This workout was filmed by Kyle Khou on January 7th just before the start of the season.
Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.
Entries Tagged 'physical preparation' ↓
gymnastics workout at UCLA
February 24th, 2010 — Gymnastics, NCAA, physical preparation
gymnastics conditioning – the Al Slide
February 11th, 2010 — humour, physical preparation
UCLA’s Allison Taylor says she’s the only girl on the team who can do this drill.
Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.
A couple of wannabes give it a try here, including Anne from Gymnastike, herself.
Do you know someone who can do it in series, like Allison?
Join Gymnastike (free) and upload the video to the site. They might be profiled on the Home Page.
Game on.
Rings press handstand strength
February 11th, 2010 — Gymnastics, physical preparation, rings
Tom Beach has added another superb coach to the GymSmarts roster of clinicians.
… Here 2 time USA Men’s Olympic and US Mens National Team Coordinator Coach Kevin Mazeika shows a drill to develop strength for the press and improve your overall core strength.
Click PLAY or watch it on Tom’s GymSmarts blog.
Support GymSmarts.
don’t throw your shoes under the bus
January 29th, 2010 — physical preparation, safety, sport medicine, sport science
More research on whether Nike has caused all your foot and leg injuries.
A word of caution from Dr. Ross Tucker and Dr. Jonathan Dugas:
… I guarantee that the media are going to be all over this and they are going to tell you that you should be running barefoot or in Vibrams. You will hear how science has proven that being barefoot will prevent injuries, and that those of you who are injured should blame your shoes as you lob them into the garbage bin. …
If you wish to guarantee yourself an injury, then go out for a 2km run barefoot on a hard surface, and you will be asking your calf muscles and Achilles tendons to do work that for perhaps 30 years, they haven’t had to do. …
read more – Science of Sport blog.
That article led me to some cutting edge research …
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Click PLAY or compare a runner wearing shoes on YouTube.
More caution:
Disadvantages of Forefoot Striking Barefoot or in Minimal Footwear
* Thick-soled shoes are much more forgiving when running over glass, sharp objects, ice and so on.
* If you have been a heel striker, it takes some time and much work to train your body to forefoot or midfoot strike, especially because you need stronger feet and calf muscles. Runners may be at greater risk of developing Achilles tendonitis when they switch from heel striking to forefoot or midfoot striking …
This comes from a new blog by Dr. Daniel E. Lieberman of Harvard University: Running Barefoot or In Minimal Footwear
That’s likely the best site of all for those who want to research this topic.
(via Full Twist – Running Barefoot – The Debate)
Tallest in Men’s NCCA Gymnastics?
January 26th, 2010 — Gymnastics, NCAA, physical preparation
Part 3 in a series on StickItMedia.
Sadly, our all-time favorite, Oklahoma’s Russ Czeschin, has graduated. Czeschin was a four-time All-American on floor (3 times) and vault (1 time), and he stretched the tape measure to a whopping 6ft 3″.
The NCAA’s tallest man mantle has been passed down to Penn State senior Matt Greenfield, who tops out at 6ft 2″. Greenfield is an All-American Scholar Athlete, and is primed to do some great things in his final season. …
… read the complete list of gymnasts 6′ 0″ and taller – Who are the Tallest in Men’s Gymnastics? – Part 3
The Myth of Core Stability
January 21st, 2010 — Gymnastics, physical preparation, safety, sport science
Core stability for gymnasts is important, up to a point.
But I’ve long suspected that coaches over-emphasize it, at the expense of other physical qualities.
For example, this gymnast is not arched due to lack of abdominal strength.
Giant doesn’t require much abdominal strength.
There’s a bit of trend in sport science, right now, to reduce the amount of core body conditioning we are doing, especially the traditional “sit-up”.
Stuart McGill, professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo, is cited in this recent article:
MacLeans – The man who wants to kill crunches
A Canadian professor of spine biomechanics rails about the dangers of the ubiquitous sit-up
Of course that’s not sport specific.
A better article for coaches is …
The Myth of Core Stability by Professor Eyal Lederman, of CPDO, the Centre for Professional Development in Osteopathy and Manual Therapy.
