Ehlers Danlos Syndrome - Hypermobility Type

[Wayne Beaton]

Hello there, Mark.

I have a colleague who has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome - Hypermobility Type. A very painful and life limiting (spends a lot of spare time in front of TV) illness it would seem. I'd like to suggest 'the barbell prescription' to him.

Is this wise? If so, and I were to try and show him the basics, would there be any specific caveats?

Cheers,
Wayne

[Mark Rippetoe]

Since muscular tension controls all the positions used in barbell training, I see no reason why he can't train -- if he's coached carefully and properly. The question is, can you do it?

[Trewarin]

This disorder is extremely common in world class contortionists.

This profession is distinct from other jobs full of flexible people in that they also need to be strong enough to perform complex one arm handstands to stay employed.

I have seen these people train for strength goals and achieve them.

I can put you in touch with a circus coach in Australia who found out she had this disorder *after* a long career.

[Wayne Beaton]

Mark,

Thanks for the response. I thought that it would be a positive one.

Regarding my coaching capabilities - I spent 4 months refining my technique with SSOC under Nick Delgadillo's careful eye, so, at the very least, I'm confident of my ability to teach him the lifts without hurting himself via poor technique.

Is this enough?...

[Mark Rippetoe]

Should be. We'll see...

[Wayne Beaton]

Now that I have your tacit approval... How do I convince him that it’s worth his while coming out of his comfort zone and investing his time? His fear of trying something new, something much maligned by the medical profession (he was of course not to do any heavy lifting), was palpable when I asked him if he’d like to try.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You can't. We talk about this all the time. His connective tissue deficit will take a back seat to his balls.

[Emily Socolinsky]

I trained a woman in her early 40's for a little bit of time and she certainly saw improvement in her strength and movement in a short period of time. We took things slowly, of course, and I let her tolerance for the work guide our training. She she was able to squat, press, bench and deadlift with no issue. Unfortunately, she did not stay with me long. The weather got warm and the heat became too much for her to handle. While she made great progress with me while she was here, she did suffer with many issues, and trying to train 1-2x week was difficult due to other issues that had nothing to do with lifting. Good luck if you can get him to stick with it. I did do a blog post about her. If you would like to share it with him, please do. It may give him to kick in the pants he needs. Let me find the post and I will send it.
Emily

Here is the blog post about my client. Please share with your friend. Any questions, just let me know. Happy to help. emily@fivex3.com Client Profile of the Month: Meet Kristi | Fivex3 Training - A Starting Strength Gym

[Wayne Beaton]

Mark,

Understood. I know from experience that you can only lead the proverbial horse to the water. There’s no magic wand.

Emily,

If this article doesn’t work I don’t know what will. I’ll share it with him tomorrow.

Many thanks to you both. I’ll keep you posted with (if any) progress.

[Pluripotent]

Now that I have your tacit approval... How do I convince him that it’s worth his while coming out of his comfort zone and investing his time? His fear of trying something new, something much maligned by the medical profession (he was of course not to do any heavy lifting), was palpable when I asked him if he’d like to try.

How do you convince an otherwise healthy person that they should be lifting? It's daunting enough even without the EDS.