Karen Goeller, CSCS (Click for blog posts.)Karen Goeller on Late Night with Johnny P https://youtu.be/kVqM2HJQN5Q
Have you seen this interview yet? It’s always fun to visit Johnny P!!! This was her second interview on this show. She talked about her books, training, acting career, and battle with cancer.
How many have you seen? There are about 20 books available through bookstores by Karen Goeller, CSCS. Check them out here, www.amazon.com/author/karengoeller.
Gymnastics Coach Maggie Haney was suspended for 8 years.
I had a handful of parents reach out to me after the news to say thanks for doing my part. I reported her to USA Gymnastics and SafeSport after I heard the sixth complaint in 2019. (USAG SafeSport Policy: Any adult under the jurisdiction of USA Gymnastics who becomes aware of an incident of child abuse or sexual misconduct involving a minor must immediately report the incident to law enforcement and the U.S Center for SafeSport.) When multiple families tell you the same story on different occasions, you know there is truth in it. I wish more coaches would help rid the sport of the abusive coaches that remain in gyms. We are now required to report abusive behavior. I expect more abusive coaches will be flushed out in the near future.
Please understand that not all gymnastics coaches are abusive. There are so many great coaches here in the tri-state area and throughout the USA. Be sure to visit a few gymnastics clubs before you sign your child up for training anywhere. Make sure you are very comfortable in the atmosphere, talk to the other parents, observe the team kids and learn whether they are happy, goal-oriented, injured, sad, or otherwise. Allow your child to be part of the decision on which gym you commit to.
Your child must be comfortable with the coaches, atmosphere, and equipment. If there is ever a day your child does not want to go to the gym find out why. There is always a reason and it is usually a very good reason. And believe your child if they say they are being abused, but also know that gymnastics coaches must be demanding, while respectful, because of the safety factor involved.
When your young child is on that balance beam or swinging on the uneven bars, their safety is literally in their hands. They must be clear-minded, able to focus, strong, agile, and able to follow directions to remain safe, progress, and be successful. So talk to your child, allow them to be coached, encourage them to try their best, but pull them out if there is any sign of misconduct or abuse, and report any abusive coach to the proper authorities.
Please remember, asking a child to perform to the best of their ability and focus is not abuse. Lack of focus causes accidents. Hard work is not abuse. Yelling at a child for unsafe behavior (such as horseplay) after they have been told nicely several times not to do something dangerous is not abuse because their safety is in jeopardy. Asking a child to take a break after several repetitions is not abuse, it is a safety measure to be sure your child can refocus. Yelling at a child for a mistake, putting a child down, screaming in their face, going overboard-punishing kids for mistakes, cursing, forcing them to remove medical devices, improper touching are all abuse. You’ll know it’s abuse if you see it.
Don’t be afraid of a good work ethic, but do remove your child from abusive situations. Just follow your gut instinct when it comes to your child’s training.
 I hope that you and your family are remaining healthy. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if there is anything I can do for you. I’m still offering zoom calls at no charge for any athletes who have worked with me within the past year and at a very low cost for everyone else.Some advice for our athletes…
Swing Set Fitness is good conditioning for gymnasts. www.SwingWorkouts.com.
Legs Plus Workouts are great conditioning for gymnasts. www.LegsPlus.com
Gymnastics Drills Book www.GymnasticsDrills.com
Handstand Book www.HandstandBook.com Conditioning List, perform each exercise for 45-60 seconds non-stop or 25 repetitions non-stop. This is very little work compared to a four-hour workout.
Gymnastics Drills Book www.GymnasticsDrills.com Handstand Book www.HandstandBook.com
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FYI… Regarding the gloves and masks. Yes, I have medical training-EMT-1990’s, Physical Therapy-1980’s.
Many people do not know how to properly remove the gloves and are spreading the germs their gloves picked up. Some are dropping the gloves all over the place, increasing the danger for those who are forced to pick them up. I have also seen people touch their faces with the gloves and masks on. What’s the point in wearing them? And then some people are driving with them on and likely walking into their houses still wearing the dirty gloves. You are spreading the germs from the gloves to your cars, keys, front door, and anything else you are touching.
To remove the gloves safely-pinch the glove at the top of the palm near the wrist to slowly pull the first one off, turning it inside out as it is removed. Use that glove to slowly pull the second one off, turning it inside out and rolling it over the first one. Wash your hands after removing your gloves! Throw the gloves in the garbage for everyone’s safety. Here is a method similar to my instructions, https://youtu.be/3I_kKVNrEMo. I would rather you use the inside-out first glove to remove the second, but the method in the video is ok.
And Masks that you make at home do not really keep you safe. They prevent you from spreading your germs (COVID) to others, keeping them safe. (Only the highest quality medical masks keep the user safe.) Apply the mask securely. When removing the mask do not touch the mask itself. Touch the elastic to remove and throw in trash immediately. Wash your hands! Here are instructions on applying and removing the mask, https://youtu.be/iOnYD3A_XY4
I am not saying not to wear gloves or masks, but please use them wisely for everyone’s safety. It is really sad that with all the recommendations on TV from media and politicians that people should wear masks and gloves, none of them have discussed how to safely apply and remove them.
