Viktor Kamenov: His Injury, Advice & Insights for Progress | Calisthenics Insider Podcast #72

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welcome everyone to a new chapter of the CalisthenicsInsider podcast more guests more topics  more value for your workout and we're starting off with a really good interview with Viktor Kamenov  who is sharing his story about his recent injury that nearly ruined his whole career how it's  possible this thing to happen because I was doing it so many times and I felt like in my best shape  he's sharing about how it happens and how you can avoid it in your workout let's start into the  interview I've been talking with so many athletes even gymnasts because this is a injury that is so  common to Jameson they were telling me all man be careful because you know this is an injury that  comes when you least expect yeah like you can feel like you're in your best shape you go down and uh  suddenly it comes and it comes in a you know from a skill that I've done so many times and not from  a progression that I haven't done before so I went for Zanetti you know which is the Maltese  to back liver position and so over there suddenly one of my shoulders just dropped you know I felt  like something you know it's is Breaking Inside Me yeah um but I started after that looking at what  are the causes of that thing you know because uh it's really important to really look at the  causes of some problems that happened in order not to have them again yeah and so in fact there it's  a mixture of a lot of things you know so we need to start from let's say the bigger picture which  is more about the overall program that I used to have and unfortunately because of all my travels  I used to have around the world uh my training program was not really consistent I remember I  was keeping even like five trainings on the Rings because I couldn't have a ring stories  with me uh so I had not so consistent training program then after that if we need to go deeper  and deeper and go to actually the execution of the move I remember that I did it a little bit  faster so it's not even about the progression that you're getting but it's about how you're  executing it so you can get even a progression uh that's uh it's pretty easy for you so in my case  it was a resistance band that with which I could do two three repetitions without  a problem yeah but I went too far too fast too aggressive into that move with a straight arm and  course that led to that injury because it's about also the velocity how we're actually going to that  um to that um move yeah and it's really important for all those uh strength Dynamic skills to also  think about the velocity color doing that thing because that can make a big problem after so  that's why it's really important um not only you know uh it's not only about one thing it's  a mixture of a lot of things so first you need to start from the general program if it's structured  well good if you're consistent to that thing because I had a really well structured program  that I unfortunately couldn't do a hundred percent yeah and that's one of the reasons yeah then after  that if you need to go deeper you need to go day by day you need to go for the exercise specific  exercises that you're doing how many sets how many reps what are the progressions and then  after that once you have that progression which in my case it was pretty good you're looking  about the execution how you're executing that thing yeah and also there are some additional  things to that ink which is the nutrition which of course I can say that again theit was not the best possible and also something else is the heat rotation in summer I remember  that I was not drinking water at all and usually when you're not hydrated good you're way more open  to this type of injuries yeah the tendons are way more open to um to have damage like this yeah and  you see in the end it's a mixture of a lot of things yeah but it's important to really analyze  what's happening whatever the injuries because this is my biggest injury I used to look at those  things before I remember having inflammations but it was not such a big deal I was thinking  that it's a big deal but after having this one information it's already nothing yeah yeah  um but basically this happened then after that I hardly found the surgery surgeon to make the  operation because it's a vacation just like we we talked before the the call and I had  some struggles like finding a surgeon like it's I needed two weeks to find a surgeon because uh you  know if I delay it even more was going to be late so I had to really make it as fast as possible and  after that uh you know they made a surgery I was not moving my hands to like a few days ago and  currently I started moving it like doing some you know basic basic work and probably around  two to three months I'll be able to be back in the battlefield and you know start with uh with easy  stuff with uh with the resistance band with just the dips with digital push-ups and it's important  over here to really look at it more professional and not uh Rush the process I mean if somebody is  telling me even the professionals are telling me that I needed two months I'll probably take  four I think that's the smartest way yeah and will you be back at your old strength yeah definitely  definitely look there are two ways in which you can look at the injury like the the way which  is the negative one like the injury that ruined my career you know you can look at it that way  or you could look at it at the post positive way which is the injury that gave me the experience  to really not face these type of problems in the future you know to face the problem in the when  I'm still young and when I can still recap fast or to face the program problem that will make me  a better Coach like to be the only coach that is with the torn biceps let's say that way so  there are two ways to look at the situation or you can even look at it like the injury that gave me  the time to deal with so many other things that I couldn't find time to do to improve and so on yeah  whatever happened it already happened you know it's a destiny you should accept it but also you  should take it as a lesson to know how to continue further yeah that's that's true just how you deal  with it and I I know that I and I I just have to remember how we met in Madrid uh one year ago and  you you were also like really already traveling a lot you uh one weekend in Italy one weekend in  uh wherever like you're like traveling around every week I'm giving workshops giving um yeah  giving coaching so um it's a lot of stress for the body as well um and I was always impressed  on how you still managed to get your workouts in and keep your level and even even progress  um so yeah but in the end as you said multiple things add up um dehydration air traveling stress  um maybe not concentrated being concentrated being too fast whatever and then yeah this happens yes  absolutely absolutely you said it you said it good so yeah uh you said it's now it's about taking the  right lesson from it I think your students will profit from it the more you analyze the situation  the more you learn from us the the more you have it habilitate as well but um yeah what  are what are the next steps now uh what what is your plan well a lot of plans but since it's a  sport interview let's focus on that and my major plan right now is a good Rehabilitation that's  one of my major goals which is in terms of um you know in terms of my sport career let's say that  way and so I'm mainly focusing right now on uh you know getting better uh better Coach uh experience  getting way more in-depth all those topics you know not just practical but more like Terry and  uh