Mary Lee Tracy, Press Progressions. Follow Mary Lee on YOUTUBE.
Advanced Core on Beam
Mary Lee Tracy shares some advanced Core exercises on beam. Follow Mary Lee on YOUTUBE for some other great drills.
Winter Weight Gain. Nature or Nachos?
Everything about summer supports my bodily ideal: the salads, the swimming, the sunlight. It’s easy to feel the “Whee!” when your spirit, calorie burn and healthy glow are free, free, free. I dive in, a middle-aged gymnastics coach counting my play days until September and falling, giddy and exhausted, into bed each night, windows open and alarm clock set.
And then it’s over, gone, both the season and the body reduced to a shiver, stilled by gray skies, oppressed under the blanket of seasonal fact. I’ll be honest: A tiny part of me welcomes the pause, the dawn-to-dusk debauchery having left me tired and hungry. Largely, though, I manage to cling to my summer me until November, when early darkness drives me toward a different light, one whose radiance is contained only by a door. Opening the refrigerator, I reach for comfort foods to assuage my discomfort with the calendar before crawling under the comforter, the fridge door open all this uncomfortable time, my weight shifting from foot to foot and season to season.
The light takes me to a dark place. I skip first one and then another workout, my cold-weather athletic wear still in storage, see, and my son needing help with algebra homework. (And we all know what a big help I am with algebra homework!) Day three’s dodge ensures that my return to the pool/road/class/weight room will hurt, the dread of which extends my rest and recovery “day,” singular, to four days.
My body genetically knows to add padding for protection against winter’s cold. The fall harvest is aptly timed so animals and humans can fatten up for winter. Early spring food stocks, after all, will be low when we lumber out of hibernation. So there! Winter weight gain isn’t my doing; it’s programmed into my being.
Trouble is, this anthropological cream pie exists only in my head and is whipped together independent of any proven science. Our ancestors didn’t have light bulbs to extend daytime. Their heat sources didn’t come with programmable thermostats. Bears can’t go to grocery stores, which are now stocked year-round with fresh and processed foods.
My case crumbling, I pull out the big guns: the Old Testament, whose Book of Ecclesiastes assures that “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” Enough said?
Ah, but righteousness is a mental exercise. My body is still heavy and my spirit heavier still. Making healthy choices is a breeze in the summer, but he who’s doing the choosing remains the same. I’m the one making the choices that determine my weight, I mean, fate.
And so I hereby choose to honor the restorative gift that is winter; to rest well, eat wisely and read books by the fire. I WILL hit the gym daily.
And I did! I survived the winter. Bring on spring!
Random Thoughts, Ideas and Observations
Random Thoughts, Ideas and Observations
Coaching is teaching, the key to good teaching is communication and the key to communication is not more talking, it is more listening. Good coaches listen more and talk less. Then they act (not react) on what they hear.
Nothing ever happens in a vacuum. Everything is related. This is certainly true of the body as a kinetic chain and with the interdependence of the various systems of the body and also true of sports and movement skill. [Read more…]
Take a Break from the Routine
Tumbl Trak
Take a Break from the Routine
Doug Davis
This is the meet season—uncounted numbers of compulsory routines, day after day, in gym practice. Those compulsory skills can get awfully old, for gymnasts and coaches alike. Just for a break in that routine (!) think about allowing a certain amount of time each week or so, for playing with some fun skill parts that will be used later in optional routines, or for higher level compulsories. [Read more…]
Releve Training with Mary Lee Tracy
Mary Lee shares a great drill for Releve training using a small medicine ball.
[Read more…]
Lessons from 2012
Each year at this time of year I look back on the previous year just completed and as I get older I find myself looking back increasingly over years gone past. I do this not for nostalgic reason rather I do it to gain perspective to more forward. Much like a rower in a single scull sits facing away from the direction they row, they must look back to move forward effectively. The end of the year is a time for reflection and analysis. Each day is special, so do something to make each day special for yourself and for someone else.
Lessons from 2012
Being ready to deliver on the day – The ability to have your athletes ready to perform at their best at the required time is most important. That can be the final of the Olympic games or a Level 4 local meet. Everything is directed to this goal.
Coaching is a careful blend of art and science – No more explanation is necessary
Emotional intelligence is the key to effective coaching – It is all about people and how we as coaches grow and develop ourselves and the people we work with.
An overemphasis on injury prevention will lead to injuries – Good injury prevention is a transparent part of a sound training program. What is happening today is an over emphasis on so-called corrective exercise and special injury prevention exercises. Normal training is being ignored. When training is ignored then the athlete is predisposed to injury because they are not ready to perform.
It is imperative to develop and refine physical literacy in parallel with skill development – Physical literacy slightly leads skill and technical development; it is impossible to have one without the other.
We must take a giant step back and look at what we are doing with recovery – I think we need to learn to use recovery methods more judiciously. Not necessary just ice baths after every workout. We need to understand that the inflammatory cascade is part of the adaptation process. We must educate the body to take advantage of this not interfere with this all the time. Incorporating recovery into your workout plan can not be ignored. Here is an article by BILL SANDS- The importance of planning rest periods in the weekly training plan. Includes a sample recovery program.
Little things count – Big things are a given, they are hard to overlook but it is the little things that quickly add up. Attention to detail in each part of your practice will make the difference.
Coaching men and women is different. “Men battle to bond. Women bond to battle.” Nigel Redman – I think this is pretty self-explanatory.
Level 4 Conditioning
The other day I was asked by a friend and colleague what my “PLAN” was for our USAG Level 4-6 conditioning. In the developmental groups I like to focus on Big Muscle Groups and Big Movements. I subscribe to the KISS philosophy. (Keep It Simple, Stupid). I think a mistake many coaches make is by making the conditioning program too complicated. That just encourages the kids to cheat their numbers or not have their best form. I very rarely add any weights to compulsory kids conditioning. Instead I try to increase intensity by being more demanding on form.
I switch the conditioning about every month to 6 weeks to keep the kids from getting bored.
Spotting Back Handsprings
I had an e-mail from my good friend Brandi Smith-Young of Perfect 10 Physical Therapy. She and I have collaborated many times over the years on ways to keep gymnasts healthy and how to incorporate injury prevention into your practices. This last year we went in a new direction with ways to KEEP THE COACHES HEALTHY! Not just with exercises and stretches for coaches but with good technique in spotting.
In one of the lectures we had done together at Gymnastics Association of Texas conference (GAT) I covered safer ways to spot back handsprings. Ways that minimize the abuse our arms, back and shoulders take.
Here is a quick video that I put together explaining a few of the ways.
Just Enough
Once again I find myself reading Cern Gambetta’s Blog on Functional Path Training. Although I do Not agree with everything he has to say. I did enjoy this one. I reminded me of John Geddert’s analogy of each gymnast being a race car. You must give them enough good fuel to finish the race and you can NOT run them at 100%, 100% of the time.
Just Enough
We are three days away from the culmination of four years of preparation for the Olympic games. I was reflecting on the final phases of preparation – what needs to be done to put the finishing touches on the training? It can be summed up in a quite succinctly – just enough! Do just enough work to allow the years of preparation to be applied. In the final phase of training what isn’t done may be more important that what is done. That last hard workout is in most cases not necessary, do just enough to get tired, calm the nerves and fine tune. Now is the time to reap the harvest of the hard work from the career buildup. Seldom if ever can anything be done in the final preparation stages that will directly impact performance in a positive manner. Be confident in your preparation and focus on competing. This is where the art of coaching is most important.