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Hi all, I had previously emailed this to Kit and he has asked me to post in the forum so other guests and members can benefit: I'm a 26 year old Sydney-based Engineer. I have a few niggling areas that give me trouble when I exercise (right lower back area and right wrist area when I used to do compound lifts at the gym; upper hamstring tendon when I run or do lunges due to a hamstring tendinopathy I sustained years ago). Before continuing and increasing the risk of sustaining further injury to these or other areas, I recognise the need to reset, work on mobility and also have a desire to build up a solid foundation of strength slowly and work from there. This is where Gymnastic Bodies comes into the picture. However, my posture and mobility is far from perfect and so I need to work on this the same time. I have just purchased Fundamentals, Foundation One, and Handstand One from Gymnastic Bodies. I would like to purchase your stretch videos on Vimeo but am at a bit of a loss as to where to begin. I was reading the forums and came across a comment you made in this thread: Link: http://kitlaughlin.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1057-when-to-start-with-st-and-what-it-can-do-for-us/ "And when I said 'I remember Kit saying that he thinks it would be very beneficial to do his work for 6 months to a year before doing GST to cover all mobility deficits we'all no doubt face ', I was talking about someone who was starting GST (so little investment) not someone with (say) a couple of years' work in..." I'm very interested in undertaking this 6 to 12 months of mobility work you mention to iron out any kinks I have before diving head on into the Foundation One course. I didn't see any of your materials recommended for this though. Would you be able to provide me with recommendations on what products you believe would be of assistance to me? Please bear in mind I am a complete beginner. Thanks very much.

Has anyone attended one of these live seminars? http://www.functionalanatomyseminars.com/functional-range-conditioning https://instagram.com/drandreospina/ I've only seen various videos around the internet and it looks like he takes a someone different approach to "mobility" training incorporating things that he calls "PAILS, RAILS, Passive Range Lift-offs", etc. I'd be curious to hear anyone's feedback about his live "functional range conditioning" seminars as I'm always curious in learning new techniques and methodologies!

Hello!!! I am a regular user of reddit's /r/bodyweightfitness and /r/overcominggravity, and I have read something recently that peaked my interest. So, Steven Low, author of OG, answered a question about stretching and mobility and he mentioned "specific strengthening"and that it is very important for keeping new ROM. When I asked him to elaborate he said that after you stretch you need to do some specific mobility/strengthening in order for the nervous system to feel that the new ROM is safe and thus prevent it from retightening. Now, a little bit about my situation. I have bought Master the Shoulder back in November and took me about 2 weeks to learn the stretches and make a routine to follow. So I did and then I followed it until a week ago. Basically what I did was the intense ground lat stretch and the ground pec stretch as well as a bunch of other "minor stretches"(not from the program) and mobility BEFORE stretching as suggested. I did them consistently, 3-4 times a week whenever I was not sore, did everyday some limbering movements like the rubber cord sequence and Yuri's sequence, relaxed, deep breathing, enough time into the stretch, t-spine mobilization, soft tissue work etc. I know I stretched "right" because directly afterwards I really had gained ROM but the problem is it kept retightening back an hour later or the next day. I shot videos every few days doing the Emmet Louis' assessment for overhead flexibility and for a month or so I saw maybe 1-2cm progress, I can't really tell. A week ago I kind of reversed the order of some stuff that I did. I am always warmed up after doing my strength routine so I can go directly into my stretch routine. So this time I stretched (pecs/lats and the rest) and afterwards I did some wall slides, hanging scapular circles, rubber cord sequence and Yuri's sequence. So, stretching and THEN specific strengthening, I have been doing this for a week now and I have to say, this was the missing key for me. I can now stretch and "lock" the new range of motion! And I am seeing measurable progress! I'd like the opinions of other users and I have a question for Kit as well. I will speak only for the Master the Shoulder as this is the one I am going through now. The order of the exercises in the program is the opposite of what I described above and I understand this because they serve as a kind of exploration and warmup. But doing them like this did not work for me, I know that everyone is different and different things work for different people but this is an important aspect of stretching I believe. What's your view on this? Disclaimer: I am not saying the stretches are bad! Quite the contrary, the Mastery programs are the best resources I have about stretching! I am just making a case for the exercise order in MTS and why something different worked for me. Demetris

