WAG how do elites bare that much training?

[katlinchen]

Hey!

I just got my press handstand. When I got it yesterday, I was really ethusiastic and tried several times throughout training.
Then my left wrist started to hurt. I think it is the "capitate" bone, so this little bump that you can even see if a person is skinny. It just hurts whenever I do handstands

So I wanted to know, is there anything I could do to avoid it but still be able to to press handstands?
What about tiger paws?

And one more question: how do elite or high level gymnast train so much without getting overuse injuries?
I think I am quite fit, I can do several pull-ups and have super strong abs, my blood test is great, so is my cardiogram. But it feels like everytime I get a little more serious about training and try a move more often and put in 100%, something starts hurting.

Hope someone can help!

 

[cbifoja]

Nekkid elites??? I thought this was a family friendly site?

 

[B&M's mom]

They don't. They just don't talk about them.

 

[txgymfan]

Passion, high pain tolerance and bandages. If you saw the gymnasts tweets from the past few Pre-Olympic camps there were a ton of pictures of the entire team in ice baths with several (jokingly?) saying it was the best part of training. Seriously most of them have at minimum a series of moderate and/ or severe aches and pains all of the time.

Dunno can you provide more insight?

 

[Faith]

From my point of view with a young wannabe elite...it's a combination of factors.

Having the physical (and mental) make up to withstand the training. Some bodies can take it, some can't. It's yet one more thing, besides talent and work ethic, that's essential for potential elites. Quick healing/recovery helps too.

Coaching. Good coaching can go a long way. Recognising the activities that may cause overuse or other injuries, and training smart. Reducing impact, especially on growing bones, as much as possible. Conditioning and flexibility. Not pushing skills, drills and more drills.

I read an interview with Khorkina recently, who apparently never had an injury. Which she puts down mainly to her coach.

As for your press handstands, try doing them on paralettes, so the wrist is straight rather than bent back.

 

[kecks]

overuse is inevitable in elite sports. no one training more than, let's say, 20 hours a week will not have constant little nagging pains ("little" to them, "big" to normal folks) and in the long run overuse injuries or at least overuse issues.- a body can only take so many reps and after that staying healthy involves a lot of luck. this is just the way competitive sports (or jobs involving hands on work like construction) are. it's not so much gymnastiscs, it is just sports. and if you ask me - it's worth it. but this is a highly individual choice which has to be made by an informed athlete (which is trickier in gymnastics than in other sports because the athletes are kids and peak around age 16 with no idea about the next month let alone the rest of their lifes and basically coaches and parents have to make these decisions for them.). so how do they bear it? idk about gym, but about judo, weightlfiting and track: high pain tolerance, lot's of supps, sometimes pain killers and lot's of ice bath, sauna, massage, physio therapy and of course lots of sleep, sound nutrition and most important sensible coaching. and knowing that you at least deep down love what you do.

 

[Aussie_coach]

The do an enormous amount of strength and conditioning. They will spend an average of 2 hours a day in strength and conditioning, 6 days a week. And they do get overuse injuries.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

And they pay for it years down the line with advanced bone wear, early onset arthritis, disc injuries etc

 

[bookworm]

And by the time they get to college , a lot are so beat up that they are unable to continue the sport from all the years of 30+ hours of conditioning a week and the pounding on their bodies...makes them quite susceptible to injuries (i.e. Peng Peng from Canada has yet to compete for UCLA due to ongoing injury; Cassie Whitcomb also "retired" after getting to UCLA; Morgan Smith was the same story and "retired" after getting to Michigan)...but of course there are the notable exceptions in the elite world that have gone on to do well in the college setting..Bridget Sloan and Kytra Hunter have absolutely fluorished at Florida, and Samantha Shapiro , while not doing all events , seems to be doing ok at Stanford..

 

[Flossyduck]

And they've built up slowly. Most of them don't suddenly subject themselves to huge hours - they increase hours alongside increased conditioning over time so that their body copes.

 

[iwannacoach]

Some bodies can take it, some can't. It's yet one more thing, besides talent and work ethic, that's essential for potential elites. Quick healing/recovery helps too.

That's a part of it.

....Good coaching ...... Recognising the activities that may cause overuse or other injuries.....Reducing impact.................. Conditioning and flexibility. Not pushing skills, drills and more drills.

