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Concussion Tools for Gymnastics Coaches, Parents, and Medical Providers

I spent the last 4 days in Washington D.C. taking an Emergency Medicine Response course as part of my upcoming Sports PT boards (don't worry I passed). One area of injuries we spent a long time discussing and practicing was spinal/neck injuries…
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Elastic Band ASSISTED Hip Drills For Better Angles and Control

Elastic band drills are all over gymnastics mainly being used as added resistance to hip motion. In the right scenario I think the resistance can be useful. However, I have noticed many gymnasts I work with show huge passive hip motion, but…
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3 Thoughts To A Key Article – “Women’s Worlds Team Defying The Norm: Is Sixteen No Longer The Peak?”

Gymnastike put out a great article this week "Women's Worlds Team Defying The Norm: Is Sixteen No Longer The Peak?". I think the concepts behind this article are crucial for all of gymnastics to consider. This idea of age being just a number,…
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Mobility Exercise’s To Boost Shoulder Health In Male Gymnasts (Part 1)

Although I do spend more time in women's gymnastics, I want to start offering more information to help take care of the male gymnasts out there. Growing up and training, I had my fair share of injuries and wished that I had some ways to proactively…
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How Many Impacts and Hyperextensions Do Gymnasts Actually Take?

Another set of the age old questions in gymnastics; "How much is too much?", "How much is enough to get a skill?", and "How much until we get nervous about injury?"A big concept that myself and other gymnastics healthcare providers talk about…
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Gymnastics and Lifting Weights: Don’t Fear Plates, Kettlebells, and Barbells.

This is an extremely controversial topic in gymnastics: should gymnasts use external weights and barbell work for strength. This "elephant in the room" concept is way too big of an issue to address in one blog post, but I still want to open…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…