Hello everyone, I’m not sure if it’s the change in weather but I seem to be a little down these days. I haven’t been able to consistently go to the gym these past two weeks due to life stuff but this time off has highlighted some of my weak points. My tendons seem to hate me and it’s been very disheartening for me and the goals I had in mind for my fitness journey. It seems as though every part of my body has some sort of issue. My rotator cuff and elbow tendinitis on my left arm have been limiting my chest growth. I can’t bring my hips to my chest without my hips having this pinching feeling, and the back of my right knee and top of my foot also seem to have stuff going on with my tendons.

I am now facing the reality of needing to not lift so heavy and work on rehabbing my body. The only issue is I don’t really know how. I’ve gotten some info on rotator cuff and elbow tendinitis but I have no idea on what to do to stop making my body so stiff where basic movements cause some sort of discomfort. Have any of you faced these issues and how did you solve them? I want to keep lifting like before but I need to get my body to a state where I don’t feel so bad all the time. Do any of you have exercises that helped you with any of these? I want to see if I can build a routine where I carve out some days to rehab my body and do some lighter lifting on others so I don’t lose all my progress. I just can’t give up because working out the way I have been has been the best thing for managing my type 2 diabetes. Please, any help is greatly appreciated.

did hybrid gym and weighted calisthenics long time.
weighted pull ups 30kg, weighted push ups weighted dips and gym

I built with gpt a program to start with, would love your opinion.

ofc i also do a full warmpup everyday and doing my own flexibility routines,

Sunday — Workout A

1. Handstand — 3×30s
2. Front Lever (Angled Inverted Hold) — 2×5–8s
3. Ring Dips — 2×5–8
4. Ring Rows — 2×6–10
5. Ring Push-ups — 2×6–10
6. Hammer Preacher Curl — 2×10–15
7. L-sit Hold — 3×10–20s
8. Seated Pike Compression — 2×8–10
9. Passive Middle Split — 90s

Tuesday — Workout B

1. Rotating Ring Pull-ups — 2×5–10
2. Ring Pike Push-ups — 2×5–8
3. Ring Rows — 2×6–10
4. Ring Push-ups — 2×6–10
5. Y Raises — 2×10–15
6. Face Pulls — 2×12–20
7. Seated Straddle Compression — 2×8–10
8. Fingertip Plank — 1–2×10–20s
9. Horse Stance — 3×5 (5s pause at bottom)

Thursday — Workout C

1. Handstand — 3×30s
2. Front Lever (Angled Inverted Hold) — 2×5–8s
3. Ring Dips — 2×5–8
4. Rotating Ring Pull-ups — 2×5–10
5. Ring Pike Push-ups — 2×5–8
6. Hammer Preacher Curl — 2×10–15
7. L-sit Hold — 3×10–20s
8. Fingertip Plank — 1–2×10–20s

Additional notes:

• Ring Support Holds are included in every warm-up.
• I train legs and knee rehab separately twice per week (not listed).

I've been experiencing an unusual pain around my elbow during exercise and I'm trying to figure out what might be causing it.

The pain is at the bottom of my triceps, just above the elbow. I'm not sure whether it's the tendon itself or the surrounding tissue.

The symptoms are:

• A stinging sensation during certain triceps exercises.
• The area feels warm and seems to swell up.
• I've noticed it particularly during triceps extensions, cable pushdowns and dips.

I've been strength training for around 5 years, so this isn't my first time training triceps, but this issue has made me curious about what's actually going on.

Could this be distal triceps tendinopathy, bursitis, or something else?

Has anyone experienced something similar and found out what was causing it? I'd also appreciate any advice on recovery and recommendations for resources to learn more.

Hi there,

I am a software dev and into bodyweight workouts for a long while. I've also done a lot of hiking with heavy bags which i believes has caused some problems in the neck area, particularly some lumps and bumps.

For a few years now I've been facing this nerve issue in my arms, where if i touch a certain spot (the middle of inner bicep close to the elbow) then I get a shock that goes to my little finger. I of course spent a lot of time at a desk in my career with bent elbows which didnt help.

