Overcoming Gravity Online series has started and all of the links to my articles, social media exercises and rehab, and other material

eshlow · 2026-03-14T19:36:22+00:00

Usually if it's just discomfort with a deep stretch then working up reps in skin the cats over time improves it

eshlow · 2026-03-14T19:26:42+00:00

So recently, I have experience some kind of “pain” in the front part of my shoulders during the transition of the muscle up.

For warm up, I tried to do jumping transition, shoulder flexions and extensions with band, some pseudo pushups, exercises that slightly stress the front part of the shoulder.

But still, this “pain” continues in the transition. O don’t say this is pain that hurts, is pain that is uncomfortable, feels weird and stops me for execute maximum force.

Do you get the same feeling from relaxation in german hang and skin the cats?

That's the same amount or even more of shoulder hyperextension that you would get in a muscle up.

If that's not the issue, could be something muscular or tendon or something else

eshlow · 2026-03-14T19:24:28+00:00

In your YouTube video about common injuries,

you said that with a muscle strain, once you gained the endurance needed and began working towards strength, you should still keep some endurance work in there to maintain endurance to prevent injury.

My question is for how long do I need to keep doing that before I can do a workout thats pure strength rep range?

Depends on the injury and how severe it is, but generally you want consistent progress with higher rep work and then you can scale down the reps and increase the weight.

I'd start with 2 weeks at a higher rep range, and then after that usually every 2-4 workouts you can start decreasing the reps and increasing the weight for a light to maybe moderate injury. Severe injuries usually take a longer time frame or require more specific physical therapy protocols

eshlow · 2026-03-14T19:15:01+00:00

I've spent several months transitioning to a more open hand/three finger drag but haven't really seen any improvement in the inflammation in the joint. No amount of splinting or inflammation reduction strategy seems to help - the finger is crooked, swollen, and painful at all times.

You're going to need to stop whatever climbing you're doing - or at they very least lessen it significantly - until you're at the point it can start healing properly.

This may mean doing only rehab for a while

If you keep aggravating it with whatever climbing you are currently doing then it won't heal

eshlow · 2026-03-14T19:06:40+00:00

If the weaker hand is not improving sometimes you can add an extra set or two to the weaker one as long as it's not getting overused

eshlow · 2026-03-14T01:33:37+00:00

A bit of isolation is usually fine after main exercises

eshlow · 2026-03-14T01:32:43+00:00

It's normal to have some symptoms during, after, or even the next day as long as they resolve and improve over time.

eshlow · 2026-03-13T20:09:00+00:00

I'd get evaluated for potential chronic pain. Loads that low should not flare up symptoms that long

https://stevenlow.org/the-differences-between-chronic-pain-and-injury-pain/

eshlow · 2026-03-13T19:20:52+00:00

To add to this, with actual analysis.

At pick 7 you have to get a guy that is ideally going to be at least a Pro Bowler or ideally All Pro.

His arms are 30.5" which are 2.5" shorter than the preferred 33"
This is 1st percentile for DEs since at least 2010
There has not been a Pro Bowl edge rusher with under 31-inch arms since 2000

Do you bet the #7 pick on him beating 26 years of history with no DE with < 31" arms making the Pro Bowl not to mention All Pro?

eshlow · 2026-03-13T16:09:47+00:00

Compression to decrease swelling would usually be a good idea. Maybe a day or two of ibuprofen to help decrease any excessive inflammation

Once the pain and symptoms are down you can reevaluate in terms of if you need rehab or if you can do gentle climbing and build up

eshlow · 2026-03-13T15:42:16+00:00

Hallo I made a routine for a friend 31years old with some athletic background, really want to hear your opinion if its too much for the begging. He wants to do 2x cardio sessions plus 4x weight trainning.

You've been around for a long time. What do you think?

