Conditioning is key but competition still requires practice

Last weekend I had the opportunity to compete with several other alumni from Arizona State (8 of us in total) at the annual Maroon and Gold competition at Aspire in Chandler, AZ. It was a lot of fun to be there, and I felt like an honored guest.

This year I learned about Gymnastic Bodies through a handstand contest and got excited about shoring up weaknesses through extensive progressions. I went to a seminar in Denver and had a great time, learning more about coach Sommer and the program he built for adults to get in shape (no matter what their background is).

The leg exercises I learned from the gymnastic bodies program enabled me to try vaulting again (first time competing on a table instead of a horse!) and I’ve been doing basic tumbling for a few months now. I also have several progressions planned for adding more difficult (and valuable) strength moves on rings.

I developed a daily routine for conditioning this year which I do at home every morning, but one piece I haven’t really included yet is endurance. It showed in my Rings routine, where I was going strong until right before the dismount I fell out of a handstand. To help with endurance I will increase my repetitions of circles on pommel horse when I get to do that at the gym and make sure I don’t miss handstand holds (for at least a minute, building to 2 minutes) in my morning exercises.

The key takeaway for me at the competition is that I need to practice full routines more. On Pommel Horse I had trouble with the transition between the initial forward travel and the rest of the routine because I haven’t practiced it altogether, only in parts.

About Robert

I competed in gymnastics for 16 years through college at Arizona State University. After 10 years and 5 (now 6) children, I have returned to gymnastics as a competitor. I am a lifetime gymnast. :)
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