Chapter 9- Cardio and ESD

CHAPTER
ENERGY SYSTEMS
TRAINING AND METABOLIC
PERFORMANCE IN
GYMNASTICS
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09
Reading Resources
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The Physiology of High Performance, MacDougall and Sale
Strength and Conditioning, Cardinale, Newton, Nosaka
Advanced Strength and Conditioning, Turner and Comfort
Allostasis, Homeostasis, and the Cost of Physiological Adaptation
Strength and Conditioning for Sports Performance, Joyce
The Science of Gymnastics: Advanced Concepts
o Chapter 1 - Energetics of Gymnastics
o Chapter 2 - Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems of Gymnasts
Background to Energy Systems in Gymnastics
“Cardio” as many people in gymnastics refer to it, is another subcomponent of training that falls under
the larger category of physical preparation. It is one of the essential aspects of gymnastics development
alongside strength, power training, flexibility, basic skill technique, and injury management.
The more formal name that is often given to this category of physical preparation is “Energy Systems
Development” or ESD for short. ESD involves different metabolic pathways that are used to create
energy sources to fuel the body. This is why some forms of training are referred to as Metabolic Training
or Metabolic Conditioning (MetCons for short).
I think there are many very knowledgeable and well-educated gymnastics professionals, both sport
related and medical related, who are making sure energy systems are trained on a day to day basis.
They often have created and engineered workouts, most commonly known as “circuits,” that summarize
the broader nature of a gymnast needing to have the energy to make it through full routines or practice.
With this in mind, I think that unfortunately gymnastics still has a lot of room for improvement. Some
areas include:
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Education of energy systems and metabolic physiology as it relates to gymnastics demands.
The physiology and fuel sources for different types of energy systems.
The intended purpose or rationale of workouts being commonly used.
The specific adaptations we are looking for during individual workouts.
Why the parameters, prescription, and changing work to rest ratios during workouts is so
crucial to gain these intended adaptations.
Now I do not claim by any means to be an exercise physiologist. I’m not going to say that I know exactly
how to go about the perfect approach to metabolic training within gymnastics.
However, I have spent an enormous amount of time seeking out professionals that specialize in energy
systems for a living (A massive shout out to Chris Hinshaw, Dave Picardy, Kiefer Lammi, Jason Leydon,
and Tiffeny Parker).
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Interestingly enough, they have no formal background in traditional gymnastics. They work in the
arenas of triathlons, IronMans, Track and Field, and other competitive fitness arenas. I have also spent
a ridiculous amount of time reading textbooks and literature on this topic to understand the concepts
better.
When I combined the knowledge from expert non-gymnastics coaches, with the experience from
gymnastics coaches, and finally blended in the current body of science, it opened quite a few new doors
for me. I was able to see significant progress in my understanding of energy systems as well as in my
work with gymnasts. But as with all things, there is still much up for debate in the research.
As has been outlined recently in The Science of Gymnastics: Advanced Concepts, the available research
on energy systems in gymnasts is a bit outdated, and conflicts still exist on the best approach to this
category of physical preparation.1
As seen when looking through the literature, there is an abundance of science available on energy
systems training in many other sports. Not everything is relevant to gymnastics, but there is an
incredible amount that highly correlates.
There are a few reasons why understanding this field of science is so critical.
First, proper energy systems training directly impacts gymnastics performance. As is most commonly
known to readers, gymnasts who are not properly conditioned struggle to execute routines to their full
ability. It often leads to errors during skills, large form breaks and falls in competition, all which generate
lower scores.
In the same light, many readers are also familiar with gymnasts who seem to “gas out” during practices.
They start off the first hour with energy or focus. Then as the two or three-hour mark sets in, there is
a huge drop in energy levels. This creates notable declines in the quality of training, and athletes can’t
seem to sustain work output for strength programs, skill training, or routines. This can happen within
one day, one week, or a larger block of training. This leads to many hours of suboptimal training, and
performances falling short during competition.
A typical response to this decline in skill or competition performance is often to increase training hours
or volume. Gymnasts are asked to do more skills or routine repetitions during practice, come in earlier,
stay later, or add additional workouts during the week. This may paradoxically lead to more fatigue, as
well as an elevated risk of injury or burnout.2-6
The solution to this problem, as I will outline here and in the recovery chapter, comes down to a scenario
of optimal dosage. Being able to step back and objectively look at the energy systems, work to rest
volume, and specificity of workouts may be a superior approach.
There are instances where more training volume is warranted in response to declining skill performance,
but I think it is much less common than we think. If we have entirely optimized energy systems training,
strength or power training, work to rest ratios, and recovery practices based on the available science,
then the conversation can be discussed about training volume.
I know gyms that train 15-20 hours per week with very solid principles and are doing very well on the
national or collegiate stage. I feel it is because they have put a microscope to their physical preparation
and periodization planning, as well as strength and energy systems workloads.
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Another reason understanding energy systems training is crucial is because of its substantial impact
on injury risk. Athletes who are not properly conditioned for routines may be at a dramatically higher
risk of injury. As fatigue builds within the body, muscle tissue becomes impaired in its ability to
produce force, strength, power, and speed.7-10 There are also severe side effects of increased fatigue on
coordination and the body’s ability to detect where it is in space (proprioception). These too can impact
performance and injury risk.11
Interestingly, there was a research study that looked at the influence of fatigue on the number of
balance beam falls by high-level gymnasts.12 An increased number of falls was seen as fatigue increased.
Even more intriguing was that resolution of fatigue with the ingestion of carbohydrates showed a
reduction in falls. Keep that concept in mind as the chapter continues with nutrition and fuel for
metabolic pathways.
Instances of fatigue negatively impacting gymnastics performance are regularly observed in gymnastics.
The principles are the same whether we are talking about gymnasts fatiguing within one set of strength
exercises, a gymnast tiring fast within a challenging floor routine only to fall on their last pass or talking
about a gymnast experiencing the negative effects of global fatigue through a day or week.
A fatigue-based injury is most often seen during the end of routines, final tumbling passes, or high
difficulty dismounts. Fatigue-based injuries can also be thought of in relation daily, weekly, or monthly
timelines, not just one routine. I have worked with 100s of athletes who get hurt during the end of
routines, long practices, or during the tail end of competition season.
The effects of fatigue outlined in research on strength, power, cognitive abilities, coordination, and
proprioception all factor in here. I feel performance drops or injuries are not always due to mental
toughness or lacking technical abilities like so many people assume. I think part of it is due to their gross
lack of energy system preparedness to combat high fatigue levels, combined with suboptimal training
programs that lack the balance of work to recovery time.
I hope to convey the importance of these thoughts on energy system development as it pertains to
injury risk and sports performance through this chapter. I hope to also connect these ideas to many
other essential components of physical preparedness such as strength, power training, workload
management, nutrition, recovery, and long-term athletic development.
The Basics of the Human Energy Systems
Energy systems within the human body serve to help provide fuel for a variety of daily life demands.
These demands range from some of the most simple and essential functions (fueling the heart or other
organs, essential body functions, tissue repair, and growth) to much more complicated and demanding
tasks (complex brain activity, elite level training, and demanding physical output seen in sports).
At the most basic level, a compound known as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) fuels muscular output
and many other functions in the body. It is one substantial source of energy that is being consumed
and produced almost continuously. The amount of ATP stored in muscles is minimal. Therefore, during
periods of work that are longer or more intense, the body needs a way to replenish this fuel source
continuously. This is where energy systems and metabolic pathways come into play. They serve as a way
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to regenerate ATP for sustained muscular and neurological output.13
I will offer a simplistic overview of the four ways in which ATP is recreated. They are crucial to learning if
we wish to understand how a gymnast can have explosive power to vault, the stamina to make it through
a floor routine, and the global endurance to make it through a practice without falling apart.
