Should Gymnasts Lift Weights? Conversations with Olympian Chad Vaughn

Today I’m really excited to share an episode of the Vaughn Weightlifting Podcast that I was fortunate to be asked on. Chad Vaughn is a 2x Olympian in the Sport of Weightlifting (2004 and 2008), is one of the coaches at Power Monkey I get to spend a ton of time with, and is someone I am lucky to be friends with. I have learned a ton from Chad and the other great Weightlifting coaches at Power Monkey, which has no doubt made me a better therapist and coach. Chad recently asked me to come on his podcast with Adam White, and it turned into one of my most favorite interviews I’ve done.

This podcast was the first of a 3 series with myself and Dr. Dan Pope. In my portion, Chad asked a ton of questions related to the transference of benefits between artistic gymnastics and the sport of weightlifting. It opened an incredible conversation on what I currently feel are some of the biggest issues facing gymnastics from a training, culture, and athlete health point of view. We cover topics more specifically such as

What weight lifting exercises are good adjuncts to a gymnasts training program
The role of long-term athletic development and concerns for early specialization/year round single sport training
Flat feet and knee collapsing during squats, and why it’s not only about mobility training
The most common male and female gymnastics injuries
Why gymnasts, weight lifters, and CrossFitters may all be making similar mistakes about training basics through periodization versus only training skills

To check out this newly released episode, head on over to the Vaughn Weightlifting podcast channel and give it a listen. You can find the link here (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vaughn-weightlifting-podcast/id1180268785?mt=2&i=1000385869610) or by clicking the picture below