Tech Betty

Amanda Leigh Sciandra

Learn the secrets of functional training by stealing from one of the most recognized women’s sports in the world… Artistic Women’s Gymnastics!

Like artistic gymnastics, snowboarding and other extreme sports require considerable amounts of muscular strength, endurance and technical proficiency to be top class. Unlike gymnastics, however, most pro-level snowboarders over the years haven’t been exposed to the highly methodical and disciplined approach to training that is found in the elite class of gymnasts.

In fact, many of these athletes would laugh if someone referred to their time on the snow as training… but ladies, let’s face it; most of pro shreds are dudes who possess a level of willingness to try dumb things that exceed our own ten-fold… and the natural god-given ability to not die.

History

Gymnastics was first conceived in the late 17th century as a means to develop the physical fitness in young boys. Nearly a century later, in 1881 the International Gymnastics Federation formed and the sport was introduced as Olympic event in the first modern Olympics in 1896. In the 1920’s Women’s Gymnastics, evolved from a system to develop poise and grace in young women, and begun integrating with the events of men’s gymnastics.

Over the years, systems of training for these events evolved. Masters of their time began teaching the beginners around them, developing logical systems that they used to train groups of athletes. In the 70’s, a massive sports training revolution took place, largely driven by the then powerful Soviet system, and for the past 40 years sports training has evolved into the advanced, methodological techniques which we use today.

History Repeats

You can see this pattern repeating itself the evolution of snowboarding, but comparably, snowboarding and most other extreme sports are closer to where gymnastics was at the dawn of the modern Olympics.  It wasn’t until 1990 that the International Snowboarding Federation (now the WSF) formed and began creating guidelines for snowboard competition.  In 1994 Snowboarding was included in the winter Olympic Games.

When you began snowboarding, you probably knew some veteran snowboarders who knew exactly what you needed to do to get started. While some of their of advice may have differed, a curriculum of basic movements had begun to form and was being passed on. From that informal foundation, you’ve built your skills, though I bet sometimes clumsily and with some injuries and negative consequences you’d rather forget.

This is a scenario that most gymnasts never experience. But why? While the risk for injury will never be completely eliminated, National Gymnastics sanctioning bodies have gone to extensive measures over the past 60 years to certify and educate coaches on proper safety measures and precautions and innovative progressive teaching methods. Gymnastics is at the point now where it produces far fewer injuries than other “safer” sports such as cheerleading and football. On the other hand, because of the rapidly evolving nature of snowboarding, it’s relative newness, and the free-form mentalities that are often found in extreme athletes, a tried and true method of teaching a complex trick can be hard, if not impossible to come by. It simply is not readily available knowledge.

Master the Basics

The evolution of gymnastics, in it’s maturity, has slowed and is still much like it was in the the 80’s and 90’s, save some very talented athletes that continue to push boundaries. But even as advanced as these athletes’ training methods seem, the reality is that each one still builds upon the basics.  Every skill or movement can be broken down into smaller more basic movements. In order to do each movement well, one needs a particular amount of strength, power, muscular endurance, and flexibility.

Sometimes we forget, in awe of these beautifully complex skills, that every double back flip started as a backward roll, every roll as a rocking action on the ground, and every tuck rock as the ability to perform a basic crunch. It might surprise you, but every single elite gymnast, male or female, goes into the gym nearly every day and further refines seemingly insignificant skills like the backward roll.

Skip the Dead-end Advice

I find it incredibly frustrating when I open an extreme sports publication excited to read up on “How To Grind a Handrail Like a Pro” only to be disappointed to find that they’re describing what to do DURING the trick and not how to get to the point where you’d realistically be able to consider trying the trick. Oh and I love the “but-don¹t-do-this-or-you’ll-totally-eat-****-and-need-total-facial-reconstructive-surgery-or-worse” part that is inevitably added to further boost your confidence. In gymnastics it is a well known fact that “too early attempts at difficulty all too often result in injury…” (Archaev/Shulin, How to Create Champions, 1994)

Perhaps I’m spoiled with National Camps and conferences that update me as a judge and a coach on the latest and most effective methods to advance my athletes from skill to skill, but geeez… what if you opened a gymnastics magazine, stoked about a potential new skill and read this:

From a vertical handstand position on the high bar, the athlete should begin to initiate the down swing by pressing and extending through the shoulders while simultaneously hollowing the abdominals and rounding the lower back. As this position is actively maintained the gymnast will begin to descend. Tension is increasing on the bar. At approximately 45 degress below horizontal the gymnast will aggressively change her shape by extending the hips and leading with them through the bottom of the swing. The tension on the bar at this point in the swing will be the greatest. As the gymnast begins the upswing and approaching horizontal, the gymnast will again aggressively change her shape by rounding the rib cage and abdominals and leading the remainder of swing with her toes upwards. Due to this rapid body change, the gymnast can utilize the built tension in the bar and continue to follow through this portion of the swing finally extending the hips to arrive in a vertical handstand position on the top of the bar. (But totally hold on dude cause otherwise you could slip off the bar and, like, plummet to your death!)

