Adult gymnastics

So last night I went to Adult Gymnastics for the first time in a while. I never did gymnastics as a kid but I started when I was about 21 or 22 when I got serious about becoming a stuntman. I was never any good but I did the required training and eeked out the necessary skills. Since then I keep my hand in from time to time.

I've always felt that simple tumbling skills such as forward and backward rolls, handstands and walking on the hands, cartwheels and combinations of these exercises were a great addition to any training routine. I would definitely have martial artists and combat sports do some of these now and again. They create spacial awareness and body coordination whilst having fun.

The drop in bodyweight may have affected my strength detrimentally but it has helped me in the rolling around department. I felt much lighter and was able to do moves that usually take me a few weeks to get back to. All in all the weight loss has been excellent and I'd really like to get down to 92kg or 205lbs now which is what I was 10 years ago.

Today...

Bench Press - 135x10, 220x5, 265x5, 275x5, 255x5. All different grip widths.
One Arm Lockoffs - 2/2, 3/3, 4/4. The 4's were very hard. Definitely feeling stronger on these though.
Tate Press - 45'sx15, 55'sx10x10
Preacher Curls - 70lbx10, 90lbx8. very strict and slow.
One DB wrist curl - 65lbsx12/12x12/12x10/10
Then about 5 mins of skipping.

Nick

Comments

[Munya]

Hi Nick, hope you well. Any tips and movements you can suggest to improve speed in strongman events such as farmers, yoke and drags, apart from / in addition to actual event training? Speed seems to be holding me back, and I have a comp in 3 weeks.

[Nick McKinless]

Hi Munya,

Speed isn't easy to improve, especially in just 3 weeks. Here's an idea though.

Day 1 - shuttle sprints with light dumbbells. Take some 40lb dumbbells and do 10-20 metre sprints with full recovery. 10 sets.

Day 2 - Light events. 3 sets each for speed of those events you mentioned. Try to maintain tight abs as this will stop you wobbling around. Finish with 3 sets of 30 secs to 1 minute Planks.

Day 3 - Event starts. Load up the equipment (farmer's, yoke etc) and do 5 metre starts. Think about fast pick ups and fast feet. Drop the weight and repeat for 4 or 5 sets.

If you do this for 2 weeks it should help a bit.

Cheers,

Nick

[Mike]

Wow, you do everything! Hey Nick, can you revisit snatch and grabs please? You showed them on one of your videos, but can you describe the technique a little bit? I tried them the other day, but they felt awkward...they tired me out quickly, but I felt a little off balance. Any tips would help. Thanks bro!

[Munya]

Sound advice as usual. They are good suggestions and I shall try them ASAP. Thanks for your time Nick.