you know basically that thing is in terms of uh the coaching part yeah in terms of of course  um competing we'll see after that how it will be it's just uh you know really really fast forward  in the future I don't want to think about it right now it's not even a goal so much right  now yeah I'm thinking of it realistically and it's about small steps that uh I need to take  you know it I know there is a Direction but I don't want to be really specific for the goal  I know the direction that's important yeah that's nice so um I saw under your post about the injury  you also explained to the people um yeah how how it gets fixed and with this animation uh  how it gets reattached to the to the Bone I think the tendon right yes and you also talk that um  the you have gymnast friends and um gymnasts who have the same injury question is it in avoidable  um is it something that everybody is in danger uh who's doing calisthenics on a really high level to  have this kind of injury or other ways to to get rid of it fully well first everybody's in danger  that's for sure but definitely it's avoidable definitely it's affordable yeah that's the  thing and you know it's uh some of the things that sometimes I'm getting to the back and I'm  thinking uh to the BET and I'm thinking okay what could be different you know it could be  way different yeah I'm accepting the fact that it could be way different if I did for example  this and this and this if I was let's say I'm more focused into my trainings instead of other things  and so on uh yeah because as you said like uh you know the more things you handle the harder it is  to actually manage them and if you're aiming to be a professional athlete you need to be professional  editing full folks to be over there like if you want to compete and you want to be the first guy  over there or top three you definitely your full folks should be over there not on let's say so  much on business stuff so much on uh coaching stuff so much on uh traveling because in the  end you find way less time and your focus outside uh the support Zone yeah uh or the com you know  the the uh outside your competing career let's say that way yeah but definitely to the affordable and  as I said you need to look at first the bigger picture how you're playing your your training  program then you need to go deeper and deeper and be sure that everything is fixed because  you can have the bigger picture really good fixed let's say that way you have a really good training  program I know guys that were following a really good training program but the small things that  they were doing inside the training for example sometimes uh you know going for progressions that  they're not ready and so on can lead to injury and problem or also the opposite thinking it's  possible you know uh your going pretty reasonable into your tracks like each of the attempts are  well smart chosen but your overall structure of the program is missing like you're missing  the direction and that's also a problem like it's in general like all the things in general in life  for example you can have a good direction but if every day you're doing uh bad choices then  you're not gonna go through that direction or the opposite thing like every day you can try to be  really strict into some things but if you don't have a good direction then it's not going to work  how do I find the right direction how to find the right direction that's a that's a hard hard I mean  for the majority of the people I see even uh to 25 even 30 years old people I see how they're without  any direction some people are without direction for all their life yeah I think I I already found  my direction away uh way long ago yeah but uh you know it's something that is really subjective  depending on a person and a person it's really philosophical and it's maybe a little bit away  from the topic of this uh interview yeah yeah it's true but it's still like because we both  know that the sports is a big part of our personal development and it's like part of our personality  and our of our of our life these days and um I feel that um yeah a lot of some athletes out there  are running around without a direction in their life so this is why I was I was thinking like um  how did you find your your way uh how when did you know hey this is my my road my road to go my plan  um to to follow yeah get it uh well in fact majority even of the calisthenics athletes  you see that they're doing the sport just like a side side work you know it's not something like  um a really really important part of their uh path I see even on the playgrounds a lot of kids  who are just going through calisthenics just like they're going for football or for something else  you know that's part of the of the uh you know of the pet because you need to try a lot of things  before choosing one yeah and to see in which one you're having a privilege compared to the others  because you can have a privileged um you know according to many things for example physical uh  qualities you can be let's say a light and you can be not so tall you know this is still privilege  so it shows that okay you know this is something that you can choose you can go for uh mentality  not everybody has a mentality to continue long term I see guys who are really motivated  for a year and then after that that motivation drops like they don't have any discipline to  continue and so on so that's also really important part like uh having the discipline and to have the  character to you know to strive for that long time you know and to pick it as a goal or to pick it as  something that is uh having a really big um uh influence on your life yeah uh but that's one  of the problems and uh you know it's uh also in other areas in life you see a lot of guys  you know still not sure whether it's this is the direction or otherwise the direction you just need  to try and see what are your best qualities and if you feel that this thing is not for you just  don't go for it I mean uh there are a lot of guys who are let's say trying different sports in which  they they don't feel themselves this is the part but they're over there just because of the social  group or some other uh factors that's really big factor many athletes are doing many guys are  doing certain things because of the social partner because of the think itself it's important to go  for things itself just like me I mean the recent years I've been training mainly along because I I  enjoyed the sport you know I want to be over there fully devoted to the sport it's not so much about  you know talking with yours it's Auto this yeah let's say that way it's also this but it's not the  main focus I'm not over there for the community that's let's say the community is important for  part for improving the sport in general but if we're talking about uh individual goals we  need to be definitely specific in our Tronics and we need to be individual into our Tronics  that's important part and that's why our sport is individual just like the gymnastics just like some  other let's say fighting Sports is individual individual it's you versus you now that's  maybe also the difference between motivation and discipline um that um yeah if your disciplined and  if you're like really focused on the sport itself uh you train also alone and I see a lot of people  um let's say let's call them the average gym guys and they go train when they are having  have an appointment when they uh want to go with their friends but they don't go alone  they don't go when it rains they don't go when it's um holidays and uh you know like  um and then there is the difference this is the the difference between the the professional  athletes and the the ones who take it serious and the ones who