If you are not from a medical or academic background, do not worry. Just grasp the basics, then I will
relate it to daily training in the next section. For those that are more on the nerdy side, see Chapter 2,
Biochemical Bases for Performance, in The Physiology of Training for High Performance by Digby and Sale
for much more on this topic.13 The four main energy systems in the body are as follows:
1. Phosphocreatine - The first system to replenish ATP works very fast and involves a high energy
molecule called Phosphocreatine (PCr). It works in short duration, offering a ton of energy, but
then is quickly used up.
2. Anaerobic Glycolysis - “Anaerobic” simple means there is no oxygen used in this system. Both
PCr and Anaerobic Glycolysis do not utilize oxygen. This second system kicks in after the
PCr system provides some quick acting fuel. Instead of oxygen, it uses the building blocks of
carbohydrates (glucose and glycogen).
a. An important piece to this system is that as a byproduct, it creates something called
“lactate” and hydrogen ions. Hydrogen ions have a very negative effect on performance
over time, as they raise the level of acidity within the blood and body.
b. Note: This is a major factor related to why gymnasts become so fatigued in shorter higher
intensity routines like floor or bars and must have proper carbohydrate intake within their
nutrition profiles. Keep this in mind as you read on.
3. Oxidation of Glucose - “Oxidation” refers to the use of oxygen in the system. After a period of
work, the body can no longer can function to do work on anaerobic mechanisms alone. It then
switches to using oxygen within this pathway to keep up with the demands being placed on the
body. It involves breaking down the same building blocks of carbohydrates (glucose and glycogen)
to replenish energy.
4. Oxidation of Fats - Similar again to number 3, oxygen is also in this energy system. The main
difference is that instead of primarily breaking down glucose, the primary source of fuel is the
building block of fat, fatty acids.
Summarizing these four systems is best done within the context of time, the use of oxygen, and what
substance is being broken down to replenish energy.
The first system, PCr, works within seconds, does not use oxygen, and provides ATP from the breaking
of high energy bonds.
The second system, anaerobic glycolysis, works within one to two minutes, also does not use oxygen,
and provides ATP from breaking down the building blocks of carbohydrates, glucose. Remember it
produces lactate and hydrogen ions as a byproduct, which in turn raises the level of acidity in the body
and negatively impacts performance. These two systems form the “anaerobic system.”
The third and fourth systems, oxidation of carbohydrates and oxidation of fats, work in minutes to
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hours, uses oxygen, and provides ATP mainly from the breakdown of glucose or fatty acids. These two
systems together form the “aerobic system” due to the need for oxygen. 13
It’s important to realize that at any one time, no single energy system is solely responsible for fuel.
Multiple systems are always being utilized to replenish ATP. However, as the time, intensity, and nature
of work change, the bias or significant contribution of one energy system may dominate.
The Debate on Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Training for Gymnasts
When addressing time ranges for work related to the four systems above, MacDougall and Sale, offers
very insightful information that directly relates to gymnastics performance.13 They outline categories
of exercise in relation to time domains.
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Explosive Events (less than 2 seconds)
Maximal Efforts (over 12 - 15 seconds)
Sustained Sprinting (15 - 60 seconds)
Middle - Distance Events (up to 6 minutes)
Endurance Events (up to 40 minutes)
To help further explain this point, here are the same time domains above with gymnastics specific
examples
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Explosive Events (less than 2 seconds)
Individual drills
Some individual skills
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Maximal Efforts (over 12 - 15 seconds)
Some individual drills, individual skills, and vault turns
Sustained Sprinting (15 - 60 seconds)
Connected skills (although not fully sustained maximal “sprint”)
Sections of routines or half routines (although not fully sustained maximal “sprint”)
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Middle - Distance Events (up to 6 minutes)
Full uneven bar, high bar, parallel bar, floor, beam, rings, and pommel horse routines
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Endurance Events (up to 40 minutes)
Most single event training in daily practices
Single practice with series of events
Single competition with warm up, full routines, and time between events
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Multiple day competitions with 2 or 3 meets, team vs. individual sessions, qualifiers, event
finals, etc
Now, this must be taken with a grain of salt, as much of these time domains relate to running sports or
sustained efforts. This is not the case with gymnastics, as there are significant variations in intensity and
level of work being performed. None the less, it helps serve as a framework to build upon.
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For those interested, here is the more physiological explanation of what has been covered so far. As per
McDougall and Sale, 13
“Muscles contract when stored chemical energy is converted into mechanical energy. This chemical energy is
in the form of the compound adenosine triphosphate or ATP, which is formed in the muscle by the bonding of
inorganic phosphate to adenosine diphosphate. When this bond is broken by the activation of an enzyme, the
potential energy that it contains is released, causing muscle filaments to slide past each other, the muscle to
shorten, and mechanical work to be performed.”
If mechanical work is to continue for more than a few seconds, processes must be activated to resynthesize ATP
at the rate at which it’s being used. These processes are known as metabolic pathways and include four main
possibilities for synthesizing ATP.
1.
From the splitting of a second-high energy phosphate compound (PCr)
2.
From the anaerobic breakdown of glucose to lactic acid (anaerobic glycogenolysis or glycolysis…
sometimes called the lactic acid system).
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The synthesis of ATP from the oxidation of glycogen or glucose
4.
The synthesis of ATP from the oxidation of fatty acids
Since the first two of these pathways do not require oxygen to function, they are known as anaerobic
pathways, whereas the latter two are considered oxidative of aerobic pathways.”
The main take away from these last few pages is based on the duration and relative intensity of the
work being performed (short sprint vs. full routine vs. full meet), different energy systems are being
prioritized to maintain work output.
Performance Point and Why This Matters for Gymnastics- I know that a large debate exists within
the gymnastics community on whether training more aerobic or anaerobic systems is the priority.
The available science from Jemni and others outline that the short burst, power dominated nature of
gymnastics routines that produce high lactate levels, biases anaerobic training.14-17 Routines are almost
all under two minutes in duration and are performed at a high intensity of work.
Evidence available presents the argument that in gymnastics, most energy for routines is from the PCr
and anaerobic glycolytic systems, with much smaller amounts of energy regeneration coming from the
oxidative systems.
Data on energy cost predictions from routines, VO2 max measures, blood lactate levels, and heart rates
support that anaerobic training is the priority about competition success. 14-17 Keep in mind, some of this
data ranges quite far back in time, almost 40 years in studies. This is not to say that it is not valuable, we
just need to consider how much gymnastics has changed in 40 years.
Researchers have outlined that floor tends to be the most taxing, followed by the other events, with
vault being the least metabolically demanding. Another interesting finding in these studies is that blood
lactate levels, and the risk for fatigue-based performance drops, are influenced by order of competition
events.18-20
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Given the available research and data, I still feel that aerobic conditioning has tremendous value when
appropriately built into the yearlong training cycles. In my mind, gymnasts that are not adequately
conditioned from an aerobic point of view may have a significant increase in injury risk over an entire
practice, competition, or cycle of training. As noted, global fatigue can be indicated as a factor for injury,
underperformance, burnout, and increased risk of illness.2-5, 21-24
I feel properly periodized aerobic conditioning can positively impact a gymnast’s ability to recover
quicker between skill turns, tolerate multiple routines in training, combat global fatigue, and maintain
higher power outputs throughout entire training sessions. Light aerobic exercise may facilitate recovery
from very taxing workouts.25
Most people jump right to assuming that because gymnastics only has short burst, high-intensity
requirements, minimal aerobic training is needed. However, when you take a step back and look at
overall gymnastics training, various energy systems are being utilized. Due to this, I feel it’s important
we approach metabolic training in a balanced, periodized fashion over the entire competitive year.
