One method of spotting the level 4 dismount

Old footage from 2011, Colorado Aerials- One method of spotting the level 4 dismount, if needed:

Tumble Trak's new Therabands

At National Congress in San Jose, Trade Show. I ordered two rolls of two different grade resistance on these Tumble Trak therabands. They're made segmented with loops. It resolves having to tie knots. They ran out by the afternoon on the first day; so I ordered for delivery to the gym. I think they are so new, they don't even have them listed on their catalog. We'll see how well they work.  I'm worried about the loops being manufactured too big. 

I texted all our JO parents from the Trade Show and they are all in as far as reimbursing me for the bands and sticky toes (I managed to get a few coworkers to register and give me their buy-one-get-one-free coupons)- rather than convincing the gym to buy it, I convinced the parents to have their athletes own their own.

I also picked up a bar pad for $17 (all Tumble Trak products were also with a 15% discount) that fits between hands shoulder width apart on the bar.  Otherwise I would have soon made one myself. 

We have one kid who's been having so much trouble on giants, I am thinking of trying this drill with her:







That's from the Forster-Resnick Bar Boot Camp the first year they had it.  Tom included it in one of his lectures at Congress this weekend.

Circling and Kipping Trainers

Of course, hand-spotting for shape-corrections and manipulating positioning is often desirable.  But trainer/spotting devices also have their uses.


Primitive method of a front and back circle trainer:

Another variation by Peter Soul of Integrity Gymnastics in Ohio.

I filmed this one at Aerials Gymnastics during the Bar Boot Camp clinic.  This was welded together by Tom Forster:

The divider placement between the legs is a great idea.


Some clips of the last year taken at my current gym of various aids:

Now here's what I'm excited about that inspired me to piece together this blogpost:

Credit is given to Alison Fowler of Wildcard Gymnastics for the idea of replacing the old school rope method with the ever-versatile theraband.

A couple of things I am liking about this:

1)  The theraband is probably less abrasive on the skin than unpadded rope

2)  Being elastic, the beginning gymnast cannot totally slack off, but must still work her muscles to hold her body to the bar, or she will fall away from it.

3) Even if the beginning gymnast completely lacks in physical strength- or especially if she does- she must exercise her arm strength to get back into front support; those more advanced can work on shape and technique.

I haven't tested it out yet, but I'll do so tomorrow:  Seeing whether or not having the level 3s cast into hollow shape with the theraband wrapped on helps to condition them  with proper resistance (the restriction the theraband places  on cast height isn't that critical since there isn't a cast height requirement at level 3- just shape).

I have one pre-team kid who is just so physically weak but who so wants to become a gymnast- I think the theraband circle trainer was a great aid to her.  She was kept on the bar for a longer spell than she's used to, got to experience some circling, and had a great upper-body workout just to stay on or get back on.  Meanwhile, my arms were not killing me.  For those like her, I'm not worried about bad shaping and muscle-memory habits by allowing them to play with this.  She needs the general fitness, first and foremost; and the sense of fun and accomplishment.


Some example of kip trainers on the market:
Hip Kip Trainer
The New Kip Trainer Video

Long Hang Pullover & Doggy Baby Giant Progression Ideas

Apparently my recent postings saw the owner of those two video clips wipe them from the YouTube channel.  Hard for me to not believe it wasn't in reaction to my sharing the vids.  Apologies if they were never meant to be widely shared (the videos were publicly accessible).

I filmed these a few years ago- I think the first year Resnick and Forster had their Bar Boot Camp clinic.

Apparently team coach Zac of Aerials Gymnastics came up with the idea for "doggy giants":

How do you coach your gymnast at home?

Spoiler:  You don't:

Your gymnast does gymnastics at home. All the time. In every room. And you’ve watched enough gymnastics to know that certain things she’s doing are incorrect. So how do you make these corrections at home? You don’t. Let me repeat that. Do. Not. Coach. Your. Child. At. Home. Nothing will make your child’s coach cringe internally more than hearing that you worked on x, y, or z at home. You are not her coach. Don’t do it. Don’t even tell her to point her toes.

The bottom line is that gymnastics is your daughter’s (or son’s) sport. She puts in the work at practice, she feels the pressure at every competition, and all those little mistakes you see that you’re sure you could fix if they’re so obvious even you see them? Yeah, her coach is trying to fix them. I promise. Being a gym mom or dad does not qualify you as a coach at home.

I would know because my own parents were, in fact, elite gymnastics coaches at the same time I was making my way through the optionals program at our gym. In fact, if you followed gymnastics in the 90s, you’ve probably heard of my parents, Tom and Lori Forster.

Read Asha Forster Grebenik's blogpost.

Hat tip:  "Dunno"

Workout Wednesday with Colorado Aerials

Watch more videos on Gymnastike

A Heads Up

Looks like this YouTube user is uploading a bunch of clips from one of Resnick-Forster's bar boot camp clinics.


