Don't Let Anything Stop You

Don't let anything stop you.

You have to build your own mindset, and you can not wait for it to just happen.

Calisthenics training is a great metaphor for life. Use it or loose it. 

When I had to deal with an injury on my right hand for close to 3 months, I wasn’t able to train any real calisthenics pulling or hanging during that time.

So i focused on everything else (pushing, core, legs). 

I was seeking feedback from my body when pain lowered down. Working out promotes overall healing.

I was focusing on how my movements were affected by my limitation and how I could work around it. 

Whatever movement you can not perform because of an injury, here are some tips to keep going:

• Work what's around the injury
• Work on the side or part that is not injured
• Focus on overall compound movement training
• Substitute full body movements with light band exercises alternative

In this muscle up video, my right injured pinky finger is healing and almost not squeezed at all.

I am testing my movement after a healing period.

It is forcing me to focus on keeping my right index and thumb as strong as possible on the pulling phase and at the bottom of the muscle up descent. This does make the movement a lot harder to execute but it also allows me to train and activate muscle memory. 

That way I can generate an overall stronger index-thumb connection.

It is also a great way to feel how much agility and strength you loose from not being able to use such a small body part as your pinky.

Training around injuries is an important skill to keep progress consistent as this is something that happens to all athletes. The key is to know how to deal with it and keep moving forward.

I turned 43 years old this year, and I can perform movements on my rehab days that i could not even complete on my best days in my late 20's. Calisthenics offers an unlimited amount of solutions to train and progress in any circumstances.

Wether you have never trained in your life, or have already started your fitness journey, you can join me, learn bodyweight training, learn useful tips to make radical lifestyle changes in posture, mobility, nutrition, sleep, breathing and more.

Get ALL calisthenics workout programs and coaching here if you are new!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the key mindset I advocate for fitness and life? I advocate for $\mathbf{building}\mathbf{your}\mathbf{own}\mathbf{mindset}$ and not waiting for it to happen, viewing calisthenics training as a metaphor for life: "Use it or lose it."

2. How did I continue training while dealing with a hand injury that prevented pulling/hanging? During the 3-month injury period, I focused on $\mathbf{everything}\mathbf{else}$: pushing, core, and legs. I sought feedback from my body and worked around the limitation to maintain movement and $\mathbf{promote}\mathbf{healing}$.

3. What are my general tips for continuing to train while injured? The tips include: $\mathbf{Work}\mathbf{wha}{\mathbf{t}}^{\prime }\mathbf{s}\mathbf{around}\mathbf{the}\mathbf{injury}$; $\mathbf{Work}\mathbf{on}\mathbf{the}\mathbf{side}\mathbf{or}\mathbf{part}\mathbf{that}\mathbf{is}\mathbf{not}\mathbf{injured}$; $\mathbf{Focus}\mathbf{on}\mathbf{overall}\mathbf{compound}\mathbf{movement}\mathbf{training}$; and $\mathbf{Substitute}\mathbf{full}\mathbf{body}\mathbf{movements}\mathbf{with}\mathbf{light}\mathbf{band}\mathbf{exercises}$.

4. How did the muscle-up movement demonstrate adapting to the injury? With the injured pinky finger barely squeezed, I was $\mathbf{forced}\mathbf{to}\mathbf{focus}\mathbf{on}\mathbf{keeping}\mathbf{my}\mathbf{right}\mathbf{index}\mathbf{and}\mathbf{thumb}\mathbf{as}\mathbf{strong}\mathbf{as}\mathbf{possible}$ during the pulling phase and descent. This helped train $\mathbf{muscle}\mathbf{memory}$ and generate an $\mathbf{overall}\mathbf{stronger}\mathbf{index}-\mathbf{thumb}\mathbf{connection}$.

5. Why is training around injuries an important skill for athletes? Training around injuries is an $\mathbf{important}\mathbf{skill}\mathbf{to}\mathbf{keep}\mathbf{progress}\mathbf{consistent}$, as this is something that happens to all athletes. The key is to $\mathbf{know}\mathbf{how}\mathbf{to}\mathbf{deal}\mathbf{with}\mathbf{the}\mathbf{setback}\mathbf{and}\mathbf{keep}\mathbf{moving}\mathbf{forward}$.

6. What long-term benefit of calisthenics do I mention regarding my age? I note that at $43\mathbf{years}\mathbf{old}$, I can perform movements on my rehab days that I $\mathbf{could}\mathbf{not}\mathbf{complete}\mathbf{even}\mathbf{on}\mathbf{my}\mathbf{best}\mathbf{days}\mathbf{in}\mathbf{my}\mathbf{late}20^{\prime }\mathbf{s}$, demonstrating the $\mathbf{unlimited}\mathbf{solutions}$ calisthenics offers for training and progress across all circumstances.