Author: Rick Mc

In the right hand navigation we’ve added quick links to past and future events we will be attending.

Screen shot:

Useful if you were there. Or will be attending in future.

by Rick McCharles

A fitness guru named Ryan Lee knows a lot about how to generate traffic on his website. And, clearly, not much about Yoga and Pilates. (Or how to increase resistance using your own body weight.)

It’s an old strategy, one I try to resist on this site. Post something with an inflammatory, sensational title. For example: The TRUTH About Yoga and Pilates

Rant emotionally:

For all you zealots out there trying to help me train my athletes, I actually have done OK without you. Just for the record, there are many folks like me who have been training athletes for decades who have drawn much of their warm-up and flexibility work from yoga but don’t feel the need to dedicate two of their eight hours a week to this relatively small area. I need to work on strength, power, speed, and conditioning — all in eight hours a week. I need to do that with a proper warm-up and attention to flexibility. Can’t you just see the yoga guy or girl jumping up and down saying, “I know, I know, yoga does all that.”

The truth is yoga does not do all that.

Yoga develops strength to a point and then simply works primarily on muscle endurance. …

The TRUTH About Yoga and Pilates by Mike Boyle | Ryan Lee

Then sit back as many industry websites link to your post. To refute it.

The comments on that post are entertaining.

Ryan Lee is all about the money, it looks to me.

That’s a bit of a shame. Because Ryan Lee has a good point under the bluster.

Yoga and Pilates are over-praised. Practitioners are oft too evangelical. I see both as supplemental to the main fitness training program.

That TRUTH will be lost in the heat of the argument, I fear.

By the way, Ryan. Send any of your clients to adult recreational gymnastics conditioning. We’ll get them more fit than you can. And we won’t need a weight room to do it.

… Lets see if I can generate some internet buzz of my own.

Thanks for the tip on this, George.

Related: posts on Yoga / Pilates

An athlete competes in China’s National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Nov. 28, 2007. The National Indoor Stadium started operation Wednesday to hold the “Good Luck Beijing” 2007 International Gymnastics Tournament.

(Xinhua Photo)

click on the PHOTO GALLERY link on this page for more – Photos: Gymnastics event puts National Indoor Stadium under test – The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

The women’s all-around final of the 2007 Artistic Gymnastics International Invitational Tournament closed at the National Indoor Stadium this morning. China’s Jiang Yuyuan won the gold medal with a total score of 61.225pts. This was the first gold in this tournament. Daria Joura from Australia and Bridget Sloan from the United States placed second and third respectively.

… Lauren Mitchell, another Australian gymnast, finished fourth with 57.700pts, and Chellsie Memmel of the US team, the 2005 all-around world champion who just reappeared, stood at the fifth with 57.425pts.

China’s Jiang Yuyuan wins women’s all-around title – 2007 Artistic Gymnastics International Invitational Tournament

Full results are linked from the same site.

Cute:

Talitha’s Gymnastics |

A compilation of acrodunks from an internal team dunk contest.

http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/943054/acrodunk_solo_dunk_session.swf
Acrodunk Solo-dunk Session

And the man known as the “World’s Greatest Dunker”, Kadoure Ziani from France, 5ft 11in tall. He needs no trampoline.

Click PLAY or watch him on YouTube.

Ziani claims he has a 56in vertical jump. Even more impressive, he kicked a board 9ft 6in high on TV’s The Best Damn Sports Show Period. (an unofficial world record)

I think the cartwheel dunk is from Abdoul Bamba, also from the French dunk team Slam Nation.

The spotter counter balances the gymnast so they can “feel” the correct position before initiating the jump for backward handspring.

The RED line is the goal. Thee figures on the right (A,B,C), common errors:

For fun, with confident, experienced tumblers on a trampoline — the coach can release the grip, asking the gymnast to do an almost instantaneous back handspring.