just do it for fun absolutely I can  say that this is a really a huge sign of that shows if this thing is for you or it's not for  you if you do it for the thing specifically for a thing then that's your part if but if you do it  for some uh outside factors that are not so much connected with a sport like the as we commented  the social group it means that you're not doing it for that you're doing it for a social group and  you know if uh something happens with the social group or the other Factor whatever it is you just  change the sport or you just change the uh the direction which is definitely not a good thing  especially if you're already 30 35 I mean there is no time to do such a thing you definitely need to  find your stuff yeah yeah and also in this type of situation just as I told you there is no time  for depression there is no time to be negative and to say oh how that thing is possible you need to  accept it there is no time you need to acceptance just from tomorrow to start looking positive of  the world and to see what advantages you can get from the situation that you're right now that's  it and that's what I always tell everyone like for example your car breaks down and you can't  go to an appointment but you don't know you never know what would have happened if your  car wouldn't have breakdown maybe you would have had a worse accident and stuff yeah you never know  what what this is for maybe this is like the the Breakthrough for your coaching career because you  um your you have so much time with yourself um that you have like an idea that you didn't  think about before so you never know what what the good thing is and maybe the whole biceps  could have ruptured and like the whole like you never know it could be way worse there's always  a reason of the things you know there is always a reason something happened for a reason yeah we  should think it that way that's true but uh yeah how do you handle the the upcoming trips um I see  that you're like really um let's see yeah like canceled I canceled a few trips also you remember  I canceled the trip that I had with uh donation uh because of the situation yeah but uh it is how it  is I mean for one month I'll be in Bulgaria just to you know stabilize the situation and then after  that I continue by the usual way it's good that when I'm having my trips I'm mainly judging core  I mainly uh doing seminars which are not so much involving me to be in my best shape or to perform  whatever it is yeah so I can be just over there physical and do the mental part not so much the  physical part yeah like the sport part so yeah I'm thinking it that way and around December and  January over there this time probably I'll start my first steps into the into the skills slowly uh  I also talked with uh a few guys from our sport that had similar injuries for example like Joseph  morrow or Vitality that had similar injuries so just to gain a little bit more experience of how  um uh you know how the process is going how fast get killed and so on because it's always good to  ask somebody who could cook us already went to that path that's a big big learning that's the  reason one of the reasons of this podcast um but it's also something I would definitely recommend  to everyone is exchanging more with people who are um yeah who already did the thing you want  to do same with your coaching if you really have the goal to do to go all in with your calisthenics  career and become a really athlete with a good structure and working with your advantages but  also with your disadvantages it makes so much sense to look out for a coach and who already went  through and the things that you that you're aiming for so yeah it's just good for me to see that even  the big door coming off you know like the the the The Legend uh the Statics Legend is also like  seeking for help and for for other opinions and experiences because it's just a shortcut it's just  a shortcut on and you know more specifically what you do what what things help in this situation  yeah since you said shortcut uh you know uh you always need to bring your ego down because if  you feel that you know everything you're the god that's actually the biggest shortcuts to injury  since you know uh big problems so you need to boost your injury you need to bring your  ego down and to be open-minded to be accepting a lot of opinions uh a lot of experience from  the other people because you always can gain more experience yeah there is doesn't matter if you're  a world champion doesn't matter if you're one of the strongest allies you can always get uh uh good  lessons from other people and also from your own path that's true and that's uh what you rarely  see and from or like yeah it's just important I think it's let's let's keep it like this yeah you  talked about um perhap that the injury happens during ring training um you I know you're you're  a fan still of training rings I hope I hope this relation between Rings like this injury didn't  change the relation between you and Rings uh yeah I'm still in love with them even though  uh we already have a small conflict but yeah yeah yeah so maybe you can tell us about the benefits  or like what do you like about Ring training why is it so beneficial for you you know uh one of  the thing is that ring training or the Rings in general if you're of course at home you can  always get them with you you can count them on a tree you can hand them on different places I mean  it's really it has a good utility let's say that way yeah something else is that they're suspended  freely which means that you need to activate your body in a little bit different way like you need  to activate all your body for example the glues the chest it's way more unstable which makes it  also harder as an execution and so just because of this I'm always recommending people first to  go through other groups before going for Rings yeah and so yeah basically that's one of the  reasons that I'm going over there just I I found over there a way to lift my study game over yeah  but of course over here it's important to say that uh performing skills on the Rings doesn't  always means that those skills are cutter because it depends on how it's performed on rings because  on the Rings you can see a lot of gymnastics uh gymnasts who are let's say looking over there in  a lot of skills yeah uh which compared to let's say ground or P bars where the static exercises  executed properly uh can be definitely way way easier compared to to the ground and the P bars  yeah so it's important also how it's executed but let's say if you have the same execution on P bars  and Rings definitely Rings will uh you know give a little bit more points above also as a judging if  I need to judge both of the elements NFC really similar execution then definitely with rings go  in front but still you say rings are yeah they are harder um so you would recommend to someone  yeah unlocking and improving his throttle page to First Master it on perilous and then go to ring  yeah yeah definitely definitely that's a that's a better case that's a let's say safer way that's a  safer way yeah the same thing also for dips I mean if you're not able to make two dips on a regular  you know parallel parallets then it will be way way harder and risky to go directly on the on  the Rings yeah I remember my first training clone rings I was so strong without the Rings but when I  went just on a regular support nothing else but just support I started like shaking yeah so you  definitely see me yeah you see the difference the difference so big yeah true I always think  it's it's so cold in the gym when when I see people shivering but then I realize oh they  are doing ring training and they are just shaking from the from the