Goeller Laundry Bag Exercises… If you want to workout and do not have weights, use whatever you have! Working out with a laundry bag is definitely unique, effective, and fun. This is a full-body workout with exercises for every major muscle group. If you follow along, Karen only does a few reps of each exercise. Do the entire workout to learn the exercises and then repeat it with a higher number of reps so that you are getting more reps in than what is shown here. Exercises for legs, back, chest, arms, shoulders, and core. For more of Karen Goeller’s unique exercise methods check out www.LegsPlus.com and www.SwingWorkouts.com.
From a sports-science point of view, there are specific training points we must remember when we return to training. I recommend the following for our gymnasts.
We should start slowly. We all want gymnasts to regain all they lost, but it will be a process. The same process as when a gymnast returns from an injury. We must be extremely patient with each gymnast’s limitations and hesitation in performing skills, physically and mentally. Many will have new fears and others will have become very weak. De-training, loss of strength, happens in children pretty rapidly.
As coaches, we must remember that when competitive gymnasts first return to the gym they should not be doing their highest level skills. They must spend time conditioning to regain the strength they lost. That may take six weeks. Most have not been doing effective conditioning at home to maintain or build the strength necessary to perform the skills they competed or were learning.
This really should be an industry-wide recommendation in order to prevent a high rate of overuse injuries within their first six-eight weeks. I recommend assigning conditioning and basic skills on every event in addition to the careful and deliberate warm-up. A rotation of conditioning, flexibility, balance, and visualization may be wise.
And I recommend that every gymnast perform beam complexes, alignment, and balance drills long before asking them to perform flight series, challenging skills, and routines. I would say at least two to three weeks of balance work should be practiced for beam in order to keep the gymnasts safe and comfortable. And then mix in the balance work with skills once the gymnasts look comfortable on the beam again.
Please keep in mind that it may take gymnasts a few weeks just to regain their ability to focus. The last thing we want is an accident, especially due to a lack of focus. The training should be structured, but not intense in the beginning.
Most gymnasts likely lost flexibility during their time off. Performing over-splits or doing manual stretching should be avoided. Allow your gymnasts to regain flexibility with careful stretching. Nerve gliding may be useful for many gymnasts to help ease them back into flexibility. For example, in the pike stretch ask them to point and flex five times then stretch. Allow your gymnasts to repeat the point-flex motion in each exercise.
Coaches, we really should allow our gymnasts to ease back into the sport, mentally and physically. Be patient and remember that progress in this sport is faster when the gymnast is well-conditioned and has a good state of mind. Mr. Wang who worked for me when I had my gymnastics club said, “gymnasts must have good emotions.” He was right.
Best of luck to all of the dedicated coaches and gymnasts when everyone returns to the gym. I hope the sport makes a come-back financially and continues to grow in popularity.
Let me know how I can help you. I am available through email, social media, zoom, phone, and in-person when we open gyms again. There aren’t too many CSCS’s in the USA with 40+ years of experience coaching gymnastics.
By Karen Goeller, CSCS
What can a gymnast really do at home?
Well, every coach will say conditioning and stretching. I agree. Maintaining strength and flexibility is very important. The skills will be there if the gymnast continues to perform general strength and sport-specific conditioning through this difficult time. Nearly all gymnasts remember most of the conditioning they do in the gym, but they all have favorite exercises. It is important to perform a variety of exercises. If they have space, they should perform their entire pre-workout warm-up to help stay in shape. A good warm-up with stretching and shaping is at least 45 minutes.
Many gymnasts will need a higher than the desired volume of hip flexor conditioning. I bet many will grow during this time. The hip flexors play an important role in the gymnast’s training. They not only allow the gymnast to lift her leg very high, but they help with posture. And when the hip flexors are weak or tight, the gymnast may feel low back pain. That is because they basically connect the spine and femur. When the hip flexors are tight they actually pull on the spine into a lordosis position. And when they are weak they become stressed when the gymnast lifts her legs such as in a glide kip, kick, or leap. As a coach, I can tell when a gymnast has tight hip flexors by her posture; there is a slight bend at the hip while standing. A well-conditioned, well-stretched gymnast usually stands with no angle and the front of the hip.
To keep the hip flexors conditioned I recommend the pike-sitting leg lifts. The gymnast will sit in a pike position, place her hands next to her knees on the floor and then lift both legs. And for the stretch, I recommend the quad-psoas stretch. Kneeling lunge with one foot out front and hips pressed forward. The gymnast should also do this with the back leg bent and that foot facing the ceiling.
