Gymnast Care wanted to give all of our gymnasts an update on The X Brace.
Why is it so critical our gymnasts eat a pre-workout snack?
Gymnasts, by the way they workout, are not able to access stored energy tissue (fat) during practice. They are mostly using anaerobic processes to create energy in their muscles. So, they are only able to use readily available resources in the blood (glucose) and in the muscles (glycogen).
So they need a great pre-workout snack in order to guarantee they have ample amounts of energy to get through practice.
Here are the key points to what makes a pre-workout snack for gymnasts great:
- Needs to contain carbohydrates, proteins and fats, but be heavier on the carbohydrates
- Eaten 1-1 1/2 hours before working out to give it time to digest
- Be of high quality, whole foods
My favorite example of a pre-workout snack would be 1/2 of a peanut butter and banana sandwich or an apple dipped in almond butter.
You don’t have to utilize a pre-workout snack, but if you do, you’re gymnast will see amazing results!
If you’d like help with your nutrition, we’ve created an amazing nutrition program for families with athletes. It’s called Stay Fueled and you can find it by clicking here…it utilizes all of the amazing principles we discuss here on gymnastcare.com.
It’s amazingly affordable and it can help to your gymnast to the next level.
Find out more here: www.stayfueled.com
If your gymnast is having issues with balance, or they are recovering from an ankle injury and they need more therapy to increase their balance, this training can be for them. This will also help increase core strength and landing ability. It’s all around great therapy.
Steps to make this training a success:
- Use tape to draw a star just like the one found in the video.
- Number the star starting at the top position with number 1, and numbering clockwise around the star.
- Have your gymnast stand on one leg in a 1/4 squat position with knee behind toes.
- Hips should be flexed at a 30-45 degree angle, back strong and straight.
- Start by reaching foot as far towards number one as possible. To reach further, go deeper into the squat instead of letting the knee go over the toes.
- Continue to number two and around to number 8. Follow the video to see how your gymnast’s foot should be reaching.
- Switch feet, and repeat.
Quick Tip: If your left foot is planted on the ground, follow the numbers clockwise. If your right is planted and your reaching for the numbers with your left, start with 1, then go counterclockwise (1, 8, 7, 6, …)
If you have any questions, make sure you let us know!
Low back muscle tightness in gymnasts is very common. They overuse their lower backs with back walkovers, front walkovers, back handspring and all of the running an jumping they do on a daily basis.
We like to use child’s pose for this work. This position really stretches out the low back and is extremely comfortable for the gymnast.
The techniques her show you how to work on your gymnasts lower back at home. Remember, gymnasts are usually little and do not require a lot of pressure.
Some studies also say that knee pain can be traced back to tightness in the gluteus medius muscle and the quadratus lumborum muscle. If your gymnast has knee pain, this would be great to use in conjunction with our quadriceps and gluteus medius soft tissue videos.
When you finish, do some gentle massage strokes to clear help initiate movement of waste products out of the muscles.
Let us know if you have any questions. We’re happy to help!
Here’s an email we received this week from a dad who’s son has been suffering from Sever’s Disease. I think this speaks for itself.
Dr Eldridge,
Thank you!
My 10-year-old son plays many sports and has complained for some 18 months about heel pain and we (his mother and I) have tried it all, soft heel cups, hard heel cups, rest and stretches. Nothing worked until we found your video 16 days ago.
I’ve carefully followed your video instructions with superb results. Here’s some feedback:
- You’re right, St. Ives works very well;
- Because I don’t have Guasha tools, I’ve been using my knuckle;
- I do both calves, each taking about 5 to 6 minutes per calf;
- We use your technique twice a day, before school and after dinner, while he does his reading homework;
- We bought several pairs of SuperFeet (black) for all his school and athletic shoes;
- Most importantly, unlike the other methods, he enjoys this treatment–a lot. Because it’s something that feels good, he asks for the massage and it apparently makes his homework seem easier (spoonful of sugar/medicine).
Bottom line: We started on Sunday, 14 April 2013 (16 days ago) and today is the first day in many months that he’s pain-free. He has PE everyday at school, plus soccer/basketball during two recesses. Before today, he’d come home limping, sometimes in tears.
Thank you, Doctor. Keep up the good work.
Robert Keller (a grateful father)
Newport Beach, CA
If you or your young athlete is suffering from Sever’s disease, send us a message at doc@gymnastcare.com and we’ll send you our treatment protocol to help you get better as quickly as possible.
Here’s the video Robert was referring to: