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Progressive Calisthenics - The Official Blog for the PCC Community

recovery from injury

Shifting Focus and Setting New Goals When Injury Strikes

May 31, 2016 By Ian Deeth 8 Comments

Ian Deeth at the UK PCCIn the life of an athlete, there is a high likelihood that injury will disrupt our training plans at some stage. As much as we try to prevent our bodies from breaking down, and do our utmost to push ourselves to the limit without crossing the line between optimal performance and injury, our fitness journeys don’t always go as planned. But how many of us use an injury as an excuse to feel sorry for ourselves and take a break from training? Don’t fall into that trap; an injury can actually be a fantastic opportunity to reflect, re-evaluate and shift focus to work on a different area of fitness.

At the start of this year, my training plans were firmly focused on urban-running events and I was coming to the tapering phase after a high volume period of training. I was making awesome progress, nailing my training targets in the gym and on the road; I was in the best shape of my life! Then, disaster struck. At the end of an urban running race, I slipped and turned my right ankle on a timing mat. What I believed was initially a bad sprain later turned out, to my utter devastation, to be an avulsion fracture to my fifth metatarsal. After consulting a doctor, I knew running for the next 8 weeks was out of the question and my immediate race plans were over. But I also realised there were a number of things I could still do. My focus shifted to an area of fitness I had toyed with in the past but never stuck at for a set period… bodyweight strength training. The park, as opposed to my usual running tracks and paths, became my new fitness home.

New Fitness Goals
Living in Singapore, we are blessed with outdoor fitness parks on every block and consistent warm weather. Calisthenic sessions replaced my running and weight sessions in the training diary and the journey to progress my flag, tighten up my muscle-up and experiment on the bars took off once more.

Ian Deeth PCC UK Muscle UpI continued to seek medical advice from my doctor but ‘rest’ from exercise only meant resting from any exercises which could have worsened my injury. Whatever injury or setbacks you have, there will always be some form of training you can do. Even if physical activity was not possible, I knew mental training techniques such as visualization and meditation were always an alternative.

Staying Focused and Keeping Routine
With new goals identified and a revised training schedule in place, I kept to the same training days and times which had served me well previously. Aqua jogging in the pool and rowing also allowed me to keep up a good level of cardiovascular fitness. The temptation to replace training with other lifestyle choices was certainly there and whilst planned breaks from training are always important, this wasn’t the time. I had firmly set my sights on new fitness goals and was fiercely determined to commit this 8-week window to improving them.

“Obstacles are often put in our way to see if what we want is really worth fighting for”
Coincidentally, the above quote is engraved on the Spartan race trophy which I won in the very race I injured myself in. After eight weeks, I was able to return to light running, but in that time I had made excellent progress on a number of bodyweight exercises which I was always keen to develop, but found difficult to fit into my usual training regime. Using the progressions from my PCC manual and knowledge gained on the course, suddenly holding a human flag for more than a split second was a realistic target, and I could perform 10 strict muscle ups without a kip. I knew that shifting the focus back to urban running may slow the excellent progress I’d made with my calisthenics, but I was ecstatic with the improvements regardless. The time off had also reinforced how much I enjoyed running. I was ready to step back into my trainers and hit the running paths with renewed vigour, but also with a new artillery of calisthenic movements in the locker.

Ian Deeth at the UK PCCLife Lessons
When you’re in the flow of a great training regime, slowing down isn’t fun and losing some of your independence isn’t particularly great either. Even though my injury, on the grand scale of things, was fairly minor and relatively short term, my time spent on crutches did teach me some valuable life lessons. It made me appreciate how much I enjoy being active and challenging my body. It certainly made me empathize with those who have permanent mobility problems and athletes who are suffering from long term injuries. But most importantly, it taught me to always focus on what you can do rather than what you can’t. If you look and research enough, you can find a way to keep moving forward. Sometimes this means being adaptable and taking a slightly different path than the one you had planned. By temporarily shifting focus and setting new goals, you might even discover alternative areas of fitness and achieve new targets along the journey.

 

***

Ian Deeth is a PCC Instructor and teacher, originally from England but now living in Singapore. He is a former Great Britain U23 and Scottish senior international 400 meter runner.