WTF, right? The skill that is being described here is a giant swing; one full swing around the high bar in an extended position. It is common knowledge among seasoned coaches that this is how the skill SHOULD be done. But what you as a reader wouldn’t know is how often this is not how it is done, and how the athlete is conditioned to perform it as is described.

The Cerebellum vs. The Cerebral Cortex

When you read the above description you are using your cerebral cortex. The Cerebral Cortex is the large part of your brain that is responsible for higher brain function including analysis, thought and memory. This part of the brain becomes important to snowboarding because the cerebral cortex is also responsible for analyzing sensory input.

When you practice a 50-50 on a box, your cerebral cortex analyzes every movement your body just performed; how high you jumped, how much pressure you were putting on each foot, how your left arm was flailing. Your cerebral cortex then passes it’s analysis on to the cerebellum. The cerebellum is a smaller part of your brain responsible for fine tuning motor output. It is the part of the brain associated with proprioception.

Proprioception is the intuitive knowledge of the location of our body parts in space. Simply put, the cerebral cortex is given motor input. It processes that information and sends it to the cerebellum. The cerebellum then creates an output program (your proprioception) which your body will instinctively use when attempting a 50-50 in the future.  This means if your cerebral cortex receives dysfunctional motor input (ie, you put too much pressure on your right foot causing you to fall), your cerebellum creates an output program with the dysfunctional input. More often than not, you’re going to put too much pressure on that right foot and fall.

Luckily, proprioception can be trained. All your cerebral cortex needs to do is receive functional motor input, so that your cerebellum can create for you an output program that works.

Thinking Progressively

When a gymnast tries a new skill for the first time by herself, there is a relatively small likelihood for major error resulting in injury. Her coach will have brought her through hundreds of repetitions of various drills designed specifically to replicate portions of that particular skill, conditioning exercises to increase her level of general and specific strength, and hundreds of “safe” attempts such as spotted attempts, heavily matted attempts and attempts over a foam pit.  This type of individual skill training as a whole is referred to as a skill progression.

Pen Your Own Progression

• Identify the skill.
• Identify prerequisites for that skill and make sure you have them down (you can’t even get on that handrail before you learn how to ollie smoothly).
• Identify the phases of the skill (i.e., approach, take-off, flight, hand support, landing).
• Identify the key movements of each phase.
• Create small drill or simulation that mimics or closely replicates each separate key movement. Here’s where things may begin to appear trivial, but remember, even the smallest movement is worth refining.)
• Apply the drills during your time on (and off!) the snow. Mix it up! I recommend changing your set every two weeks. Once you’re through all of your drills, you may feel confident to go onto the next step.
• Struggling? Go back and break it down further.
• Try the skill. Woohoo!
• Identify problem areas. (Hint: it’s usually one particular phase. Perhaps you struggled on that one drill more than others?)
• Rinse and Repeat… infinitely.

The Logical Conclusion

Every movement is a skill. Every skill is part of a progression for a more complex skill. Constant refinement of even the most basic movements and skills is imperative to successfully attempt super-complexity.

Don’t be like the Pros. Be smarter. Train smarter. Ride smarter.

Happy Shredding!

...Until Next Time

Next month: We will identify your vision, and learn how to create a plan to stay disciplined and on-track without the luxury of a personal coach.

About the Author

Amanda Leigh is a Head Coach of competitive Gymnastics Teams. As a seasoned professional coach, NAWGJ accredited gymnastics official, freestyle BMX rider and Expert-class BMX racer in both the ABA and NBL. She has been applying her extensive gymnastics knowledge to extreme aerial sports for 5 years, including instruction at Windell’s Camp in Mt. Hood Oregon, and pioneered extreme sports programs in various gymnastics and tumbling facilities across the US, including Monarch’s National Gymnastics Training Center in Southern California.

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Posted by freelance on 10/26