Patience is a Gymnast's Greatest Virtue

Patience is man’s greatest virtue
Or so the saying goes,
A gymnast must have said it,
For a gymnast surely knows.

That in this funny sport of ours
Discouragement runs high,
And at times the very best
Will find the virtue’s passed her by.
When hands are ripped and throbbing
And every muscle sore
Can a gymnast still have patience
To limp back in for more.
Can you admit you’re frightened
Yet not give into fears
Can you conquer pain, frustrations
And often even tears.
When someone else does something
You’ve tried so long to do
Can you feel really glad for her
And not just pity you.
When you’ve lost old moves
You used to do
And progress seems so slow
Can you still have faith in better days
And not feel so sad and low.
And when success seems so far away
Your efforts all in vain
Can you force yourself to wear a smile
And disregard the pain.

If despite these tribulations
You can say, “I won’t give in”
Someday you will discover
That it’s now your turn to WIN

-Author Unknown

Optimal Fuel for Your Engine

Gymnastcare on why it is vital to have a good, pre-workout snack to get you through practice:

Gymnasts, by the way they workout, are not able to access stored energy tissue (fat) during practice. They are mostly using anaerobic processes to create energy in their muscles. So, they are only able to use readily available resources in the blood (glucose) and in the muscles (glycogen).

So they need a great pre-workout snack in order to guarantee they have ample amounts of energy to get through practice.

Here are the key points to what makes a pre-workout snack for gymnasts great:

• Needs to contain carbohydrates, proteins and fats, but be heavier on the carbohydrates
• Eaten 1-1 1/2 hours before working out to give it time to digest
• Be of high quality, whole foods

My favorite example of a pre-workout snack would be 1/2 of a peanut butter and banana sandwich or an apple dipped in almond butter.

You don’t have to utilize a pre-workout snack, but if you do, you’re gymnast will see amazing results!
If you’d like help with your nutrition, we’ve created an amazing nutrition program for families with athletes. It’s called Stay Fueled and you can find it by clicking here…it utilizes all of the amazing principles we discuss here on gymnastcare.com.

It’s amazingly affordable and it can help to your gymnast to the next level.

Make sure come Monday, you pack a winning snack and a champion's lunch! 

And make sure it's tasty yum!

Sunday Funnies: Pommel Unicorn

This doesn't look very safe...

Seriously, two spotters, padded on the sides into a trench pit, padding all around...could this kid be any safer in attempting giants on the bar?




That's at Woodward Gymnastics Camp, in Pennsylvania.

Ankle Stabilization with the Star Pattern

Dr. Nassar:



Dr. Josh:

If your gymnast is having issues with balance, or they are recovering from an ankle injury and they need more therapy to increase their balance, this training can be for them. This will also help increase core strength and landing ability. It’s all around great therapy.
Steps to make this training a success:

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Pity the Fool!

I pity the fool who doesn't watch this intro:

More Foam Roller Exercises

These come by way of Dr. Larry Nassar (most having to deal with thoracic mobility).

How is Your Aim?

Don't fear failure. 

Not failure, but low aim, is the crime.

In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail.

-Bruce Lee

Study on the Benefits of Foam Rollers

These have become very popular- with good reason.

I believe Cora had tried to get more foam rollers into the gym.  The one in the gym is extremely popular with both the girls and boys team and it is always being hunted after.

Study:

Last year we reported on a study that showed that using a foam roller before a workout increased range of motion without decreasing power, suggesting that foam rolling could substitute for pre-run static stretching. Now there's evidence a post-workout roll might also be a good idea.

 Read my previous blogpost why stretching before workout is not only not necessary, but is potentially counterproductive.

In a study that will be published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 20 men did a workout of ten sets of 10 squats, with each squat at 60% of their one-rep max. Afterward, half of them did 20 minutes of foam rolling on their legs, and the other half followed their usual post-workout routine.

Researchers measured things like muscle soreness, range of motion, and vertical leap 24, 48, and 72 hours after the hard workout.

By all measures, the foam-roller group fared better in the days after their hard workout. They not only had less soreness at all times, but their soreness peaked 24 hours after the workout, while muscle soreness peaked 48 hours after the workout in those who didn't foam roll. The foam-roller group also performed better in tests of vertical leap, range of motion, and muscle contraction.

