New Year, New Exercise Program for You

Get the Legs Plus or Swing Workouts books to learn workouts that will help you get fit, lose weight, and gain strength. And while you’re on Amazon, be sure to also check out the children’s and gymnastics books by Karen Goeller, CSCS.

http://www.amazon.com/author/karengoeller

Books: Sports, Fitness, and More

www.amazon.com/author/karengoeller

Books are nice gifts… Check out Karen Goeller’s sports, fitness, and children’s books. And be sure to check out the book on her life story after a cancer diagnosis, Sentenced to Life in Bed, but I Escaped.

Titles include Gymnastics Drills and Conditioning, Handstand Drills and Conditioning, Gymnastics Journal, Gymnastics Coloring Book, Fitness Journal, Strength Training Journal, Fitness on a Swing Set, Swing Set Workouts, Legs Plus Workouts, Lymphedema: Sentenced to Life in Bed, Missy’s Voice, and More.

Karen Goeller on Danny Whitman Podcast

Danny Whitman talks with Karen Goeller about life as a New York Actress. Karen has been on many TV shows we all love like Billions and Law and Order. They also talk about sports and gymnastics as she is a former gym owner and still teaches gymnastics.

Happy Holidays to our Athletes…

To all of the young athletes out there… Enjoy your holiday season, but be sure to keep up with your sleep, healthy eating, and hydration. Lack of any of them can reduce your focus in the gym and school. Reduced focus may lead to accidents and poor grades.

Have fun and stay safe! Check out my books and be sure to let me know how I can help you…

#gifts #holidays #training #athletes #sports #cscs #nj #gymnastics

Books are Nice Gifts

www.amazon.com/author/karengoeller

Books are nice gifts… Check out Karen Goeller’s sports, fitness, and children’s books. And be sure to check out the book on her life story after a cancer diagnosis.

Books by Karen Goeller

Titles include: Gymnastics Drills and Conditioning, Handstand Drills and Conditioning, Gymnastics Journal, Gymnastics Coloring Book, Fitness Journal, Strength Training Journal, Fitness on a Swing Set, Swing Set Workouts, Legs Plus Workouts, Lymphedema: Sentenced to Life in Bed, Missy’s Voice, and More.

Your Gymnast’s Life is in Her Hands, Literally

Your Gymnast’s Life is In Her Hands. Your Gymnast Will Peel Off the Bar if She is Not Prepared.

I think we will have more gymnasts peeling off the bars in the first month back than ever before. Why? Because many gymnasts have not done any strength for their grip-hands and forearms.

They will likely have only done shaping and core conditioning. How many have actually done conditioning for grip strength? I’d guess almost none of them. It is not something that is stressed once a gymnast has been doing giants on bars for a long time. Hanging on the bar daily builds that strength, but most gymnasts do not have a bar to hang from at home.

Please keep in mind that a gymnast’s life is literally in their hands when swinging on the bars. If they peel off during a giant, or any skill for that matter, they can cause serious injury or even death. The tensile force on the hands, forearms, and the rest of the body during giants could be several times their body weight. Will they come back prepared to withstand that force? If they cannot hold heavy dumbbells without dropping them or hang on the bar for 30 seconds to one minute and have not been doing grip strength exercises or hanging conditioning they should not be doing giants the first week back in the gym.

And be extremely careful in the straps too. Swinging in the straps creates even more tensile force because of the speed of the giants and circle skills. Gymnasts can cause tears in the soft tissue of their shoulders and the rest of their upper body.

Please keep your gymnast’s safety in mind when asking them to perform giants or any of their old skills for the first time in several months. Coaches must take the time to rebuild strength, power, flexibility, and confidence before asking gymnasts to perform familiar skills or learn new skills.

Each gymnast is an individual. Some will take longer to regain what they may have lost and others will come back well-conditioned and ready to perform skills more quickly. Ask your gymnasts what they did at home to stay in shape, watch their energy levels, and evaluate their strength the first week so they progress at a steady and safe pace.

Many will try to do too much too soon and we will see overuse injuries, more than in previous years, if we are not careful with the training.

Good luck with your return to the gym. Stay safe and let me know how I can help you.

Grip Strength Ideas…

• hang 30-60 seconds
• pull-ups in varying hand grips and other bar conditioning without coming off bar for 30-60 seconds
• squeeze tennis or other balls
• ring towel
• bicep curl in over and under grip
• dumbbell wrist twist
• dumbbell writs curls in every direction
• grip / squeezing devices
• fingertip or fist pushups
• farmers walk or just holding heavy dumbbells for 30-60 seconds

Always keep safety in mind when training. Your safety is your personal responsibility.

Karen Goeller, CSCS, Consultant
www.BestSportsConditioning.com
Gymnastics Drills Book
Handstand Book

 

Karen Goeller on Tweed Talk

Karen Goeller on Tweed Talks…
Karen and Pedro Tweed go way back. Pedro, Crystal, and Karen talk about Karen’s books, the quarantine, bullying, and other subjects. Karen and Pedro have known each other for over 30 years through the gymnastics world. Goeller and the Tweeds all work in the film industry too. Listen to this relaxing and fun interview. And check out Karen Goeller’s books on Amazon.

Karen Goeller Books

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, Haney, 8 Year Suspension

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.

Advice for Athletes during COVID Pandemic

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… Try to make strength and flexibility goals for yourself now – for your return to the gym. Do activities that build strength (bike riding, stair climbing, swing set fitness, swimming, etc) Do activities that improve speed (sprints, sprints downhill, mountain climbers, flutters in pike and hollow shape) Try to keep up with body tightness and rebounding (bouncing, jump rope, hopping type drills, push up shape hops) Keep up with agility (do your pre-workout warm-up daily, playing tag with siblings) Try to have fun outdoors. Set a goal for the first week you return to the gym. Set a goal for two months after you return to the gym. Set a goal for the next state meet you compete in which would be next year. Always keep safety in mind when exercising at home and in the gym. You and your parents are responsible for your personal safety at home. 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. 1/2 Hollow Up Hollow Rocks Arch Ups Arch Rock Hip-Thrusts/Baby Candlestick Reverse Leg-Lifts, Single Leg-Lower-Lift Alternating Superman Arch-Legs Only Pike-Sit Leg-Lifts (Both legs straight and together) Pike-Sit-Flutters Straddle-Sit-Leg-Lifts (Both legs at the same time.) Straddle-Sit Leg Circles (Both legs at the same time.) V-Ups Alternating V-Ups Side Lifts Side Rocks Hollow-Arch (Both Sides) Hollow-Tilt Side to Side Arch Tilt Side to Side Plank Plank-Leg Extension (Lower-Lift Knees) Plank-Low Back Kicks Plank-Shrugs (Flat back-round back) Plank-Forward-Back (Planche-Back) Side Plank Side Plank-Lower-Lift Hips Side Plank-Small Side Kicks Plank-Side-Plank Walking or In-Place Lunges (Keep knees in line with middle toes!) Gymnastics Drills Book www.GymnasticsDrills.com Handstand Book  www.HandstandBook.com