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3 Reasons Why A Gradual Return To Gymnastics Following Injury Is Key: Pain Science, Tissue Adaptation, and Psychology

I've been working on this piece for a while, trying to put together the different thoughts that have been buzzing in my brain for the last few years. Although I'm optimistic we can make a big dent in gymnastics injuries, unfortunately it is…
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Are Gymnasts Being Limited By Strength & Conditioning That Isn’t Individualized Enough?

If any readers had a similar up bringing in gymnastics to me, strength and conditioning was of course a staple in training. Come strength time you were given an assignment that was the same level of difficulty say 3 sets of 10 pull ups, dips,…
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Are Dips and “Skin The Cat” Type Stretches Dangerous For Female Gymnasts?

I've been brewing on this topic for over a year now, originally sparked one of Eric Cressey's articles on the possible dangers of using dips with baseball players.  Reading that article and some other literature made me start to scratch…

How To Quickly Screen A Gymnast’s Ankle Mobility

The concept of screening is something huge I think the gymnastics world need to regularly partake in due to the high physical demands and injury rates. Screening refers to the idea of performing tests or movement assessments on gymnasts regularly…
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Screening Overhead Mobility in Gymnasts (Application of The JBJ Approach To Handstands Pt 3)

Last month I started writing about how I apply the Joint by Joint Theory proposed by Gray Cook/Mike Boyle into a basic gymnastics movement, the handstand. In Part I of this article series I went over some background info, and talked about the…
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5 Reasons Why I Don’t Push My Gymnasts Down During Splits – Part 2

The response to Part 1 of this post was incredible and ended up being one of the most viewed pieces of content on the site. I got some great feedback and it was awesome to see people enjoyed it. I think it's a topic many people involved in gymnastics think…
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5 Reasons Why I Don’t Push My Gymnasts Down During Splits – Part 1

Bet that title caught your eye as you were browsing. Well it's true, safe to say I haven't really pushed anyone down during splits or much of any flexibility for quite some time now. I had plenty of memories as a gymnast standing up after…
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Gym Quick Tips: Cue Your Gymnast’s Core with The Moving Fulcrum Conditioning Drill

As many people who follow my blog may know, I have written about my concerns with doing high volume dynamic arch up type conditioning with gymnasts. This includes lots of arch ups/superman's, uppers, lowers, weighted arching, and so on. Although…
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Quick Overhead/Posture Pre-Hab for Gymnasts – Wall Angel Progressions

One of the common trends I see in a lot of gymnasts I work with are issues in their middle spine (thoracic spine) and shoulder blade. Many times the gymnast gets "wide back" and rounded forward chest, with the shoulder joints sitting forward/rotated…
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3 Reasons Why Not To Stretch Toe Point In Gymnasts With A History Of Ankle Sprains

I wanted to blog quick about a scenario where it might be a good idea NOT to stretch a gymnasts ankles for a toe point. Ankles are one of the most frequently injured body parts in gymnastics with a variety of injuries from getting crunched…