It was mostly easy to ignore, but now when I go running sometimes and even walking (without bags) with each footstep i feel the shock at times. Some days are worse than others so i guess it could be some inflammation related issue.

I have seen literally 4 physios about this, and nobody has been any help. I've only been given vague explanations that bad posture can cause issues in the neck and some exercises which are aimed at postural correction.

I can only assume that this either isnt a physio kind of problem and I need to see a different type of professional, or i need to see a better physio?

Is there anybody that can recommend a person or type of person, that can finally give me some relief or direction in how to move forward with this? I cant do many pushups because of it, and now its effecting me when just walking.

I am a traveller, but regularly go to London, Bangkok, Osaka, and generally UK and asia.

Thank you 🙏

Hi Steven,
I hope you’re doing well!
I have a few questions about my planche progress, and I’d really appreciate your advice.

I’ve been stuck between the tuck planche and advanced tuck planche for quite a long time. I think one of my biggest challenges might be achieving proper scapular protraction.

I’ve worked with three different online coaches over the past 16 months (10 months, 4 months, and 2 months), but my progress has been quite limited, particularly with my advanced tuck hold.

Here’s the issue I’ve been struggling with:
When I try to maximize scapular protraction, I tend to round my upper back excessively, and I’ve been told to reduce that spinal flexion.

However, when I try to maintain a more neutral spinal position, I’m told to push harder through my shoulders and protract my scapulae even more because my shoulder blades are still slightly visible.

I’ve also practised scapular protraction many times while standing, and I’ve noticed that my shoulder blades remain slightly visible even when I feel I’m fully protracting them.
So whenever I try to fix Problem A (excessive spinal flexion), Problem B (apparently insufficient protraction) comes up. And when I try to fix Problem B, Problem A returns.

I feel like I’ve been stuck in this cycle for a long time.
My main question is: Does having visible shoulder blades necessarily mean that I’m not protracting enough? And how can I increase scapular protraction without excessively flexing my spine?
I’d really appreciate any advice or insights you might have.
Thank you so much for your time!
Best regards,
Aki
my planche video

My main goal is simply just getting stronger in weighted calisthenics and gaining muscle mass. Thank you so much for the help!

UPPER BODY CALISTHENICS ROUTINE

MONDAY — Strength

• Weighted Pull-Ups: 5×3–5 (4 min rest)
• Weighted Dips: 5×3–5 (4 min rest)
• Front Lever Holds: 3×6–10 sec (150s rest)
• DB Lateral Raises: 3×12–20 (90s rest)
• DB Hammer Curls: 3×8–12 (120s rest)

TUESDAY — Accessories

• Pike Push-Ups: 3×6–8 (180s rest)
• Weighted Chin-Ups: 3×8–10 (180s rest)
• Regular Push-Ups: 2×12–20 (90s rest)

THURSDAY — Volume

• Weighted Pull-Ups: 3×8–10 (180s rest)
• Weighted Dips: 3×8–10 (180s rest)
• Front Lever Rows: 3×4–8 (180s rest)
• DB Rear Delt Flyes: 2×12–20 (90s rest)
• Single-Arm DB Overhead Triceps Extensions: 3×10–15 (90s rest)

FRIDAY — Accessories

• Pike Push-Ups: 3×6–8 (180s rest)
• Weighted Chin-Ups: 2×8–10 (180s rest)

Lots of questions. Maybe they are simple to answer. I’m not sure. Very much a beginner.

The other day I was speaking to a few guys at work. One was a serious bodybuilder in his youth and the other was a trainer for many people until he got Lyme disease. So, while they aren’t doing the thing anymore they still have the knowledge and I respect what they have to say.

Long story short. One of them thinks that I’ll be able to go from where I am now, which is not being able to do any of the level one skills to being able to do a freestyle headstand push-up in six months. I’m skeptical of this. I think with consistency it would take a year but what do I know.

