Practicing Foundation Training for the past 4 years has been one of the most critical decisions of my surfing career. I had recurring lower back problems when I was a bit younger, but since starting Foundation Training I have felt constant improvement with little to no pain whatsoever. My flexibility and stability are both the best they have ever been. As my career is growing and I am now surfing on the World Tour, I can easily tell you that Foundation Training is a huge part of my success as a surfer. It helps me continue to become the best athlete I can be.
My back likes to let me know when it's pissed at me. When it does, life can become a bit more challenging. Foundation exercises have been a great addition to my exercise routine. I really notice a change in how I move. My back doesn't just feel better, it feels strong. That is a big deal. These exercises let you move with some real confidence. Everybody with a bad back should do these exercises.
Dr. Eric Goodman worked as the Strength coach for our USA Olympic Water Polo team from December 2007 to July 2008 leading to the Beijing Olympic Games. All of these athletes are world-class and they felt that Eric did an exceptional job of keeping them injury free while performing at a very high level through some extremely tough months of training. In my opinion, this program was very critical to our success in Beijing. The team exceeded everyone's expectations and became one of the great stories of the Olympics by winning the silver medal. We stayed healthy and performed at a high level and Dr. Goodman deserves a good deal of credit.
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!!!
I heard a pop in my groin after shooting a goal in a college water polo match in 1977. 35 years of low back pain and two weeks before my wedding last year I had a laminectomy. I had given up some sports and desperately hung on to others. While x country skiing in Central Wisconsin, my buddy says "you have to check out Foundation Training." I now enjoy work and play like a child. For the first time in years I can put my pants on pain free. How good is that.
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 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.
I suffered a L-5 compression fracture 6 months ago and have not been able to find a work out that helps with my back pain until now. I began Foundation Training 3 days ago using your free YouTube video and I have noticed such an incredible difference in how I feel and operate. I feel more mobile, more flexible, and just overall better after using this! Thank you so much! I appreciate you for genuinely caring about the people of this world and what you have implemented to make a difference. I want to become a Foundation Trainer in the future and help to spread this effective solution to people who are in need of it. Thanks again!
-Scott Watson
Eric has created the perfect storm, bringing together evidence-based science and functional training that is second to none. Their approach to building a solid foundation is my prescription for everyone from top athletes in the world to their mothers! Movement is life. Life is movement. And if you are limited in how you move against the constant forces of gravity, it is only a matter of time until you are injured. I know this to be true as I have experienced this roller coaster as a competitive athlete. Not until I retrained my movement patterns did the cycle of injury after injury end. It really is a thing of beauty to see such a brilliant melding of creativity and sports science built into a practical, low-tech program that focuses on posture, core, and fundamental movement patterns designed first and foremost to provide athletes with a solid foundation to apply to their chosen sport. I'll never forget what Derek Fisher said to Eric about why he chose to work with Foundation Training: "I did not hire you to make me a better basketball player; I hired you to make me a better athlete." True, true.
First, I must say, I am not one of these ‘post everything that happens to me’ people. In fact, I avoid it. But I must tell you my story and about the success of the Foundation Exercises on one of the most painful ailments I have ever had—Plantar Fasciitis. For the past 120 days, this extremely painful ailment affected my left heel. My wife asked me once how it felt. I described the intense stabbing pain as, “being hit in the heel every step with a sledge hammer.” And worse, when I would let my foot dangle the pain would just continue pulsating. It was awful. Over these 120 days I have taken more Ibuprofen than at any time in my life, went to massage therapy, went to a neuromuscular skeletal therapist D.O., saw a resident M.D. got some drugs [didn’t take them], rolled my heel with a tennis ball every night, got a rolling pin and rolled my leg muscles, and then went old school placing my foot in ice water then transferring it to hot water for as long as I could stand it.
I went on vacation where a lot of bike riding, walking, and touring was required. I did not want to go on the vacation because of the pain. After one particularly long bike ride I had to sit down while my wife went shopping, I literally could not stand the pain any more. I was sitting in front of a local Church and prayed a solution would come to me to somehow help relieve the pain. Suddenly, I remembered watching one of your early videos four years ago and had tried the ‘hinging’ exercise. I was determined when we returned to our condominium I would go online and try the exercise again to relieve the pain.
I studied the promotional video very carefully, got up, took of my shoes, and began. As you would know, and if done correctly, the exercises allow you to feel the entire ‘back plane’ being stretched. Because I was so tight, I could feel the stretch from my neck to my toes—initially the hinging was quite painful as well but it was a good pain—back plane stretch, fantastic! To cut to the chase, I first did the exercise on Sunday afternoon and again in the evening. By Monday morning I was walking with just a twinge of PF pain. Throughout the day on Monday I continued to do just the basic ‘hinging’ exercise. It is now Tuesday evening and I am walking completely pain free for the first time in four months. I am not sure others will have my same success. But I can say this, if you are reading this post and are suffering from Plantar Fasciitis give Foundation Training a try. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
-Jim