ring exhaustion yeah also also  something else uh it gives uh way more freedom uh for example you can go we can have a better range  of motion for certain skills you have the freedom of rotating your rib for example when you're on  the P bars you're fixed you're fixed over there you have the possibility to adjust the the height  of the of the Rings you can make them higher or we can make them shorter yeah which of course  also makes a difference I mean the shorter it is the easier it is and that's why it's important to  also when you're judging when I'm using to also see those little things and you can't compare  um an Olympic performance on Olympic rings to a performance that is with a rings that  are for example uh 10 or 15 centimeters tall yeah your your favorite elements on rings oh yeah yeah  definitely have favorites which is back lever to to full planche butterfly or balundin it's  called baloney because of Russian athletes who is called Alexander bologna which is basically from  here to a cross to support and it's usually this uh has also some connections with the  Maltese you can make it for example to Modesto to a sport you can do it to a inverted cross  um you know a lot of a lot of uh new also elements over there that are mainly transitions I like a  lot of transitions not only study because the Statics are you know there are several Statics  you know they're Maltese it's full planche it's Victorian it's cross it's inverted cross but it's  about the connections that you're making between those static sets makes the game especially that  makes the difference in a new gymnastics between the top gymnasts and those who are you know  average okay so yeah I just have to remember I think it was a photo in our calendar in our wall  calendar where you have like the inverse across which was like super impressive for me how did you  learn the um the advanced ring skills uh by first mastering them on P bars and floor definitely  2015 I remember having my first Maltese on ground which is around six seven seconds we can consider  that having eight seconds is already learned skill and then after that I went on the Rings  yeah that's uh my Approach of course there are some other athletes that go enter a little bit  different way yeah but uh that's my Approach and you also trained them in a gymnastics gym  with uh foam pads um below yeah yeah I trained in two gymnastic gyms the first one is the one that  is the most known where all the bulgarians are training it's already a little bit more  a little bit crowded so that's why I'm you know trying to uh rarely go there and we have another  gymnastics gym that is for the Nationals also over there only the professionals have been also over  their training over there talking with a lot of coaches and uh professionals and you know gaining  experience it's the one we did your comparison like what was the 10-year Evolution yeah yeah  you watch you watch it you watch it uh yeah I I went there the last year uh and I tried to  make the same skills on the same place on the same spot and to see the difference and for sure it was  a big difference and you see that this progress is uh a result of uh small steps each year like  each year I was progressing a little bit a little bit a little bit it's not like for one year I get  all the skills and it's importance whatever you're progressing in in your life to look it  that way you know long term and to be sure that each year you're upgrading a little bit because  it's risk reward it's always risk work reward the more reward you get the bigger risk you have and  that's why you see also other athletes who got Carly injured who disappeared for a long time  who just risk it a little bit more just like they say risk it for a biscuit so better don't  risk it for a biscuit do it do it slowly and do it thoughtful be thoughtful you have all the time  especially if you're 15 you have all the time if you're 25 you still have all the time that's what  I'm telling myself yeah that's true and patience is such a rare skill in today's uh society and  today in our generation it's so rare people are so impatient they want to do things tomorrow we  get so many messages next year I will become world champion you will see uh you know like  um they are so impatient yeah because uh for so many outside things that are influencing you  see only the social medias and all those videos that are just five seconds and uh  uh you know making them scroll like crazy not being patient to watch even 10 second video like  people I see they can't even uh watch one movie already it's too long it's too boring they want  something faster they want all the information to come faster and so that thing also affects you  the character overall character and goes to the trainings that's why we see some athletes affected  by that and some athletes having this type of approach in their trainings yeah not warming  up going directly for hard skills looking at some guy on Instagram let's say a world champion doing  this and or that and he's saying okay let's go directly for that I'm gonna skip the planche yeah  definitely these are important things to mention an important problem in our societies to set and  in other sports concerning injuries um yes because yeah as you said risk reward ratio is uh like the  the risk of getting injured if you uh you know like it I don't know what is your opinion what  is the perfect um days per week to work out is it enough to do three four workouts is  it important if you want to get to the top to do seven workouts per week or like even twice a day  like many many people uh say like um first depends on the level we need to talk uh for what level  we're having in mind so if we're talking about beginner a guy who has never done anything  um I'll say three times a week it's totally fine because they need a lot of time to recover from  a training to a training all that soreness you know just the first steps are really hard and  they need to go through that pain and they need to also emotion emotionally uh emotionally uh take  the fact that they're starting with something new let's say that way but for more advanced athletes  I think uh five times a week something like this is uh totally fine I will not suggest going for  seven times a week for uh several reasons and the most important is that you can't recap yourself  uh unless you're on steroids you can go for seven times a week I was with seven times a week but I  can say that all those who are aware with a high intensity so for example I catch two days which  I was um which I was considering them as a rest Thursday which were just really light trainings  that are with the 10 intensity compared to uh to the other training so that's a good way to go for  because those little days will keep you engaged uh and uh will make your body not sleep because  um I've been in a situation for example when I'm traveling and I'm judging and all these kind of  things uh and I hardly find a time to do those little activation parts and I'm not training for  two three days then I went when I come back to the uh to the training I feel like I'm strong  but I'm missing the activation like I can't engage all my body simultaneously I'm having no synchron  between uh between the uh different activations yeah and so I need some more time to let's say  to warm up and so on so that's why it's important like even in a rest day be sure that you're doing  some light work where it will be plank whether it will be posterior pelvic tilt position whether it  will be planche links whether it will be some weights work like just some positions that are  imitating the the static skills or whatever skills that you want to deal with but to be sure that  you're doing something you're doing something