Great planching exercises:

Forster-Resnick: Introducing Front Giants & Clear Hips Drills & Spotting

The whip tap:


Clear hip training:



 Not the usage of the men's bar. 

Tom Forster and Neil Resnick are once again offering their Bar Boot Camp clinic.

2011 was the initial prototype.  Since the original date for the clinic filled to capacity with others wanting in, they opened a 2nd clinic which ended up preceding the first.

Updated Coaching Tool

Michael Kravitz posted to my YouTube video that the iOnYou application he demo'ed at the Forster/Resnick Bar Boot Camp I attended has been revamped.  Here's the updated version:

Rope Climb

Neil Resnick on rope climbs:


Much safer approach in pushing kids to climb without using their legs.

What's so funny?

Over at McCharles' blog:

The cartoon is by Marc Jacobs.

It may be an exaggeration; but not by much:

This is from Aerials in Colorado, June 24, 2010.

A Minute to Win It!

These level 5 girls were given 60 seconds to try and hit the clear hip to handstand. The prize? A healthy, yummy smoothie from the juice bar!

This was actually filmed in June of 2010. I believe this group consists now of competing 6s and 7s.

Forster Bar

When I was at the Forster-Resnick Bar Boot Camp last month, Tumbletrak was also there filming for a dvd. They also brought with them about 15 of these Forster octagon bars (which Tom says is totally pretentious that they named it after him):



Some of the footage used in this video was taken during the bar clinic. It got pretty funny too when, as a running gag between Resnick and Forster, they'd mention the Tumbletrak namebrand in an overexaggerated, obvious manner whenever they needed to move Tumbletrak mats and equipment in order to teach and demonstrate stuff.

Starfish Flyaway Drill

Zac of Aerials Gymnastics has been playing around with the following flyaway setup over the trench pit:

Keeping the spirit of fun and play in gymnastics

One of the things that Neil Resnick brought up during the first day introduction at Bars Boot Camp, was how those who stick strictly to following the compulsories without ever looking outside the box can have the athleticism sucked out of them- the kind that comes from a sense of fun and play and exploration.

One of the things that I notice about a number of team girls I work with, is how so many of them wait to be told. Not too many seem to have a sense of adventure and ambition. Al Luber used to bring this up when I was at Santa Monica Gymnastics Center. He told me how back in the 70s or 80s, he had this one kid who asked when she'd be ready to try her tsuk by herself. He told her when she could land to her upper back on a stacked resi consistently, she'd probably be ready. Next thing he knew, he heard her say, "Hey coach....watch this." And she did a tsuk by herself without ever being spotted. It horrified and angered him from a safety standpoint since she took the initiative without seeking permission and a coach's supervision. But he also admired her gutsiness, which he says was more common back then in comparison with the kids he was getting these days. She took his advice, figured she did as she was told as far as progression, and had the confidence to believe she was ready.





When I was at UCLA, I remember how much play some of the guys had- like Tony Pineda and Brian Ginsberg swinging high bar with their motorcycle helmets on, before Art would arrive into the gym.

Resnick and Forster both emphasized that sticking to standard routines is what wins competitions; not the creative with the big flashy skills. But they also talked about keeping the fun and the spirit of play alive.








I love this video for the "time wasted" on inane tricks that no one will ever compete or stuff they will never try again and that no one else will ever do or dream up:



This is where innovation begins.....living outside the box and the constraints of competitive, artistic gymnastics with its rules and routines shaped by the code of points over the freedom of wild abandon.

iOnYou Application for IPad 2 Promo-Demo & New Camera

Pretty cool technology that might one day revolutionize the sport and how we coach. The parent of one of Tom's gymnasts helped to develop it.


You can learn more about it here.



However, it's a bit expensive for my budget right now (I don't own an IPad 2, either); and after reading this endorsement a couple of weeks ago, I just invested in a Casio Ex-FC150, which fulfills my needs. This camera is waaaay cool!





I can film at regular speed and toggle it to film in slo-mo right in the middle of recording! I'm still learning how to work all the features (the instruction manual doesn't seem to explain much and I learned most of my info from a YouTube video about it). Here's another example I took last Wednesday, right before leaving Los Angeles for my trip:




The camera was a little over $200 including shipping through Amazon and came with a tripod, memory card, and 3 rechargeable batteries!

I'm excited in the investment and look forward to using it in the gym when I get back. Biggest problem I've had in using past cameras for instant playback/feedback for my gymnasts is in not being able to slow the frames down. With this camera, you don't even need to film in slo-mo to play it back at slow speed; or, to click frame by frame. ALSO, there seems to be a "slow" button you can hit and it has a Tivo effect where the image on screen is delayed, but not recorded. So a gymnast might be able to take a turn, and then come look at what she just did. Not sure yet how long the delay is on it, but I'm sure this would work well for vault.

