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Other/Mixed Original Strength - Where to start?

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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TedM

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There are persistent references to Original Strength (OS) throughout the forum. @blad51 was kind enough to point me to the "original" OS book - but when I go to Amazon to check - there are a bunch of OS books (see attached).

So - here are my 2 questions:

- Which book should I start with (looking to be efficient w/time, and don't care much about the theory - just point me to the practice)?
- What has been the "added value" of practicing the "resets" - to your daily health/overall performance?
 

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Pressing Reset: reloaded is still where I’d start. While it does go into the theory, it’s an easy read, and understanding why certain moves are resets will help you to choose movements for each day. Additionally, a lot of the other books build on the basic stuff, so you’d be spending a lot less time trying to understand what or why you’re doing something.

I’ve seen improvements in shoulder and neck health, mainly. I’ve carried a lot tension in my neck, and while OS hasn’t been the only thing I’ve used, it’s helped a lot.
 
What has been the "added value" of practicing the "resets" - to your daily health/overall performance?
OS changes and corrects your movement in a subtle and profound way. I was introduced to OS in 2014. Then I had a break from KBs and OS for five years. I have a desk job (for the most part). I regressed over the 5 years away. My posture was becoming bad. My hip flexors were tight. I was rapidly evolving into a feeble old man. When I got back to OS I gradually started feeling better. I was so happy when I was able to touch my elbow to my knees during all of the reps of the standing cross-crawl.

I feel like I move better than I did in my 30s and 40s. I watch people my age hobble and shuffle as they move and it makes me grateful for my mobility. I am so glad I discovered OS.

I have already weighed on the book choice. But I'll post it here too. I only have experience with, as you said, the "original" OS book. I love it.
 
Get the book for the basics and then spend a lot of time original strength website and youtube channel because Tim has tons of videos where he shows you tweaks to the basic resets to directly address hundreds of problem areas. What made a huge difference for me was daily use of the resets + some movements for my weak areas.

OS cleared up a scapular problem that plagued me for most of my life, one that physiotherapists couldn't do anything with.

And lately my grappling conditioning is off the charts and the only thing I can attribute it to is daily hanging and leopard crawls.
 
I agree with Pressing Reset reloaded. In this book you get a good instruction into all the basics and some nice workout ideas. My personal favorites after this are „The Becoming Bulletproof Project“ which is about strength, conditioning, willpower and workload using OS and John Brookfield exercises. And „Original Strength Performance“ which is primarily about prone crawling variations and their progressions with pulling weights or load them for longer times.
 
There are persistent references to Original Strength (OS) throughout the forum. @blad51 was kind enough to point me to the "original" OS book - but when I go to Amazon to check - there are a bunch of OS books (see attached).

So - here are my 2 questions:

- Which book should I start with (looking to be efficient w/time, and don't care much about the theory - just point me to the practice)?
- What has been the "added value" of practicing the "resets" - to your daily health/overall performance?
Get the pressing reset..

Another option is attend a press reset for everyday workshop.
 
There are persistent references to Original Strength (OS) throughout the forum. @blad51 was kind enough to point me to the "original" OS book - but when I go to Amazon to check - there are a bunch of OS books (see attached).

So - here are my 2 questions:

- Which book should I start with (looking to be efficient w/time, and don't care much about the theory - just point me to the practice)?
- What has been the "added value" of practicing the "resets" - to your daily health/overall performance?
After reading your questions about OS in another thread, I was just thinking we needed a thread like this to explain it to those who are unfamiliar with it.

It made me stop and think about how we sort of view it as ‘assumed knowledge’ when actually there will be plenty of people with no idea what we are talking about.

OS seems to help just about everyone, but the amount of improvement seems to vary greatly from person to person (nearly everyone gets worthwhile results, some get results that appear almost miraculous)

I actually experienced both sides of this. Some issues had remarkable improvement (as in complete resolution), others had far less spectacular results.

My shoulder issues simply vanished in a matter of weeks.

My knees had troubled me since about age 20. I managed them well enough that they rarely troubled me, but running on a regular basis was totally out of the question (I used to check every couple of years with the same disappointing results each time). After OS I was happily enjoying 10 k trail runs in my late 40s.

My neck issues have improved in a far less spectacular way. After more than five years they are still not fixed. However this issue is now getting just a little bit better every year instead of just a little bit worse.
 
After reading your questions about OS in another thread, I was just thinking we needed a thread like this to explain it to those who are unfamiliar with it.

