I am thrilled about Courtney Rubin’s excellent article on adult gymnastics in the New York Times: Adults Catch the Gymnastics Bug. Check out the the print edition for even more fun photos (November 1st,  ThursdayStyles section on page 2 titled ”Classes Take a Tumble, Happily”).

Rubin absolutely got it right here; covering the fun, the optimism that doing a new sport creates, the allure of strong bodies and that feeling of  ”why not me?”  This is one of my favorite quotes from the story, “When I looked at the gymnasts 12 years ago, I wanted to throw a sandwich at them,” said Edith Halasik, 38, of Chicago. “Years ago I wouldn’t have been interested in a gymnast’s body. But Gabby and the girls today look healthier and stronger. You see their muscles, not their ribs. For me, that was the attraction.”

The article also successfully shows why adult gymnastics is good for a gym owner’s business. Having an adult class is a way to keep your students at the gym from the time they are toddlers into retirement age; as Chelsea Piers reports in the article, a 76% jump in revenue in the adult program. 

I love the anecdote about a women who took an adult class with her friends. She still couldn’t master the dreaded cartwheel but she has exactly the right attitude saying she and her friends laughed the whole class, “I’m not going to be good at this, and I’m just going to have fun with it.” So many adults are afraid to be judged, they are embarrassed to try something new. Growing up we are used to failing and falling down. It’s how we learn. As adults we are expected to “be” something, to have already mastered sports skills. Fear of failing and falling, putting ego before learning is a dream crusher. I love this woman’s attitude. If you can laugh at yourself, nothing can hold you back!

My proudest moment of course came when I read this! “Also propelling gymnastics’ rise in popularity among adults: This year, competitors in their 20s and 30s outnumbered teenagers like Gabby, 16, according to figures posted by Masters Gymnastics, an organization that promotes ‘gymnastics for grown-ups’.” I haven’t stopped smiling all day!  It should also be noted that the FIG confirmed my facts in their post-Olympic report.

Kudos to Rubin for the excellent article! Remember you can find a list of all of the adult classes in the US (and soon abroad) on our Find a Class page. If you don’t see your class listed, just leave a comment and it will be added.  You can also listen to me, Blythe Lawrence, Spanny Tampson, Uncle Tim and Dvora Meyers talk about all things gymnastics on the GymCastic podcast every week!

- Jessica

Hosted by Azarian US Gymnastics Training Center

Registration Form here > 2012 Never Too Late for Gold REGISTRATION FORM 

Date: Sunday, November 11, 2012

Time:

4:15 – 5:15 Check-In & Warm-Up (Please note that the gym is unavailable until after 4)

5:30 March-In

5:45 – 7:30 Competition WOOT!

Place: Azarian U.S. Gymnastics Training Center, 1 Argonaut, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

Age Groups: 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74,75-79, 80+

Entrance Fee:

$40 Registration fee includes scored competition in up to 3 events, $50 for up to six events, includes t-shirt , awards, special awards and scoring by awesome judge who loves adult gymnastics.

$30 Exhibition only (up to 2 events, $5 for each additional event, includes t-shirt and special awards)

$10 College student registration discount, must show current student ID.

$10 late fee for registering on day of the competition.

Awards:

Top three places in each age group, “Oldest Competitor,” “Go For It Award,” “Most Original Skill,”

“Best Save,” “Most Entertaining,” “Best Form,” “First Timer.”

Events:

Any Olympic Event for Men and Women

All Around (Any 4 Olympic Events for Women and Men, you’re welcome guys)

Trampoline; Tumbling: 3 passes done on Floor, Ski Floor or Tumble Trak

Rope Climb: 20ft timed, Elite division from sit, Beginner uses legs

Exhibition of circus apparatus, acro, group gym, wheel, etc. also welcome.

Special Event: Handstand Hold & Handstand Race for spectators and competitors

Guidelines: Mats, pit landings, spotting (bring your own spotter), etc. are all allowed and encouraged. Men may do women’s events and vice versa, including floor routines to music. There are no formal rules, only suggestions. Compulsory routines from any level or historical period allowed. Optional base is 6 A’s, bonus given for each B, C, etc. Please see judging guidelines here for routine construction suggestions.

Attire: As long as it doesn’t hurt the equipment or compromise your safety, feel free to skip the leotard in favor of shorts!

Contact: Meet Coordinator:  Jessica  mastersgymnastics @ gmail.com

Registration form below – Registration due by Oct. 24th – No Refunds after Nov. 1st

Our favorite 38-year-old gymnast, Jen Hansen, made her final attempt to officially qualify “elite” on Saturday and she went big! She scored a huge 13.9 on vault which put her in third on that event. On beam, the 3-time NCAA all around champion competed a front tuck mount, front tuck to back-handspring to layout, switch half to back tuck, the highest back-handspring layout that may have ever been done on a balance beam, and finally a double back dismount. Ah-mazing. But she fell on her full for a final score of 12.5.  She placed second on beam a fall (results here).

