Ellie Downie Discusses Her Elite Gymnastics Career, Longevity, and Mental Health -

Today in the podcast, I am excited to have senior British artistic gymnast Ellie Downie.

Ellie from Notts Gymnastics Club has won multiple international medals and titles and is the All-around 2017 European gymnastics champion, the first British gymnast to win a major all-around title.

Her big sister Becky Downie was on the podcast a few years ago and I’ve always wanted to have Ellie on to talk about training, culture, and everything that she’s done to be so successful along with her sister.

I love talking to athletes about their experiences in gymnastics, trying to learn from them, and pulling out some value for parents, coaches, or gymnasts that are still active in the sport.

There’s so much that we can learn from people like Ellie, who have had a long, successful career, and also I think it’s important to not only highlight what got them to where they are but also, what would they do differently?

What would they like to see, change in the sport right now?

I really think that this is a valuable conversation because she pulls out some really great topics around; changing the age to become a senior, going slower at a younger age, what her family did to help her reach success, and how she’s changed her training by using weights and cross-training and how that’s been effective.

Ellie gives a lot of practical advice about what she has done, I really enjoyed this conversation and can’t thank her enough.

We discuss:

Ellie Downie’s key to recovery.

Advice to coaches who are trying to achieve longevity in their athletes.

Ellie’s thought on giving gymnasts take a break from competitions or training during puberty.

Injuries, anxiety, and stress; what Ellie has learned to cope with these.

Why Ellie doesn’t use Twitter anymore.

The important role of Ellie’s mom in her life and gymnastics career.

And…

How Ellie’s training has involved over the years and the use of weight training.