I’m 43 years old, about 225 lbs, 5’9”, and my only athletics was long distance running roughly a decade ago. No upper body strength whatsoever.

So, I’m asking how long should it take? What approach should I take?

I’ve been focusing on my diet to lose weight but what pace would be manageable? I know it will be easier to move my mass if it is lighter.

Sorry if this is all over the place. The headstand push-up is just a target to strive for. Any advice is welcome. Seriously, I want to make sure I do this right.

So this might be a stupid question that is elaborated in the book and i'm sorry if that is the case but i'm still reading through it. Basically i created a routine that i'm doing 3 times a week from the untrained begginer section and i'm doing a slightly modified version for now, but i have to read the book more to change it for the future. The thing is i want to do more cardio to stay fit and improve my stamina and lung capacity a lot, and by that i mean to jump the rope and bycicle or run, but i don't know if i should do cardio after training or before or on rest days, maybe some light cardio on rest days and i don't know what i should do. Thanks for the help and sorry if it's a dumb question

Hi guys i have been dealing with this for 4 years now, it legit will not go. When i tell you i have tried everything over these last 4 years im not joking. What i would like to know, does anyone has experience with using any pharmacology to help heal any long term tendonopathy. I have used bpc and tb500 a lot, i run 2mg ghk for years, they all help but they dont get rid of it. I was thinking going down the hgh route? I have also just started trt, my test and e2 was pretty low (22M) so maybe this will help when they get into good ranges. Any help would be very much appreciated guys

so, im not sure if this is the correct sub-reddit to post this on but i was just reading the article about overcoming gravity and had some questions.

i didnt really do much exercise before, i ran and danced ocassionally and thats it. but i am hypermobile. my main hobbies are drawing and videogames and im a graphic designer. I currently have tendonitis? in both shoulders, both elbows (golfer elbow) and in both wrists. i also have chondromalacia patellae in both knees. i did blood exams and rheumatoid factor exam and i got everything normal (aside from anemia).

ive had these issues for over 3 months now, so im unsure wether this counts are chronic pain or if its just a bad case of tendonitis and i would also like to ask if aside form normal PT i should do anything else? since i have multiple parts of my body with tendonitis PT cant target them all at once (which is why i was looking for exercises to do at home) because im worried now that because of how stressful this has been i will develop chronic pain. rn it seems very far away being back to normal and im trying to not be depressed about this but its so hard.

i would also like to ask anyone here if u think if i should get more exams done? my doctor said well if i didnt have anything different in my exams it must be my hypermobility but. i dont know? is that truly it? should i push for more testing?

21M 5'8 143lbs, i have had hamstring/glute pain for 4 months now, its not too intense, i can walk fine and do about most of my daily routine just fine. But i work as a dancer, and the pain really intensifies if i jump/kick/stretch.

It first started as just tightness at the hamstrings, when i had multiple dance classes in a day, so i didnt treat it as much, then it started turning into pain after a week. I thought it was a pulled muscle so i only decrease the amount of classes i taught weekly and stretched, though that obviously didnt work. Then after a month and a half, it didnt really get better so i started doing strengthening, and it hasnt really gotten better or worse since, it has stayed the same since day 1. I have gone to different doctors(TCM/Acupuncture) and they all said it was a weird case but it wasnt serious. They suspected different stuff like piriformis syndrome, sciatica.

I finally had a check at the hospital recently, and went for an ultrasound first as the orthopedist said it wasnt nothing serious as well. Ultrasound didnt show anything, so i requested for a MRI, and it didnt show any injury as well, so he only referred me to physio after. I had only one session of physio so far as the guy probably thought it was nothing serious as well and only gave me some hamstrings exercises and stretches.