It made me stop and think about how we sort of view it as ‘assumed knowledge’ when actually there will be plenty of people with no idea what we are talking about.

OS seems to help just about everyone, but the amount of improvement seems to vary greatly from person to person (nearly everyone gets worthwhile results, some get results that appear almost miraculous)

I actually experienced both sides of this. Some issues had remarkable improvement (as in complete resolution), others had far less spectacular results.

My shoulder issues simply vanished in a matter of weeks.

My knees had troubled me since about age 20. I managed them well enough that they rarely troubled me, but running on a regular basis was totally out of the question (I used to check every couple of years with the same disappointing results each time). After OS I was happily enjoying 10 k trail runs in my late 40s.

My neck issues have improved in a far less spectacular way. After more than five years they are still not fixed. However this issue is now getting just a little bit better every year instead of just a little bit worse.
Hi Chris, I’m just wondering what your persistent neck issues are? I’m just now getting into OS, but I’m an orthopedic PT and thought I may provide some pointers… if you’d like.

Best,
Aaron
 
Something I will toss in here, not OS, but similar.
Human Garage, the 10 movements, which I will link. I also do a few of the others which you can find on the maneuvers page.
Takes me around 20 minutes to run the 10.
Try it for 3-4 days straight before you recommend I get on some meds and set down my tinfoil hat.
Heard about it on Mark Bells's Power Project #739

 
+1 here.
Those drills are awesome
Totally agree. Today, during prolonged OS resetsI did regular head nods for five minutes and another five minutes some kind of: look over your shoulder slowly and try to have a look at your extended lower back. This felt good. I recognised my spine extensors from top to buttocks, medial and lateral. I felt it also in my scapular stabilizers and even in my lats. I do them irregulary but consistencly. Feels good.
 
Hi Chris, I’m just wondering what your persistent neck issues are? I’m just now getting into OS, but I’m an orthopedic PT and thought I may provide some pointers… if you’d like.

Best,
Aaron
Thanks for the offer.


‘neck issues‘ was a bit of a shorthand for the sake of the post. Really more of a cluster of problems through my jaw, neck and upper back. I can’t remember ever having the ability to open my jaw fully without it moving it clunking, and/ or moving to one side to get around some resistance. Similar situation around the base of my neck - just does not move freely the way it should. The upper back tightness that went with it is pretty much resolved. The fact that I have been able to fix similar mobility issues right through my thoracic spine gives me hope of eventually fixing my jaw and neck. Just about everything in my upper back was ’locked’ vertebrae, joints between vertebrae and ribs, scapula….



Writing about the issue and Remembering what it used to be like has made me realise OS has actually helped it enormously. It just seemed unspectacular because the fix was not total (yet!) and it has taken a long time. I used to get full blown torticollis which was seriously debilitating, and I have gone from that to symptoms that cause no pain and only mild discomfort.

I have noticed in the past year that I have a tight psoas and QL on one side and a postural tendency to lean in that direction.(hard to say which is the cause and which is the effect) I think this a has been the case all my life so I just didn’t notice, the way a fish doesn’t notice it is wet. When I look back at old photos I can see myself consistently leaning to the same side, even as a child. I am pretty sure this is linked to the neck issues, as stretching those muscles has given significant relief.

That is my Gordian knot. Any attempts to untie (or slice through) will be greatly appreciated
 
Thanks for the offer.


‘neck issues‘ was a bit of a shorthand for the sake of the post. Really more of a cluster of problems through my jaw, neck and upper back. I can’t remember ever having the ability to open my jaw fully without it moving it clunking, and/ or moving to one side to get around some resistance. Similar situation around the base of my neck - just does not move freely the way it should. The upper back tightness that went with it is pretty much resolved. The fact that I have been able to fix similar mobility issues right through my thoracic spine gives me hope of eventually fixing my jaw and neck. Just about everything in my upper back was ’locked’ vertebrae, joints between vertebrae and ribs, scapula….



Writing about the issue and Remembering what it used to be like has made me realise OS has actually helped it enormously. It just seemed unspectacular because the fix was not total (yet!) and it has taken a long time. I used to get full blown torticollis which was seriously debilitating, and I have gone from that to symptoms that cause no pain and only mild discomfort.

I have noticed in the past year that I have a tight psoas and QL on one side and a postural tendency to lean in that direction.(hard to say which is the cause and which is the effect) I think this a has been the case all my life so I just didn’t notice, the way a fish doesn’t notice it is wet. When I look back at old photos I can see myself consistently leaning to the same side, even as a child. I am pretty sure this is linked to the neck issues, as stretching those muscles has given significant relief.