you're not sleeping you're not watching TV uh  all the time you're not uh having your time lazy and when you train five times per week  um do you get sore how do you deal with soreness uh well I was in a situation in which I was not  getting that much sore maybe a little bit a little bit because uh you know after doing  Statics for I can say over eight years you know I was not starting from the beginning but uh I  started really feeling like a god for some skills for example for Maltese I started feeling that I  can do every day and I'll not have any soreness you know it's just a skill that uh I was uh I was  really getting used to and in comparison to Alex training because after I injured myself right now  I'm focusing more on Lex workout yes yeah but I feel that after just a really light training that  is nothing compared to my trainings for upper body I need three days to recover you see the  difference it's so much different because I was not used to those type of tracks yeah I was always  doing collects but this time I'm just focusing a little bit more on the legs yeah so it's all about  routine and getting used to the workload and the exercise yeah and so when I'm talking about Lex  you see we're going back to the topic of looking at Expo of the things positive and whatever  situation you are bad you need to look at it as a possibility to start something new so in my case  it was this you see you need to uh take it as an advantage nothing else to do yeah that's true so  soon we will not see you only uh benching 130 140 kg but also squatting so you're becoming more like  a power lifter now oh you know it's not if it's never been my um aim or something that I really  wanted yeah but why not why not put it in the uh in the inventory yeah for me your bench press is  really impressive like uh considering your weight and seeing that the elite uh bends like the elite  bench presses let's call them uh they are really heavy and uh they often have like a belly the  power lifting belly as I as I call this yes like considering your weight and that's crazy like what  is your bench one red Max 140 uh on uh almost 67 8 kilograms something like this yeah yeah so  it's uh almost twice the weight um but I also put a lot of effort over there it was not coming just  from calisthenics I also put a lot of effort I was training bench press for three weeks three years  but not so much consistence one time a week but still enough to get to this type of results did  it help you with your planche progress that's really really interesting and common question  people ask me so much about it but uh I'll not make so much connections between uh those of the  uh those two skills I'll give you an example of 2017 uh with the time in which I already  had a strong planche I already had 36 seconds of a full planche and I went to the gym and I  had uh a 100 or 90 something bench press so you see it was nothing so much impressive of course  it influenced somehow uh of course it had some um pluses it gave some pluses for the bench press but  um I can say I put a lot of effort after that to really bring it to 140. and uh in order to  really compare it we need to look at the position of the body when performing both of the skills so  in a planche you have a project action well in a batch price you have a retraction you open  your chest so basically the two moves even though they both are push they're really different so uh  they don't have so much connection and that's why they're also um uh not helping each other  so much you can bear you can be a really strong pleasure but still be weak in a in a bench press  and I see a lot of guys who are really strong in a planche but who are already banishing Knight  yeah which Knight is still a lot if we consider the average person yeah is it the same thing with  planche push-ups because it's it's like more more the movement you mean a really good in  planche push-ups full planche push-ups for example but they are weak in bench press yeah of course  uh because in the planche push-up if you're especially performing them with protraction  all the time because there are two ways to do a planche push-up many say this is wrong or this  is right you can't say if it's wrong or right you can say which one is harder or easier but the most  common way that uh you see planche push-ups are done is by keeping the protraction all the time  so when you're down in your lowest point you're having a projection when you're in your highest  point you're still having a protraction which is exactly the opposite of the bench press where all  the time over there with the retraction yeah you can also perform the planche push-ups by  protracting on the top and retracting yourself in the bottom but that means that you need to  make one additional move which is the transition between the retraction to protraction somewhere  hidden inside the push-up that's something that a lot of people are not having in fact and uh you  know and are really not looking at it but it's a really great factor and is the bench press  anyways an exercise which you would recommend to calisthenics athletes to supplement their their  workout with or is it just because not at all not at all you know you can always edit uh even if  it's not helping yourself directly if it helps you mentally just to desertify your trainings and to  really put something more interesting into your Tronics then go for it because sometimes there  are things that are not directly affecting your goals but they're helping you just because you  start feeling better you know you're not getting bored from a planche planche and planche because  if you're totally focused on planche it doesn't mean that you get stronger and planche you know  sometimes you need to be sure that you're having some things that are making the training program a  little bit more interesting whether it's Dynamics whether it's some uh Fitness work whether it's  legs whether it's uh even something outside the sport so this is more about enjoying and not not  losing consistency not doing losing your fun fun and uh also this topic leads me to something else  which is don't be depends on one thing so for example if you're having a lot of hobbies or  you for example like doing collects or you do you have a lot of interest when you're in a situation  like this in which you can't perform your planche anymore you're not gonna be that you're not gonna  be totally dismotivated it's like City Corner chair that has only one leg or sitting on a chair  that has four or even more likes and I recommend having a lot of flex because if you have only one  lakh you'll be unable to be planching and you'll be not sure where you're going in your life that's  why you need to have a lot of broad broad interest in life whether it's even uh your whether it's  only support interest whether it's outside the sport like even a lot of goals in order to be sure  that you're not gonna risk it all yeah it's true it's definitely true and for example not falling  into depression with such an injury is is really important because if you depend your whole life  on on and your identity is I am the plancheman you know as it could be with you but you also have the  coaching you also have like more things in life which is really important in such a situation  um on the other hand I see a lot of people it's this the question in my opinion are you  a generalist or are you a specialist and a lot of people out there have difficulties on choosing for  One path like we talked already in the beginning that um choosing for one have in some point of  in life is important when you're 4D let's say you should have found your path in life and  um you should know what you're going after and where you put your focus on yeah but