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The best thing about the internet are RSS feeds. (Really Simple Syndication)

Yet fewer than 10% of people use RSS. That’s a shame.

To see how it works, click PLAY or watch a 4min amusing tutorial on YouTube.

To find out what’s new on GymnasticsCoaching, you can come on by when you get the urge — SLOW way.

Or subscribe by RSS through a feed reader — FAST way. (Google Reader recommended.)

Of course, you can subscribe by email. But who really wants more email cluttering their inbox?

RSS is the best, by far. It takes only about 5 min to get started with (Google Reader.

Unfortunately, some of my favourite websites do not yet have an RSS feed from their home page. Which of these dinosaur sites will add RSS last, do you think?

* American Gymnast
* GYMmedia Germany
* Gymn.ca Canada
* I-NEEDtoKnow
* Inside Gymnastics
* International Gymnast
* Technique USA
* USA Gymnastics
* USECA USA

RSS – Wikipedia

(via Rick McCharles)

I will be presenting internet tips like RSS to some of the top coaches in Canada at a Level 4 coaching clinic right after Elite Canada in December. For once I’m scheduled some personal time to work with each on streamlining their computer work flow.

That question was posted on the The Chalk Bucket forum. The advice given was NOT to spot 1/1 twist. To use progressions, instead.

I can’t think of a single coach in 2007 who advocates spotting twisting on Floor as a progression.

When I was a young coach, though, I spotted Jon Moffat for ten standing 1/1 twists every work-out. I got pretty good at that tricky spot, after a while. On the down side, I think I did more harm than good for Jon. In his mind, the challenge was to twist, not flip. That’s the wrong mental approach for this skill.

But lets say for sake of argument you MUST spot full twist on Floor. For a cheerleader, for example, who does not have a huge background of trampoline and gymnastics basics.

I think I’d start with the athlete in a twisting belt, from stand on a mini-tramp. And leave them in that safe environment until the motor pattern was quite stable. (For the athlete and the spotter.) We have something similar at Altadore.

Alternate front somersault with half twist. And back layout with half twist. Spotting both.

Eventually combining the two into a full twist. Eventually taking that skill out of the belt and on to the floor. The twist is fairly easy if the somersault is consistent.

Over Head Spotting Rig | Twisting Belt

Any other suggestions? Leave a comment below.

I suspect we could take another cheerleader of the same background, and teach her a full twist faster using trampoline devices. Without spot.

(Beijing, November 29)

In the men’s team final of the 2007 Artistic Gymnastics International Invitational Tournament this evening, China came from the fourth place after the second round to play strong in the rings …

Host team rallies to win men’s team title

Is this really China’s “B Team”?

Or will some of these competitors compete at the Olympics?

The biggest disappointment was the very poor finish of the USA. Durante, a gymnast I admire a lot, had a particularly bad day.

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