But there are other things that will be helpful. For example, balance drills and visualization. For balance, the gymnast can do simple exercises such as RDL and slow-motion needle kicks with and without light dumbbells. They can also perform arm routines with their eyes closed. The gymnast would stand in place and perform her beam routine with just her arm and head movements. That is for both visualization and balance. When that becomes simple, the gymnast can perform it in a passé leg position, one foot touching the inner side of the knee. The gymnast should do this drill with each leg because most gymnasts have a sharper sense of balance on one side. When this becomes simple, the gymnast can add very light ankle/writs weights to the wrists or hold 1lb dumbbells in each hand. And to bring it up one step as far as challenge, the gymnast can do this standing on a softer surface such as a Bosu or balance disc.
And finally, for a change maybe they can do the Legs Plus or Swing Set Fitness workouts. Many of the exercises in my swing workouts were actually gymnastics conditioning exercises my gymnasts have done using a barrel mat. The Legs Plus workouts are really good general fitness as well as dismount-landing and bars conditioning. My gymnastics drills and conditioning book is useful to all gymnasts as well.
So gymnasts should try really hard to stay in shape and keep their sanity. Athletes can use this time to get stronger and heal any aches and pains they may have had.
And let me know how I can help your gymnast.
The books and exercises mentioned can be found at http://www.KarenGoeller.com, http://www.GymnasticsDrills.com, http://www.LegsPlus.com, http://www.SwingWorkouts.com.
Karen Goeller, CSCS
Many competitive gymnasts are looking to stay in shape during gymnastics club closures due to this COVID-19 virus. That’s great! Just be sure the home program has effective and appropriate exercises.
Many of the drills and conditioning exercises in these books can be done at home. They are easy to read and simple illustrations help. The Gymnastics Drills and Conditioning book has exercises for press handstand, dance drills and conditioning, uneven bars drills and conditioning, vaulting drills, and running drills. www.GymnasticsDrills.com
The Handstand Drills and Conditioning Book has core strength as well as upper body strength and handstand shape. www.HandstandDrills.com
And if the gymnast has a swing set in their backyard Swing Set Fitness would be very effective for core and conditioning specific to uneven bars. There are three books with swing exercises. The Swing Workouts book has over ten effective workouts. www.SwingWorkouts.com
And finally to keep good general strength gymnasts can use the Legs Plus Workouts. The Legs Plus workouts do involve using light weights and a medicine ball. www.LegsPlus.com
With any home program, the gymnast must be mature enough to focus and follow written instructions. It is preferred the parent read along with the gymnast and be sure the gymnast remains focused during each exercise.
And please remember, with any movement injury is possible. You and your child are responsible for your own personal safety.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.
Handwashing is really not a new concept. So many people are stressed because they must wash their hands more often as a result of this COVID-19 (Corona Virus). I laugh at the silliness of it all. We should all be washing our hands before we eat, after using restrooms, and when we first walk into our house after a day of work or being out and about.
I’ve been living like this since my 1991 cancer surgery. I have one liquid soap dispenser and one foam dispenser on my bathroom sink. Do you know what’s in my foam dispenser? Listerine Ultra Clean. I use one pump of soap and one pump of the Listerine and wash my hands as soon as I walk into my house and right after I walk my dog.
Here is an excerpt from my book telling people exactly what it is like to live like a germ-a-phobe for life.
“Besides wearing the compression stocking there are many things that must be considered daily. In addition to dealing with the lymphedema, I must take precautions as I go through my day.
The one thing that most people do not understand is that I must be careful with germs…
I have to avoid athlete’s foot and clean between my toes carefully. I must make sure I do not step on anything that would cut my foot or cause infection. That is why I always wear something on my feet. I even wear slippers or flip-flops in my house. I never walk around barefoot.
The research I read right after my cancer surgery, and the information the doctors confirmed, was that germs could cause serious complications with lymphedema. An infection could send me to the hospital. Great, a place where I can pick up MORE germs!
After my surgery, it was recommended that I carry antibiotics, alcohol swabs, and a first aid kit to take care of any cut or other mishap immediately. I did do that for the first year. Keeping a first aid kit with me was annoying. I do still carry antibacterial wipes and a few Band-Aids, just in case. OK, I admit it, there is a first aid kit in my car.
You would not believe how much there is to think about when doctors tell you to avoid germs! It’s insane! Can you spell GERM-APHOBE? I wash my hands often, use Lysol in my house to kill viruses on surfaces, and always make sure my food is prepared properly.
Since my lymph nodes were removed, I have fewer “filters” than anyone whose lymph nodes were not removed. In other words, dealing with bacteria, virus, or other issues could be problematic. It’s a real pain in the neck to worry about germs and swelling all of the time, but again, the doctors saved my life with the surgery.”
So stop stressing that you must wash your hands and clean surfaces. Many people with previous or current medical issues live this way daily. I bet if you keep up with the handwashing you’ll catch fewer colds in the future too.
There is more information on the book is at www.LymphedemaBook.com. My blog is at www.KarenGoeller.com.
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