The Gymnastics Flexibility Blueprint

In this module, we cover exactly what types of stretching, soft tissue care, active flexibility, and strength drills are supported by science to not only be effective but safe. We summarize all the latest science for you, and tell you exactly what it means practically when working with gymnasts

In this first practical session, we break down exactly what you need to do if you want to improve overhead shoulder flexibility and behind the back shoulder flexibility. That way, you can have beautiful handstand lines, get those back handsprings, or work the highest level vaults and bar skills. We then cover another section on behind the back flexibility for male gymnasts looking to improve pommel horse, parallel bar, and rings skills. 

Along with right/left splits, we know that many people also want to improve their straddle split and pancake flexibility. So, we keep the ball rolling and discuss the exact stretching, soft tissue care, and active flexibility drills that you can implement right away for the hamstrings and inner thigh muscles. We break down what helps improve straddle vs pancake motions, and how to make changes 'stick'. 

The pike position is essential for higher level jumps/leaps, but also for advanced bar skills in both mens and womens gymnastics. It can be tricky to figure out what is limiting an athlete's pike position, so we start by breaking down the stretches to avoid for safety. Then we talk about how to get the hamstrings and core going for a deep pike position that skills require. 

The ankles can be a really tough joint to see flexibility improvements in, and if left alone it can cause huge issues in sprinting speed, beam balance, floor/vault landings, and dismounts. Many people are also looking for a beautiful toe point. So, we cover exactly what can be done to help get both toe point and the 'toes up' motion to improve so that athletes can be safer and have amazing foot form in their skills.  

In gymnastics, the wrists serve as a second set of ankles as we try to do crazy skills on our hands. So many gymnasts struggle with wrist flexibility, and as a result wrist pain, due to this. So, we share exactly what can help to improve flexibility of the wrists for better handstand lines, tumbling, pommel swings, and parallel bar work. 

This is where the rubber meets the road! Most courses or clinics give you hundreds of great flexibility drills to use, but then when you go back home you're left asking yourself "now what the heck do I do?". We want to make sure you feel FULLY prepared to use the new content from the first modules. So, in this section we talk about building comprehensive warm ups, flexibility circuits, side stations, and recovery periods. You'll know exactly how to start using the new information right away.

We know that flexibility training is no walk in the park, and rarely is it a nice smooth process. There are tons of 'real life' problems that come up. What do you do if someone isn't making flexibility progress? How do we handle growth and puberty? What is 'good' vs 'bad' soreness in stretching? What about gym cultures full of 'old school' ideas or people who aren't open to change? Instead of shying away, we tackle these issues head on and give you practical advice on how to handle them. 

Like we said, we want you to feel FULLY prepared for any flexibility issues that comes your way. So, we put together a massive collection of stretches, soft tissue drills, active flexibility exercises, strength work, and more for you to check out. We know that not everyone has the same time, equipment, and space, so we wanted to make sure a variety of drills were available for you to use.