She only competed on two events in order to qualify to Classics as an event specialist. Although she didn’t make it this year, her efforts can only be seen as a success. In addition to challenging age bias in gymnastics, it looks like she had lots of fun, proved she can compete with the best in the world and inspired a whole lot of people with her never-say-die attitude, upbeat demeanor and all around cheerfulness. This is a woman who loves what she is doing.

When we say “best in the world,” we mean that literally. If Jen had German, Irish, English, French, Austrian, Australian, Italian etc. etc. citizenship she would be competing at World Championships and the Olympics. Think we’re exaggerating? Awww, hell no! Compare her scores and start values to all of the other elite women competing this season the The All Around’s fabulous WAG 2012 score spreadsheet. Jen holds her own on that list. Hey Jamaica, you need a gymnast?!

Like Khorkina, who taught us that 5 foot 5 inches was in fact, the perfect height for becoming the most medaled gymnast of all time. Jen taught us that, as Aaliyah so deftly put it,”age ain’t nothing but a number.” If Jen has inspired you, let her know on her Facebook page or Twitter. Give her coach a shout out too, he volunteered to coach her this season. You can find him on Twitter here.

We hope that USAG will take this opportunity to put Jen to work as a spokesperson for the Gymnastics For All and Masters Gymnastics disciplines. It’s just such a shame that the US does not have an organization to champion adult gymnastics when so many other countries have (AAU women’s open division notwithstanding, of course). Jen would make an incredible representative for any masters sport but especially for adult gymnastics. USAG should snatch her up before someone else does.

When asked about her age in her final interview (link here) before competition last weekend Jen said, “My body is strong, my heart and mind are strong. So why not?”  Her coach, Randy Lane, told CBS news, “By doing this sport and competing [at this age], she has already succeeded.” We agree! In conclusion, stereotypes are wrong and anyone who tells you otherwise can suck it and should be tied down and made to watch Jenny Hansen and Khorkina do gymnastics. Booya!

Two gorgeous locations to pick from for a summer gymnastics vacation. The Wisconsin Dells has an insane waterpark and Whistler, is one of the most beautiful locations on earth.

June Meets

• June 9th, 2012. High On Gymnastics adult competition at Whistler Gymnastics in Whistler, BC, Canada.  Email info@whistlergymnastics.com for info and registration or check out the Meet Flyer.
• AAU Age Group Nationals, Wisconsin Dells, WI.  Ladies Division only – Wednesday, June 20 – Sunday, June 24, 2012  Meet Flyer,  Rules. Check out Gymnastike’s page on the meet for a full explanation of how this AAU meet works.  Deadline June 1st.

Thanks to Full Twist for bringing this to our attention!  Coach’s Eye is the app that allows you to draw on and watch frame-by-frame slow motion of your iPhone or iPod Touch videos. We know so many adult gymnasts who have to coach themselves and use video to do it. The features on this app allow you to give yourself great feedback. Check out Full Twist’s blog post all about this app.

Can’t wait to try it out.  Check out the slow motion wheel feature below.

If you don’t have a partner there to hold your phone, try a GorillaMobile stand . These moldable stands will wrap around a beam or bar cable so you can video yourself.

Jarel from Gymkana showing all the girls out there how to perform a beam routine. Level coaches please show this, as an instructional video before the compulsory season starts.

Watch more video of Adult Gymnastics Meet – Capital Gymnastics, Burke, VA, October 1, 2011 on gymnastike.org

Make sure you turn the volume up for this one. We have all been there Jarel. Level coaches, do not show this one to your team.

Watch more videos on Gymnastike

Check out this marvelous example of using a lovely, clean compulsory routine rather than making up an optional one. Seriously, we couldn’t do the Class IV/Level 4 (?) routine this well when we were kids!

Watch more video of Adult Gymnastics Meet – Capital Gymnastics, Burke, VA, October 1, 2011 on gymnastike.org

Yes, we’ll just admit it now. We are her biggest fans. I mean, how can you not love her? Try, we dare you!

…”My ultimate goal would be to make the Olympics but I really want to remind everyone the sport brings so many opportunities. I want to inspire people and show there can be longevity in gymnastics. It should be fun regardless if you compete internationally or just learn a back tuck again. Staying healthy is also one of my top priorities.”

1. Flattering Leotards: Try dance leos; the dance industry has been making leotards for adult performers for a looooong time. They have many varieties of flattering shapes and construction materials (e.g. not shinny)  for adult figures.