The pain is more like a pull/tear, and it doesnt really hurts except if i try doing hamstring stretches especially a seated hamstring stretch which doesnt hurt if i lean back, but when i try to get into a neutral spine position, it hurts pretty badly on a 7/10 scale. Also pain in the glutes if i walked/stood for too long then sat down, but it settles down in 10 seconds or so. No pins or needles feeling but when i do a seated leg raise and raise my ankles, the pain does get worse. I have tried nerve flossing for a week or so and it didnt really get much better so i stopped doing it. Medication wise, muscle relaxers basically get me feeling like nothing ever happened until it wears off. NSAIDS too.

I just wanted a second opinion since its been killing me with basically no income for the past few months. Especially since i have had pretty much no improvement except being able to extend my leg straight parellel to my body in a seated leg raise. Or any suggestions on what to try. I have had a pretty bad back injury that healed in 2 weeks the past year but the doctor denied saying it shouldnt be sciatica and just a muscle tear.

imaging

Hello everyone! I’m a member of my university’s gymnastics club and I’ve been trying to create a workout program to help me get better at rings and hopefully get an Iron Cross by April 2027! This is what I have and I do this Tuesdays and Thursdays. I wanted to see if you guys had any thoughts on it?

Ring Support Hold
2 x 10 sec (2 cluster sets: 5 sec each, 10 sec rest)

•
Ring Dips
2 × 10 reps (2 cluster sets: 5 reps each, 30 sec rest)

•
Bulgarian Ring Dips
2x6 reps (3 cluster sets: 2 reps each, 30 sec rest)

False Grip Pull-Ups
1 x 10 sec (1 cluster set: 5 sec each, 15 sec rest)
Rings turned out when appropriate

Wide Grip Pull-Ups
2 x 10 reps (2 cluster sets: 5 reps each, 30 sec rest)
•
Ring L-Sit Hold
2 x 10 sec (2 cluster sets: 5 sec each, 10 sec rest)

•
Band Assisted Iron Cross
2x4 reps (2 cluster sets: 2 reps each, 30 sec rest)

•
High Box Iron Cross Holds
1 x 10 sec (1 cluster set: 5 sec each, 30 sec rest)
•
Front Lever (Tuck)
2x6 sec (2 cluster sets: 3 sec each, 10 sec rest)

•
Back Lever
2x3 sec

•
Skin the Cat
2x2 reps

Hello, everyone!
I have just finished reading overcoming gravity, and I am feeling slightly overwhelmed.

My goals are as follows:

Handstand Pushups x 10

V-Sit for 25 seconds

1.5x my bodyweight on pullups for five reps

Full Front Lever for 10 seconds

Full Planche for 10 seconds

I would classify myself as a trained beginner (level 6 on dips, 5 on pushups, 4 on pullups, 5 on FL rows, etc.) This being so, full body would make the most sense. The book states that two goals should be selected per muscle group, though a third one can be added if you ease into the movement (say, adding only a set of tuck bl's). A rough sketch of my routine can be found below:

Weighted Pullups - 25x7 for 3 sets.
Front Lever Rows - 5 reps for 4 sets
Isometric Back lever (?, thinking of easing into it, because steven recommends progressing the back lever before the front)

Pike pushups 5 sets of 5 reps

PPPU - 3 sets of 8 reps

(Ring Dips for general strength?? Perhaps for 3 sets of 10 reps. Let me know if you think this is counterproductive to my other two push movements. I did them for a while and progressed quite well, but they are really boring. Another alternative is archer ring pushups to develop single arm strength).

Zercher squats 3x8

Romanian deadlifts 3x8

3 min rest for basically everything

L sit Hold for 4x16 second sets

Some Compression work

My questions are as follows:

(1) Should these exact exercises remain fixed between workouts. Meaning, should I be doing this exact full-body routine (with no modifications), M W F SU? If not, what sort of variations would you recommend? - (1.1) How should I approach variety/exercise selection in general? For beginners, it seems best to stick with one set of exercises for progress' sake. Take weighted pullups as an example. Are these too taxing on the body to do 3/4 times a week? The same goes for Zercher squats and Romanian deadlifts.