All of these findings suggest that the post-workout foam rolling helped to speed recovery. In theory, this should allow a higher level of training.

Tip from USA Gymnastics to enhance muscle performance and recovery:

Live as if No One is Watching

By Daniel Light

What muscle groups are necessary to swing bars well?

 Well, of course "most" muscles in your body serve some level of function that aides in human movement, in general.  But....

Is bars primarily an event that requires:

• A) Upper body strength
• B) Strong core
• C) Leg strength
• D) None of the above

More to the Glide Swing than Meets the Eye

Example of good glide: 
Glides.wmv

Either Make Like a Purpose; or follow the 10,000 Hour Rule

"It's not the years Honey, it's the mileage'

-Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark

 More hours of practice is not necessarily the primary driver in achieving higher performance results:

Many theorists argue that thousands of hours of focused, deliberate practice is sufficient to achieve elite status.

Hambrick disagrees.

"The evidence is quite clear," he writes, "that some people do reach an elite level of performance without copious practice, while other people fail to do so despite copious practice."

Hambrick and colleagues analyzed 14 studies of chess players and musicians, looking specifically at how practice was related to differences in performance. Practice, they found, accounted for only about one-third of the differences in skill in both music and chess.

So what made up the rest of the difference?

Based on existing research, Hambrick said it could be explained by factors such as intelligence or innate ability, and the age at which people start the particular activity. 

~~~

While the conclusion that practice may not make perfect runs counter to the popular view that just about anyone can achieve greatness if they work hard enough, Hambrick said there is a "silver lining" to the research.

"If people are given an accurate assessment of their abilities and the likelihood of achieving certain goals given those abilities," he said, "they may gravitate toward domains in which they have a realistic chance of becoming an expert through deliberate practice."

Hat tip:  Gymnastics Coaching.com

On a side note and to make a separate point,

Pain is Temporary....

"Don't worry:  When the pain goes away, it'll stop hurting."

-Me

That Simpsons segment, I'm confident, was inspired by the real-life story of Shun FUJIMOTO in the '76 Montreal Olympics:




He helped the "grand old men" of Japan win their 5th consecutive Olympic team gold medal:

Caption This

Compulsory Level Gymnastics Conditioning

Sunday Funnies

Men's Parallel Paper Bars

Gymnast with Apparatus

Created by Luigi Leonardi

Folded by Francois Ziegler

Diagrams in OUSA '95 and 

possibly BOS 161

 Personally, I'd call this next one "Crumple-gami" ('cept that "gami/kami" means "paper"), sculpting with aluminum foil:

When Paper Stands Up and Walks....

Acrobat

Created and Folded by

Charles Santee

Single square

As a former gymnast and coach, my critique on the realistic capture:


Love that lower back, archy-pike, legs swimming apart, and head sticking out- realistically sloppy.

What's impressive is that it looks to be balanced in mid-motion on one arm.

The use of Methodical Equipment

An instructional Film about a lot of methodical ideas and equipments for the development and refinement of fundamental structures of modern artistic gymnastics.
Created and produced at a Janssen-Fritsen seminar on the occasion of the 2010 World Championships in Rotterdam

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Arthur- D.W. Flips

Description:

D.W wants to take gymnastics class after seeing a gymnast on TV, but her mom gives her several examples of D.W never finishing what she wants to do. She gets her way and goes to her first class. Emily is there and D.W doesn't like her because she seems to do everything perfectly. D.W is determined to be better then her and ends up making a new friend.

Ultimately, Gymnastics is Play

"If people never did silly things nothing intelligent would ever get done.” 

–Wittgenstein

 One of the most important aspects of serious gymnastics training is having the chance to play; to remove the stifling constraints of competitive gymnastics and allow exploration and unbridled creativity to flourish (so long as all appropriate waivers have been signed...*ahem*)- to simply pursue the fun of human movement:

Forster-Resnick Bar Boot Camp Toe-ons, Toe-Catches

New Level 5 Compulsories

Vault:




Bars:



Beam:

New Level 4 Compulsories

Vault:





Bars:

New Level 3 Compulsories

Vault:




Bars:

Presentation and Panache

This kid is very impressive:

I've posted a couple of video tips from the British Gymnastics channel, featuring Catherine Lyons in the past.  Here, you can witness her crisp, sharp movements and confident elegance on floor.  Her tumbling technique is also very clean and well-conditioned:

You are What You Eat

Twenty years ago, I remember the women's team at UCLA monitored their eating habits.  Us men?  Not so much...

The Journey is the Destination

When you get to the top of the mountain...keep climbing.

-Zen saying

 Most people, upon reaching the top, look down and enjoy the view.  The smart money is on looking up and finding new mountains to climb. 

 ~Jeb Dickerson

 Before Enlightenment: chop wood, carry water, after Enlightenment: chop wood, carry water.

-Zen saying

M & M

Shoulder Blocking

I'll give a thumbs up for any willing to try this:





And a high-five for any of you who can successfully do it.

Grips, Gauze, Rubber, and Wrist Bands

Some of the girls like to use rubber bands to help keep their grips from slipping off the fingers:

This video explains how girls should put on their pair of American Gymnast grips and answers one of the most common questions we receive about our grips - how to use our unique elastic band finger-locking system.

Snack Food as Motivator

Once at SMGC, I hung a bag of cookies above the bars to motivate one of the girls.

Flyaway Training Explained....in French

You might need an FB account in order to view this video:






An understanding of French might also be of help.

Obstacle Course

So much cheating going on....and non-enforcement of form and execution here!

Happy Father's Day!

They say that from the instant he lays eyes on her, a father adores his daughter. Whoever she grows up to be, she is always to him that little girl in pigtails. She makes him feel like Christmas. In exchange, he makes a secret promise not to see the awkwardness of her teenage years, the mistakes she makes or the secrets she keeps. 

-Unknown

Bars Coaching Clinic with Coach Wade

Direction of tap:


Bar elasticity and swinging with relaxed strength:

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Animalympics

This might be nostalgia for some of the parents:





Wikipedia:

Animalympics is a 1980 animated film produced by Lisberger Studios and released by Warner Bros.. It is one of the first animated feature films presented with Dolby sound. Originally commissioned by the NBC network as two separate specials, it spoofs the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, and features the voices of Billy Crystal, Gilda Radner, Harry Shearer and Michael Fremer.

A bit of tumbling basics

From the end of March:



Watch the hurdle and lunge into roundoffs....body shape and position going into the backhandsprings....head position on the saltos.

A Certain Quote

If you want a certain thing, you must first be a certain person. Once you are that certain person, obtaining that certain thing will no longer be a concern of yours.

-Zen Saying

Phew! I made it....I think!

Ah....romanticizing the generational difference, with some truth, methinks....

You are Your Own Best Student

I am not teaching you anything. I just help you to explore yourself

-Bruce Lee

Let's not skip running drills

If you want to learn how to run fast, why wouldn't you consult those who make running fast their field of expertise? 

There are many neuro-muscular coordination and conditioning drills in track and field that can help gymnasts learn to sprint fast.  And the first thing about vaulting is that you have to know how to run.  Fast.

Here are just some random drills I pulled from YouTube.  There are tons out there and these probably aren't even the best ones.  But I hope it piques the interest of my former gymnasts in doing more research on running.

Some of these drills are familiar....



This first video covers

1.  High knees
2.  Quick feet
3.  Lunges
4.  Consecutive lunges (bad angle in vid; but note the leg extends out prior to lunging)
5.  Single leg squats
6.  Goose steps (straight leg runs)
7.  Power skips
8.  Strides

I like this video as well.


A skip explained:




B skip:




Reanna demonstrating the B skip:




We'll skip showing the "Double-A skip"  (~_^)



Sprint speed against a wall (I like the resistance band usage).

Ya don't say?!

 Classic:

 "I can always do it when no one is watching."

-Emma T., January 13, 2010

How's your handstand?

Tips for In-bar Work

Primarily aimed at in-bar circling elements like clear hips, stalders, and toe-hands:

•  1.  Head position
• 2.  Straight arms
• 3.  Chest in, rounded back

I like the shape the kid in the last drill is maintains.  Similar to what I was trying to do in the 2nd half of this video.

Front Aerial Tips

Related: 
Landing Front Aerials - Tammy Biggs 
Aerials and Aerial Flipping (with sliders)
Front Aerial- Mary Lee Tracy (with sliders) 
Leg drives 10 1 10 017 (with sliders)

Walkover Tips for Beam and Floor

Balance Beam Backhandspring

Related interest: 
Back handspring Drill! - Drop from block to hands on low beam

Repetition is the Mother of All Teachers

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once; but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

-Bruce Lee

Translated into gymnastics terms:  Repetition, repetition, "boring" repetition....

By repeating the same correct pattern over and over again, you are trying to create a correct habit. 


Once it's in your muscle memory, you can cartwheel and chew gum (of the figurative flavor) at the same time.

The Journey of a Thousand Chin-ups begins with...

Look to the future and past....live in the present

'Where did you go to, if I may ask?’ said Thorin to Gandalf as they rode along.

‘To look ahead,’ said he.

‘And what brought you back in the nick of time?’

‘Looking behind,’ said he.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

 

Go Broadway!

AmericanTowns:

The men’s and women’s gymnastics teams at Broadway Gymnastics School (BGS) in Los Angeles, CA just completed their 2012-2013 competitive seasons with amazing leaps of improvements. Several gymnasts were able to obtain scores high enough to skip levels due to all the new skills they learned since the last competitive season, still winning numerous individual medals and team trophies!

BGS Girls Team
Level 9 (L9) Western Championships were held in Roseville, CA May 2-5, 2013. Caroline Spertus won 2nd on Balance Beam (BB) and Thea Obrist won 3rd on Vault. At L9 Region 1 Championships in Pheonix, AZ, Obrist won 1st on Uneven Bars (UB) and 3rd on Vault; Spertus took 1st on Floor Exercise (FX) and Cydney Kone won 3rd on BB. At Level 7 (L7) Region 1 Championships April 26-27 in Nevada, Remi Godinez placed 2nd on BB, FX and All-Around (AA) and qualified to compete for SoCal’s Regional Team, which won 1st! At SoCal’s State Championships held in Long Beach, CA, Spertus also won the Silver State L9 Vault Title and Rowan Wong won the Level 8 (L8) State Bronze BB Title.

Lisa Simpson Does the Balance Beam

Give a Gymnast Enough Rope....

....and she'll hang herself upside down:

Coach Leonard Isaacs at North Stars Gymnastics in Boonton, New Jersey created a fun and innovative conditioning drill that to create a better "block" on vault and increase shoulder strength and flexibility

Summer is the Time to Get in BETTER Shape!

"Seven days without gymnastics makes one weak."

-Unknown

By Marc Jacobs

How does a gymnast get better?  Beyond the obvious answers, I'll add the atypical one:  Take time off.  Take a break.  Rest and relaxation.  Don't think about gymnastics.  Go on vacation.

Time away from the gym is a necessary requirement to build a healthy, well-rounded athlete.  Life outside of the gym is just as important to cultivate as life in the gym; and by improving the one, it will benefit the other. 

This, by no means, is an endorsement for laziness and the couch potato mentality.

At the Expense of Parents and Their Susies....

The following video by Jason Mortimer went viral within the gymnastics community (especially amongst coaches) when it was made a few years ago.



Xtra Normal is a free site that uses text-to-speech technology to allow its users to create cartoon videos.

Coaches cringe at having to deal with the occasional armchair quarterback coaching-from-the-sidelines-gym parent.  A Susie parent.

Of course, coaches can also be a royal pain in the rump themselves; and I'm still waiting for an Xtra Normal video put out from the parent's perspective, satirizing their interactions with difficult coaches.

Gymnastics Coaching.com posted one this morning made on judges.  I can see one being made also by a judge about parents and coaches; and one from parents and coaches about judges.

When Jason's video started making its rounds on the internet, it inspired others to create more Susie videos.  (Morgan should be happy to know they have some on cheer!).

Examples: 
When will Tiffany start fulls?
Level 5 Gymnastics Bar Routine Perfect 10 Score?


God forbid should any gymnast decide to create one, mocking their coaches....

How could I have missed this?!