Blocking Drill for Backhandsprings

Backward Roll Ending in Hollow Push Up as Flyaway Drill

I just watched the following backflip ("leaf drop") introduction for little kids, uploaded by Al Fong:

I once did a similar drill setup for a guy who came into LASG for a private lesson on learning a standing back tuck. I believe I started him out with backward rolls on the cheese wedge since he had zero tumbling experience- not even rolls (rather uncoordinated person). Eventually, one of the stations I set up was to put a big octagon barrel in front of the pit and had him jump onto it, landing on his back and rolling off backward into the pit to get used to the sensation of jumping and spinning over backward.

It was my lazy man's way of spotting a "big kid" like him who had quite a ways to go, yet.

When I visited Aerials Gymnastics, Tom Forster showed me from his laptop a similar drill like this for flyaways.

Strangely enough, Thea and I got around to filming the drill just this afternoon:

She isn't executing it perfectly, but we were on our way out the gym when I remembered I wanted footage of this drill. So she dressed back down in her leo and we did a quick take with no rehearsal and only a brief, generalized description of what I wanted; but you get the idea.

Not sure how much I'd actually incorporate this drill into teaching a flyaway. I just found it interesting and might make for a nice additional station. I suppose its value is in emphasizing body shape on the release and open shoulders.

It's reminiscent of the back extension roll on a panel mat, only higher up. I believe Tom's instructor Zach might have come up with the exercise. The emphasis is on getting the gymnast to hit the candlestick shape and pop the shoulders open to simulate the release of the bar. The gymnast lands in a hollow pushup position. I think Tom told me that one drill Zach does for layout flyaway release is when he spots them from the bar, he'll have them land in a hollow push up there as well. There is no concern on the drill for landing on the feet. Just body shape on the release and through the air.

I think another compliment to this would be George Hery's suggestion of using gainers on trampoline as flyaway drill.

Put the two concepts together, and you have your flyaway mountain wall...and also something else that your coach probably shouldn't recommend you try, since we have this thing called "litigation" in this country.

Tom Forster's Floor Bar with Octagonal Ends

Tom Forster's gym, Aerials Gymnastics in Colorado Springs, has these floor bars that Tom made, with octagonal wheels on the ends- 4 sides longer than the other 4.

A common drill for swinging is to have gymnasts practice backward roll to push-up to reinforce the candlestick shape and scooping action that becomes critical for good barwork. With Tom's floor bar, the gymnast can actually grab a real bar to simulate a baby giant or extend the shoulders open and bring it up to a handstand to simulate the giant swing. The octagonal ends forces the gymnast to work on shifting the wrists in order to make it over.

Aerials Gymnastics in Colorado Springs

I took a vacation to get away from gymnastics and give my elbow a rest from spotting...and so what do I do? While visiting my parents in Colorado Springs, I stopped in to check out Tom Forster's Aerials Gymnastics (North Gym). Since I heard he doesn't coach on a regular basis anymore, and has more than one facility, I wasn't sure I'd catch him in the gym. I was told he'd probably be in later in the week, so I made two visits to the facility.



What a gymnast's paradise! Great training equpment, clean and spacious facility. The staff are professional, friendly, and courteous.


Many gyms delegate coaching positions and responsibilities in such a way that instructors with little personal gymnastics experience and technical expertise themselves end up teaching rec and preschool and not team. Somewhat understandable, if there's a lack of technical knowledge. But really, you want your best, most knowledgeable coaches nurturing the kids (especially future team girls) from day one. That's why Tom has gone the extra mile to insure that his whole coaching staff are his "top, best, most knowledgeable" instructors. He does this by training them so that they have at least the same technical and coaching expertise that he has. So the team coaches are also out there teaching preschool, and are as enthused about it as they are with teaching levels 4-10. (Tom said what he enjoys teaching the most right now, is rec). Here he is teaching a back flip to a raw beginner:




Tom's interested in seeing or putting more out there for rec gymnastics. He says there's now a lot of training drills available on dvd and the internet for team, but would like to see more for rec coaches.

Aerials Gymnastics has such a fun, positive atmosphere. I get the sense that not only do the produce great gymnastics and great athletes, but also cultivate and nurture great human beings.

Aerials has lots and lots of bar stations. As one of the women's national USAG bar coaches, bars is Tom's "thing". Here, Tom talks about where the idea for a channel/trench bar came from (and as a consequence, the sliding Forster Spotting Platforms, now sold by Gibson).




Here's a nice video Tom put up, offering some tips on the straddle tap for taller gymnasts in the giant swing:

Hope to see more such videos put up by Tom, someday (he showed me some other great drills and video clips on his laptop). I have his two Gym Smarts videos, and they are excellent!


Gymnastike was there a year ago for Workout Wednesday with the Colorado Aerials Elite:



Thanks, Tom, for your time and generosity in showing and sharing!