Guest Post By Rupert Egan: Gymnastics Periodization To Maximize Performance (Part 1)
Today I'm super excited to start a guest post series from my friend Rupert Egan. I originally starting talking with Rupert last year regarding strength and conditioning concepts for gymnasts. I recently had the chance to spend a week with…
5 Reasons Training Proper Breathing Is Key (Part 3): Increase Routine Endurance and Breathing Drill Videos
Two weeks ago I started this post, and people have really seemed to enjoy it. If you missed Part 1 (find it here) I covered some basics about breathing, some concepts related to core stability, and the influence of breathing on movement. In…
Tracking Growth and Development To Reduce Injury Risk In Gymnasts
I'm always trying to wrap my head around ways to integrate current literature and science about injury prevention into gymnastics training. One of the areas I have spent a lot of time thinking on is growth and development tracking, and how…
5 Reasons Why Training Proper Breathing Is Key (Part 1)
I've hinted at breathing in a lot of my previous posts, but it definitely deserves its own feature. People may not think breathing is a big deal, but I can assure you it is. Most athletes are unaware of their breathing patterns, except for…
A Complete Brain Spill on All Things Pain Science, Motor Control, Instability, and Gymnastics
A lot of people have asked me how concepts like pain science, motor control, and working with the naturally hypermobile athlete all tie together in terms of injury. Through the last few years I have dramatically changed my approach to both…
Follow Up To Gymnast with Shoulder Instability and Pain During Overshoots, Plus Shoulder Performance Drills
A few months ago I posted an article related to general hypermobility/instability causing shoulder pain in one of my level 9 gymnasts. I brought up some concepts that I think are very important related to flexibility training, dynamic stability,…
Improving Overhead Mobility and Transferring It To Handstands : “Overhead Shoulder Performance Complex” Example
I had a great response from the post I put up a few weeks ago related to improving split mobility through one variation of the "Hip Performance Complex" I have been playing around with. I think this approach to changing movement and building…
Improving Split Mobility and Transferring It To Beam: “Performance Complex” Hip Example
One of the biggest things I see is problematic in terms of performance and injury in gymnastics is when we focus so much on mobility, but then neglect the steps that should come after to change movement. These include drills to add dynamic…
Thoughts on Why To Use The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) In Gymnastics
A few months back, an article came out in Technique magazine about the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and it's concepts. I think it was a great introduction, but I have been meaning to pitch in my two cents on why I feel using the FMS is…
How Much Flexibility Is Too Much For A Gymnast?
I've been touching on this concept a lot in the last year, and I think it's very important for the people involved in gymnastics to consider. Gymnastics is well known as a sport that requires an excessive amount of mobility and flexibility (I…