(2) Handstand pushup progressions are found in a separate chart from the pushing section. But they are considered strength work. How should I approach this? Are Pikepushups added onto my two pushing exercises, or do they replace one of them?

(3) For flexibility, are pancakes, butterflies, pike stretches, horse stance, compression work (leg raises) and German hangs enough? I don't particularly care for flexibility, but I never want it to be the bottle neck of any bodyweight movement I may attempt

(4) Say I decided to Grease the Groove pike push-ups. Would this replace ALL other pushing exercises? The technique sounds interesting to me, but not interesting enough to replace all my other pushing exercises.

Thank you in advance, and please let me know what you think of my tentative plan. I have been stuck in analysis paralysis and really want to start with a routine that I am somewhat satisfied with.

So this injury occurred from a chest supported, seated, single arm horizontal row machine at the gym, and I used straps. basically since I strapped onto the handle I believe the load, and the nature of it being chest supported created an insane amount of tension on my wrist flexor tendon.

I went to physio 2 weeks ago and she said I have mild golfers elbow, and gave me some rehab exercises. I did the exercises, stopped hitting any pulling type exercises in the gym, including curls and what not. I also get a round of shockwave therapy done a weeks ago (I didn’t know my injury was acute, I thought it was caused by a previous injury ~8 months ago.) i believe this might have aggravated it more, and possibly causes some nerve irritation/damage.

I have had injuries before and they’ve healed but this one is brutal. Hurts reach and grab something, hurts to hold something, hurts to straighten my elbow.

Hi all

Posting here because quite some time ago I found this subreddit and Steve's sites are an excellent resource for understanding injuries (particularly tendinopathy) and have been able to use the techniques and strategies to relieve myself of a lot of pain.

In January this year I rolled my ankle and got a Grade 2 Ankle Sprain that was quite painful. Unfortunately it was my right ankle (my right leg is the one that has typically had a lot of injuries and plagued with tendinopathy in my lower right hamstring).

The ankle healed quite well (although I developed peroneal tendinopathy as a result which I have to work on a lot or else my running gets painful).

One thing though that came from it was the development of constant, and I mean constant knots in my right calf. I've tried more stretching and I do a great deal of calf work strengthening but I cannot seem to rid myself of these knots that come every week for 3/4 days.

It is really getting in the way of my running (trying gradually to return to the days of 50km a week but some days I simply cannot run because of the knot - or I refuse to run).

Has anyone encountered frequent knots before? If so, how have you managed them? I have just booked myself in for massage each week for the next five weeks to assist.

I've been working on scapula pull ups for the last 3-4 weeks, with the aim of working towards getting my first pull up. But I've noticed that over the course of the the work day (working at a computer) that I've been getting a sharp soreness and muscle stiffness in my shoulder blades and trapezius - it's usually ok first thing in the morning but gets worse over the course of the day and has been occurring most days for about 2 weeks). Apart from the last few days, I've been performing 3 sets of 5, 3 times a week with 1-2 days rest in between.

I appreciate it's outside the remit of OG/bodyweight exercise, but I have also been working out with a strongman sandbag at 36kg in the same session, working up gradually to doing bent over rows and sandbag floor-lap-shoulder circuit (3 sets of 6 reps). I've left 3 mins recovery time between each set of both the scap pulls and sandbag exercises.

The last couple of days I've not done any scap pulls or sandbag work, but have deadhung from the bar for about 15 secs, 1-2 times a day (over the course of the day). My thinking for this was that it would help to stretch out my muscles, but I'm not sure if it's actually making things worse.

I should add that before this I've become pretty deconditioned due to inactivity and (unrelated) injury, so a level of DOMS was expected and occurred early on after starting, but this seems to be persisting beyond those.