Depending on the time of season and training goal, we can bias training towards specific systems.
I encourage people to consider the available data and research for themselves. I am sure the more I
learn, the more I will update these thoughts.
Factors of Training Different Energy Systems: Energy Sources, and Time for
Regeneration
Now that the basics of each energy system have been understood, it’s important to think about
what energy sources fuel them, and also what are the limiting factors for each system about sports
performance.
1. Resynthesis of PCr
PCr is resynthesized by the reversal of a creatine kinase reaction, with the phosphorylation energy
being derived by the oxidation pathways.26 This means the anaerobic pathway mainly seen in gymnastics
is regenerated largely by the aerobic mechanisms. Think about a gymnast gasping for air following a
very challenging floor or bar routine.
The time following a single exhaustive sprint interval and a resting recovery would be approximately 3-5
minutes. A longer recovery period is needed if submaximal exercise is performed during the rest, or if
multiple bouts are performed (think dance between tumbling passes on floor or doing transition skills on
bars). 13
Outside of vaulting, and maybe the first big skill of a routine that takes about 5-7 seconds, we don’t see
isolated max efforts like this much in gymnastics. The purely biased PCr system is seen more in sports
like Olympic Weightlifting, or the field portions (shotput, discus, javelin) to track and field. In this setting,
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the goal is to explosively lift as much weight as possible in lifts like the snatch or clean and jerk or throw
objects in a single effort as far as possible, respectively.
This system is, however, is still highly involved in the majority of most gymnastics routines. 17-18 Powerful
tumbling passes, huge release skills on bars, and dismounts often require this system to be utilized
in combination with the anaerobic glycolytic system. It is just in a specific application within a larger
framework, not a maximal effort like Olympic Weightlifting.
Keep in mind two important points here.
#1 - The aerobic oxidative systems are what replenish short burst, explosive power based PCr efforts.
#2 - It takes at least 3-5 minutes to recover this energy system if completely maxed out fully.
For gymnastics, most other events and daily practice methods require a bias towards the anaerobic
glycolytic systems with the involvement of the PCr system and aerobic systems. 14-21 This is where we
will transition to next.
2. Resynthesis of Anaerobic Glycolysis
This pathway is one of the most critical to gymnastics performance. This is because many high-power
output routines or skill combinations fall within the ranges of time when the PCr system relatively is
tapped out.
This includes single drills (5 - 10 seconds), single skills (5 - 20 seconds), and half or full routines (ranges
45 seconds to 2 minutes). Within a daily practice, gymnasts go through hundreds of cycles containing
short bursts of work (drills, skills, turns, routines), followed by periods of rest, lasting for multiple hours.
Competitions are much lower in this demand, with some studies saying a full competition may only
have 12-15 minutes of actual gymnastics work beyond the traditional warm up. 13 Therefore, the ability
of a gymnast to successfully perform and recover from these routines under high pressure, is largely
influenced by anaerobic and aerobic metabolic conditioning levels.
Take for example a full floor or men’s high bar routine. It is during this under 2 minute time interval that
gymnasts perform an insane amount of work through high power tumbling, release skills, or transition
elements (keeping in mind the variability based on skills performed, tempo, intensity, etc.).
It is during this highly intense 60 - 120-second bout that the metabolic process of anaerobic glycolysis
kicks into high gear. As PCr energy pathways are quickly depleted, the body depends on this glycolytic
system to fuel ongoing work.13 This is why the body requires both stored glucose (within the liver and
muscle tissue) and available glucose in the blood stream from nutritional intake.
This glucose is what fuels the anaerobic glycolytic process and allows for very short burst high-intensity
periods of work to be performed during this two-minute window.13, 27
Expanding on the concept mentioned above, the breakdown of glucose in this pathway comes at a very
high cost. The result of this pathway is the creation of lactic acid and hydrogen ions, which results in
increasing levels of acidity in the blood as well as muscles themselves.7-11,13,27-28
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As per MacDougall and Sale, 13
“From the athlete’s perspective, the advantage [of the glycolytic system] is that the ATP - production rate
can be greatly accelerated; the disadvantage is that it does so at the expense of an accelerated rate of lactic
acid production. Lactic acid is known as a strong acid, which means that it readily gives up its H+ into the
intracellular fluid of the muscle or into the blood. There is a direct relationship between the production rate of
lactic acid and H+”
The rising level of acidity in the body has many negative effects on the muscular systems ability to
function. This includes drops in force, strength, power output, and speed of muscle contractions. As a
result, reductions in an athlete’s ability to sustain high intensity work outputs overtime are observed.7-11
It is during the most intense forms of short duration, high-intensity exercise that the bi-products of
lactate and hydrogen ions rapidly increase. It has been outlined that the highest level of these biproducts peak during maximal exercise in 1-4 minutes, although that is highly variable based on the
athlete, their fitness level, the intensity of work, and the exercises being performed. 13,29
In relation to track, this is typically correlated to races between 400 meters and 1500 meters. In relation
to gymnastics, again this may be seen with a full floor or bar routine, although these typically do not
exceed 2 minutes. They also are not direct, all-out efforts. Routines have built in periods of much higher
output (bigger skills) to lower output (dance, basic swings, transitions). Never the less, the principles
of human energy systems, and the significant negative effects on the body from anaerobic glycolysis
byproducts remain the same.
The most important reason to understand these concepts is due to the significant effect these end
metabolic results have on the human body. As the level of lactic acid, hydrogen ions, and acidity rapidly
increases within muscles and the blood stream, significant decrements of muscular performance occur.
These include drops in muscular strength, power output, and an athlete’s ability to tolerate the
intensity of work as levels of fatigue accumulate. 7-9,13,27-28 As local and global fatigue sets in, we
tend to see a reduction in global movement quality, cognitive function (focus, concentration), and
proprioception.10-11,13
As per MacDougall and Sale, the research is still unclear on the main contributions to fatigue, although
these components are critical.
“Accumulation of hydrogen (H+) increases the acidity level, quantified as lowering of muscle pH. The importance
of increased H+ as a cause of fatigue is controversial. The main effects of H+ may be reducing the sensitivity of
the myofibrillar proteins to Calcium (Ca2+), which could reduce the number of cycling cross bridges, but low
pH may also reduce the force per cross bridge. Inducing acidosis (decreasing pH) impairs performance where
inducing alkalosis (increasing pH) improves performance, pointing to the accumulation of H+ as a contributor to
fatigue.”13
Performance Points and Why This Matters for Gymnastics- In summary thus far, the main take away
points are that these first two energy systems can provide a substantial amount of short burst energy,
but it comes at a cost of rapidly producing increased levels of acidity in the body. This acidity produces
significant negative effects on muscular force output, strength, power, coordination.
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The ability to understand and properly train these energy systems is of crucial importance if we wish to
prepare gymnasts for high-intensity routines. Proper training of these systems (and the aerobic capacity
to recover between these high intensity bouts) will not only help prepare the body for competition but
also may drastically reduce the risk of fatigue-related injury.