uh you know  it's important to also not go for too many uh legs of the chair yeah you know what I mean  because he's getting to the other problem that we discussed earlier because if you have a lot  of things that you're doing you're basically not a specialist into any and you can't be the best at  any so what I meant is more like okay my direction is poured but I'm not mainly dependent on my sport  performance I'm not gaining money mainly from competing because if I got that thing mainly from  competing I'm just finished you know you need to be sure that you're having a lot of let's say sort  of Interest sort of income just to be desertified among different uh different things but not too  much desertified yeah it's always has uh its own borders yeah its own borders that's true nice  um yeah interesting topic so far um we um have some a new idea uh some it's called Uh facts or  fake so effect or fake so basically I'm saying a statement and then you have to say is it a fact  for you or is it a fake okay let's go and I'm what do you want you want it to save fast you want to  say it faster true or false or I can go in more details no you can go in more details it's it's  okay okay because it's really hard sometimes to say if it's true or not because it's always  it depends so you need to get you need to add that's true it's like uh extreme extremist like  I don't know it's not all the things I will say maybe they are not all maybe they are true fake  effects but it's I know you I know that you always see the positive everything in life has positive  and negative things so nothing is black or white but um yeah let's let's kick off the  most important and important plans for plants are strong shoulders oh I would say it's a function  of a lot of muscles you can't say it's the most important also shoulders I mean uh you know if  you look at the mechanics of the shoulders it's way more complicated than just saying okay sorry  just one muscle yeah but if you think about it sure is the the part that is the most far away  from the weight Center which means that is the one that is the most vulnerable yeah and that's  why you see a lot of guys are getting injured just like me yeah but uh I'll say that uh for  planche it's more important you know how overall you're working with your own muscle you know it's  a function of a lot of uh muscles for example you have activation of core you have glutes  activation even glutes are having part into the into the planche uh you have your back in order  to make the protractions you have a lot of you need to have developed back muscles you need to  everything be sure that you're activating at one on time and I see that sometimes people are for  example lacking of that thing they need a little bit more time to let's say activate the posterior  pelvic tilt but they're having a good protection or the opposite thing and so on so yeah it's about  um all body parts to be working together sometimes it's like soldiers you're having soldiers that  they all need to work yeah you may have one really strong Soldier let's say the shoulder  but if it's only him it's not gonna it's gonna really work and if it's you if you only count  on that shoulder then you increase the risk of injuring it that's true okay so is there  a pattern that you see because if I think of the plants for example I see that there are thousands  tens of thousands of uh young calisthenics athletes beginners out there who are stuck  with their attack planche which doesn't have a good protraction and they sometimes try a straddle  planche but they can't extend the legs they fall for into the shoulder so it's like a prototype  like I don't know a stereotype that's the right word a stereotype that I haven't I guess like  well first after the planche there is no need to go dark before stop lunch that's that's one of  the things I mean it's really fast progression it depends on your uh body I mean if you're a taller  guy then then definitely you need to go slower between progression and progression if you're  shorter if you're lighter you see that guys are often uh skipping really fast the progression  and they're still somehow making it yeah but uh even if uh you're having the best physics  it's important you already to have that think in mind and you know you have your own speed yeah  um other problem is that you set it you're not having they're not having a good production  into the planche and they go for off for the progressions after so you're still not done  with a certain progression and you're going for a progression after that you're hardly holding the  planche for four seconds with the protraction ends You're Expecting yourself to be doing Advanced tip  for three seconds with a good protection there is no way there is no logical way that thing  to happen so you need to be sure that you're laying down really good foundation before that  thing you're having that planche for around eight seconds you're having a good form over there good  protection good activation and then after that the chance to hold it with again a decent form with a  little bit more open body is bigger then after that it's one of the reasons why so many people  are also stuck sticking at the planche is that they're they're doing only the plunge they are not  doing all those complementary additional exercises uh that's uh usually gymnastics are doing into the  uh you know into the big sport that are more for the activation of the core of the glutes  like all the parts that are down that are usually sleeping you know to planche because in the thick  flange mainly what we're focusing over there is protraction and keeping that angle between the  arms and the upper body as big as possible yeah and so that's another reason you know so first  inconsistency and the other thing is just too much concentration on that declension not doing  anything additional to that thing yeah and the third thing is just uh needs time it requires time  for some people it just requires more time than others yeah would you say you've been lucky with  your genetics with your physique yeah yeah I don't want to complain about anything I mean in this  life you need to be grateful for whatever it is so even if I was two meters high I would still tell  you that I'm great with that you know at least I have two hands you know but definitely I have  a better genetics than uh than many guys taller than me and let's say uh are heavier than me but  uh also an old guys that are with better genetics than me so yeah but you know it's not about only  this thing it's about how you proceed with the progress because you can have way better genetics  I've seen so many good guys with the good genetics with a good future of the playground even like  seven to eight years ago and they went to several injuries and uh you know lack of motivation and  they stopped way before me and even they had a better uh body composition than me you know they  didn't continue it so consistency structure making some thoughts analyzing listening to your body all  these things playing into account I think yeah and it's important something else not only to say  those things and say okay I know them but actually to make them or to even write them on your on your  wall you know behind my bed I have written some things especially after the injury you know this  and this and this like this thing always to be in front of you and to be sure that uh it's working  here you know because we're all we're often saying okay bro I know that I need to warm up or I know  that I need to have a consistent training program yeah but uh you know it's there is a difference  between knowing a plank that's that's true and if I appreciate something about you I mean there are  multiple things but uh you're