I'm sure that it's nothing that rest won't sort out, but what should I be doing to stop it happening again or progressing to injury? Should I just concentrate on the scap pulls or sandbag work only, as I appreciate the combination is very upper back heavy? Is there anything I can do apart from just resting it to help speed up the recovery, or continue with some sort of exercise of it still?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Edit to add: I took in total 10 days off from the sandbag workouts (all of last week and half the week before) and I still got the pain in my shoulder blades/traps, so it seems like the scap pulls are at least prolonging the issue, if not the cause. Although I appreciate that the sandbag work is also probably contributing.

hi all,

So I have been training for two years now. In my first year I went from ~3 bodyweight pull ups to ~5 to my clavicle with +60 lbs (I’m about ~145 lbs). In my second year I’ve only gone from +60 for 5 (about +70 for 2-3) to +80 for 3.

I normally workout, 3x per week, about 2-3 sets of vertical pulling each time and 2-3 sets of horizontal pulling. I recover from this just fine session to session. I have tried several different types of workouts over the past eight months or so, changing only every ~6 weeks or so (so I’m not program hopping). I normally do 2 sets of my 3RM, with my second about 5 lbs lighter than the first, and my third set has rotated from being either weighted negatives (which I reached +120 lbs for 10 seconds), one arm lockoffs, or max reps with +45 lbs. I’ve tried also doing 2 sets of a 5RM instead of 3, and experimented with +45 for 8-9 as my first set too.

For horizontal pulling I normally do either chest supported rows (pulling to my chest to target my traps/rhomboids), or advanced tuck FL rows.

I realize that I have been underutilizing the higher rep ranges. I have been doing that third set of +45 for 8-9 for the past few months, but it probably isn’t the same as a proper 8RM day, so my current plan is to alternate between 8RM and 3RM days and see how that goes.

However, the main thing that I’ve been frustrated by is strength cycling. Everytime something interrupts my progress (such as travel), I lose about 10 lbs of strength. This is super consistent across rep ranges: for me, +80 for 3 is about +70 for 5, and +45 for 9-10 as a first, max set. When I come back from a break, this turns into +70 for 3, +60 for 5, and +45 for 7 as a first, max set. These numbers are also pretty much exactly what Epley’s formula predicts.

I have tried using travel as a de facto deload, where I just do some light FL work and archer pull ups. I always make sure I sleep decently and get my 120g protein per day when I travel. Recently I went on a work trip for 2 weeks, and despite still going to the gym there I ended up losing strength afterwards and I genuinely have no idea why; I was super vigilant about getting my protein, sleeping well, and eating healthy.

Does anyone have any tips for this? I’m unsure if I should stop trying to add weight altogether and go for a double progression; normally I am able to smoothly add weight until roughly +80 for 3, and then suddenly it becomes impossible to make any more progress; I can continue stuck there pretty much indefinitely and deloading just results in me losing that +10 lbs anyway.

I'm currently managing several concurrent tendinopathies (distal and long head biceps - last 2 months, proximal hamstring and gluteal - over a year). I've just read Steven Low's Overcoming Tendonitis article, which gives really good practical advice for programming — sets, reps, frequency, etc.

I'm trying to follow this advice in my own program. What I've found is that I can generally tolerate 1 working set of c. 10 reps at a relatively high load. But I struggle to add sets, even at lighter loads, without symptoms flaring in the next 24-48 hours. I'm wondering what to do in this scenario — should I reduce load until I can handle 3 sets of 10 reps, stick with 1 working set and slowly add volume through back-down sets, or something else entirely?

I'm keen to hear if others have had similar problems with volume being the limiting factor? And if so, what worked for you?

Hey guys, for about 10 years I've had problems with my elbows, forearms and hands

It started in a period where I was going to the gym every day, and averaging drawing for 12 hours a day, both without any kind of stretching, warming up etc. (yay, love being 18 and dumb :D)

I was lifting weight, and one day I started having this intense pain in the internal part of my elbow (don't know the best way to describe it, but if you put your hand's palm up for the right arm, it's on the left of the bone, the soft issue that you can press)
Coincidentally, I started to feel burning in my hands

I rested for about 6 months, no pc, no drawing, no gym

After that the pain was getting better, but only if I wasn't going to the gym and drawing, because it would flare it up, so I just stopped on both