Looks like it was probably released during the summer Olympics last year in McDonald's Happy Meals:






I want one!

Active Flex Across the Floor: Split rolls

Origami Gymnastics Sequence

 Catching last year's Olympic fever, Marcela Brina folded a couple of gymnasts:

After browsing a few books, looking for ideas, I found two appropriate models designed by Akira Yoshizawa.  So here is my simplified version of a scene at the Olympic Games: an athlete preparing for the Floor exercise in the Artistic Gymnastics competition being encouraged by his coach.

Click the link for the photo

The Man, and the Man Standing on Hands, are two models designed by Akira Yoshizawa, that can be found in the book, Origami Full of Life,

 It reminded me that back in 2003, I had folded some and tried to pose them in an action sequence:

4-28-2003

4-30-2003

Stupid is, as stupid does

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity. 

-Robert Heinlein

Did you graduate today?

"Graduation is only a concept.  In real life everyday you graduate.  Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life.  If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference.."

-Arie Pencovici

Make Today a Masterpiece!

“Live one day at a time and make it a masterpiece.” 

-The Dalai Lama (?)

    Musashi was kneeling silently, as though in meditation, his brush, ink box and brush pot beside him.  He had already finished one painting- a heron beneath a willow tree.  The paper before him now was still blank.  He was considering what to draw.  Or more exactly, quietly trying to put himself into the right frame of mind, for that was necessary before he could visualize the picture or know the technique he would employ.

He saw the white paper as the great universe of nonexistence.  A single stroke would give rise to existence within it.  He could evoke rain or wind at will, but whatever he drew, his heart would remain in the painting forever.  If his heart was tainted, the picture would be tainted; if his heart was listless, so would the picture be.  If he attempted to make a show of his craftsmanship, it could not be concealed.  Men's bodies fade away, but ink lives on.  The image of his heart would continue to breathe after he himself was gone.

 -From Musashi, by Eiji Yoshikawa

Each day of your life is like a blank canvas.  Once the paint touches, there are no do-overs; no rewind.  Any mistakes must become part of the overall picture.


How will you paint your day? 


The canvas is yours!

Judy Kline Gadget with Tom Forster

Must be a girl thing...

Gay or straight, you'll never catch a male gymnast talking about a leotard collection (I don't know what they call them nowadays, but we men used to call our uniforms "step-ins").





How many leotards do you own?

Attitude of guys:  WHO CARES?!?!


Hat tip:  Gymnastics Coaching.com

The Pig and the Chicken

A Pig and a Chicken are walking down the road.

The Chicken says: "Hey Pig, I was thinking we should open a restaurant!"

Pig replies: "Hm, maybe, what would we call it?"

The Chicken responds: "How about 'ham-n-eggs'?"

The Pig thinks for a moment and says: "No thanks. I'd be committed, but you'd only be involved!"

Moral: 

The Lesson of the Three Little Pigs

From "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs"

Everyone is pretty familiar with the story of the Three Little Pigs, or some variant of it.  The sugar-coated version does a disservice in shielding children from the harsh reality:  The first two pigs do not survive their mistakes; but are eaten by the wolf.

For me, and for the purpose of this blogpost, the essence of the story is this:

Physical Preparation & a Solid Foundation

"If I had 8 hours to cut down a tree, I'd spend the first 6 hours sharpening the ax."

-Attributed to Abraham Lincoln

Winning Gymnastics eNewsletter:

The human body is perhaps one of the most complex systems imaginable, while the four competitive events in women's gymnastics serve as a formidable medium through which to demonstrate the body's potential. For the system to operate at maximum efficiency, it must be prepared to meet the demands imposed by the medium. To establish the proper training protocol, it is imperative that coaches have a clear and accurate understanding of not only the system (the performer) but also the medium (women's gymnastics).  

TOP's Test: Handstand Hold

TOPs Testing: Leg Lifts

TOPs Bridge Test

TOPs Testing: Leg Flexibility

TOP's Rope Climb Test

TOPs testing: Cast Handstand

TOPs Testing: 20 Meter Sprint

TOPs Vertical Jump Challenge

TOP's Press Handstand Challenge

Do you have "the shakes"?