I checked on this “trend” to avoid over-conditioning the core with Keith Russell.
He tended to agree:
… don’t isolate, use large body movements where ever possible and DON”T overemphasize the abdominals …”
Food for thought. Leave a comment if you’ve modified your core body strength training. Using more isometric training, for example.
related – Gymnastics Revolution – The Giant
teaching gymnasts to keep legs straight
January 20th, 2010 — Gymnastics, dance, physical preparation
In the former Soviet Union young boys and girls took 1hr ballet training every day.
No wonder they had great “form”.
Most gymnastics coaches in 2010 need to find faster, more efficient methods to motivate and teach children to keep legs straight, feet stretched.
Keeping great leg form will improve your scores. Here Mary Lee Tracy shows several drills to improve leg strength and improve leg form.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I really appreciate busy coaches like Mary Lee taking time to share with us.
You can support Mary Lee and Gymnastics Minute by buying and recommending her popular coaching DVDs on GymSmarts.
conditioning with good form
January 15th, 2010 — Gymnastics, blogs, physical preparation
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
gymnastics strength training
January 14th, 2010 — blogs, physical preparation, sport science
Gymnasts must be very strong.
When is the best time during the workout to train strength?
“It depends.”
Exactly the answer you did not want to hear.
Coach Chris has a Masters in Kinesiology. He elaborates:
… I would put the strength/conditioning at the beginning of the workout during the off-season as you should be focused on building strength in order to both enhance and enable skill development. To maximize strength development, it’s important for the gymnasts to not be fatigued.
During the season, I would put it at the end of practice. By this time, your training emphasis will have shifted more to technical preparation and trying to make the routines as good as possible for competition. …
Even better with young developing gymnasts, where competition readiness is far less important than training, is …
• specific strength training at the beginning
• general strength training and flexibility improvement, at the end of workout.
That post is from a great new blog called COACHING GYMNASTICS IN THE NEW MILLENIUM
… dedicated to the discussion of training strategies, development, and growth of the sport of artistic gymnastics.
Yup. It’s high level serious content. Coach Chris and Coach Troy Wright answer questions emailed to them via the About page.
Check it out. COACHING GYMNASTICS IN THE NEW MILLENIUM
(via Full Twist)
book – Building the Gymnastic Body
January 14th, 2010 — books & manuals, physical preparation, product endorsements
We’re often linking to strength videos posted by men’s coach Christopher Sommer from Arizona.
He’s one of the preeminent strength gurus in our sport.
Now you can get all that expertise for $44.00. … UPDATE: Check the shipping charges. A Canadian coach was billed $26 USD shipping. His cost delivered to a remote island in the Atlantic, C$80. In the U.S. shipping is only about $12.15.
… Extremely comprehensive and detailed, with nearly 200 exercises (many of which have never been seen before by the general public) and well over 500 photographs, it is a complete developmental template for building the essential foundation of strength required for all gymnastics success. Whether you are a competitive athlete looking for an edge, a fitness enthusiast or just beginning a healthier lifestyle, Building the Gymnastic Body is the answer …
Highly recommended for all acrobatic coaches.
Official website GymnasticBodies.com.
2-person, 1-arm handstand
January 3rd, 2010 — acrobatic gymnastics, dance, physical preparation
Stu sends us a clip featuring Julia Paliy & Igor Gavva, Acrobatic gymnasts doing a dance piece.
Igor is outstanding. The video will begin at 2min 40sec, a unique 1-arm handstand if you click here.
Or, you can watch the entire thing by clicking PLAY below.
maRin creation in Kiev, Ukraine is the brainchild of Vladimir Marin.
physical preparation for Kip
December 28th, 2009 — Gymnastics, bars, horizontal bar, physical preparation
For those kids who did not get their Kip on Bars for Christmas, here are some some conditioning drills posted by Benjamin Carson.
Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.
These drills lead nicely into the excellent teaching the Kip videos we linked to last July.
splits stretching you can do at home
December 27th, 2009 — Gymnastics, physical preparation
… some hip flexer stretching drills from Mary Lee Tracy and Cassie that you can do at home …
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The Gymnastics Minute is a series of free introductory video tips produced by GymSmarts.