That's another part of it.

I read an interview with Khorkina recently, who apparently never had an injury. Which she puts down mainly to her coach.

Sure there's elite walking around with injuries and overuse problems, but I doubt they are statistically worse off than kids in L9 and L10. The elite level kids take a long time to work up to the level and by the time they get there and are well conditioned. Many of them also have the advantage of working with very capable long term coaches who understand the importance of moderating the work to keep the physical stress as low as practical. Long term experience allows them to reduce injury by anticipating from experience what a child is ready for, and waiting for skills when they are not.

It goes beyond that, but along those same lines, and the net result is a generally healthier gymnast than you may expect.

Where you'll see more overuse problems is in kids who are working with coaches who are too ambitious and fail to learn from others with more experience.

 

[LizzieLac]

I think there is a genetic factor as well. Some people are "more prone" to injury, may be due in part to body mechanics that are a result of gentics. I think of Rebecca Bross being "knock-kneed" but there are other things that we can't see.

High pain threshold and high pain tolerance, which are two different things, also play a part.

Smart training and smart RECOVERY are essential. I ran track/XCountry in HS and college. The recovery workouts and rest days are important, including when they occur.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

+1 to Iwanna's post. Excellent insight into elite gymnastics.

Normal is very relative. I competed on the US team for 10 years thru Jr and Mens A (different sport to gymnastics). The dedication I saw from the elites in the world was extraordinary. Their athleticism and mental strength was gained almost all from training and competitions over a long period of time. Our workouts were our normal. Our normal was developed over many years with full-time experienced coaches. Compared to other rec. athletes, our normal was very different. For the elites in my sport, the normal was our maximums based on the periodization training/competiton schedules we were using. We appreciated the passion of the more rec. athletes. Never disparaged them as they had the same passion, just different level of passion in pursuit of the athletics.

I was a injury free, healthy college male athlete. My D1 experience (different sport again) benefited from excellent injury recovery and strength training programs. A majority of my former competitors were similar.

Broken athletes - some, but a minority.

I hope I have added to the discussion. Best, SBG -

 

[Deleted member D3987]

whew, long topic. i'll comment later tonight.

 

[gymyahoo]

Eating right and getting as much rest that their schedule will allow. Also having good communication with the coach on what nagging injuries are occurring so that they can train effectively without causing more harm

 

[dani4]

I've often wondered about this myself. I'm pretty strong and coordinated but never went far in anything because I seem to get injured too easily. Currently dealing with a minor shoulder injury that is keeping me out of the gym (lifting). When I rowed my husband used to joke that I was cursed because I always got injured at the beginning of head race season. It takes talent to get injured from rowing, there's really nothing dangerous about that sport and you have 50+ year olds competitive with college-aged kids. I guess part of it is that I'm a wuss- would never make it in gymnastics. Hoping my kids did not inherit this from me, if it's genetic.

I have a suspicion that my issue is that my body has never been aligned well, and it makes me more prone to injury. The older you get the harder it is to do anything about. I've read some books on how to improve myself but it takes a lot of time that I don't have- maybe if I didn't work full time and have 2 little kids to take care of. I wish I knew about this stuff when I was younger. I wonder if that's part of elite athletes' secret- they do a lot of work to keep their bodies functioning on such a high level.

I recently read the book How to Become a Supple Leopard, and it was very convincing but I just couldn't maintain 1 hr plus of "mobility" work per day on top of regular gym workouts and you know, my life responsibilities. I guess if you are passionate about a sport and want to get to the highest level you make time for all that stuff.

 

[iwannacoach]

I've often wondered about this myself. I'm pretty strong and coordinated but never went far in anything because I seem to get injured too easily.....

I'm going to separate physical strength from ability to make a point. Ability has many facets within the physical and mental spectrum. In most cases, ability exposes an athlete's body to increasing stresses as they learn more advanced skills or techniques. Along with the evolution from a beginner to intermediate they improve an equivalent degree of strength through skill repetition and targeted strength work.

Some gymnasts, and other fast learners, "master" techniques that put more stress on their body than their physical strength can withstand. That's when injuries happen out of thin air for athletes with a boatload of ability, as they are able generate more force earlier than their peers, who plod along slowly and end up "going farther" than a red hot talent.