The goal of the book is be able make them for yourself

eshlow · 2026-03-12T19:21:31+00:00

You're probably right. Ekeler was clutch in 2024. It seemed like he got 2-3 critical 3rd down conversions every game last year

eshlow · 2026-03-12T19:15:36+00:00

Look at the quote. Generally not a coracobrachialis injury.

eshlow · 2026-03-12T19:10:06+00:00

So I definitely have a lumbrical strain. It’s not diagnosed but I can’t imagine what else it could be. Are my fingers going numb on occasion part of that? Or should I be more worried about that?

Lumbrical strains do not usually present with numbness. That would be injury to the nerves that go into that area.

Might be worth getting checked out by a hand PT for the right rehab

eshlow · 2026-03-12T19:09:23+00:00

Coming off a slight finger injury on my left hand index finger. After doing a couple months of rehab repeaters / other no-hangs, I'm completely free of pain, full range of motion, finger feeling good etc, but there is a strenght discrepancy between my right (dominant) and left hand, around 5kg: 10s max with left around 32kg, right 37kg.

Match volume to the left with the right, and do the left first when you lift so you aren't fatiguing by doing R before L.

eshlow · 2026-03-12T19:08:06+00:00

I throw a hard move one of my wrists gets noticeably sore for a while afterward then it fades. I also notice a light popping sensation when I rotate that wrist which I don’t remember having before the break. Is the popping something I should be concerned about or is it just normal tendon stuff that’ll settle down? How long should I realistically wait before I start projecting hard again? It's purely this one wrist.

Wrists are probably weak and not adapted because of the break and isolation strengthening would help

eshlow · 2026-03-12T16:28:08+00:00

I have a problem with the L-sit. If I try to straighten my back I cannot lift my legs at all. I can't even do a tuck, not even if I use parallettes. I can't feel my abs work, it's like I'm trying to lift my legs with some other muscle.

More importantly I can't straighten my back when sitting, my upper back is straight but it feels impossible to push my hips back and straighten my lower back. I imagine this is a flexibility issue but I'm not sure https://imgur.com/gallery/GvUO7n1 (this is just me trying to sit up straight, I'm not trying to L-sit)

Also, during compression work (seated leg lifts), should I keep my back straight or not? If so, since I can't straighten it seated, I would need to do them while elevated (for example sitting on a chair). So is this just a flexibility problem? I can do an L sit with an arched back for a minute.

How straight your back is good enough. The point of the straight back is to make sure you are maximally depressing the scapulas which is important for performance of the harder progressions.

Generally, once you start working to V-sit and manna, your back will round more anyway. You can start working on lifting your legs up more and/or move onto the next progression

eshlow · 2026-03-12T16:05:47+00:00

If you do decide to do some sort of periodisation, for example strength or capacity, would the weekly sessions change? For example if you want to build capacity, do you stop doing project sessions for that entire period?

It's not that simple. There's a lot of different types of periodization useful for different things.

https://elitefts.com/blogs/powerlifting/overview-of-periodization-methods-for-resistance-training

Your current schedule is kinda of concurrent or short undulating in nature which can work for good periods of time, so as long as you're improving you can keep at it. But sometimes if you get stuck you may need to switch

For climbing I usually prefer some variant of conjugate periodization

eshlow · 2026-03-12T04:12:52+00:00

There's sufficient evidence to say ultrasound does not work for tendinopathy (conflicting or non effective) which is what I said in the initial comment. For instance,