Strengthening stability muscles

Yesterday morning I ran into Rodger while out for my exercise (not an uncommon occurrence) and he being walked by his golden retriever, Logan.  We walked back to Rodger's garage so he could show me some of his latest exercise equipment.  It includes rope undulations.  He showed an invention that his friend made for him.  It is patented and in the processing stage of being marketed.  The concept is the same as Groundswell bongo boards, wobble boards, bosu balls, Coreboard, and any other variant of a balance board device.  This one incorporates 4 relatively tall springs.  One of the exercises Rodger mentioned doing is to jump onto the board (like doing block jumps) and landing in a freeze position.  I think it would be a great exercise to practice stuck dismount landings.  I'm hoping to be able to acquire one of these.

 I tried standing on it in a squat and could not control my leg muscles from quaking.

What do I mean?

Who wants it more?

A hound spotted a hare and gave chase. After some distance the hound began to gain, but then gave up the chase. As the hound returned home a farmer commented that the little hare had been too much for the hound, who replied, “It’s one thing to run for your dinner; but quite another to run for your life.”

Moral: 

A long time ago....in a galaxy far, far away....

Someone used to be able to do flairs....



I don't remember the exact year, but maybe 2 or 3 years post collegiate career.  UCLA assistant men's coach Yefim Furman and myself were personal (gymnastics fitness) trainers for Laura's business, Energy Unlimited. 

This appearance on the Home Show was to help promote the business and the virtues of participating in adult gymnastics.

Purpose and Meaning in Every Experience

The talent for being happy is appreciating and liking what you have, instead of what you don't have. 

-Woody Allen

I smiled sadly, then bit my lip again as I was assaulted by a wave of pain.

Joy soothed me with her voice.  "Everything has a purpose, Danny; it's for you to make the best use of it."

"How will I ever make use of this accident?"

"There are no accidents, Danny.  Everything is a lesson.  Everything has a purpose, a purpose, a purpose, "she repeated, whispering in my ear.

"But my gymnastics, my training- it's over."

"This is your training.  The pain can purify the mind and body; it burns out many obstructions."  She saw the questioning look in my eyes, and added, "a warrior doesn't seek pain, but if pain comes, he uses it."

-Excerpt from Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman, pg 104

Goodbye Broadway! Hello Broadway!

Perfect 10 Strong!!!

 Chin-up Champion!

You will be missed!

Thank you for everything, Christine!  Best of luck to you and Vic in your new stomping grounds on the right coast...and remember:  You're never as far from Broadway as you think! 

6-1-2013

Gymnast vs. Orangutan

Hanging any which way but loose....


The previous post reminded me of this video, posted on Gymnastics Coaching.com 3 years ago:





Pound for pound, gymnasts are the strongest human athletes on the planet.

I'm so glad Marshal Erwin didn't get bored and decide to tinkle in the middle of a heated contest.

Monkey Giants

I wonder if a monkey like this would be trainable in doing other skills, including stuff that would be physiologically impossible for a human:



Take him to a pit- dismounts, release-catches...


Notice the wrist shift?  The shortening of the body over the top?


Definitely a candidate for a one-arm release to a one-arm catch.







Gymnastics Coaching.com  has a related post of interest, from 3 years ago:

A Dutch zoo called in the services of an Olympic gymnast to re-teach orangutans how to climb trees in their enclosure.

The zoo Ouwehands Dierenpark Rhenen, located in the centre of the country, said it had renovated the enclosure to allow the orangutans to swing from tree to tree in an outdoor setting above the public — but they’ve forgotten the skill of climbing.
Olympian Epke Zonderland showed the orangutans his skills in the hope of re-teaching them how to swing.

‘It was very funny to teach the monkeys today, I didn’t have any experience with those animals to train, and I was very curious if they would copy me, but I think they did their best,’ Zonderland said. …

Big Pond

From the looks of the video, it seems Epke has more to learn from the beasts.

Elfin Smile and Pixie Personality

To this day, my favorite female gymnast who epitomizes artistry and expressiveness remains Oksana Omelianchik. 


Here is her routine at the 1985 European Championships, floor event finals: