold a correct posture naturally. This can take a few months in some cases, depending on how far off you are. I highly recommend that you get the book "Pain Free" and read it from first to last page, in order. Then you will be able to make an informed decision as to how you should proceed using the e-cises in the book. I highly, highly recommend this. Of course you should ALSO be looking into soft tissue work so that you can start clearing up any adhesions that may be preventing a return to normal functionality and also anything directly adhered to the nerves. Start working on the therapy, get rid of the orthotics slowly, and enjoy your new life. Sorry to be so brief here, but there isn't much to say. I hope you look into this stuff, because if you don't you're going to end up with doctors recommending surgery. That's how this goes.

thank you guys for your support, really.

pogo,

that's right, rugby it's hard but to me also the best team sport. Being fit for rugby means power, strenght, speed, endurance just to name some of the physical qualities needed to be at the top of your game.

well, at 177 below 80kg I was pretty always the smallest guy on the pitch...

hey, you know that I watched '03 rwc final at brissie riverbank maxiscreen (disguised among poms' throng)? what a bummer that wilko's drop goal...

jakaro,

our journey is gonna be just a bit longer and tougher than supposed to, but we'll get there (iron cross)... eventually, even if it means starting from pilates mat class...

slizz,

your advices (around the forum as well) never let me down, so i'll follow this one for sure, asap. I was skeptical about orthotics but after three different doctors told me it would have helped me I thought it was better to listen 'em. Thanks once again for taking the time.

swarovski said:

hey, you know that I watched '03 rwc final at brissie riverbank maxiscreen (disguised among poms' throng)? what a bummer that wilko's drop goal...

my boys and I got right into the world cup that year... first time we all watched every (at least aussie) match together. all kitted up in our aussie jerseys. when we beat the all blacks, we were all convinced we could take anyone.

we hated that man with a passion, but credit where it's due... he was on fire.

swarovski said:

but we'll get there (iron cross)

I've promised myself I'll have an IC by my 45th birthday; that gives me just under 4 years.

If you want IC in 4 years you need to be following Coach's Iron Cross Elbow Prep list very, very , very precisely. It's not overly complicated but if you do not put your time in you will not get there. Well, at least not safely and certainly not with elbows locked.

swarovski: don't ditch the orthotics if you already have them, they can be a very good crutch while you re-train your body. In the end though, you should not need them. They are best used as a stop-gap measure to manage pain while rehabbing, not as a permanent solution.

found the elbow prep; thanks slizz, will be adding it into my warmup.

hey,

nice to make friends online, hope to get back at gymnastic training soon, just to keep the common interest going.

pogo,

I didn't know we did the same... haha I promised to gift myself the beast (IronCross) for my 40th birthday, which will give me exactly 3 years by the end of the month. 2010 new year's resolution was a general "to get in shape", without any precise idea on what path to follow after rugby, now that I found what I didn't know I was looking for and that I already accomplish that commitment (from 83kg to 73kg though stronger and more muscular) it's just a matter of not getting injured on the way. Gymnastic to me is still obviously just a means to fitness for weekend outdoor sports, which are the dangerous part...

yea, that rwc final was also on my 30th birtday, wilko entered the legend with the form he had that year or so but just like jonah and many others in rugby, injury hold him back from even higher achievement .

slizz,

I read some discussion about the locked elbow thing but I didn't know it would be advisable to start it right from the beginning, thanks for pointing that down. Yea, after what I spent on those orthotics I surely have to find a use for it.

I'll soon place an order on amazon to get pain free, any other suggestions, on flexibility in particular? is stretching scientifically the good one to get?

time for an update,

MR revealed that sciatica was due to L4/L5 herniated disc and some other back issues, gotta take it very easy for a while.

I got back in training on november 15th but running, jumping, stretching and putting my back under stress is to be avoided, so I manly do some upper body strength 3 times a week. I'm taking it as maintanance phase and is gonna be like this for few months I guess.

Anyway as today I've turned 37 I think it's time to celebrate my new GYMNASTIC BODY, which is actually much easier and faster to accomplish than performing like a gymnast, still the whole thing it's named after that so I take it like a first step in the journey. Thanks coach for inspiring me and giving me new goals.

