We all know the feeling of frustration when the girls won’t complete their conditioning. It’s always the same person holding the whole group back, and it is shown in their gymnastics. However, sending them aside to do additional conditioning, while this is often our first reaction, is not a constructive way to solve the problem. When conditioning is used as a punishment, it causes the girls to automatically associate strength training with a negative attitude. The human brain works on a concept called the punishment and reinforcement model. When punishment is received, it causes the brain to automatically place both the action and its consequence in the “negative bin.” Tammy Biggs, olympic coach and clinician, has repeatedly explained the importance of strength training with regard to mentality. She says, “When an athlete’s brain automatically categorizes conditioning, such as push-ups, as punishment, the amount of cheating, weakness, and injury greatly increases.” Instead, the punishment for lack of effort should be sitting out or going home in order to train the gymnasts’ brains that the real enemy is to not work hard. The brain is a crucial muscle for a gymnast that needs to be worked in the right way in order to achieve maximum strength and success in the gym.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We all know the feeling of frustration when the girls won’t complete their conditioning. It’s always the same person holding the whole group back, and it is shown in their gymnastics. However, sending them aside to do additional conditioning, while Continue reading