How This Relates to Paces of Practice
In close relation to the concept of repeated short bursts of work, we must understand the need for
adequate recovery time in these anaerobic systems. In the culture of gymnastics, we push the pace
of practices into high gear to perform more repetitions or turns. In my career as an athlete and coach,
I have done this automatically as it was what the environment dictated. Taking ten, twenty, or thirty
turns in a rotation may, in fact, get more work done, but we must remember how the anaerobic systems
quickly build fatigue and acidity over time.
This may become clearer when looking at some science for this thought process,
“If submaximal exercise is performed during the recovery or several sprint intervals are repeated, we can expect
the recovery curve to be flatter, and thus full resynthesis would take longer….” 13
* A note * - there is a difference between submaximal exercise and active recovery. Submaximal exercise
refers to ongoing moderate to higher end work, but not at an all-out blistering pace. Active recovery
typically involves more to slow, light exercise that is not complete rest. Active recovery does have
support to help enhance fatigue recovery. Submaximal exercise may be a 1-minute bout of intense lower
body work followed by 1 minute of moderate work like core exercises. Active recovery may be 1 minute
of intense lower body work followed by 1 minute of very light jogging around the floor. I will go into this
much more below.
Think about “submaximal exercise” or “several sprint repeated intervals” in the gymnastics context
of turns. A tumbling pass on floor, high energy swinging skills on bars, and series of strength moves
on rings. This quote offers a biochemical foundation for why recovery from challenging 3 skill
combinations, floor routines, bar routine, and ring routines packed full of strength skills takes much
longer.
Gymnasts are often gassed after doing a full routine because they have done repeated high power
submaximal bouts of work in 1 or 2 minutes. This is extremely taxing on the anaerobic systems. The
body becomes flooded with lactic acid and hydrogen ions that raise acidity levels and then require
aerobic pathways to help replenish them. It is often why deconditioned gymnasts are gasping for air
during an event rotation, or in the 5 minutes following a challenging routine. The first half of acidic pH
recovery can happen quickly, but then the remainder of truly full metabolic recovery for high dosages or
repeated bouts may take up to 40-60 minutes. 30
There are times when particular physiological and coaching rationale supports a higher number of
turns or skills back to back, for the mental and physical ability to perform with fatigue. However, a lot
of what we do in daily gymnastics training surrounds the deliberate practice, execution, and learning of
gymnastics skills. Remember that fatigue from metabolic workloads impairs cognitive functions such as
focus, coordination, and joint proprioception. 11 In this context, taking a very high number of skill turns
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without lower intensity side stations or periods of recovery between turns might mitigate the ability to
learn and apply corrections in skill training or routines.
We need to make sure we are not setting up circuits that work at a blistering pace and rapidly
accumulate fatigue from the anaerobic systems. This may trigger notable drops in the quality output
of skills, decreased the ability to perform high power movements over an entire training session, and
decreased ability to stay safe in the process. This tempo may be okay with drills or less intense skills, but
certainly must be approached cautiously with higher intensity skills, combinations, routines, or back to
back routines.
I have worked with many fantastic coaches who indirectly understand this and between skill turns
purposefully build in time for error reflection, drills, or mental thought. This has a substantial
psychological benefit, but at the same time supports the scientific recovery window for these more
intense anaerobic energy systems. Many coaches also rotate the events they start on day to day, or
week to week, to help manage global fatigue.
Keep this in mind as you consider how much rest time is needed from these highly anaerobically biased
gymnastics demands, compared to how much time gymnasts sometimes get (or don’t get) between
routines. We need to think about this regarding injury risk and optimal performance. More is not always
better.
I feel many times poor performance is not a result of a gymnast’s inability to focus or “not trying hard
enough.” Don’t get me wrong; there are a lot of gymnasts who can benefit from hustling a bit more in
practice. My point is rather it doesn’t always have to be more physical, high-intensity skill or routine
work.
I have seen far too many coaches come down hard on a gymnast for their limited work capacity. In
reality, the designed framework of the workout may make it impossible for anyone to keep up quality
skill training, metabolically speaking.
The sharp decline in performance might be much more related to the buildup of metabolic fatigue that
is inhibiting muscular performance. Instead of automatically asking a gymnast for another bout of skills
or corrections directly after a routine, it may be more beneficial to give them a 5-minute active recovery
window on a drill correction to help clear the metabolic strain.
There are certainly times the deliberate induction of fatigue is used for a training adaptation. I do this
often with gymnasts I coach or rehabilitate. But, we must ensure this is clearly outlined to support highquality training and safety. The more global fatigue we build through intensity or volume in an event
and practice, the more emphasis on recovery will be needed if the same output of work is expected in
following events or practices.
At the end of this chapter, I will outline some examples of more anaerobically based workouts that I
have found helpful. I created them with the goal of biasing the energy systems covered so far. I will also
share more “General Physical Preparedness” type exercises that are not gymnastics specific, and some
“Specific Physical Preparedness” type exercises that are very much gymnastics skill oriented.
The Aerobic System, and Why I Feel It’s Essential for Gymnasts
Moving on from the anaerobic side of energy systems is the aerobic system. This system actively uses
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oxygen for ATP creation and energy storage regeneration.
You may remember from above that things initially start with the oxidation of glucose, and then move
on to the oxidation of fatty acids. These systems tend to kick on as the duration of work begins to extend
out past the 2-3 minute mark (often called the crossover point).
As time intervals move from to 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 minutes, the involvement of the aerobic system continues
to increase. During higher duration events, like running a half marathon, the aerobic system is the
primary driver of sustaining work. 13
When more oxygen is needed to sustain work the body starts to increase heart rate, increase the force
of individual heart contractions, increase breathing rates, and increase the depth of individual breaths.
These changes are all an effort to increase the amount of oxygen being delivered to working tissues and
help clear the byproducts of exercise such as carbon dioxide and water vapor through exhalation.
When people hear “aerobic”, they often jump to thinking about running 5k races, soccer games, or other
longer duration sports events. Although rarely seen in a single routine, I do feel there are applications
to understanding and training these systems. For gymnastics, aerobic may relate to longer durations of
repeated short burst training. This could mean an entire event during a practice (30 - 60 minutes), full
practices (2-4 hours), entire competitions (3+ hours), or multi-day events.
An athlete’s overall ability to work in these longer time intervals is often referred to as their aerobic
capacity. 13, 27, 31 This looks at the total amount of work that can be done in a long time domain. Just
as with anaerobic capacity, many factors go into an athlete’s aerobic capacity such as muscle fiber
distributions, training age, the type of exercise being performed, the intensity of exercise being
performed, and specific work to rest ratios of the activity.
One main determinant of aerobic capacity, and thus one more substantial factor in a gymnast being able
to maintain higher levels of energy in more extended time domains, is something known as the lactate
threshold. 13, 27, 32
This term is defined as “the exercise intensity above which there is a non-linear accumulation of lactic
acid in the blood 13. Closely related to this is the lactate turnpoint which is thought to be an estimate
of the highest work rate that allows blood lactate to stabilize during prolonged constant intensity
exercise. 33
Remember from the section above that as higher intensity or longer durations of work are performed,
more lactate and hydrogen ions flood the body creating an acidic environment that drives fatigue
levels.34 Sustained performance in longer time domains is mainly dependent on the body’s ability to
clear the accumulating lactate and prevent extremely high levels of acidity. This is done largely by other
non-working muscle fibers or the liver, but also by an increased buffering capacity for elevating acidity
levels in the blood. 36-37
More specifically, non-working Type I fibers can help clear lactate from high power Type II fibers that are
working, and other methods can be utilized to help clear lactate within the body during exercise. (For a
fantastic paper on lactate clearance or lactate shuttling, see Cell-cell and intracellular lactate shuttles by
Brooks in the Journal of Physiology)
In a shorter period, we may see this buffering capacity in an anaerobic context as a crucial factor for
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getting through routines. In a longer period, we may see this in an aerobic context as an important factor
for maintaining work output, power, and overall energy levels through entire practices or competitions.
