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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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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…
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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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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…
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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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Is Arch Up Type Conditioning Contributing To Back Pain In Gymnasts?

I did them growing up..arch ups, uppers, lowers, back extensions hanging over blocks, you name it. As a coach, I also had a lot of my girls do it just going on what I learned. Stuart McGill's work has been out for some time now, and based off…