Filed Under: Motivation and Goals, Progressive Calisthenics, Workshop Experiences Tagged With: Ian Deeth, injury recovery, PCC, PCC experience, recovery from injury

Training Through Injuries (AKA: That Time My Friend Sat On My Thumb)

April 19, 2016 By Eric Bergmann 13 Comments

Eric Bergmann Calisthenics
Yup. My friend sat on my thumb.

We’ve all been injured at some point, and most of us are familiar with how it can derail our training. In response to the sprain I suffered, I had to decrease the size of my training repertoire and remove everything that required an opposable thumb.

Those who’ve had the dubious privilege of seeing me train know that my workouts consist largely of picking things up and putting them down with the help of said opposable thumb.

Switching gears was tough for me, especially since my training was going so well at the time. In fact, I was in the middle of the best training year of my life. It was tough for me to believe that an adjusted and, in my mind, adulterated training program could provide the same level of benefit. It was even tougher for me to be cool with doing only the following types of movements:

Squat variations, push-up variations, and pull-up variations (with thumb-less grip).

First, a confession…

I didn’t put my heart and soul into the planning of this thumb-less program. Looking back, I could have made some different choices and put together a more comprehensive regimen. Instead, I just looked at which exercises I felt I could do without risk of further injury and hoped that I wouldn’t lose much ground from my last several phases of training. Unconvinced that these bodyweight-only movements were going to successfully maintain my hard work, however, I was prepared to lose some strength.

That said, I didn’t just throw in the towel and half-ass my training. I pulled out my PCC manual.

Eric Bergmann with PCC Manual

I chose the hardest variations of each movement that I could manage for a handful of quality reps, backing those up with variations I could do for a moderate-to-high number of reps. In essence, this was an attempt to mimic what I had already been doing in successful programs rather than suddenly switching gears or starting all over.

As I explored the variations available to me I took advantage of the leverage concepts from the PCC Certification. This allowed me to transform movements that I could do for 0-2 reps into movements I could do for 4-6 reps, movements I could do for 25+ reps into movements I could only do for 15-20 reps, and so forth. These variations or “hidden steps” allowed me to tailor the movements to my abilities and to use that as a platform for continued growth.

During the “strength” oriented movements (I used multiple sets in the 4-6 rep range) I noted a marked increase in full-body tension/contraction/stabilization.  What does that mean? It means that during one-arm push-up variations, I found abs of steel, quads of quartz, and rotator cuffs of coordinated reactive stabilization. It means I found and minimized imbalances between my ability to stabilize my left lateral chain and my right. It means I got strong. Really strong. Way stronger than I’d thought I possibly could with a busted thumb.

During the more endurance oriented movements (I used multiple sets in the 12+ rep range and in the 20+ rep range) I found minor but important losses in active stabilization. What does that mean? It means I found and was able to close gaps in endurance that caused subtle lumbar extension (low-back sag), thoracic flexion (upper-back rounding), and cervical flexion/capital extension (chin jutting). The higher reps gave me the opportunity to lock down my form during my sets, making my positions and joints healthier and stronger, thereby making me more bulletproof.

Bulletproof.

Overall, this has proven to be one of, if not the most successful training phases I’ve ever enjoyed. From the experience I’m taking improved strength, endurance, and ability to create balanced tension through my body, but the lessons I learned go beyond the physical changes.

I didn’t expect that using calisthenics alone could be brutally hard yet readily adjustable to my current capabilities. As a modern fitness culture we are so accustomed to adjusting loads rather than body positions, and to measuring success in pounds and kilos. What I learned during the calisthenics-only phases of my training has expanded my understanding not just of bodyweight movements, but all movement, and will impact how I train both myself and my clients.

Perhaps the most important thing I’m taking with me is that limitations can often free our creativity and expand our horizons.  Injuries are going to happen.  It’s what we do in response that determines our long-term success.