Up to today, for the elbows and forearms. it became more of an annoyance, like that soft tissue is constantly being pressed

On the hands it's weird, because I don't have pain anymore, but if I try to lift something (for example helping moving a table from one room to another), my fingers will be like "stuck". Hands feel extremely tired and I cant move them properly for hours

This was the situation until last week, when I decided that I should try to get back in shape, and went to the gym
I avoided pure weight and focused on machines and cables, since the movement is more guided, with less risk of injury

I didn't feel particularly bad during training, but kept trying exercises just for 5 to 10 minutes (YES, BASICALLY NOTHING), to start slowly and see how I would feel the next couple of days

Well, for about a full week I couldn't lift my arms, even showering or eating was PAIN
No more the annoyance, just intense pain in that "internal part" of the elbow

Does anyone know what could it be, what exams I could do to try to pin it down?

Most of my visits and exams were about 9 years ago, so I don't remember properly what I did, but I think it's time to recheck everything

I've never thought about it, but now that I'm movin from pronated to supinated back lever I'm considering internal rotation of the shoulder to protect bicep from tearing, does that make sense? What it the proper form regarding shoulder rotation?

For example when I do RTO push ups or dips I tend to go for full external rotation, is this safe?

I'm also curious regarding iron cross, maltese and planche. Already heard that going for full external rotation in the shoulders increases chance of bicep tear

after taking some tips and really drilling in body position movements as well as a lot of recording I unlocked my first press to handstand as well as HSPU. Im also posting this for checking my form to see what I must improve on.

links: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PEPCbJv5rv5Crde86

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nBpVfh6KKcSk75JG9

Basically the title. I've been struggling with a lot of tendon issues for over a year now - I tore a ligament in my sesamoids last year that led to now chronic sesamoiditis and the lack of activity led to plantar fasciitis.
But the tendon issue is in my triceps. I was on crutches for 8 weeks and i developed serious tendinosis in both my triceps attached to my elbows. For about 3 months I've been doing PT to help stretch the triceps. Now my insurance wont cover any more sessions, so my PT told me that when I'm ready I have to do eccentrics under load. I saw my ortho today and he told me the same thing, but because he's not a physical therapist he couldn't recommend what exercises to do. I suggested the example of a curl that the way down is an eccentric under load but my ortho said its not.

Tbh, I am confused what it even means. Eccentric - when the muscle or tendon is lengthened. Under load = with weight. How do I target that for my triceps? Isn't the triceps lengthened when my arm is bent, since it's opposite the bicep?

I'd love some clarity on what this means, especially in regards to the triceps. Also, I'm wondering if I can apply this idea to my foot muscles to help with my foot pain.

I'm in a really dark time in my life, but I think if I can figure this out it would be a huge help to have a solid goal.

Okay so it started sometime last year. Both arms. I was hitting the weightlifting pretty hard at the time, and moving furniture for my job. I just ignored it for like 3 months and kept lifting, hoping it would go away. It didn’t. So finally Oct 2025 i went to a joint specialist and he gave me a cortisone shot in both arms and wow amazing! All better! No more pain!!

For a while. It came back. Went to a different orthopedic in July, he recommended doing the shots again. I made the mistake of going to the gym a few days later, before they had time to properly heal. Right arm got better anyway, left arm didn’t. I tried the Keith-Barr Protocol I found on YouTube. I don’t know if it helped.

Now I’ve been doing physical therapy for a month and it’s not getting better. Maybe even getting worse. Both arms hurt again now. I’m doing the wrist curls and forearm stretches every day as prescribed. Gua sha massage, heat therapy. Tyler twists with the flexbar. I still have to lift things at my job, no getting around that. Compression sleeve helps better than an armband but I use both.

What’s next? My doctor mentioned PRP but that’s gonna cost like $900. Steven Low’s video program, is it good? Is that worth it? $100 is much less than $900 but still… What else might I be missing? I just want the pain to stop.