The lactate threshold refers to the level of work intensity or time that the body is no longer able to keep
a balance between the rate of lactate being produced, and the rate of lactate being cleared. The higher
an athletes lactate threshold, the higher the intensity of work they can sustain over a longer period. For
the nerdier readers out there, proposed factors to lactate threshold include:
1) the inability of mitochondrial oxidative enzymes to keep pace with the activity of those of
glycolysis
2) an increase in the recruitment of type II muscle fibers
3) a decrease in hepatic blood flow and lactic acid removal and
4) inadequate oxygen supply.” 13
Performance Point and Why This Matters for Gymnastics - Linking this back to gymnastics, I feel the
athletes who have a higher amount of total aerobic capacity and lactate threshold theoretically can
sustain more work throughout a practice or competition. They may be the athletes that do not show
massive fatigue-based performance drops. For example, athletes that start a competition on floor, and
then after being rushed to vault (females) or pommel horse (males) unexpectedly bomb their routine
despite hitting all the time in training. It is the aerobic oxidative system that helps restore anaerobic PCr
and glycolytic systems following very high-intensity bouts of work.13,29
Thus, unexpected falls in routines may be less of a “nerves” or competition anxiety problem, and more
of a metabolic and aerobic capacity problem to regenerate the anaerobic systems problem. Aerobically
fit athletes may also theoretically be at a lower injury risk, as their ability to execute movements with
quality and maintain cognitive focus is higher with more fatigue resistance.
I feel this approach to aerobic capacity training may be an important part of off-season training, with
the large majority of pre-season or competition season training still biasing anaerobic pathways.
At this point, my ideas are mainly theoretical as to my knowledge, no one has studied the effects of
mixed aerobic and anaerobic periodization training blocks in relation to competition performance in
gymnastics.
Lastly, light aerobic recovery (usually in the form of biking, walking, swimming, yoga) has been suggested
as a possible method for reversing fatigue following hard training days or weeks.25 Many coaches and
athletes already utilize some light form of aerobic exercise to assist in their recovery from soreness. I
feel this practice may help a lot of athletes within the gymnastics community to optimize training weeks
or meet weeks with competitions on the weekend.
Clearly, it is not practical or appropriate to measure lactate thresholds of athletes on a regular basis.
However, it is valuable to understand the conceptual basis and how to train the aerobic system
specifically to improve performance of gymnasts.
Along with this, thinking critically about what time of the competition season or training week aerobic
training is appropriate requires thought. Being able to understand and apply the basic principles of all
the energy systems, as well as seeking out someone who is knowledgeable in this area of physiology, can
be massively helpful for gymnasts.
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General versus Gymnastics Specific Metabolic Training During the Competitive Year
Now that the basics of energy systems have been covered, it makes sense to talk about how this fits into
the competitive year and the actual creation of workouts next.
From the literature that I have read, and collaboration with experts within the last five years, I have
adopted my approach to metabolic training in the same light as both strength training and skill training.
I believe that it is best to train both a “general” base of cardiovascular fitness and a “gymnastics specific”
profile of cardiovascular fitness with our athletes.
Theoretically, the larger the general aerobic capacity base a gymnast has, the more benefit we may see
down the road when that aerobic base is shaped into gymnastics specific anaerobic output needed for a
routine.
There is some conflict in the role of these adaptations in gymnasts 38 but I still feel these concepts
represented enough in the literature to at least attempt their usage in training. Keep in mind, I’m
speaking beyond the scientific information available, and more from my own thoughts.
I feel that following a break (period of complete rest) from the competitive season, a lot of the focus in
the off-season training should be on general aerobic capacity. Clearly, with new skill training and regular
daily methods of gymnastics, there will still be a lot of short burst anaerobic type work being performed.
However, if we can use the three months of summer to increase a gymnast’s overall cardiovascular
fitness levels (especially in non-impact ways that don’t involve all running or plyometric exercises), we
may be able to increase the preseason and competitive season results substantially.
This can include more gross movement exercises (such as squats, lunges, block pushes, core exercises,
and pushups) being used in longer time domains of 10 - 30 minutes, in both interval or continuous
circuits. The exercises can have a mix of general conditioning (split squat jumps and horizontal rows)
and gymnastics specificity (floor jump cast handstands and core shaping). If the workouts are carefully
designed, consistently done, and slowly increased in challenge over time, gymnasts may see notable
adaptations over the summer.
From the general base of more efficiency within heart, lungs, and positive effects on muscular tissues,
we can then start to move more into general preparation phase for the anaerobic system.
For training the aerobic system, I feel there is value in using mixed modalities, as well as general
preparation and gymnastics specific exercises. This is to help maintain balance in the athlete’s body,
reduce overuse to particular joints, reduce the monotony in training, and maintain global body
involvement.
However, for the anaerobic system that is much more taxing and induces very high fatigue, I think that
starting with general anaerobic workouts is much more ideal, as well as safe.
I feel this way because these types of anaerobic workouts like interval training (1-2 minutes of very
intense work, then 2x-4x the amount of rest) flood the body with lactate and hydrogen ions, raise
acidity levels, and can be very uncomfortable at first.7-10 If these types of workouts are first approached
in gymnastics specific movements and with high impact (plyometrics, repeated standing tucks or
handsprings, swinging giants) I feel there are notable increases in injury risk that occurs. I have seen
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this anecdotally many times, where gymnasts were asked to do anaerobic interval training with lots of
standing tucks or bar skills, with an ultimate end result of an injury.
I fear there are a lot of gymnastics programs doing longer and more aerobic circuit-based conditioning
in the summer, and then aggressively jumping to more taxing anaerobic gymnastics specific work like
routines in the preseason. I worry that this is where a lot of injuries start to spark, as athlete’s bodies and
metabolic systems have not been trained to handle these very taxing anaerobic situations that rapidly
accumulate physical and cognitive fatigue. I feel it is best to train these systems in non-gymnastics,
lower risk settings first. Over time, as adaptations mentally and physically are seen, the switch can be
made to gymnastics specific, more high-risk settings involving more impact, dismounts, and tumbling
passes.
This, of course, is my opinion based off of the research I have read and people I work with. There seems
to be enough support for this type of approach in the periodization research, as well as other sports.
I have taught this concept to many gyms and have used it with all the gymnasts I work with, yielding
positive results. Down the road, hopefully, more gymnastics specific research can be performed.
Putting this into the yearlong competition timeline, for three months gymnasts may do more aerobic
work in the summer, and then over the first two months in preseason do general anaerobic training.
Then from here, between half to full routine training, and by creating metabolic workouts that are more
specific to gymnastics (tumbling passes, bar skills), we can transfer the progress made into gymnastics
specific anaerobic training. This can occur in the second preseason training block.
By following this template, I feel we may see dramatic improvements in meet performance and
reductions in fatigue-related injury rates. Let’s tie this all together and give a few examples of what I
have mentioned so far.
General Aerobic Workout Example in Summer
There are several different ways to approach aerobic work with gymnasts. I know many successful gyms
that go for a more general cardio base, encouraging biking or circuit training mixed into their training. In
the correct dosage, I think this can be valuable and reap great benefit.
However, I will caution people about exposing young gymnasts to high amounts of running volume in
the summer, especially on harder surfaces like asphalt. I encourage people to steer away from heavy
plyometric training in the off season, as it is the only time to de-load heavy impact on athlete’s bodies.
I have found light jogging on the rod or spring floor, or light jump roping on the spring floor isn’t an
issue. Aggressive high impact plyometric jumps or running on pavement as the main aerobic training
modalities are where problems start to emerge related to stress fractures or irritated growth plates. I
can’t say it’s inherently bad or will cause injury; I just think there are more optimal methods. Again, it all
comes down to the proper dosage.
I feel the best approach to general aerobic training in the summer is mixed modality work mentioned
above in the form of biking, swimming, and low impact running, combined with circuit training.
Especially with a larger group of athletes, circuit training can be a great way to work many different
types of general movements (upper body push/pull, core, lower body hinge/squat/lunge) and some
gymnastics specific movements (rope climbs, press handstands, core shaping).
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Circuits also are very easy to manipulate, so that period of work or rest are set to appropriately
challenge athletes of different levels. It can also be advantageous for building team chemistry by
partnering athletes up, especially putting an older athlete with a younger athlete to motivate them.
Below is an example of general aerobic cardio circuits used in the noncompetitive summer period.
Example #1 - 45/15 Circuits with Moderate Intensity
Athletes are partnered up together and perform 45 seconds of work at a station before they are given
15 seconds to transition to the next station. I typically alternate the stations in the order of upper body,
core, and lower body.
As was outlined in the last chapter, I view the upper body as having 5 main components (vertical push/
pull, horizontal push/pull, accessory), the core as having 5 main components (anterior, posterior, lateral,
rotatory, global compression or traction) and the lower body as having 5 main components(hip push/
pull, knee push/pull, accessory). The lower body can get tricky, and if you are looking for more simplicity
can also be looked at as anterior chain (core, hip flexor, quad, groin, etc.) or posterior chain (core, glutes,
hamstrings).
To incorporate all these movements, we may do two separate aerobic circuits, with one on Monday and
one on Thursday. Over the course of these two circuits, we try to get all the main movements of the
body, plus gymnastics specific exercises, and accessory work. It doesn’t always happen, but most of the
time we can keep it well rounded.
I usually have 10 - 12 stations per circuit, and with two rotations through it means athletes will be
working for 20 - 24 minutes. We typically plan for 45 - 60 minutes of strength and cardio, which means
that if we do some light strength work before the aerobic circuit, there is enough time including set up,
instruction, and break down. I know all gyms are different with space, staffing, and equipment, but I am
just trying to suggest a framework for reference.
I will outline the entire template of two days, aiming to get all the general movements outlined above.
Then below the first template, I will put the exercises in to help clarify.
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Station 1 - Upper Body [Vertical Push]
Station 2 - Core [Anterior]
Station 3 - Lower Body [Hinge]
Station 4 - Gymnastics Specific
Station 5 - Upper Body [Horizontal Pull]
Station 6 - Core [Lateral]
Station 7 - Lower Body [Lunge]
Station 8 - Gymnastics Specific
Station 9 - Upper Body [Accessory]
Station 10 - Core [Global Compression]
Station 11 - Lower Body [Accessory]
Station 12 - Gymnastics Specific
Station 1 - Upper Body [Vertical Pull]
Station 2 - Core [Posterior]
Station 3 - Lower Body [Squat]
Station 4 - Gymnastics Specific
Station 5 - Upper Body [Horizontal Push]
Station 6 - Core [Rotary]
Station 7 - Lower Body [Single Leg]
Station 8 - Gymnastics Specific
Station 9 - Upper Body [Accessory]
Station 10 - Core [Global Compression]
Station 11 - Lower Body [Accessory]
Station 12 - Gymnastics Specific
Station 1 - Pike Handstand Push Ups
Station 2 - Hollow Flutters +/- Weight
Station 3 - Weighted Hip Lifts
Station 4 - Handstand Hold
Station 5 - Horizontal Rows
Station 6 - Side Plank Up Downs
Station 7 - Walking Lunges with Weight
Station 8 - Tight Arch / Hollow Snaps
Station 9 - Elastic Band “U” with Press
Station 10 - Battling Ropes / Loaded Carry
Station 11 - Dynamic Side Plank Clamshell
Station 12 - Rope Climb
Station 1 - Chin Up Pull Overs
Station 2 - Arch Flutters +/- Weight
Station 3 - Goblet Squats to Box
Station 4 - Cast Handstands
Station 5 - Push Up with +
Station 6 - Around the Worlds
Station 7 - Single Leg Deadlift
Station 8 - Press Handstand Walks
Station 9 - ½ Turkish Get Up
Station 10 - Medball Slam / Loaded Carry
Station 11 - Balance on Mat (Eyes Closed)
Station 12 - Planche Rocks
There are hundreds of different variations, combinations, or exercises, that can fit into these templates.
This is also only one very simply approach to a circuit. I have met many great coaches who have different
time intervals, exercises, and approaches that work fine. Remember the athletes I work with at our gym,
or consult with at other gyms, may be completely different than yours. As a result, they will require
different tweaks to be effective.
I also know of many other people who successfully use single modality intervals ( on bikes, rowers, etc)
with heart rate zones and pace times. This too can be a fantastic approach. Again, the focus should be
on the principles behind why an aerobic framework is being used, the intended adaptations, and the
physiology of what adaptation we are aiming to create. We are trying to maintain moderate intensities
of work so that the body is not flooded with lactate and can maintain the duration of work overtime to
make positive adaptations.
Progressing Aerobic Circuits One of our main goals through a few months training block is to increase the demand slowly so that
athletes are appropriately challenged. Younger athletes that are already struggling may need a small
regression, older athletes that are adapting quickly may need a little progression. This helps to maintain
individuality within the circuit. There are a variety of ways this can be achieved. Some of the easiest
methods include:
o Changing Work to Rest Time Intervals
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Athletes can start with a 30 second interval, and 15-second transition. Then over a few
weeks they can progress to 35 seconds, 40 seconds, 45 seconds, 50 seconds, and so on.
This allows more work to be done per interval (pending the athletes are motivated and
giving best effort). Rest, and transition intervals can also be adjusted if stations are close
and don’t require much setup.
o Increasing Exercise Challenge
One of the easiest ways to create more challenge for athletes is to progress the level of
difficulty individual exercises have. Many body weight exercises, such as hollow flutters,
can be progressed by bringing the arms from in front of the head to fully overhead. Press
handstands can be progressed to stalders. More general exercises can be made more
challenging by adding speed components or by adding an isometric hold during each
repetition. Based on the exercise, find the natural progression week to week.
o Light External Loading Many of the exercises can have very light load progressions to make them more
challenging. Adding light dumb bells to walking lunges, goblet squats, or hip lifts can
progress the challenge. For advanced athletes, adding weight held overhead during core
exercises can be great as well. As I mentioned in the flexibility section, I do caution the use
of ankle weights during ballistic exercises. Read more on that above if you are interested
in why. I is beyond the scope to repeat all that has been coverd on this, but for those
interested I do have a blog post article of why I caution ankle weights for jumps, leaps, or
other ballistic movements. You can find it here ( http://shiftmovementscience.com/why-idont-use-ankle-weights-with-my-gymnasts/ )
Culture Note - If you are a coach reading this, do an aerobic circuit with your gymnasts once per week.
For even more, do the entire strength and cardio program with them. Change all the exercises as needed
to be safe and appropriate for your fitness level and remember you are probably not in the same tip-top
shape as your athletes.