Nice job on the transformation, too bad about your back, sorry to hear that. Maybe a good chance to strengthen up your wrists and maybe some other stuff, like elbows, rotators. You could come back to training with bombproof wrists, kind of a prehab focus while doing maintence for upper body. Take it easy, never give up.

thanks jason,

I'm a tough guy (at least mentally...) and I won't give up for sure. I really like gymnastics, I'm building the strength foundation needed to progress once I'll be lucky enough to stay injury free for a while. Still Rings are so damn cool I love it and I will definitely nail the mighty iron cross by my 40th birthday.

Dude, great transformation! Looking forward to see more progress, hope your back heals quickly

cheers mate,

it means a lot as is coming from one of the strongest forum members.

Yeah, my back held me also from joining you in palma (as it would have been a perfect birthday present), hope to make it next time around.

Awesome transformation man! I hope that I can show similar results in a few months. Although I have trouble imagining that you're 22% bf in your before pic. Looks more like 10% to me.

Randomhavoc how can you possibly think he's 10% in before? After pic looks around 10% but definately not below..

Agreed. There is no way the before pic is below 17%.

Honestly, with a bit of luck, no injuries that is, it would have taken me less than 6 months as I've been on-off training most of the time, The longest I was able to spend on a plan, without any issues, was just 6 weeks.

well, all I can say is that nobody ever told me that I looked bad even at worst times, which actually means that the average over 30 is so out of shape. Even if measurement are taken at home with plastic accu-caliper and conventional scale, I think they are quite reliable. Back then I thought I had to shed 5kg off but the reality is that even now at 10kg below and some muscle gain, the infamous six packs aren't that visible. It's then clear that, as I didn't look fat even at 22%BF and from 30%BF one enters the obese zone, there are more obese around than you can think of.

A little note.

As probably most of you already know, this transformation is possible with a committed combination of training and dieting, where the latter is the most important. I don't follow any particular one (paleo, zone or whatever) and I don't count calories or portions.

Here's my fact list:

- I don't take any kind of supplement besides 1 supradyn a day (ordinary multivitaminic).

- I don't drink anything else than (plenty of) water and less than 500ml (2cups) skim milk at breakfast.

- I do my best to avoid over eating.

- I do my best to have small, healthy (whole food), frequent meals.

- I avoid pasta, bread, pizza and satured fat as much as I can (still I don't worry about fat fish)

- I avoid processed food, fast food, sandwiches and sauces. I do pack my meals.

- I don't have junk, like sweets, pastry, biscuits and so on.

- If I'm very hungry I start from fruit.

- What do I actually eat? Any kind of fruit, veggie, legume, seeds. Rice, fish, lean meat (white and red), dairies, eggs, olive oil. In the end, just real food.

that's all folks.

@ Razz, and Slizzardman:

Hah! I guess I'll need to post a picture of me sometime, so that I can get an estimate of myself, since I have clearly no idea how to estimate bf!

@swarovski, are you avoiding saturated fats because of Loren Cordain's The Paleo Diet? Since he released his book, he later stated he was wrong about his position saturated fats.

@randomhavoc

I've bought one of this from e-bay for less than 10usd.

http://www.accumeasurefitness.com/

no, just because few years ago my cholesterol level was a bit too high, I never read a real diet book. Just some scattered info on the web.

Since my lower back issues, I practically stopped flexibility and dynamic work. Even wall handstand is off limit due to the pain I feel in my legs back when I kick up. If this wasn't enough right wrist is still very sore from that september motocross' crash and I can still only do exercises where my wrist is locked.

Hope to get fit to train properly and completely soon, still It's not that bad as I'm able to squeeze some strength training.

As I can't variate much I'm doing volume mainly, I'm trying to lay the foundations to start real GB training in the (hopefully) near future. That is:

3*30sec RTO (ring turned out) relaxed German Hang

3*30sec RTO support

60sec floor L-sit

5*5 on basics FBE pushing and pulling

This is the 3rd week into this "better than nothing" emergency plan. Monday and Wednesday at the gym and Saturday in my garage.

Workout looks like this:

supported (holding onto something at waist level) full squat 3*30 (focusing on ankles' dorsi flexion)

stall bar hanging leg lift 5*10 (straight legs to 90°)

ring swing 4*10 (focusing on turning rings accordingly)

ring pullups 5*5 (lowering in bulgarian style, holding at the top for 10sec at last rep for every serie)

5 skin the cat (holding 10sec inverted, down to german hang 15sec RTO relaxed, all the way back to inverted and then hang)

PB swing 4*10 (elbow turned back)

PB 5*5 dips (maximum ROM, straight body)

PB L-Sit 4*15 (90°)

ring hang L-sit 5*15

ring support 3*20

5*5 ring inverted curl

5*5 RTO push ups (elevated feet)

5*5 rows (elevated feet)

5*5 straight body pull on rings up/down (like ex. for abs on floor holding a wheel)

5*10 glute ham raise (bodyweight goodmorning)

erring on the side of caution is a good plan, I think. and all that support/hang/l-sit work will provide a good foundation for your return.

