I have had lower back pain for 5 years. Just constant aggravation in the lower back. Also have had numbness in my thumb and two forefingers in my left hand. My lower back pain disappeared after just the first two sessions of learning the movements. I bought the disc set and am currently on my 3rd week of practicing the movements. My hand numbness is 60-70% better and expect that it may very well disappear in 2-3 months. I could not be more sold on your exercises and program. By the way the MRIs indicated that I have a bulging disc in my neck and a herniated disc in my lower back.
Foundation Training is absolutely perfect for perfect posture in the golf swing. From set-up to finish, these exercises help with strength and conditioning for the complete game. Even with the bending over for putting. I spend a lot of time on the practice green putting and my back used to ache. But now, my back feels stronger and I have more endurance than before. I feel the positive effects of lengthening my spine which is critical because I have had two herniated disk surgeries and am 66 years old. Thank you guys. This is amazing.
Using the hips to hinge, paying special attention to the head/neck relationship, developing the core strength of the posterior chain vs. limb strength or ab strength I’d heard all this before, thirty years before and have had decades of personal experience with the various systems out there that attempt to focus on these concepts. So I put the book down, ignored the DVD and didn’t try Foundation Training. (Hint, this was a mistake, don’t do this.) Fortunately I was offered a couple of sessions with a Foundation Training expert trained by Dr. Goodman to learn about the work directly and I grudgingly went along with it just to check out what the buzz was around Foundation Training. Literally two minutes into the exercises I realized something special was going on here. Dr. Goodman has taken a very well-worn path and blazed a completely new trail which is impossible to appreciate or understand until you get your first two minutes of Foundation Training and the light bulb goes on. Foundation Training is like powerlifting or Olympic weight training for your deep postural muscles. As we sit a lot, collapsed, and work on computers these deep postural muscles degrade and weaken to the point they can no longer function and hold us up. Even the “fit” among us, professional athletes, tend toward developing poor movement patterns from the years of sitting we all do that then translate into their sport whether it be basketball or cycling. Breaking these postural movement patterns is virtually impossible using most all of the existing systems. Yoga increases flexibility and strength, weight training increases muscle strength, the Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais make us aware of poor movement patterns, but Dr. Goodman has developed the unthinkable – one single set of exercises that quickly, almost miraculously create profound muscle strength and flexibility at the same time in just the areas we are weakest and tightest from our modern lifestyle habits.
I search for the best of the best when it comes to my fitness and conditioning. I have always been in great shape and take pride in maintaining a certain level of fitness, but in the time I have been working with Peter Park and Eric Goodman, I have reached a new level of endurance, stamina, and strength. The program pushes me without exhausting me, conditions me, and has completely changed the way my body moves and feels.
I have suffered from chronic back pain for over 20 years until I discovered Foundation Training.
Coming from a very physically demanding Military unit I returned to civilian life barely being able to put on my shoes in the morning because of the lack of flexibility and pain. I was able to maintain an active lifestyle through stretching and even some "as seen on TV" gimmicks which had some benefits, but seemed to only be temporary relief. I was even desperate enough to buy a $5000 hot tub which is very nice, but is far from the answer to back pain.
I have been determined to continue an active lifestyle and continue my career in Law Enforcement, but I began to lose time at work and about twice a year my back would "go out" and I would be completely immobilized for a week or two. Long hours of sitting in a car with duty gear pushing against my lower back and walking with the off balance heavy gear hanging from my hips had completely taken its toll and I was beginning to wonder if a medical retirement or back surgery was the only option.
I discovered Foundation Training from a fellow student on a work trip several months ago and I have been practicing religiously. It has completely turned things around for me and I expect to continue to improve and live my active lifestyle and enjoy my career indefinitely.
I have had nagging right sided lower back pain for years. My sacroiliac joint was unstable and I’d "throw it out" routinely. Now, if you've ever had back pain, acute or chronic, you know what I mean when I say that when your back hurts, it ruins everything in your life. Being an athlete with medical training, for years I stubbornly pursued many avenues of treatment, holistic and conventional. I read dozens of research articles on the subject, hunted down and visited numerous specialists in several states, and put myself through thousands of dollars of training including dynamic neuromuscular stabilization (DNS), Barefoot Training Certification, Don Tigney’s work, the Egoscue system and even Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) sequences.
In the late summer of 2013, I had an MRI and CT scan performed. My chiro looked at these and thought my spine looked “pretty bad.” My orthopedic surgeon was more admirably direct and matter-of-fact stating “Your spine looks like sh-t.” Here I was, a lifelong athlete dedicated to the pursuit of fitness and health, and I had somehow torn my own back apart in the process. I got pretty depressed.
Sensing an epiphany, I began doing the Foundation Training exercises... I do not exaggerate when I say that within a few days (< 1 week) I noticed that I wasn't throwing my back out. After a few more days, my back felt abnormal...meaning it didn't hurt. It was so strange (and welcome!) NOT to be experiencing nearly constant pain...