That is my Gordian knot. Any attempts to untie (or slice through) will be greatly appreciated
Okay, forgive me if some of this is redundant with some of the stuff you’ve already been doing or tried. Also, don’t hurt yourself. None of this should be painful and if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. Here goes:

TMJ function is very closely linked to cervical function. Notice, when you open your mouth wide, the opening is ( or should be) created as much or more by the cranium tipping back/as it is the TMJ hinging down. So if your Atlantic-occipital joint (where your noggin sits atop your neck) is stiff, TMJ stiffness/dysfunction will follow. There are a number of manual joint and soft tissue techniques that may be helpful, but as far as self-treatment goes, there are a few things to try.
1. Work on Atlantic-occipital nodding mobility: place a hand on the back of your head and the web space between thumb and index of the other hand on your chin. Gently push back on your chin as you lift the back of your head with the other hand, and perform a slight nod. Do this several times and try switching hands. From the downward nodded position, you can also then push back against your back hand for a gentle suboccipital isometric/stretch.
You can then do the inverse by placing the front hand under the chin instead of across the front of the chin. Now pull down on the back of the head as you gently push up on the chin to create an upward nod. Repeat several times and play with subtle angle changes to find little restrictions.
After doing these, see if your nodding mobility seems any better.
2. Upper cervical rotation. I like the Mulligan SNAG for rotation shown here:
3. Self-release for the sternocleidomastoid. This muscle can be a culprit in both neck stiffness/pain and TMJ dysfunction. A couple good moves shown in the linked video. Note that for her “move #2”, I like to flip my hand over so that my thumb is on the front of the muscle rather than the back.


Hope there’s something helpful somewhere in all this. Let me know if you have any questions about all this.

Best of luck,
Aaron
 
Okay, forgive me if some of this is redundant with some of the stuff you’ve already been doing or tried. Also, don’t hurt yourself. None of this should be painful and if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. Here goes:

TMJ function is very closely linked to cervical function. Notice, when you open your mouth wide, the opening is ( or should be) created as much or more by the cranium tipping back/as it is the TMJ hinging down. So if your Atlantic-occipital joint (where your noggin sits atop your neck) is stiff, TMJ stiffness/dysfunction will follow. There are a number of manual joint and soft tissue techniques that may be helpful, but as far as self-treatment goes, there are a few things to try.
1. Work on Atlantic-occipital nodding mobility: place a hand on the back of your head and the web space between thumb and index of the other hand on your chin. Gently push back on your chin as you lift the back of your head with the other hand, and perform a slight nod. Do this several times and try switching hands. From the downward nodded position, you can also then push back against your back hand for a gentle suboccipital isometric/stretch.
You can then do the inverse by placing the front hand under the chin instead of across the front of the chin. Now pull down on the back of the head as you gently push up on the chin to create an upward nod. Repeat several times and play with subtle angle changes to find little restrictions.
After doing these, see if your nodding mobility seems any better.
2. Upper cervical rotation. I like the Mulligan SNAG for rotation shown here:
3. Self-release for the sternocleidomastoid. This muscle can be a culprit in both neck stiffness/pain and TMJ dysfunction. A couple good moves shown in the linked video. Note that for her “move #2”, I like to flip my hand over so that my thumb is on the front of the muscle rather than the back.


Hope there’s something helpful somewhere in all this. Let me know if you have any questions about all this.

Best of luck,
Aaron

One more thing on that last video: when doing that pinching technique, if I find a tender point, I like to hold on and glide my fingers up/down the muscle. You may feel some little twitches or flutters. That usually comes with some relief and improved ROM.
 
Thank you for all the tips.

Notice, when you open your mouth wide, the opening is ( or should be) created as much or more by the cranium tipping back/as it is the TMJ hinging down
I had no idea of this. Simply opening my jaw in this way made a noticeable difference.


So if your Atlantic-occipital joint (where your noggin sits atop your neck) is stiff, TMJ stiffness/dysfunction will follow.
When I did the snags something in that area moved with a big click in a place where I can’t remember ever feeling movement before. Hard to be sure that it was Atlantic-occipital joint, but my jaw was immediately looser. Trickle down effect is that for the last couple of hours other things in the area have been releasing a I move. I will do some more research on getting movement into that particular joint.
 
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