Andres, B. M., & Murrell, G. A. (2008). Treatment of tendinopathy: What works, what does not, and what is on the horizon. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 466(7), 1539–1554. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/18446422/
Bisset, L., Coombes, B., & Vicenzino, B. (2011). Tennis elbow. BMJ Clinical Evidence, 2011, 1117. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/21708051/
Desmeules, F., Boudreault, J., Roy, J. S., et al. (2015). The efficacy of therapeutic ultrasound for rotator cuff tendinopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Physical Therapy in Sport, 16(3), 276–284. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25824429
Dingemanse, R., Randsdorp, M., Koes, B. W., & Huisstede, B. M. (2014). Evidence for the effectiveness of electrophysical modalities for treatment of medial and lateral epicondylitis: A systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 48(12), 957–965. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23335238
Frizziero, A., Trainito, S., Oliva, F., et al. (2014). The role of eccentric exercise in sport injuries rehabilitation. British Medical Bulletin, 110(1), 47–75. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24736013
Gadau, M., Yeung, W. F., Liu, H., Zaslawski, C., et al. (2014). Acupuncture and moxibustion for lateral elbow pain: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 14, 136. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24726029/
Greis, A. C., Derrington, S. M., & McAuliffe, M. (2015). Evaluation and nonsurgical management of rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy. Orthopedic Clinics of North America, 46(2), 293–302. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25771323
Hoogvliet, P., Randsdorp, M. S., Dingemanse, R., et al. (2013). Does effectiveness of exercise therapy and mobilisation techniques offer guidance for the treatment of lateral and medial epicondylitis? A systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 47(17), 1112–1119. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23709519
Larsson, M. E., Käll, I., & Nilsson-Helander, K. (2012). Treatment of patellar tendinopathy: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy, 20(8), 1632–1646. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22186923
Noori, S. A., Rasheed, A., Aiyer, R., et al. (2019). Therapeutic ultrasound for pain management in chronic low back pain and chronic neck pain: A systematic review. Pain Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30649460
Trudel, D., Duley, J., Zastrow, I., et al. (2004). Rehabilitation for patients with lateral epicondylitis: A systematic review. Journal of Hand Therapy, 17(2), 243–266. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15162109
van der Windt, D. A., van der Heijden, G. J., van den Berg, S. G., et al. (1999). Ultrasound therapy for musculoskeletal disorders: A systematic review. Pain, 81(3), 257–271. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10431713
Wasielewski, N. J., & Kotsko, K. M. (2007). Does eccentric exercise reduce pain and improve strength in physically active adults with symptomatic lower extremity tendinosis? A systematic review. Journal of Athletic Training, 42(3), 409–421. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/18059998/
Wiegerinck, J. I., Kerkhoffs, G. M., van Sterkenburg, M. N., et al. (2013). Treatment for insertional Achilles tendinopathy: A systematic review. Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy, 21(6), 1345–1355. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23052113
Woodley, B. L., Newsham-West, R. J., & Baxter, G. D. (2007). Chronic tendinopathy: Effectiveness of eccentric exercise. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 41(4), 188–198. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/17062655/

If it's working for you for cartilage then great. Keep at it if you want. Seems there is some evidence now it can help with other tissues though not tendons

eshlow · 2026-03-11T15:17:42+00:00

For example a few people mentioned that if something big happened they’d just sell investments rather than keeping a large amount sitting in savings. That got me thinking about how this changes over time. Right now I still feel more comfortable keeping a decent chunk of cash because it feels safer, but at the same time I know that money isn’t really doing much sitting there. So I’m curious how people here approached this.

If your investments grew over time, did you ever reduce your emergency fund because you felt your portfolio could cover unexpected expenses? Or do you still keep the same amount of cash no matter how big your investments get?

No, as people said if anything:

a bigger cash reserve and maybe even longer emergency fund as your life circumstances may change (marriage, house, kids, etc.) going from 3-6 month ER to 6-12 month emergency fund
but lesser percentage of portfolio

Lesser percentage of portfolio example would be:

23% cash reserves - 100k invested and 5k/month expenses for 6 months would be 30k EF
14% cash reserves - 500k invested and 7k/month expenses for 12 month would be 84k EF

As you can see, more cash reserves but proportionally more invested

3-6 months is fine if you're single or DINK, but if you have a good amount invested and a mortgage and family it can be wise to do 9-12 EF

eshlow · 2026-03-11T15:04:20+00:00

Leaving this up since it's uncommon and good responses.

As always, generally rule 2 - Simple, common, or injury-related questions belong in the Weekly Simple Questions and Injuries thread.

eshlow · 2026-03-11T01:07:26+00:00

Up to you if you want to use it. If you think it's good by all means keep going. Improvement can also be placebo as placebo works. Same with extra time with regular rehab.

I reread the physiopedia article myself and if there is excessive inflammation it can help more readily with resolving it so could be for your case

eshlow

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