Regardless, one of the absolute best culture builders out there is for coaches to do the strength or
cardio being prescribed, rather than sit on a block or stand with their arms crossed yelling corrections
at athletes (there is a difference between constructively supervising and ordering). It will certainly give
you a better perspective on what they are going through and can help to enhance the community work
ethic. Working out with the gymnasts on our team is one of the best things myself and other coaches
have done for our culture. The coaches partner up and dive right in. If you’re reading this and the mere
thought of doing it brings you anxiety, it means you really should do it. If you’re worried about a lack
of supervision, have one coach do it per workout and rotate daily. Also, make sure your boss and gym
owners are cool with it. I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble.
General Anaerobic Workout Example in Pre-Season
In the more anaerobic based approaches, instead of going for longer time intervals with moderate
intensity, we instead change to shorter, more high-intensity intervals, with long recovery periods in
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between.
This is to be aligned with the physiological science of the PCR/glycolytic systems covered above. It is also
to help athletes manage the cumulative effect of lactate and acidity on the body within the lower minute
time periods. The end goal we are aiming for with repeated intervals is to train the body to handle the
accumulation of lactate and hydrogen ions, to combat the level of acidity through effective buffering.
Over time, we are also looking to induce local muscular changes in capillary, mitochondria, and enzymes
as well as the aerobic system aiding recovery. 41-46 There is both a physical and psychological component
to managing the discomfort of acidity.
We want the body over time to be trained to work in this very high-intensity window, but still in a safe
manner. This again supports why I feel general anaerobic conditioning is the priority, before training
gymnastics specific anaerobic conditioning (tumbling passes, skill sequences, adding dismounts). I feel
some of the best tools to do this are weighted sleds, medicine balls, bikes, battling ropes, loaded carries,
or other properly performed body weight and externally loaded exercises covered above.
Here are two examples of more interval-based workouts, that although working in very similar time
domains and intensities of routines, use more general exercises than specific gymnastics skills.
Example #1 - Pull Up / Single Leg Jump / Sled Push Relay with Kettlebell Holds
URL Link to Blog Post and Video for the workouts covered here - (http://shiftmovementscience.com/3of-my-favorite-cardio-workouts-for-gymnasts-during-competition-season/)
The first example utilizes smaller bursts of the upper body and lower body power, but over a longer
period, while factoring in core control under fatigue.
The workout is
•
•
Ten total monkey pull ups on beam
Then ten single leg block jumps on each side (max height goal)
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•
•
•
A weighted block push lap down and back, as fast as possible
Following this quick burst of upper and lower body power, the athlete picks up two kettlebells
and holds them while in a very fatigued state.
They do this three times each person, in groups of 4/5 so that they could rest about 2x as
much as they worked and recovered their energy.
Why This Framework is Important
To me, it is the kettlebell hold following the power exercises that is most important. This is where the
athlete learns how to maintain body tension and core control in a fatigued state, similar to what we
want to occur in a routine. It also includes very intense bursts of the upper body and lower body work
(monkey pull-ups, block jumps, sled pushes) that are very taxing and produce lactate very quickly within
the body. I intentionally set up the workout scheme to have small bursts of upper and lower body (think
bar/floor routines) for certain benefits, but I think the core control under fatigue takes priority.
The flooding of lactate in the body, as well as the ability to push through the discomfort repeatedly
in 3-4 rounds, is the more physiological intention. In my mind, developing the psychological ability to
maintain body tension, and proper posture, under fatigue has huge implications for success at the end of
a routine.
All too often we see great routines end poorly when a gymnast falls on their last skill or dismount. Many
times, it is because fatigue factored in and the gymnast lacked shaping, core control, or mental ability
to focus on technique. Remember, both local muscular fatigue, and global fatigue greatly impairs power
output, cognition, and proprioception. 11
This concept has been researched in elite gymnasts, with core control being measured before and after
repeated shoot overs performed on bars to create fatigue. The gymnasts had significantly less core
musculature control and proprioception with a seated balance test after the shoot overs. 47 Given this
study and a lot of other evidence from the thoughts about lower back pain in sports, I think this type of
workout can be helpful.
Taken from the same concept, this type of training may also be crucial for injury prevention in other
areas of the body. The athletes who lose body control and cognitive focus in a fatigued state may have
a very tough time doing high-level skills safely. An important note before performing this workout,
athletes must know proper deadlifting and body tension/stacking mechanics.
Example #2 - 90 second on / 4 minutes Off Circuit
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This second workout is based much more on the all out, high intensity, and very taxing anaerobic
demand seen in a floor, uneven bars, high bar, or parallel bar routine. I design these types of workout to
be very similar to the energy demands of routines, but in a more conservative manner that does not use
high-risk gymnastics skills. (URL Link again is here - http://shiftmovementscience.com/3-of-my-favoritecardio-workouts-for-gymnasts-during-competition-season/)
Eventually (as you will see in Example 3) I like to progress these to complex gymnastics skills, but only
after they have developed this energy system on a general level over a month in the preseason. I feel this
allows a gymnast to focus on all-out intensity with proper movement patterns, to help prepare them for
what will eventually be higher intensity floor passes and skills.
This specific circuit was
• 30 seconds of medball or rope slams (mimics tight hollow/arch shape change),
• 30 seconds of floor jump cast handstands (for bar handstand demand)
• 30 seconds of all-out unweighted block pushes
• They did 3-4 rounds with a much longer 4-minute rest in between due to the intensity.
Why This Framework is Important
Again, the workout is engineered to accumulate lactic acid and metabolic bioproducts within the body,
to help teach the gymnast to tolerate this uncomfortable fatigued, acidic state. As many publications
outline, we need to provide the appropriate rest ratio (this work to rest ratio is even probably too small)
to recover the specific creatine phosphagen and glycolytic pathway. 13, 29-30,36-37
I think this circuit has a good balance of core work, upper body dynamic movements of handstands with
lower static control, and then lower body dynamic movement with upper body static control seen in
block pushes. One of the challenges to gymnastics is making sure we train the upper and lower body
to manage to accumulate acidity levels, as well as global buffering mechanics. This is why I chose these
specific exercises for this circuit.
There are many times during this training block I will start emphasizing plyometrics with blocks, panel
mats, jumping rope or other exercises. This is very carefully programmed to make sure we do not spike
the plyometric training volume too quick. Remember that we need to prepare athletes for high impact
skills in the preseason to enhance their fitness and force absorbing capacities. I feel not putting these in
a high volume, or high intensity during the summer or general phase (although some always occur to a
degree) helps push off the risk of overuse impact injuries.
I also think it gives athletes time to transfer the new strength, drills, and techniques from the summer
into ballistic power more efficiently. Over time from preseason to the start of season, I manipulate
variables based on what our goal is and where we are in the season. Just as with the aerobic workouts,
the intensity of work can be increased by changing the exercise challenge, loading, or volume. Just be
sure to monitor athletes closely, as these workouts can get really hard, really fast.
Specific Anaerobic Workout Example in Pre- Season
Now, here are two examples of cardio that have a little bit more gymnastics specific skill work. I typically
teach people to do this in conjunction with moving from 3-part skill combinations, to half routines, to
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full routines or pressure sets during apparatus training. I feel it strikes a great balance between mental
and psychological preparation and true biochemical anaerobic capacity preparation. These workouts
incorporate much more gymnastics specific movements like tumbling passes and add more plyometrics
focusing on fast twitch movements. They also have more carry over directly to routines.
Example 3 - Gymnastics Skill Bursts with “After Burners” For Finishers
This example is much more gymnastics specific, but with the addition of a few different angles.
