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How Aran fixed his elbow pain and gained 12kg of mass
In a recent article, I outlined how functional training got me hurt and made me weak.
After learning about the Three Lies, I was able to:
Fix my knee
Squat 200kg for the first time
Gain more muscle than ever
But more importantly, I had learned highly valuable information that allowed me to start helping other people.
This is the story of how I did just that with Aran.
Aran starting off
How Aran started
Aran first came to me in February of 2022. He was underweight, and suffering from elbow pain.
Aran after a few months
His results
In the space of a year, Aran went from weighing 47kg, to 59kg.
He also fixed his elbow pain, and more than doubled (in some cases tripled) his strength on all of his gym exercises.
The Four Pillars of Aran's Results
With Aran and everyone I've worked with, there's been Four Pillars to getting them strong and out of pain.
Ultra deep dips quickly became one of Aran's favourite and strongest exercises.
1. Dysfunctional exercises
I coined the term 'dysfunctional strength' because I wanted something that would stand in direct opposition to the 'functional' crap that kept me weak and in pain.
Dysfunctional exercises are ones that achieve 3 things:
Take joints/muscles through a big range of motion
Can be loaded progressively for the long term
Improve the resiliency / anti-fragility of the body
These were exercises like dips, ass-to-grass squats, overhead press, pull-ups, deadlifts and jefferson curls.
As Aran got stronger on these, he performed, moved, and felt better than ever.
Aran gained 12kg of mass, and some crazy vascularity.
2. Planning and tracking
Most people I see spinning their wheels with pain and muscle gain have one thing in common: they have no plan.
From day one, everything was laid out for Aran and we tracked everything meticulously on the Train Heroic app.
This meant when progress did slow (and it did) , we had all the necessary data available to make an informed decision about how to fix it (and we did).
Going into the gym and just free-balling it, is a recipe for staying exactly where you are forever.
Aran started off struggling to overhead press the empty bar. Now he can do 50kg.
3. Recovery habits
Recovering sufficiently is not only key for gaining muscle, but helping your body repair injured areas too.
I provided Aran with specific food and sleep habits he could implement to significantly increase his results in the gym, and he executed them without hesitation.
Any training plan that does not have a recovery component, is sure to fail sooner or later.
Aran's deadlift has gone from 30kg x5, to 118kg x5.
4. Accountability
Last but not least, Aran had someone there to show him the way.
Most of us underestimate how effective the support and accountability of another human being can be.
Coaching is just one option. Training with someone else, or joining a community of like-minded people, can have a huge impact on how hard we push ourselves to reach our goals.
Next time
In my next article, I'm going to tell you about another client who got out of pain and became bigger and stronger than ever, by following the Dysfunctional approach.
If you'd like to hear Aran tell his story himself, check out the podcast interview I did with him.
In Strength, Cill
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