I'm taking this week off training; no WOD, no SSC, just additional flexibility/mobility work which I'll be carrying on with when I return to it next week. while I'm not having to contend with impact injuries like you have been, I have been feeling some persistent joint soreness, particularly in my wrists and right hip flexor. I figure that with my lack of sleep and *ahem* advancing age, I should be wary of putting too much pressure on the joints.

yea pat, take it easy on stretching as well, I think forcing positions like piked, straddle, splits, dislocates and the like can be just as dangerous as it is to push too far on other kind of training, everything in our body has to adapt at the right pace. What makes the difference is continuity in the long run, just like with dieting, yo-yo approach are detrimental. At the end these are the conclusions I'm getting to...

I have some comments on your fact list if you want any tips, if not then just ignore it

Milk has a very high insulin response so milk at breakfast may not be the best thing.

Don't worry about saturated fat as long as it comes from whole foods. Even from meat.

Fish oil is such a good supplement for overall health, so if you want better cholesterol count, add fish oil daily.

I assume you know about LDL, HDL and LDL particle size when talking cholesterol, because a high count is not necessarily bad.

Anyways great transformation once again

swarovski said:

yea pat, take it easy on stretching as well ... everything in our body has to adapt at the right pace. What makes the difference is continuity in the long run

agreed; and I'll admit that I've been way too prone to being gung-ho and obsessive compulsive about every aspect of training in the past. with flexibility, my biggest problem has always been consistency; all the while knowing that consistency is our greatest weapon.

razz. agreed re: the saturated fat. most every kind of meat that I love is fatty and heck, it's the tastiest part!! no way I'm sacrificing my streaky bacon for breaky, pork roast with crackling, marbled steak etc!! and I've started back with regular fish oil capsules too; have had them lying around the house for a lil while (still not expired!!) and really should be using it given the joint aches'n'pains I've been experiencing.

oh... and ditto re: the transform!! excellent work!

thanks guys, I appreciate your tips very much.

I'm sold on fish oil, I'll start to research a good one to take.

having lean meat is also an easy way in trying to keep total calories intake low without getting obsessed by it, ie I don't want to start counting everything I eat. I did it one day, It was time consuming and pretty weird.

I think I'm just 2-3kg of fat away from where I want to get, once there I'm sure I won't keep avoiding italian "salumi" and things like "fiorentina", if you know what I mean...

Milk it's a staple at breakfast, I think I can't lose this habit. Milk used to be my soft and alcohol substitute drink, I spent my teens drinking more than 2 liters a day, seriously. haha... my nickname was "latticino" back then...

Thanks again for your nice words on my progress, I won't be able to look like yang wei at 23 for sure, but I'm doing my best to become the fittest I've ever been, now that I'm gaining at least some knowledge on how to get there, it's just a matter of walking the way.

I'm focusing on strenght right now, I'll get back on flexibility as soon as my back will heal and in a couple of committed years I should be able to start working hard on speed and power. Now that I've quitted competitive rugby I'm able to take it easier on time constraints.

As gym sessions (mon-wed) last 2.5 hrs and I want to take the most from those, I have plenty of time there to go through all the exercise listed, also working on real apparatus makes me able to practice skills like swinging. The third training of the week (the one in my garage) is usually shorter and lighter.

One little note I've always forgotten to mention is that I cycle wherever I go (to the office, to the gym, to the preschool), which means 5-10km and some 50-100m of altitude difference every working day. I ride it even when is raining or snowing like today, I love to ride on 2 wheels.

full squat 3*30

hanging leg lift 5*10

ring swing 4*10 (gym only)

pullups 5*5

5 skin the cat

PB swing 4*10 (gym only)

PB 5*5 dips

PB L-Sit 4*15

hang L-sit 5*15 (gym only)

ring support 3*20

5*5 ring inverted curl (gym only)

5*5 RTO push ups (gym only)

5*5 rows (gym only)

5*5 straight body pull on rings up/down (gym only)

5*10 glute ham raise (gym only)