Did you know Al Fong, personal coach of 2004 Olympians Terin Humphrey and Courtney McCool, has a blog?
Ask Al Fong – Dragon Gymnastics
It’s not at all dedicated to Elite gymnastics. Surprising considering Al’s reputation.
For example, Al dedicates one post to the under appreciated forward hip circle on bars. (I like the second drill, the “sneeze”.)
Another post recommends weight training as a supplement. No surprise there.
What caught my eye was how his girls condition with perfect form.
Most coaches ask their kids to keep form and position while conditioning, but how many actually do?
Al Fong’s gymnasts do.
Click through to see that post for yourself – When it comes to strength—the Dragons use weights!
related post – good memories of gymnastics coach Al Fong
4 comments ↓
Conditioning with perfect form makes sense. I don’t know how coaches expect the form on skills to be tight when the form on conditioning is not.
Doesn’t every coach insist on this? What is this..this shouldn’t be a tip, or a secret…wow mind blowing
If they break form, they start over. They get one warning. It’s very effective, and carries over in their skills over time. Totally worth being a “conditioning nazi”!
Nope, not every coach does this. The kids may not be outright sloppy but I bet a lot of coaches let things slide.
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