 

***

Eric Bergmann is a New York City based strength coach, movement specialist, and proud member of the PCC family. He co-owns Bergmann Fitness—a boutique training and nutrition service—with his wife, Beth. You can find out more about them at bergmannfitness.com

Filed Under: Motivation and Goals, Progressive Calisthenics Tagged With: calisthenics, Eric Bergmann, fitness training, how to scale calisthenics, injury recovery, recovery from injury

Calisthenics, Injuries and Life

February 10, 2015 By Corey Howard 72 Comments

Corey Howard One Arm Aussie Pull-Up

On June 8 of 2014, I turned 40.  The following day I had surgery to repair a ruptured triceps in my right arm.  In late August, just 3 months later I was able to pass all of the skill elements for my RKC recertification using ONLY calisthenics for training.  But what happened in between those dates is where the magic of calisthenics lies.

Fitness gives me life.  It helps me stay in shape so I can help out my wife around the house and keep crossing things off the seemingly never ending to-do list.  Being in shape gives me the ability to play basketball with my son in the driveway, or throw soft toss to him in the batting cage.  In late May when I ruptured my triceps I was no stranger to working around injuries, but it still gave me a few new opportunities.  First, I was able to focus entirely on my lower body and write what turned out to be a fairly successful blog post about calisthenics leg training.  Second, it forced me to start my upper body training from ground zero and really dig deeper into the Convict Conditioning progressions.

How does an advanced lifter re-teach himself one arm push-ups?  I will admit, despite limited range of motion in my elbow and absolutely zero pushing strength in my right arm; I had retained most of my pulling strength.  After regaining complete active full range of motion in the joint I was able to start push-ups at an incline as well as horizontal pull-ups. Pairing the pushing and pulling together gave me a chance to work on regaining my tricep strength as well as the range of motion from the pulling movements.

Despite my youthful desire to challenge myself and rush to the next progression I made sure I was able to hit 20 quality reps with each movement before moving on to the next harder step.  I think this also helped strengthen the tendon as well as create movement proficiency.  Eventually I was able to do 20 quality narrow push-ups on the floor and 20 wide grip pull-ups with my ankles elevated on a support bar.

Corey Howard One Arm Raised Push-Up

The transition to a dead hang pull-up was surprisingly quick and easy, but moving to the one arm push-up proved to be a bit more challenging.  To accommodate the added weight and strain on the elbow joint I had to move to incline one-arm push-ups and follow a similar rep progression back to the ground.  I think it really helped practicing single arm push-ups at various heights and immediately following it with tight narrow push-ups on the floor.

I learned a couple things along the way.  First, patience is everything.  Don’t rush to get to the next progression until you’ve mastered the step you’re on.  As Paul Wade says in Convict Conditioning, earn the right to advance to the next step.  This pays dividends when you attempt the next step and find that you can actually control a few reps with quality technique instead of surviving and gutting out two or three sloppy injury risking reps.  Second, most of us are not professional athletes.  Yes, a lot of us think part of our identity comes from what we can do in the gym.  Our true identity is created by how we are as a husband and father.  My injury sucked.  It took away my ability to train upper body and I lost some of my hard earned muscle mass, but that paled in comparison to not being able to play catch with my son, or help my wife carry in the groceries.

On Friday January 9th, I ruptured my bicep in the other arm.  On Monday the 19th I had surgery to repair that. Click here for a photo during the repair process. Warning: Graphic medical photo.  Two major injuries in six months.  This time around I’m not worried about the lost training time, I’m upset that I won’t be able to go sledding with my son, or do everything my wife needs me to do.  I’ll admit I’m having a hard time dealing with this one. Three months from now I know I’ll look back and see countless blessings from this, including a deeper appreciation for the pull-up progressions, but right now I’m in the storm and it’s tough to see the shore over the tall waves.

Corey Howard Recovers From Surgery

I know there are tons of people dealing with worse situations than mine; those of us in the fitness world sometimes stake too much of our identity on our physical capabilities. Twenty years from now the only thing people will remember is how you treated your family and those around you. It’s easy to forget that we work out to be healthy and so we can have a good quality of life. I may have temporarily lost the use of my arm, but I’m not going to let myself lose sight of the big picture.

***

About Corey Howard, PCC, RKC, CK-FMS: Corey Howard strives to constantly become stronger, and to help others to achieve their fitness goals. He is the owner of Results Personal Training, and can be reached at fithubby.com, resultsptonline.com or coreyhoward.com.

Filed Under: Motivation and Goals, Progressive Calisthenics Tagged With: bodyweight exercise, calisthenics, Corey Howard, Injury, push-ups, recovery from injury, surgery

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