Strength Training for the Bendy

March 8, 2015 12:47 PM

Are you aware of any strength-training resources geared towards people with hypermobility syndromes? If you are yourself a hypermobile person who lifts weights or does any other type of strength training, do you have insights to share? I have joint hypermobility issues throughout my body which make me very prone to tendinitis, sprains, tenosynovitis and other injuries. In the past, when I have undertaken fairly conservative strength training programs under the supervision of experienced, qualified personal trainers, I have always injured myself.

I have successfully done Pilates for years, and it has been very useful in preventing injuries, improving motor skills and building some strength. If I'm very assertive in class and avoid certain poses, I can even benefit from some styles of yoga, but neither of them can provide me with the level of muscle strength I would like to have.

posted by sleepy psychonaut to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (5 answers total)

I'm hypermobile, and doing heavy lifts have helped me stabilize everything. For me, I mostly had trouble with hip and ankle stability. My amazing physical therapist was the one who finally figured out that I was hypermobile and started me on simple non weightlifting exercises, but even with those I kept hurting myself.

Then I started lifting. Working with a couple really knowledgeable coaches helped me learn how to squat and deadlift heavy at first. Luckily for me, these movements felt pretty natural to me so I didn't have too much trouble with form, but having great coaches helped me put weight on the bar really quickly. Then I learned how to clean and snatch. Since I started lifting I haven't sprained any ankles anymore, and the tendon that I nearly ruptured in my foot has been happy and stayed healed.
posted by astapasta24 at 1:31 PM on March 8, 2015

IANAYD, but I have had trouble in the past with injury-prone joints in the past, and had pretty good results with resistance bands and ankle weights. If Pilates is working for you, maybe you could try adding small amounts of weight into your routines?

Either way, this sounds more like a question for a physical therapist than for a personal trainer.
posted by fifthrider at 1:32 PM on March 8, 2015

I'm also hypermobile, with a similar history to yours; am nursing a few chronic things and now dealing with mild osteoarthritis. Advice from my physiotherapist was to keep weights under 20 lbs, and to try to get what I could out of 20-30 reps, max. You can get a bit more challenge out of that sort of thing by playing with time under tension and tempo, but in general, as you know, slower is better, and form has to be foremost in mind. My physio also advised favouring varied, non-repetitive activities, so having a good bank of exercises to work with is useful (vs. doing the same 5 lifts every time).

In the past, when I have undertaken fairly conservative strength training programs under the supervision of experienced, qualified personal trainers, I have always injured myself.

I think this is your body telling you what your limits are, unfortunately. Maybe excellent coaches will help, but I think, even so, it's very hard to tell exactly what's going on inside a knee or foot by visual observation. There's variation in hypermobility and proneness to injury, as well.

I think that if your goals are aesthetic, you could get a lean look without worrying too much about building mass by following a lower carb diet.
posted by cotton dress sock at 7:07 PM on March 8, 2015

I would skip personal trainers for now and go directly to a physical therapist.

The following is from some notes I took while looking into hypermobility on the web not too long ago, so please take this with a HUGE grain of salt:

• Your first focus should be on learning motor control and proprioception. The key is to learn perfect form slowly and carefully, and build up to faster movements as you get better at motor control. Because you are hyper-mobile, you're most likely using your body in some pretty wonky ways to create stabilization you don't get from your tendons, so you need to relearn how to move.
• Avoid your end of range. Especially avoid just hanging out at your end of range, e.g. stretching, many yoga poses, etc. Your muscles need to provide the stability for your body, so they need to be engaged. Related, avoid joint capsule mobilizations, traction bands, etc. You really, really don't need this kind of mobilization.
• I've seen some people recommending "smashing" and other tissue "release" for any needed soft tissue work, and you could look into that if you're having issues with muscle tightness.

Personally, I have done a lot better with very gradual progress emphasizing building muscle endurance before muscle strength. This has the additional benefit of giving your tendons time to catch up, if that's an issue (I understand they build strength much more slowly than muscles). Building in recovery days has also been crucial. Of course my tendon issues aren't your tendon issues, but maybe what I've been learning from babying mine might help you, particularly if even careful strength training is causing your trouble.

But seriously, get to a good physical therapist.
posted by moira at 9:09 PM on March 8, 2015

Seconding a good physical therapist.

My nine year old son is hypermobile. The first physical therapist we went to was a disaster. This person might have been perfectly competent at helping a normal person recover from a sports injury, but she didn't have a clue about how to help someone who is hypermobile. After that experience we went to a physical therapist at the local children's hospital and she has been wonderful. She understands what is going on in his body, what she needs to strengthen, and how to strengthen without injuring.

I won't tell you what specific exercises she's having him do, because frankly they might not be right for you. But a good physical therapist will be able to tell you.
posted by alms at 9:19 AM on March 9, 2015