Question regarding gymnastics and spine problems

Hello,

I am 19, I have recently started to do beginner moves from the coach's book along with my pull ups. In the January I am planning to join the army and I do not want to have any problem with my spine. What moves/workouts do you suggest to take out from the routine to not distort my spine at all? maybe only kids , who are still developing their spine can have this problem, and once the spine is developed there is no way to distort it? browsing the web, I found an article where the author says that, every gymnast has a problem with back...

P.S. I am not trying to do tumblings and such things, I just want gymnastics for conditioning.

Thnx.

Distort your spine?? Post your article here so that we can dissect and likely make fun of it. I wouldn't worry about anything for your back in gymnastics training if I were you.

Yeah... I don't think you need to worry about any of that nonsense... If anything the strength training will help fix any problems you may have with your spinal muscles, like being weak.

Guys, thanks for your feedback it really helped!

I have bookmarked the article in the computer on my work, I will post the link tomorrow.

The article was written in details, like 90% of gymnasts have spine problems , and there were pictures of a normal spine and gymnasts spine. It also said that bridges are bad for spine...

army said:

Guys, thanks for your feedback it really helped!

I have bookmarked the article in the computer on my work, I will post the link tomorrow.

The article was written in details, like 90% of gymnasts have spine problems , and there were pictures of a normal spine and gymnasts spine. It also said that bridges are bad for spine...

Ummm... This guy probably also thinks that shoulder presses are bad for the shoulders and squatting below parallel will blow out your knees....

Even if there was a study done, it is pretty fallacious to claim 90% of a group of people have a problem when he probably has seen X-rays/MRIs/Bonescans of about 1% of them. I would love to see this "study."

Many females do a LOT of limber work as gymnasts, males tend to not do nearly as much. Limber movements tend to be very hard on the back, especially in high volume on the balance beam.

Good bridging is about stretching the shoulders, bad bridging focuses too much on the lumbar.

Gymnast's backs tend to contort a little since the tumbling and swing work they do. So long as lower back strength exercises are included, there really isn't a problem. Less of an issue with Men's gymnastics since the apparatus events strength the core/lower back way more than women's high bar does.

You don't need to worry about messing up your spine with the Gymnastic Bodies program. If you were going for extreme bridge flexibility you may run into potential issues, but the GB program is not designed to replicate all that artistic stuff, it is designed to build a body capable of performing gymnastic feats of strength while keeping you balanced and healthy. Big difference there between a fitness program (GB) and a full competitive focus.

Speaking of full range of motion squats... does anyone have any recommendations for safely transitioning from a program of always doing 90º squats?

1 degree at a time. Seriously. Test for VMO vs Vastus lateralis weakness , make sure your hamstrings and glutes and ankles are flexible and mobile, work on them if you need to (ankles and hams will probably be the biggest thing) and take it slow.

If you need to know how to do all that stuff use Google, simple searches will turn up all the info you are looking for!

Thanks

slizzardman said:

1 degree at a time. Seriously. Test for VMO vs Vastus lateralis weakness , make sure your hamstrings and glutes and ankles are flexible and mobile, work on them if you need to (ankles and hams will probably be the biggest thing) and take it slow.

I am actively doing a head-desk maneuver as I write this. I arrived at this site after deciding that we needed a significant change in dry-land training strategies, and the issue of ROM in squats just reinforces that.