like really a doer and you're you're somebody who is making things  and so I know you're uh you're not just talking but you are you're finishing the things that you  say and so I think this is also part of your success in the sport not only in coaching in  our project thanks for that man thanks for that you know I'm trying sometimes happiness problems  like this one over here but I even uh thoughts recently that okay it's a really bad injury but  I've been 20 11 years so for 11 years that's the only injury that they had like the really big one  yeah it could be better if I had no injury at all but if I was training you know way more Super way  I should have had that injury Way Long uh way earlier earlier way earlier that's true okay  um next fake fact of or fake gymnastics is for uh calisthenics as gymnastics for weak people  I would say another way um calisthenics is an alternative for people who hasn't been doing the  Genesis before but they always want it I'll say it that way it's not for weak people because what  it means weak weak mentally weak weak physically weak physically if it's physically I'll not say  weak or physically because like you know we have a lot of uh athletes in our sport that are even  stronger than majority of the of the gymnast gymnasts because gymnasts are strong on the  Rings if you take uh the outer gymnasts on the other for example floor our equipment or uh bar  High bar over there you see that they're having different qualities than strength you see they're  having agility they're having conjurins they're having technique over there so I'll definitely  not use the word strong strong or weak whatever it is yeah but I would say it's alternative for a lot  of people who have all who has always wanted to make something similar to gymnastics who have seen  themselves to be talented in areas like gymnastics but it's already too late because I remember I was  uh 2014 15 I was already 16 years old and I wanted to start doing gymnastics by the way yeah yeah but  all the coaches were telling me man it's too old it's too late because your flexibility everything  like technique like to that age you should have had way more qualities that you're not  having like where have you been sleeping why you haven't been training earlier yeah and I  said okay okay you see then I'll go calisthenics I'll win it I'll win it there yeah I'll become way  stronger yeah and I made it all our way you see it's an alternative and I think it's way better  because you always need to compare apples with apples so um you know if I went to gymnastics the  possibilities of having really high results was going to be way less for example comparing with  Chinese guys who's been training from T3 years old who has the crazy uh technique crazy flexibility  mobility and everything you know coaches and so on while in uh our sport I'm more like comparing to  people who are with the same history like me the same Destiny yeah so my question would be do would  you be at a higher higher level imagine a coach when you have been when you were 16 I would have  said yeah with Laura let's go into coaching I will Coach you would you be at a higher level today or  um at a lower level or just different how would it how would it look like with this with your signal  history you mean if I started coaching earlier if you started taking the gymnastics coach at 16  16. you never know you never know it's uh hard to say these assumptions but for sure I don't think  I was going to be the best gymnast on the Range just because of all those additional skills that  you need to have different from the Statics itself yeah I can be really strong on on the  Rings and Statics but if I'm lacking of some other qualities then it's really hard to get to the gold  for example you're evangelo you know many many guys are you know admiring him I'm also admiring  him but for example he's uh he's a guy who is really strong in the static game but he was not  the best into let's say the Dismount in the end he was not the best into the little swings that he  needs to do in between uh the Rings were caught uh the the the static elements yeah and so on so in  the end it's uh just a sum of all the things that you've been doing all your set and if you have a  really strong static it's still not gonna uh make the scores that you need to to actually get for  the gold makes sense yeah yeah um next fact or fake ankle weights are a great tool to improve  your Aesthetics ankle weights are a great tool to make a static harder while in the same time  um make your let's say path to the workout place uh pretty convenient in order not to wear too  much weight yeah but if I need to choose between ankle weights or a weights that I can put around  my weight Center I will always go for the ones that are on the weight Center because I'm actually  um by putting them on the White Center where I'm keeping the same proportion between the back and  the front yeah and if I put them on my ankles then it means that slowly I'll shift my weight Center  slower lower also yeah and that will lead to a little bit different angle between the arms and  the upper board and so on yeah but sometimes you know we don't have a option at all and it's better  just to put some ankle weights on your uh back in your pocket and and go off to train that's also  an option yeah but if we need to look it really way more professional all those equipment that  are making your execution harder or easier they need to be acting calling on your weight Center  you know dream machine that's actually helping you to make the exercise easier uh resistant bats the  resistant band that's uh we're often using on the bars outside we're positioning them positioning  them on the weight center around the belly weights that are making the opposite thing they're making  the skills harder also if it's possible to put them with a belt and uh you can put the  belt you can put those ankle weights on the Belt that's something that I did before so we can still  let's say go for weights but you can put one belt and you can do you can put those anchor weights  on the belt and then after that you have really really good effects of course it will be not so  much harder as putting it on the legs because the lower it is the harder it is yeah but it will have  a little bit better effect on you know keeping that proportion between uh front and back weights  makes sense um fixed or fake every calisthenics athlete should use protein powder oh what your  goals are I mean you want to get bigger you want to get uh back to our shape recover really good or  you want to make Statics so in my case right now not only protein powder I'm also getting  some supplements in order really to get my uh recovery faster but you know if you don't have  um your goal to really be bigger or to put some mess and so on I've I personally believe that you  can get a lot of the things naturally from the foot but also depends on the edge the older you  get uh the more uh outside things you need you need to uh to get from different from the from  the Food Source yeah but again it depends like as I said in my case for example I'm getting collagen  uh magnesium and vitamin C and also some other supplements yeah that will help me yeah and also  I feel like after recovering I'll still continue with some of them yeah because as I said with the  H it's good to actually get some additional help yeah so in general depends on the goal if you want  to get bigger for sure also it's important to look at the protein source of you know a  letter it's a good protein Source because some uh some supplements a lot of marketing and you don't  know what's inside in it so if you need to choose between a lot of protein uh with uncertain um on  certain how it's