Kyle P
Level 6 Valued Member
I was looking for a way to contact Pavel directly but then I realized I’d really like to thank this whole community. This is a bit long but I I hope that it’s worth the read.
For about the past ten years I’ve had pain in my left knee. It would come and go. When it was bad, it was very bad. Early on, during a physical, a doctor told me there was cartilage deterioration and I would eventually need surgery. I was a rough neck on oil rigs during some of this time and that definitely made it worse. But, I’m stubborn, especially when it comes to anything medical, so I started messing around with ways to fix it on my own. Heavy, high rep squats (I ranged from 225-315 for 20 reps) seemed to keep it at bay but it sucked to always have to do these and be so systemically wiped out sometimes for days after.
Switch over to my left shoulder. Weird pain while doing any pressing, all of my adult life. If I did things in a very specific way, I could bench and do push ups, but it still aggravated it and I could never stay with it for long. I have never been able to do full range of motion over head pressing of any kind.
Last year I became rededicated to getting strong and healthy. Changed my diet and started hitting the gym. Dropped 40 lbs and put on some muscle. But, following my old high intensity, full body, 3 day a week bodybuilding routine, I found myself burning out, again and again. I now know I was basically crashing my endocrine system into a wall over and over.My performance in the gym kept going up, but I started having trouble going up stairs, picking up and carrying even fairly light things, no stamina.
Facing to possibility of having to go back to the oil field (at 45 years old) I realized I had to stop the madness.I knew this couldn’t be the way functionally strong people got strong and fit. I turned to Pavel. I had followed PTP 15 years ago andwent from never having deadlifted you a 405 lb deadlift in 2 months. I switched to another style of program and never fully understood why until I recently heard Pavel quoting a friend of his who said, “It worked so well, I got bored.”
Two days after Christmas in 2019, I started the ETK program, following the slower pace that S&S outlines. I was able to do a full range of motion overhead press! Unfortunately, it still aggravated my shoulder, though to a lesser degree.
Two weeks ago, I began the Relax Into Stretch program. My shoulder pain was gone after THE FIRST SESSION. In the gym, the pressing was fine. Two weeks in and I am still pain free and am pressing a 24kg kettlebell through a full range of motion. I have done lots of yoga over the years. It all made me feel generally good but didn’t help me functionally in any way I could tell
The idea of pressing a 32kg bell was unimaginable a month ago and now I believe I’ll get there before summer.
I was so blown away by the results of these two programs that I bought Super Joints and began the first program laid out in the book. The one the old doctor swore by. My knee pain was gone after THE FIRST SESSION. It’s been one week on the program and my knee and shoulder feel great. I’ll get a tweak here or there in the knee, and I’m sure that there is some deterioration issues there, but ten years of pain are over and apparently all I needed was the full range of motion that toe squats (which I’ve heard personal trainers strongly warn against doing) provided.The program also seems to snap my metal clarity into shape right away in the morning in a way other morning routines never did.
I’m a skeptical guy and will be monitoring and listening to my body closely in the coming months, but the results of strictly following Pavel’s programs are nothing short of miraculous. I’m also not sore as hell every day, so my energy is through the roof. This feels like the fountain of youth.
I just want to thank Pavel and his team for brining sanity to the insane world of fitness and I want to thank this community for providing a great place to continue to learn and grow. I’ll be the new guy that’s digging around and asking lots of questions in the forums. Have a strong day everybody.
For about the past ten years I’ve had pain in my left knee. It would come and go. When it was bad, it was very bad. Early on, during a physical, a doctor told me there was cartilage deterioration and I would eventually need surgery. I was a rough neck on oil rigs during some of this time and that definitely made it worse. But, I’m stubborn, especially when it comes to anything medical, so I started messing around with ways to fix it on my own. Heavy, high rep squats (I ranged from 225-315 for 20 reps) seemed to keep it at bay but it sucked to always have to do these and be so systemically wiped out sometimes for days after.
Switch over to my left shoulder. Weird pain while doing any pressing, all of my adult life. If I did things in a very specific way, I could bench and do push ups, but it still aggravated it and I could never stay with it for long. I have never been able to do full range of motion over head pressing of any kind.
Last year I became rededicated to getting strong and healthy. Changed my diet and started hitting the gym. Dropped 40 lbs and put on some muscle. But, following my old high intensity, full body, 3 day a week bodybuilding routine, I found myself burning out, again and again. I now know I was basically crashing my endocrine system into a wall over and over.My performance in the gym kept going up, but I started having trouble going up stairs, picking up and carrying even fairly light things, no stamina.
Facing to possibility of having to go back to the oil field (at 45 years old) I realized I had to stop the madness.I knew this couldn’t be the way functionally strong people got strong and fit. I turned to Pavel. I had followed PTP 15 years ago andwent from never having deadlifted you a 405 lb deadlift in 2 months. I switched to another style of program and never fully understood why until I recently heard Pavel quoting a friend of his who said, “It worked so well, I got bored.”
Two days after Christmas in 2019, I started the ETK program, following the slower pace that S&S outlines. I was able to do a full range of motion overhead press! Unfortunately, it still aggravated my shoulder, though to a lesser degree.
Two weeks ago, I began the Relax Into Stretch program. My shoulder pain was gone after THE FIRST SESSION. In the gym, the pressing was fine. Two weeks in and I am still pain free and am pressing a 24kg kettlebell through a full range of motion. I have done lots of yoga over the years. It all made me feel generally good but didn’t help me functionally in any way I could tell
The idea of pressing a 32kg bell was unimaginable a month ago and now I believe I’ll get there before summer.
I was so blown away by the results of these two programs that I bought Super Joints and began the first program laid out in the book. The one the old doctor swore by. My knee pain was gone after THE FIRST SESSION. It’s been one week on the program and my knee and shoulder feel great. I’ll get a tweak here or there in the knee, and I’m sure that there is some deterioration issues there, but ten years of pain are over and apparently all I needed was the full range of motion that toe squats (which I’ve heard personal trainers strongly warn against doing) provided.The program also seems to snap my metal clarity into shape right away in the morning in a way other morning routines never did.
I’m a skeptical guy and will be monitoring and listening to my body closely in the coming months, but the results of strictly following Pavel’s programs are nothing short of miraculous. I’m also not sore as hell every day, so my energy is through the roof. This feels like the fountain of youth.
I just want to thank Pavel and his team for brining sanity to the insane world of fitness and I want to thank this community for providing a great place to continue to learn and grow. I’ll be the new guy that’s digging around and asking lots of questions in the forums. Have a strong day everybody.