2. Kinesio Tape - a fantastic invention only known in Japan and then to Athletic Trainers for many years and it’s now available to the public. However, you need to know how to tape for your specific issue and which tape to use, but once you’ve tried it you’ll be an instant fan. There are a few how-to videos on their  YouTube Channel.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkoAv4Ncx0A&feature=channel_video_title]

3. Fix Your Technique – with the Open Shoulder Trainer from Tumbletrak or get a conditioning and technique workout DVD from the best in the business;  Tammy Biggs has Conditioning, Shaping & Flex with Sliders or Jay Thornton’s GymAbStics Total Body Fitness

4. The best sports bra EVER INVENTED! For B’s and above the Champion’s Powerback Underwire Sports Bra is fantastic. It gives you the flattering form of a Victoria Secret T-Shirt bra while providing jog-worthy compression, all without suffocation, spillage or an ugly straight line across your chest. It even snaps in the back so that you won’t dislocate your shoulders trying to take it off.

5. Tiger Paws to support cranky wrists. You can also buy a single paw for that wrist that refuses to heal from the time you did 100 back handsprings in a row on beam when you were 12. They even come in sassy colors and prints in case you want to walk on your hands at the club. Holla!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DEVD2oszH48#!]

Many thanks to  certified personal trainer Gina Paulhus for this excellent pre-meet training plan. It has everything from warm ups on each event to skill and routine repetitions on every apparatus. This intended to be done four weeks out from the meet, when you already has the skills and routines planned for each event.

Adult Gymnastics Training Plan

4 weeks out from competition

This program assumes about a 2 hour block of focused time. It assumes you already have the skills on the competition apparatus you plan to compete. If you have less time shorten the conditioning and/or pick a few events instead of all 4 events. Always stretch!

CONDITIONING/WARMUP approx. 30 min.

jog around the floor, 1/2 lap each of:

-regular
-high knees
-butt kicks
-skipping L leg
-skipping R leg
-skipping both legs
-forward chasse L leg
-forward chasse R leg
-forward chasse both legs
-side chase L
-side chase R
-side chase alternating
-backwards regular
-backwards soccer kicks forward
-backwards soccer kicks sideways
-backwards soccer kicks behind

stomach conditioning

hollow rockers, 10
V-ups, 10
Straddle V-ups, 10
side rockers, 10
other side rockers, 10
belly rockers, 10
bar/beam/legs conditioning

climb the rope as far as possible with legs in L, if not then climb using legs
dips on parallel bars, 10
5 casts as high as possible
Chin-up to pullover in undergrip, 6
half leg lifts if possible, 10 if not full leg lifts (hanging from bar)
candlestick pulls, 10
hamstring curls with a partner, 10
5 best attempt at press handstand, using spot or against wall if needed
switch jump lunges, 20
calf raise with partner pushing down on shoulders, 20
hold handstand 30 sec. total time

10 min. of active flexibility incl. splits, bridges, pike stretch, shoulders and calfs stretches

EVENTS: 15 min. each event–

vault:

bounce on board 10x, sprint down runway
handstand shoulder shrugs against wall 10x look at hands
2-3 timers and 2-3 of your vault
3 of a drill for your vault, such as back drop full by dropping arm for handspring full, or roundoff block thru to your back (miss your feet) onto crash mat for a tsuk
3 stuck landings by jumping off the vault and practice sticking

bars:

3 kip cast in a row on low bar
set of giants on high bar or tap swings
drill for hardest skill in your routine 3x
hold handstand on floor bar 10 sec. total

first half of your routine
second half of your routine

full routine

repeat problem skill 2x

beam:

10 passes of walking, kicks, running, skipping, long jump/high jump, leap drills, turn drills, etc
cross handstand step down to finish landing one each side 4x

1 min. competition warmup doing all skills in your routine on a line, then do the same on a beam

1 full routine with people watching you if possible

each skill you fall on do 2 of a drill for that skill then 2 of that skill on a beam

each skill you wobble on do 1 of a drill for that skill then 1 more of that skill
if time permits do a dance thru with arm and/or leg ankle weights on focusing on presentation and mentally doing your acro skills
floor:

kicks forward, sideways, backward, and needle across floor focus on form and body position
forward rolls across floor in a row focusing on round back
backward rolls across floor using core to roll over
cartwheels across floor both good and bad side
walk on hands across floor halfway forward, halfway backward
power-hurdle to roundoff and/or backhandspring rebound
power-hurdle to front handspring rebound

do each of your tumbling passes 2x and each of your leaps/jumps/turns 2x

floor routine, ether dance thru with sprints or squat jumps across diagonal for tumbling or full tumbling. immediately after routine do 10 jump lunges and 5 push-ups

FLEX

at the end of workout holding stretches for at least 20 sec. each, minimum do splits, pike, bridges, calfs, wrists.

by Gina Paulhus, CPT homeexercisecoach.com