called ingredients let's say that way or less protein but from a place that's but  you know that there are good quality better go for Less because uh health is in front of everything  else that's true and Longevity thing with patients again same with you like steroids and stuff  um a lot of people sacrifice long-term Health and Longevity like living young fulfilled life  for short-term gains also protein powder we talk about uh water mounts because there have been so  many studies and they're controversy like you need this amount of protein or or you need more or less  and how much you can actually absorb your body can absorb and a lot of studies are influenced  by the marketing and by the industry so you know it's a topic that is really deep and it probably  deserves a whole podcast sure but in general I would be interested in this how do you deal with  um having two different facts like how do you decide to go for for one because there are  so many things where you have different opinions different opinions from athletes different studies  who say the exact opposite things how do you find for yourself in life the the right  um the right source of the truth that's really good question well the first thing is to look  at as many uh sources as possible for example my current situation we see with the injury what I  did I went to five doctors yeah a lot of them told me that they can make the surgery because  of the vacation as I told you but all of them told me that I need to make a surgery so if five  doctors are telling you this and it means that you definitely need to make it yeah so the same thing  like yeah of course you can go for the studies or for whatever uh for whatever we're talking I mean  you can apply that thing in many others um many other uh Parts in life yes but you definitely need  to look at a lot of uh a lot of source a lot of information and to sort yourself like not to look  at only one source and say okay that is it yeah and the other thing is look at the professionals  look at those who are actually better on you and see how they made it for example if you really  admire really top athletes over there that is making it all that has never been injured that  is making colder gains you just start seeking for what is his way okay maybe for him this  was working okay go for another ride let's see how the things are going like B uh skeptical for  whatever people are telling you and be sure that you're having a lot of opinions a lot of opinions  a lot of information that you can put on the table and in the end decide that is it how you can deal  with whatever problem in life and the good thing is that whatever we're talking in this podcast  it's uh also can be unplanned in whatever it is I mean the injury yeah that's a bad situation  but you can have really bad situation in also other other aspects whether it's a relationship  whether it's family whether it's work whether it's Finance whether it's Health whether it's  Sports you see you need to there's some principles that you you always follow principles nice  um if you are really strong and planned if you can do a full planche you can also do a full  front lever no well no no for sure uh and a good um instance for that is so many strong gymnasts  on the rings that are barely holding the phone lever because they don't need it they've never  been doing it from liver yeah I mean uh the mechanics are totally different between the  two moves you have first pulling movement then you have a pushing movement you have a  scapula different scapular position you have retraction you have protraction yeah maybe  also there's some con not maybe certainly there are some connections you know like the  glutes engagement the core engagement there's some connections and for sure if you're doing a front  lever it will help you way more uh in a plunge and not doing it at all than nothing yeah but um there  are different skills and I'll not make so much big connection between both of them okay last fact or  fake leg workouts destroy your Aesthetics progress let's record uh we're going back to the topic of  the uh front and back ratio of the weight because it's really similar to the to the ankle weights  the stronger way to Lex you have the more you go to the situation to the same training like you're  using Kuwait uh weights on your ankles because you're shifting your weight Center lower and lower  yeah uh so from a physical point of view it should be actually harder yeah but also there are some  other studies that are saying that it's overall increasing your testosterone which is benefiting  for uh your main strength so if you're training legs it can also benefit for your upper upper part  of the body yeah and if you get stronger in your upper part of the body uh in fact uh the minus  that you get from just having a stronger less can be uh subtracted with the plus that is coming with  uh with those gained in upper body and overall increasing your testosterone but it's subjective  over here but I would say for sure if you have really big legs it will be hard for you to go for  planche I've seen so many guys for example Free Runners or people who've been for a long time in  a gym with really really big big weights on your on their legs uh majority of the of the weight  is in the lower part of bully I see how they're strongly in the beginning a better option is to be  a little bit more balanced and to slowly getting into let's say the the planche and once you get  stronger in the plungeon after that start going for relax that's a little bit better way better  approach because as a beginner with a really uh heavy relax it will be really struggle yeah  it is it is I've seen it so I hope next time we see each other that I will recognize you  um I hope that your legs will not double the size but um yeah uh that's a good joke that's a  good joke hopefully not triple the size yeah yeah definitely just just for some small conditioning  yeah and Shifting the focus for a while nice yeah um like one last topic I we just um we're  just we were just uh yeah talking about it for fun having a fun discussion in the office but question  um who would win in a burning gate Statics composition uh you in your prime or Daniel  Christoff in his uh like current um current state who would win the competition well for uh burning  gate he'll win because of the completeness okay yeah yeah because uh when we're saying who is  stronger uh that's really common question people ask okay who is stronger we need to  let's be more specific on what we mean yeah and for example for a yeah an advanced press or a  front lever or yeah but majority of the time we're talking about completeness yeah so uh yeah you can  have a stronger planche or a stronger front liver but if another guy is way more complete than you  then he will win or we can have two guys that are almost equally uh uh equally complete then  we come with the other factor which is who is the guy who has more engines than the other guy  yeah you see you can be stronger in the beginning of the training than uh one guy but just after 10  minutes your strength will go down yeah which is really important for a competition yeah but uh  first answer so this question he'll win because of the of the completeness yeah but because of  his front lever interesting thanks for clarifying I will tell that to the others um it's important  yeah but but don't forget don't forget the next year is coming yeah yeah and I you're just just  the best that everything works smoothly with attaching reattaching the biceps that everything  goes well thank you man thank you it's always pleasure to make uh chat with you yes all the best  thanks for your time and we stay in touch Victor thank you man thank you see you [Music] foreign.