CrossFit bridged a gap in my life between training as an athlete and practicing skills necessary for fun and functionality. I was a single sport player but an ardent lover of the outdoors and so many times, the training for both did not overlap. CrossFit opened the door not only to the Olympic Lifts for speed but more importantly, its emphasis on gymnastic skills and conditioning has made me a better human.
Adult Gymnastics is an interesting subject to get into with most people. Partly due to the fact that most people think they are too 'old' to be doing it and mostly because it is hard to see a 10 year old crushing moments right in front of you that you can't do! Sensitivity over ability and a general lack of understanding keep people afraid to learn. But the truth is that skills can be broken down to very simple levels and the results are amazing in terms of enhanced quality of life.
Conditioning in gymnastics is a very understated benefit to a program. From basic holds to dynamic and repetitive skills, it takes a lot of muscular strength and conditioning to perform many things. The functional ability of the athlete goes through the roof when you can master your body. When you can develop the brain-body connections through a proper program you can expect to play your sport better, preform human movement better and overall be safer in what ever is demanded of you.
Along with strength, stability and power in gymnastics there is flexibility. As many of you have seen through training with me, I spend a good amount of time teaching each athlete to mobilize correctly for the movements as well as for particular 'sticky points'. Stretching is something that most trainers and coaches know very little about and are to hesitant or unaware how to implement it. Gymnastics demands that your flexibility is maintained and made better.
As opposed to weightlifting, Gymnastics is anything but boring. I have taught men and women as young as 6 and as old as 75 to tumble, roll, walk on their hands, squat on one leg, jump and move... The magic and joy that this brings to peoples lives is amazing. Humans are made to move. Gymnastics teaches us these things. It unlocks your ability to be human and even to remember what you used to enjoy as a child.
"I haven't done this since I was a kid" and "I used to be able to do this!" , these are sayings I hear constantly. And I ask why? Let's get fired up on gymnastics. Coming your way every day in some form here at Good Times CrossFit.
Baseline Mobility:
Pitchers Stretch/ Squat Flow
2 Rounds For Quality
400m Run
5 Pull Ups
10 Push Ups
15 Squats
Strength:
Box Squats
(Week 2)
3X5 @70%
3X5@75%
Skill Development:
Strict Ring Dips
EMOM 10
10 Reps Per minute
*Scale reps for quality of movement. Struggle is important.