•
•
•
Two back to back tumbling passes to stacked mats in the pit (soft landing)
Two laps of handstand walks and broad jumps around the floor before getting back in line to
rest
They do this about 4 - 6 times, and then following a short break, everyone finishes with a one
minute “after burner” of all out of jump cast handstands and one minute of sprints or bear
crawls. This is to help mimic pushing through anaerobic discomfort needed for dismounts and
final skills/passes, but in a safe setting.
The gymnasts do passes to their ability level. Advanced athletes can do twisting while less advanced
athletes can do just back tucks. As seen above, we also prioritize quality of the skill over anything else
and have coaches stand in for spotting safety. In the video on the blog, athletes went through 4 rounds
of the tumbling, and did the last part together as seen.
Why This Framework is Important
I take the route outlined because I want to make sure we develop this gymnastics specificity and
metabolic pathway in a safe environment first, before ever asking athletes to perform demanding highrisk workouts (back to back floor routines, multiple events of multiple routines, etc.)
Remember, this intensity was not the starting point. This circuit progressed over six weeks, with each
week adding more difficulty. We increased the demand for
•
•
•
tumbling (1 basic pass, then two basic passes, one complex pass, then two complex passes, etc.)
submaximal exercise demand (first basic jumps, then handstands/jumps), and
after burner intensity (first just push-ups, then jump CHS, then sprints, then all done together).
Manipulating these variables again helps to slowly teach the body to manage to accumulate lactic acid
and metabolic fatigue, utilizes recovery ratios, and taxes certain muscles groups differently.
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Example 4 - 1 Minute on Fast Twitch / 2 Minutes Recovery with Slow Twitch Fibers
URL Link - (http://shiftmovementscience.com/build-gymnastics-routine-cardio-for-season-with-myfavorite-new-circuit/ )
Please forgive my lack of a voice in the video (this was just after gymnastics alumni weekend at
Springfield) and the small hiccup of two girls running into each other. These things happen.
I learned this from good friends of mine Chris Hinshaw and Jason Leydon, and I feel it has been one of
the most beneficial methods to build a gymnast’s overall anaerobic capacity to combat fatigue in longer
routines or training days. Here was the workout:
•
5 Rounds Total (Groups of 3 to allow 2 min rest)
o 30 seconds of max effort medball/rope slams
o 30 seconds of max effort jump Cast Handstands
o 30 seconds of max effort sprints
o 90 - 180-second rest/active recovery of very slow lunge to raise the roof to assist in
fatigue clearance
I chose these exercises due to their different demands regarding gymnastics
•
•
•
Medball/Rope Slams - shape changing and explosive hip power seen across all taps on bars,
tumbling on floor, beam series, vaulting shapes
Cast Handstands - for bar cast handstands and shape control under fatigue as is crucially needed
for bars
Sprints - Floor and vault explosive power
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Concluding Thoughts on Energy System Training
Obviously, there is huge variability in the training calendar, different timelines for meets, different
training ages and ability levels of athletes, and different end goals. When totaling up the entire training
year and looking at energy system biases, this is what it amounts to:
•
•
•
•
•
One-month de-load training block after peak competitive season (May)
Three-month general aerobic training bock (June to August)
Two-month general anaerobic training block (September to October)
Two-month specific anaerobic training block (November to December)
Four months of maintenance training block in the competitive season to focus on meet
performance and peaking for championships (January to April)
I by no means swear this is the most optimal or perfect approach to energy systems training in
gymnastics. I know many coaches change the amount of circuit time, plyometrics, accessory work, or
types of exercises based on what works for them. This is just what I have found helpful.
I have been lucky to consult with and teach this style of periodization to many facilities across the
US and world, ranging beginner to elite. They too, have given me great feedback when they take the
principles (not just the workouts) and mold them to what fits in their gym. They feel it more optimally
prepares athletes for training and pushes off the rates of overuse injuries that tend to run wild on their
teams in pre-season.
As always, the more I learn and hear feedback, the more I will work to evolve my thoughts on my
approach. If you are someone more versed in energy systems development and feel this approach can be
improved upon, I would love to hear from you so I can learn more.
So that wraps up all I will be diving into for the energy systems chapter. There is much more to learn
about the adaptations of specific metabolic training programs and the actual prescription of energy
system training. I held back on this as I did not want to go too deep into the rabbit hole, and I am still
wrapping my head around how it all applies to gymnastics. Exercise physiologists, or qualified strength
and conditioning coaches, tend to be best-suited professionals to explain this information fully and
prescribe specific workouts. Their entire career is based on these concepts.
For now, my best suggestion to readers is to start with the basic principles of energy systems and
consider how it fits into your gym for your athletes. The more complex aspects of biochemistry and
specificity can be overwhelming. Being able to frame the entire training year, caution excessive heavy
plyometric impact, and monitor athletes closely based on their individual needs, is key. Now that we
have covered many aspects of physical preparation, I am going to dive into the other side of the coin,
recovery.
Key Take Away Points:
•
Energy Systems Development (ESD), commonly known as “cardio” or metabolic conditioning /
MetCons, is a subcategory of physical preparation.
•
ESD refers to the main metabolic pathways in the body that are used to replenish energy during
sustained daily work or exercise.
230
•
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is one main molecule of energy used for working muscles and various
other biochemical reactions.
•
Energy Systems Development is crucial to routine performance, competition performance, overall
training energy levels, and optimal health.
•
The four main metabolic pathways that serve energy systems are
1. Phosphocreatine (PCr)
a. Very Short Duration (5-10 seconds), does not use oxygen.
2. Anaerobic Glycolysis
a. Short to Moderate Duration (20-120 seconds), does not use oxygen. Produces
lactate and hydrogen ions as a byproduct, raising acidity levels, creating a
negative effect on performance creating fatigue.
3. Oxidation of Glucose
a. Moderate to Long-Duration 2-3+ minutes to 40-60 minutes, does use oxygen
and is fueled by glucose molecules from carbohydrates.
4. Oxidation of Fatty Acids
a. Long to Ultra Long Duration 40-60 minutes up to multiple hours, does use
oxygen and is fueled by fatty acids from fats
•
Controversy exists between the role of purely anaerobic vs mixed anaerobic and aerobic training
for gymnasts. Most drills, skill turns, and gymnastics routines are under 2 minutes in duration
with very explosive power, rendering their energy system to anaerobic PCr and anaerobic
glycolysis.
•
In contrast, there may be benefits to training the aerobic system for recovery between turns, as
the anaerobic systems are recovered by oxidative means. Similarly, the ability to sustain higher
levels of work through an entire practice, perform over multiple hours at longer competitions or
multiday competitions, the ability to train aerobic fibers to buffer acidity or clear lactate, and the
ability to recover between training bouts may be greatly enhanced by aerobic training.
•
Data is available on blood lactate, heart rates, and Vo2 max of gymnasts, although the studies
tend to be older and much has changed in the sport of gymnastics during the last decade alone.
•
A periodized approach to energy systems development is crucial, starting after the recovery
period in the noncompetitive season. General aerobic base training, followed by general
anaerobic threshold training, and finally moving into gymnastics specific anaerobic routine
training in the preseason, may be a useful approach.
•
Various energy systems workouts can be created based on the amount of work and rest, the
energy system being biased, the exercises utilized, and the goals of the phase of the competitive
season.
•
Caution should be taken for individualizing programs to gymnast’s abilities, the amount of
plyometric or hard-surface training that is used, and the very taxing nature of certain anaerobic
workouts.
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