New member, 24yo "beginner"

Well, that's not strictly true. I've been training and heavily involved in the online fitness community for 8 or 9 years. But my ability is that of a beginner so I shall consider myself as such.

I'm now well past my best years for training and am not expecting miracles. For some reason I never quite get bored of trying, though.

I am 6ft, and currently about 90kg. Before I gained a lot of muscle in my late teens I was a good cross-country runner thanks to my long legs, light frame (narrow joints) and tendency towards not being muscular. This makes me poorly suited to most strength sports.

Still, somewhere along the line I accumulated enough strength and muscle for people to consider me a "strong" kind of person. I guess most of us are, compared to the general untrained population. I've learnt so much about my body and mind and though I have nothing much to show for it, I can't regret any of it so far.

Anyway in the last year I have become increasingly interested in the circus and similar performances. I'm giving handbalancing another shot, therefore. I've been trying since I was 17/18 and still can't catch a balance in a basic handstand more than 1 out of 30 attempts. Once I do, I can usually hold it for 20s or longer. Or in other words, my handstands last either for 2 seconds or 20-30 seconds.

I know what approaches don't work for me, at least. Though time is against me, I'm sure that I can still come to reliably hold a handstand, for a few more years at least. Most of my injuries are to my lower body so far :wink:

I'm also very interested in tumbling but I can't imagine anyone worse suited to it than I. I have friends locally who are talented "gymnasts" but they're very different to me and their approach does not work for me. It keeps me linked to that world, though. I occasionally try some bits and pieces but it is extremely taxing and I just don't have that kind of energy and bounce - perhaps you know what I mean.

Anyway I won't bore you with much more. I'll bring up pieces of my training history as they become relevant but for now I'll keep a log over in the appropriate section where you can watch my attempts to very slowly establish some kind of handbalancing ability, as well as whatever other training I do.

Thanks

First off, welcome! Second, was the title a typo? You say you are 24 but you make it seem like you are one foot in the grave. This is close to most peoples prime and you can easily become stroner than you were in your teens. I do reccomend a lot of prehab to start off with from the sound of your post.

PHILIP said:

First off, welcome! Second, was the title a typo? You say you are 24 but you make it seem like you are one foot in the grave.

haha

I started, and finished, puberty very early, so physically I'm actually a fair bit "older" than 24. It's starting to be less frequent but in the past people assumed I was 5-10 years older than I actually was! My peak physical potential was several years ago now.

PHILIP said:

This is close to most peoples prime and you can easily become stroner than you were in your teens. I do reccomend a lot of prehab to start off with from the sound of your post.

Yes I will likely become a fair bit stronger yet, in some ways at least. The time to learn complex motor skills is long gone, though, so I don't hold much hope for a lot of things. I'm a lot more realistic about what is possible, after this long "in the game". But it's all good fun, isn't it.

p.s. what is this board's policy on or attitude towards anabolic steroids and other PEDs? I don't use any but it's something that interests me and I don't want to ruffle any feathers.

I truely believe aging is more about what you eat than numbers. Find out how your diet affects your aging and you may find yourself growing younger. As to anabolics, I believe Slizzardman knows much more about different supplemental things than I do. Hopefully he will be able to tell you more about it or anyone else who knows about steriods.