I think it might be useful for me (and maybe others) to illustrate a problem I have; it's a painful sensation I feel only at times, so I always forget to seek professional help about it. It almost inevitably comes up when I sit on a stool, or in general when I have to keep my torso erect for long periods of time. I am kinda clueless about anatomy, so I can't be really precise about the location, but I try to explain the best I can. To put my finger exactly on the painful spot, I have to grab my right shoulder with the left arm so that the scapula moves accordingly and then move my right arm to reach the area between the left side of my spine and the shoulder blade: the pain will be close to the edge of the scapula (that is now removed from its rest position). Touching the area I feel only soft tissues and ribs, I suspect the pain might be linked to a mobility issue, but I'm not sure. Yesterday I felt it for the first time after a while and I immediately linked it to this spinal breathing I performed one hour before, which is essentially an exercise for thoracic mobility. I want also to add that apparently my yoga nidra practice helped alleviate the issue. What do you guys think the problem is?

Hello, I first experienced some pain in my right hip last year, thought it was something temporary and went on with exercising. Capoeira, skateboarding, GST training and some running. Sometimes after exercise I could feel a sharp pain in the right groin area of my hip, the pain was often there for just a couple of hours after working out and then went away. After some time I decided to visit a Physiotherapist and took an MRI on both of my hips. The difference was clearly between my left and right hip. The physio suspected hip impingement on my right side. He gave me a couple of exercises in order to build up strength in the glutes and around the hips and told me that surgery was the last option. After some months with these rehab exercises I could barely feel any difference at all, the groin pain was still there, especially when rotating the hip inward. It's really frustrating because of the limits in range of motion I have on my right hip. Sometimes I can hear a snapping sound coming from the femur and it doesn't sound god. I'm in the thoughts of having surgery because I feel there is not much that I can do to make it better myself. Tried foam rolling, stretching and different mobility exercises for the hips. When i'm for example stretching for middle splits, specially the frog stretch, I can feel a sharp pain in the right groin area. So now to my questions: Can impingement in the hips be treated with stretching over a long period of time? Anyone else here on the forum dealing with the same or similar problem? Have anyone done surgery? If so, how long was the recovery time and how did you feel afterwards? Thank you. Best regards Andreas

Late 2012/early 2013 training has been influenced heavily from a number of points that came home to me strongly during the 'Fundamentals of Human Movement' workshop that Steve Maxwell put on in Canberra late last year; and my own continuing exploration/dabbling in movement, mobility and body awareness. I've done some testing so I can mark progress throughout the year. Nothing too special; Chin-up max ( dead-hang and in good form); push-up; one-leg squat; broad jump; vertical jump. And some somatic markers, too. Basic strength work plus movement for a while yet; to condition before doing more intense agility work (deeper goal for this year) later in the year. The methods that I've been trailing in my workouts are isometric Timed Static Contractions (TSC) and Embedded Statics. These, tied in with the Systema style breathing strategies that I learned at the workshop have been fun and challenging on many levels. It's fascinating to work with controlling the urge to making noise or mouth-breath at high intensity contraction and lactic acid level. I get the full ROM in my body-weight movement work throughout the day. I've upped my volume of mobility and movement work, and added many new movements - to great effect! More on the specifics later. Tuesday's Workout: Chin-ups with Embedded statics (10 seconds): 4 sets of 3-4 reps (holds at lower 45; just above 90 and top position of chin-up - 10 seconds each with added over-contraction i.e. not just holding the position with minimum energy/fascial cheating) One-leg Squat hold TSC (just above 90°): 90 seconds w 5 negatives [L:R] Push-up TSC: 90 seconds with 3 waves of intensity (followed by 5 negatives). Unilateral Shrug TSC (done both sides) w 28kg KB: 90 seconds w 5 negatives [L:R] One-leg Calf Raise TSC top position w 28kg: 2 x 90 seconds w 5 negatives [L:R] (Second set was more donkey calf raise angle) One-armed Push-up TSC on knees: 90 seconds w 5 negatives [L:R] Using strength training workouts as also breath-training workouts makes so much sense, to me. The controlling breathing under duress is worth the price of admission alone! D