Strength training

[Gareth O Connor]

What's a good place to start for a neophyte?,I'm 26 and have lifted weights in the past although it was bodybuilding focused.I'm not a member of a gym nor do I want to be...I don't like the places.Is bodyweight a good place to start before buying a barbell and some plates?

[Kit_L]

You've seen the physiques of male gymnasts, I'm sure. They only do bodyweight exercises, but they manipulate the leverages in all positions to make the strengthening effect a maximum. As well, the bodyweight approach, which is known by other names like calisthenics and other names, is infinitely scaleable from the easiest of exercises to literally the most difficult things that human beings can do. You will need a bar though – and by that I mean a bar to hang from, but I think you've already got that sorted I read on another thread. You definitely do not need barbells or weights or dumbbells. I will link you to a bodyweight PDF that we created some years ago which is the absolute best place to begin. We used to run a facility called the Monkey Gym at the Australian National University alongside the stretching classes and we specialised in teaching body weight exercise.

Some people will tell you that you absolutely must use barbells in order to develop legs but even that is not 100% accurate. I have done plenty of squats in the past, but all I do now for legs are variations on the lunge position, Hindus squats, Cossack squats, feet flat bodyweight squats, and because I happen to have a 16 kg kettle bell on the back of the boat, I occasionally do the same quotes or same lung variation but holding the 16 kg kettle bell in the upside down goblet squat position. This is not essential, and there are many ways of making the resistance higher – for example 2 L bottles of water in a backpack and you've got two extra Kgs to lift up and down.

Some links:

https://stretchtherapy.net/?s=monkey+gym&tcb_sf_post_type[]=post&tcb_sf_post_type[]=page

https://stretchtherapy.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/wrist-mobility_bodyline-exercises_handstands.pdf

There are some other excellent tutorial videos on YT, too; my favourite is K. Boges:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=k+boges

Start with the Bodyline PDF, and look at Kyle's channel for the best pullup and chinup tutorials. Remember the comment I made in the other thread recently – muscles and the neural system adapt very very quickly indeed – but ligaments and tendons much more slowly. You must pace yourself when you're doing this kind of intensive exercise and make sure that you're following the instructions closely. You've just started on a quite incredible journey.

[Gareth O Connor]

I don't have a bar I forget to say,I hang from a doorframe.I have gymnastic rings but I'll ask my brother-law to set them up as he's handy. Are pushups a good exercise?.I find dips problematic they put the shoulder capsule in an iffy position.I do bodyweight squats most days                                                        I've been doing the hip flexor stretch in the lunge position,I realised whilst doing the exercise how much tension I carry there..it's probably protective like character armor.I'll have to teach my body it's safe to relax.I do the piriformis stretch as well,when I do it I get a strong sensation on the outside of the leg.                                                               I'll have a look at those links you referenced      

[Kit_L]

Rings are the best way to do chinups and pullups; many reasons. But if you walk around your area, very likely you'll find a bar in a kid's playground; that's what we used wherever we went.

Much better to work on the planks—these strengthen the rotator cuff muscles, and they are what make the shoulders strong. Planks, especially the reverse plank, are gold for shoulders. Forget pushups for now; try to get to 60" in all the planks, and then when you start pushups again, you'll be bulletproof, and already strong. Aim for 15–20" to start with, and two sets. 

Re. hip flexors: these are everyone's tightest muscles; again, many reasons. I have written quite a bit about them here; you'll have to search, and who know what nuggets you'll find along the way. Have you searched for "quad and hip flexors" on the YT channel? Many useful variations there.

[Gareth O Connor]

The hip flexor tightness might have something to do with emotion.I'll have a look at the quad and hip flexors on the YT channel.The piriformis stretch is very good as well

[Kit_L]

Briefly, because the hip flexors are the last part of the body that anyone ever stretches deeply (many reasons, explained elsewhere). That's where what Reich or Jung would call your "shadow material" retreats to, because it is the last place to be opened, or revealed. We have seen hundreds of powerful emotional experiences on workshops working with people where they stretch their hair flexors properly and deeply for the first time. There is no doubt that this is accurate. There is no other part of the body that will have this effect to the same extent, either.

[Gareth O Connor]

There's a reluctance to accept the shadow as it's humiliating to our self-image

[Kit_L]

Definitely—yet if there's a genuine desire for growth, that's the best place to start.

[Gareth O Connor]

I did the quad wall hip flexor stretch,as I was going back to sit on the chair after stretching I felt a strong sensation,I think stretching is a good  gateway into getting to know my body

[Gareth O Connor]

When doing planks must one keep the abs and glutes firm?,does the body sag because the hip flexors are tight?.I did a plank today for 20 seconds my body was shaking and trembling during it.

[Kit_L]

Everything must be tight: in a real, gymnastics, plank (all four of them; side, reverse, and the two 'forward' planks; one with maximum thoracic flexion; the other neutral) every pair of muscles is tensed against its opposite. So, calf muscles against tibialis anterior; quads against hamstrings, etc. Do not let the hips sag; tuck your tail to straighten the spine and tighten everything. Planks should be as hard as you can make them—and this has whole-body strengthening effects. They are much harder exercises than non-gymnasts think. 20" is a long plank in the beginning. The shakes will settle down.

[Gareth O Connor]

Tension is the bodies way of protecting itself. Relaxing in the tension is a good strategy for life.I think Viktor Frankl said between the stimulus and the response there's a space and in that space is where freedom lies.Relaxation opens up that space so that you can choose how you want to respond rather than react

[Gareth O Connor]

Starting doing pushups,will find a tree down in the park to do pullups.What stretches are good for a runner?

[Kit_L]

You're asking the wrong question. What stretches does your body need?

[Gareth O Connor]

I did the exercise where you put your fingers in between all your toes from the foot awakening sequence,my ankles pronate a good deal,I felt discomfort in the ankle afterwards...probably one of the reasons I have difficulty squatting

[Gareth O Connor]

I find the quad wall hip flexor stretch better than the lunge position..stronger sensation

[Kit_L]

Try the floor lunge version that includes folding the back leg up—it's the stretching of both ends of rectus femoris at the same time that makes the wall quad–HF version so strong. Here's a follow-along version:

It's not the same, but it's more intense than the version that does not fold the leg. Try both and please report back.

[Gareth O Connor]

I'll try it later on.My body is a bit tender now,back from running did 800m×8 tonight 

[Gareth O Connor]

Tried the stretch there,strong sensation in the quad,found it hard to relax and breathe into the stretch as my body was shaking  

[Gareth O Connor]

I'm still hanging for the shoulders,in time I won't have problems with them

[Gareth O Connor]

I've soreness in my left ankle,how do I correct it?

[Gareth O Connor]

The hip flexors take a while to loosen,I've been stretching them recently.Trying to correct overpronation of the ankles,I'll make the foot awakening sequence a part of my days,we tend to neglect the feet or atleast  I do

[Gareth O Connor]

@Kit_LWhat would discomfort on the outside of the leg mean?