Build Power and Core Control with These 3 Medball Exercises
Many athletes do a lot of isolated core work like side or front planks, hollow rocks, leg lifts, and so on. This type of core strength is valuable when in conjunction with teaching athletes the basics of breathing, bracing, spinal control.…
Does Having Good Form Make A Gymnast’s Squat Worse?
It's known to the gymnastics world that having good form in all skills is pretty much essential to success. You can throw all the craziest skills in the world, but if they are very sloppy the aesthetics look pretty bad, and judges likely break…
Video Quick Tip! Suitcase Carries for Lateral Core Work
I'm a big fan of suitcase carries as they can take a more traditional side plank and turn it into an upright, reactive, and more challenging exercise. Although we do a lot of side plank variations also, suitcase carries create a very unique…
Video Quick Tip: 1/2 Turkish Get Up to Overhead Walk
This post is in conjunction with a short video tip I put out earlier this month on overhead shoulder stabilization drills. I have been seeing a lot of young gymnasts with overuse elbow injuries, especially those that are going through rapid…
New Overhead Weight Bearing Shoulder Stabilization Exercise
Here is a stabilization drill I have started to use a lot to help weight bearing overhead athletes train dynamic stability. Many times the forces of handstands, impact, or other axial loads are very high and as a result injuries come up,…
Video Quick Tip! Full Tuck Handstand Drill For Overhead Strength
Here is a drill that I learned a lot time ago, but have recently been using a lot more putting my own spin on it. I think it's great to work weight bearing, end range shoulder control without allowing rib flare cheating. Many gymnasts will…
Don’t Feed The Fire: Modifying Strength To Increase Flexibility
This is something I have been thinking about as I continue to treat a lot more gymnasts who come to me with injury or performance issues. I'm always trying to break down the problem to help the athlete, but also find the "spark" that created…
Why Gymnasts Must Change How They Land
The topic of how a gymnast should land continues to be controversial for many coaches, gymnasts, and judges. I'm not the first person to bring this up, as my good friend Dr. Josh Eldridge as well as Rick McCharles have written on this up before.…
Treat Strength Like Skill Training – A Change In The Gymnastics Strength and Conditioning Paradigm
Today I am happy to bring readers another fantastic guest post by Rupert Egan. Rupert wrote Part 1 of this article series a while back, and I'm excited he is back for Part 2. I think Rupert brings up some crucial points here that coaches and…
Why I Don’t Use Ankle Weights With My Gymnasts
To start, I'm aware this is another controversial topic in gymnastics. I have spent quite a long time organizing my thoughts and how to present them in a positive, constructive article. As a younger coach, I used to do a ton of ankle weight…