Since I began using the techniques in Foundation Training, I have remained free of the back pain and instability that had plagued me for years before. Interestingly, my left knee, quite commonly a source of pain, also stopped hurting. This latter tidbit may seem odd at first, but the knee’s function is strongly influenced by central (core) body control. I incorporate parts of the system regularly in my daily life…sometimes just a couple of movements and sometimes a whole sequence. For people who have back/hip/neck pain, I strongly recommend Foundation Training because it really hits at the essential components of human movement and function. For people who don’t have pain, I recommend the practice because even if you are pain-free now, you are probably well en route to developing it as pain is a pretty late sign of long-term dysfunction. To clarify, think of a car with bad front end alignment and an abnormally worn front tire. As with our bodies, the tire wear didn’t happen suddenly, but was a result of a long-standing alignment problem.
A little about me: I am an active 50 year old male in the final year of the Human Movement Master's Program at (ATSU), former Marine, currently Firefighter/Paramedic, Tae Kwon Do Black Belt, current Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner, Hardstyle Kettlebell Instructor, NASM Personal Trainer with specialization in Performance Enhancement and Corrective Exercise, DNS Sport Levels I & II, FMS I & II, Barefoot Mechanics, and just a nerd in general 🙂
I had been planning a cycling trip down the GDMBT for a couple of years. I am happy to say that my dedication to performing a Founder based routine daily for the year leading up to the trip and then Founders anytime I was off the bike – in the rain, on mountain passes, NM deserts put me in a position where I had literally no spinal/back discomfort at anytime over the 50 days and 4500km of off-road cycling in very remote places. A strong statement coming from a 54 yr old well worn body. I even had a couple of kids imitating me while I was taking a break going thru a reserve in NM. AWESOME BODY OF WORK. It is my go to program for my patients seen daily in my Chiropractic Practice.
Long time surfer / kitesurfer / stand up boarder, work out every day, well in my 40s. August 2015, my back went out on me for the first time in my life. Stuck on a sofa for several months, couldn't stand, sit, or even lay down on my back, got drugged up pretty bad by doctors without a clue on how to treat a herniated disc (S1 L5). Worst experience in my life, thought my ocean days were over. Deep inside I knew the solution was in moving the right way, but where I live no-one really knows how. So I kept searching the web until I stumbled upon a surfer's website. His workout were too rough for me - I was still hardly able to walk - but he mentioned Foundation Training on his blog, so I checked it out. Seemed soft enough for me to try, so I did, through the short videos. Initially I was hurting when doing the founder, but my gut feeling was to keep trying. Went on to purchase the videos, did the fundamentals day in day out for a full month. It was like a miracle for me. Slowly but surely, the unbearable hip pain that radiated all the way down to my toes began receding. Couldn't believe it. After a month or so, moved on to Daily Workouts. I found them hard, especially the forward fold, I would have never have dared do something like that just 2 weeks earlier. Kept on going. 6 monts after my back went out, and about 2 months after starting the FT program, I was back in the water. Life saver. Now I know back pain is all about posture. Learn the right postures, stretch and strengthen the posterior chain, and keep doing so forever. And you'll be fine again.
~Surfer from Morocco
[Foundation Training] was the keystone to my recovery… it gave me my career back. The Foundation exercises rapidly increased my strength, flexibility, coordination, and balance quicker than I ever could have imagined… I went from having a hard time walking up and down stairs to competing in the Amgen Tour of California in May of 2010... I was not only able to meet my goal of finishing the 7 day, 812 mile race but I was also able to finish inside the top 20 and be highly competitive day in and day out. Since, I have taken these exercises to heart and put them into my training regime year round. They helped get me back to racing competitively as well as cured other imbalances I had developed after years of racing my bike and neglecting my core strength. I encourage everyone to have the open mind I did when seeking help for my injury. Follow that path and a better, healthier lifestyle is right around the corner.
Twenty-four years old and enjoying an active lifestyle with my new husband. A few months later came severe knee pain. Two different orthopedists and a year seeing a physical therapist and still no improvement or answer. X-rays and MRI's were negative. Knee pain turned into hip pain, which led to severe low back pain. The effects of over-compensation and poor bio mechanics had certainly taken effect and I was confused and discouraged, to say the least. Finally, at the age of 29, my chiropractor mentioned Foundation Training. On Christmas Day of 2013 I performed my first Founder and things have only been improving since. I was blessed to be able to incorporate Foundation Training exercises alongside the care of a great physical therapist who had the same understanding of the body. I am about to celebrate my 1 year "Foundation Training Anniversary" and feel stronger than ever before!! Pain is significantly decreased/eliminated, I move with confidence, and am beginning to engage in the activities of life that I have missed for so long.
I am most thankful that Foundation Training has not only allowed for me to get out of pain by strengthening my "true core" and learning proper movement patterns, but has been a source of educating me about the human body. I no longer panic when I feel pain, but am able to more clearly identify the issue and know what exercises will help me to eliminate the pain. This is type of training and knowledge is truly invaluable!! Thank you SO MUCH!!!