Author: Rick Mc

Career gymnastics coach who loves the outdoors, and the internet.

does Gymnastics stunt your growth?

If you Google, you’ll find any number of sources saying that intensive training in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics stunts and / or alters growth and development.

FIG called a colloquium of experts February 2011 to discuss the issue.

Results were published June 2013.

Sports Medicine – Role of Intensive Training in the Growth and Maturation of Artistic Gymnasts:

1. Adult height or near adult height of female and male artistic gymnasts is not compromised by intensive gymnastics training.

2. Gymnastics training does not appear to attenuate growth of upper (sitting height) or lower (legs) body segment lengths.

3. Gymnastics training does not appear to attenuate pubertal growth and maturation, neither rate of growth nor the timing and tempo of the growth spurt.

4. Available data are inadequate to address the issue of intensive gymnastics training and alterations within the endocrine system.

You can read the entire paper here. (PDF)

The long and the short of it …

Roy Hibbert and McKayla Maroney
Roy Hibbert and McKayla Maroney

Gymnastics does not make you short. Basketball does not make you tall.

Gymnastics Sport Science PDFs

The FIG Sport Science Commission has a database of reputable peer reviewed journals citations including “Gymnastics” as one of the key words or tags.

They are collecting PDFs of those citations now.

Sample:

Role of Intensive Training in the Growth and Maturation of Artistic Gymnasts (PDF)

If you are aware of any private collections of PDF citations, or have one yourself, you could contact me.

RickMcCharles (a) gmail.com

Private collections can be shared.

GymCastic – Kyla Ross

This week, 2012 Olympic team gold medalist, Kyla Ross, and her mom, Kiana, join us. Kyla tells us about training smart after time off, upgrades, her fantasy tumbling skill, the status of her Amanar, who she looks up to in the gym, overcoming fear and mental blocks, her infamous Championships lipstick and the “saviors of the US team.”

Kiana reveals who gave the family the most important advice about going pro, why Gym-Max is so unique and the best advice she ever received about navigating the world of elite gymnastics. …

listen here – Episode 48: Kyla Ross

at the VMAs
at the VMAs

Like Shawn Johnson before 2008, Kyla trains only once a day. Enjoys school.

coach in the Yukon

Polarettes Gymnastics Club urgently needs help with their competitive women’s program.

Great gym attached to a school.

Whitehorse

Email polarettesgymnastics (a) yahoo.com for details.

Kenzo Shirai – double double layout

Closer to half-in, one and one half-out.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

If Kenzo competed all his BIG Tumbling lines, his start score would be the highest ever. Could he get to 8.0 difficulty?

He competed 7.4 at Japanese Nationals without triple double or double double layout.

YEESH

via @OnoNoKomachi1

IOC – Epke Zonderland

Excellent interview with our Olympic Champion.

IOC:

In this latest edition of the Athlete Profile series we talk to Epke Zonderland (NED) about his Olympic experience, in particular, his Beijing performance leading to his gold medal in the men’s horizontal bars event at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Epke talks us through his early days of training as a child all the way through to his Olympic success, giving a detailed account of the dedication, training and values it takes to become an Olympic champion.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Epke hit his 7.7 routine last weekend for 15.950.

He’s obviously planning to win Worlds on H Bar.

The Dutch will be cheering. Especially now that, sadly, Wyomi Masela was injured and will not be in Anwerp.

double Arabian punch 1/1

Diego Hypolito is bringing the dynamite.

Click PLAY or watch it on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=444744292308628

I’ve not seen anything like this since Shewfelt trained Tamayo punch front. And punch front 1/1.

via GymFever

return of the Zuchold

GymCastic has been linking to routines with the old school Zuchold release. Here’s the original.

Erika Zuchold East Germany 1972 Olympic Games Event Finals UB – underswing bwd (inverted pike swing) on HB — dislocate with flight to hstd on LB

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.