This diagram comes from an excellent longer article by Steve Bonham, from Georgia Southern University: Body Awareness Drills

I really miss Cobi, the oddball Barcelona sheep dog. The best of all Olympic mascots, so far. Those were simpler times.

In recent years the mascots have been getting more numerous, and more confusing.

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Mascots, Quatchi (C), a sasquatch, Miga (L), a sea bear and Sumi, an animal spirit are unveiled in Surrey, British Columbia, Nov. 27, 2007. The Mascots were inspired by local Aboriginal mythological creatures.

(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Miga — a snowboarding sea-bear inspired by the First Nations’ legends of the Pacific Northwest. Miga, described as mischievous and outgoing, is part sea-bear and part orca whale.

Quatchi — a shy and gentle Sasquatch with a long brown beard and blue earmuffs meant to conjure the mystery and wonder associated with the Canada’s wilderness.

Sumi — an animal guardian spirit, who flies with the wings of the thunderbird, is described as “a natural born leader with a passion for protecting the environment.”

Quatchi and Miga will represent the Olympic Games while Sumi will represent the Paralympic Games.

Mascots unveiled for Vancouver Olympic Games _English_Xinhua

Understand?

If so, now learn about the 4th mascot, Mukmuk — a Vancouver Island marmot sidekick considered an honorary member of the mascot team.

I know these mascots are all about marketing potential. Why didn’t they choose the Spirit Bear, the most popular and obvious choice? Must have been a committee compromise.

For comparison, here are the Beijing mascots:

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Friendlies.

The Friendlies consists of five members: BeiBei, JingJing, HuanHuan, YingYing, and NiNi. The five mascots incorporate fish, giant panda, fire, Tibetan antelope, and swallow designs respectively, and each also represents one of the five Olympic Rings. When the five names are put together, they form a pun on the phrase ‘Beijing HuanYing Ni’ which means ‘Beijing Welcomes You’.

Kinabaloo

I think the 4 Canadian mascots could take the 5 Friendlies in a cage match. Don’t you?

Fabian Hambuchen from Germany and Daria Joura from Australia were the top all-around qualifiers. (There’s no AA competition for men, however.)

2007 “Good Luck Beijing” International Invitational
Nov. 28, Beijing

Women’s All-Around Qualification
1. Dasha Joura AUS 60.000
2. Bridget Sloan USA 59.525
3. Jiang Yuyan CHN 59.125
4. Chellsie Memmel USA 58.675
5. Pang Panpan CHN 58.400*
6. Lauren Mitchell AUS 57.600
7. Kristina Vaculik CAN 57.000
8. Zhou Zhuoru CHN 56.800*
9. Svetlana Klyukina RUS 56.800
10. Marie-Sophie Hindermann GER 56.725 …

Men’s Team Qualification
1. China 363.625
2. Japan 361.550
3. Korea 361.350

International GYMNAST Magazine Online

more photos

Jason Selk is a licensed Psychotherapist and Sport Psychology Consultant currently working with the 2006 World Champion St Louis Cardinals and the St Louis Rams.

He has a popular series of GymSmart videos:

Coaching for Greatness Part I

Coaching for Greatness Part II

Goal Setting for Greatness Part III

The Power of Positive Coaching

Working Through Fear

Selk’s latest title may be the best yet:

Parenting the Elite Athlete: Helping our children become happy and healthy

Parenting by itself can be extremely challenging. Parenting in today’s world of constant activities and demands on our children can strain our parenting abilities to their maximum. In this DVD, Jason helps parents develop a system that creates balance in our lives while dealing with stress and other life problems. Parenting for Greatness is a must for any parent with a child in competitive athletics.

Every coach knows that the odds of success double or triple if the parents are on side with the coach. Many of us could do a better job of educating our parents.

This might be a good resource to keep on hand at the gym to loan out to parents when needed.

It’s featured on the GymSmarts home page right now along with the latest release from Tammy Biggs: Developing Body Shapes. She’s awesome. I love how she simplifies the sport.