funny video – CONNER on Parallel Bars

This comic bit from TV proves Bart Conner does not take himself too seriously.

His skill — sometimes called the Conner Spin — has been the source of much derision over the years. (It’s too easy to be named after any one athlete.)

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

excellent gymnastic bar padding

The thickness of these bar pads was MUCH appreciated by gymnasts using them while learning Tkachev and Hindorf.

bar-pads.jpg

(via Funtastics High Performance Training Camp)

video – gymnastics stretching at home

The great thing about the internet is that YOU can quickly and easily publish anything you want. And the entire world has access.

(Finding YOU on the world wide web — that’s the difficult part.)

Heather McCanna, a gymnast from Texas, posted quite a good series of instructional videos on how to “stretch like a gymnast” — at home. Ideal for acrobats who don’t have access to a facility. And for the general public.

Series: Gymnastics Warmups Instruction: Free Online Video Lessons

Click PLAY to see a sample or <a href="watch it on Expert Village “>

gymnastics – bars – training with STRAPS

This is the set-up I like best. Both a “tube” (for beginners) and “socks” (advanced) taped to the bar to better simulate the rail. (That’s what I think they have here.)

straps-bars.jpg
Dahlonega Gymnastics on Flickr – Photo Sharing!

I like the gymnasts to get off the tube as quickly as possible. They need to learn how to “flip” the wrists using the socks set-up as demonstated by the gymnast here. (Or is she using short pieces of tube?)

UPDATE: CoachL answered my question. This girl is actually using Ultimate Straps sold by TumblTrak.

Check an earlier post to see the socks taped to the bar.

Watanabe video – Working the Strap Bar

gymnastics forums

I am not a huge fan of on-line forums as there are a lot of silly and unimportant comments posted between the few great comments.

Once I see SPAM comments for the first time, I am gone for good.

Still, there are two I check regularly:

  • Gym Chat
  • Chalk Bucket
  • Here’s another opinion:

    gymspot is a good one, same kind of feel as here nice bunch of parents and gymnasts. They also have a forum for gymnasts only, which I think is nice for the younger crowd. Parents forum is for the over 18 crowd, but not a place for adult content.

    In Canada gymbrooke is interesting when anyone posts, very quiet in the non comp season, lots of gymnasts post. Only problem is you can post as a guest, so it is hard to work out who is who and who is replying to what.

    GGMB is a riot, but it is impossible to join now as they have strict membership guidelines, I was in before the rules changed. It is definitely a place for the over 18’s and not for the prudish type. They are bold and brash, but very funny and you cannot take yourself too seriously there.

    WWGYM is a newish board formed from some old GGMB members. Both GGMB and WWGYM are ary into the international gymnastics scene and not at all into low level kids gym. It is nice to have a few to choose from.

    The Chalk Bucket Gymnastics Community – Forums, Photo Gallery, Links, Articles, and much more. – Other Forums

    video – ORIGINALITY in gymnastics

    I saw a terrific video clip linked from Gym Chat.

    Originality Montage by FullyBooked is one clip you will want to watch several times. Original, even shocking, elements from gymnastics history.

    Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

    Some of the greatest elements in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics resulted from the (long-gone) “originality bonus”.

    (OK, it resulted in a lot of garbage skills, as well.)

    Still, I miss the originality bonus. One of the biggest problems in Men’s Gymnastics is routines with similar structure. The new code has helped.

    Chellsie Memmel at Woodward Lake Owen

    From Chellsie’s blog:

    Hi everyone!!

    I just celebrated my 19th birthday yesterday! …

    I also just got back from Lake Owen Camp and had a blast.

    I had a great time talking with the younger gymnasts — they were a really fun group! We had a question-and-answer session with all of the campers and then had a few smaller ones with some of the VIP gyms. I enjoy being a role model for young girls.

    My whole team that I workout with came up to the camp as well. There are six little girls that I train with — they are ages 9 to 11 and one of them is my youngest sister, Skyler.

    memmel_350_062707.jpg

    WCSN Blogs » Blog Archive » Turning 19

    Lake Owen, Wisconsin, is one of 3 famous Woodward Gymnastics and Action Sports Summer Camps.

    gymnast Shayla Worley – amazing bars!

    I love her gymnastics!

    Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

    Shayla.jpg

    Shayla Worley – wallpaper

    Shayla Worley – official website

    Cirque Du Soleil auditions – Orlando 2006

    Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda – audio slideshow of photos from the last gymnastics and acrobatic audition in Florida.

    Audio Slideshow: Cirque Du Soleil Auditions: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

    (There seems to be no way to embed the slideshow. You need click the link above to see it.)