Old elbow injury vs Planche/Front Lever progress

[George Launchbury]

Hi,

This one is not specifically for Coach Sommer, although it does relate to one of his articles. If anyone else can shed light on my query, I would be just as happy with that! All help is graciously received!

OK - I have an old elbow injury, that seems like it will not heal up. It was hyper-extended doing MA a number of years ago, and has never healed past a certain point, even with complete rest. If I straighten up my arm it is fine until it hits exactly "straight", then hurts like hell, whether it's loaded or not. In fact it's still aching now from just seeing how straight it has to be to hurt. A few degrees of bend and it is fine. I get no elbow pain if doing Chin-ups, Push-ups, and have done some heavy (for me) "straight" arm work with cables/dumbells recently to see how it held up. So apart from that issue, the joint seems stable?

In the article about Planche and Front-lever, there is a lot of emphasis on having straight arms. I am not sure how much of that is because it is something a competing gymnast would be marked down on(?), because it is optimal for development, or (probably) both?

If I am unable to practice with completely straight arms, what effects would it have (for example) on training for the Planche and Front Lever? Would it even make them unattainable for some reason!? I'm not talking about a really bent arm here, literally just a slight visible bend seems safe enough to me. In actual fact (and I must sort out a training log here) I am working on Back Lever prior to Planche and Front Lever, and the same issue applies there too. Mainly because bystrength:weight ratio is not ideal yet...

Many thanks,

George.

[Coach Sommer]

Training should challenge you, fatigue you, exhilarate you and occasionally totally exasperate you; but it should never continue to damage you. My own athletes are forbidden to train injured. A distinction must be drawn here between discomfort (bruising etc) and actual injury, but after many years I am generally accurate in knowing where to draw the line. This is not to say that they may not train at all when injured, but rather must change the focus of the workout to another area that does not aggravate the sore or injured area.

In fact, in my program the one guaranteed way for an athlete to make me angry is to hide an injury from me or to attempt to keep training on an injured area that requires rest and recovery. They do tend to try to take this course, as they know I am relentless in refusing to allow them to further damage an area. In my experience, the vast majority of small over-use injuries will completely heal within only a few days with the proper rehab and rest. Left unattended and unresolved, small nagging injuries have a tendency to become chronic long lasting problems, that with a little foresight, could usually have been completely avoided.

Now that being said, let's proceed to the specific situation at hand. As competitive athletes, my gymnasts must have completely straight elbows; however, as a fitness enthusiast, it is not necessary for George to have completely straight elbows. Especially as we are attempting to protect an already damaged elbow. Is it 100% optimal? No. Will it matter tremendously that his elbows are slightly bent as he continues on his journey of acquiring greater levels of gymnastics strength? No. It would be better if the elbows were healthy enough to completely straighten, but they are not. We accept the situation and proceed on with training; being diligent to use appropriate precautions (a slight degree of elbow bend) to protect the elbow from further irritation.

To make a long story short, if training with slightly bent elbows helps to protect the integrity of the joint and prevents that old injury from flaring up, then it is the right thing for you to do.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

P.S. Thanks for carefully reading that article . You would be amazed at how many emails I have received over the years, seeking answers to questions regarding things that I had already answered explicitly and in detail in the very article about which they were asking questions! I am always happy to answer questions and provide guidance, but it certainly makes the discussion more enjoyable when the other party participates equally.

[George Launchbury]

Thanks Coach Sommer,

I am relieved that foolishly continuing to train on an injured elbow in my youth should not hinder my goals too much. Watch out young people: you are not invincible!

Re: your article - It is unfortunate that a lot of people nowadays don't want to put any time or effort into achieving things for themselves. In this case, it really couldn't have been clearer. I feel it's respectful to at least try and read around a subject before asking questions. Saying that, common-sense dictates that sometimes it saves long years of trial-and-error simply to come to the same conclusion that someone highly respected in that field has already spent time coming to ...especially if it involves your health!

Cheers,

George.

[Longshanks]

This is a very reassuring article. I seem to have a same problem with any elbows overhead work such as handstands flaring up an old supraspinitus injury. By just doing shoulder exercises such as headstands/planche leans (plus regular rotator prehab) and giving up on handstands its all but gone now. Was originally planning on trying to go back to handstands some time in the future but considering it doesn't seem to have any benefits for me (to supplement Martial arts), and reading this article it just seems like too big a risk now.

Thanks

Longshanks