Welcome to.......

....my blog site where I will mostly host gymnastics music videos for the purpose of sharing with the friends and families of those who appear in these videos; as well as everyone who is involved with Santa Monica Gymnastics Center. SMGC is in no way responsible for the contents found here. These movies are just for personal use. I just needed a place where it would be easier to share these videos with others. The tools I use are a 2.0 megapixel Canon digital camera and Windows movie maker, which is free with your Windows package. That's it.

I only started this blog the other day; but all the videos I will be uploading in the days to come, I will archive according to the dates in which they were made. So if you are taking a sneak peak here, just realize that I'm still putting up the drapes and uploading the furnishings. Stick around!

10/10/05- I'm having some trouble linking directly to the video. So if you get a "Url not found" message, try using the archives to access the vids. Only the most recently dated videos appear on the frontpage.

10/13/05- Ok, I had figured out why the links were broken. it seems that this, "/", was unacceptable to add to the end of the url address.
Many videos are now uploaded. Still more to go, but quite a bit are now ready for viewing.

If the video gets stuck, try back again later; or allow the page more time to load properly. Sometimes, if all the screens are blank, YouTube might be doing some maintenance. It might also load faster if you go to a page for a specific video viewing, rather than a page full of them. Just check the links off to the right-hand side; or, click on the post where you see the date.

Also, if you double-click over the embedded video screen, it will lead you directly to YouTube where the vids are hosted. Coach Dan was able to view the videos in this manner, as the vids just won't load on his computer.

Feel free to add comments, if you like.

10/29/05 UPDATE: If you want to view the vids on a bigger screen, you can click the "YouTube" icon in the bottom corner which takes you directly to the site that hosts the videos; once there, click the "enlarge" icon on the bottom right of the screen, and that will give you a large screen view, with some slight sacrifice in resolution.

~Important~

01/20/08 UPDATE: The end is near. Santa Monica Gymnastics Center is closing its doors.

Important Need to Know: February 23rd "Goodbye Event", click here.

Origami Gymnast Folding Under Pressure on PBars

2-26-2015
Gymnast on Pbars
Designed by Luigi Leonardi (Italy)
Folded by Michael Sanders
Diagram source: OUSA Convention book '95

Person on a Balance Beam

6-2-2014
Person on a Balance Beam
Designed by Jeremy Shafer
Folded by Michael Sanders
10" x 10" square of American foil paper

Diagrams: BARF Fall 2005 and OUSA Convention book 2006

This is the Way Gymnasts Do It

Batmanning is for the dorsiflexion-obsessed and won't stop crime; and planking is for the weak. How about...

Flagging:

April 5, 1998

and Planching:




That last photograph is of Brian Ginsburg in Rio de Janeiro, taken sometime in the 80s. It hung on the wall in the Yates Gym and I made a copy of it.

The first photo I wanted to submit to The Gap, back when I did security work for them. Taken by Greg Umphrey down the block from one of our many apartments in the area of Westwood Village.

Oh, and of course there is handstanding happening on all sorts of likely and unlikely places.

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!

Lame.....

I just figured out that YouTube has disabled my primary account, "due to terms of violation" regarding copyright infringement. A couple of days ago I got two back to back notices regarding my video uploads of Chainey on Mr. Rogers:

Dear Member:

This is to notify you that we have removed or disabled access to the following material as a result of a third-party notification by Family Communications, Inc. claiming that this material is infringing:

Chainey Returns to Mr Rogers Neighborhood Pt I MOV04802: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfGDElz857M

Please Note: Repeat incidents of copyright infringement will result in the deletion of your account and all videos uploaded to that account. In order to prevent this from happening, please delete any videos to which you do not own the rights, and refrain from uploading additional videos that infringe on the copyrights of others. For more information about YouTube's copyright policy, please read the Copyright Tips guide.

If you elect to send us a counter notice, please go to our Help Center to access the instructions.

Please note that under Section 512(f) of the Copyright Act, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification may be subject to liability.

Sincerely,
YouTube, Inc.

Given that there were 3 videos (with Chainey's second appearance in 2 parts), I didn't even think to head 'em off at the pass and disable the third video. I uploaded it so long ago, my mind wasn't thinking of preemption. So it seems 3 strikes and I'm out. Seems grossly unfair to have my account deleted in this manner. If I had subsequently uploaded more copyright infringing videos after their notice, then I'd say that qualifies as "repeat violation".

Ah well.....some 200 videos (origami, gymnastics, and others) that I have to consider whether or not it's worth the time to upload....

Chainey on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood

Don't remember what year, but I think Chainey was about 14 or 15 here. When we were in college, I lived with him and his younger brother Greg for 6 and 5 years, sharing an apartment; we used to show this to everyone and would laugh so much. Mr. Rogers is completely innocent...but some of the things he'd say, taken in the wrong context from our inappropriate college minds, had us rolling on the floor laughing.

Chainey did get an invite back to Mr. Rogers, sometime while he was still in college; I think I have that somewhere as well and will upload it too, if I find it.

*UPDATE* Found it! It's on the same VHS tape as this one was recorded from. I'll upload it tonight and add it here.

*UPDATE II* Here it is:

Part One:


Part Two:


It looks to be that episode 1684 was done in 1995, so I think Chainey was done with undergrad (I graduated in 1993 and I think Chainey was done by '95), but still training. I think we finally parted ways in 1999, when we had to move out of our last apartment place. He found an apartment with his beautiful future wife and I found one with my deranged psycho ex.


A while back when I was checking YouTube to see if anyone had uploaded this stuff (still looking for the '84 Men's Olympic Team on Diff'rent Strokes, so if you find it...), I discovered this gem:



Mr. Rogers popping, waving, moonwalking....classic!

Also blogging:
The Neighborhood Archives

Additional:
A Tribute to Augie

Energy Unlimited on the Home Show (circa 1993?)

Laura used to have fund raisers for the UCLA men's gymnastics team. Yefim, the UCLA assistant coach, was one of her fitness instructors. David St. Pierre worked for her for a couple of years; after my last year of eligibility, I needed part-time work and by a strange act of fate, saw an ad of Laura's asking for gymnastics fitness instructors. So I began working with clients in her small fitness studio on Motor Ave. When that shut down, she moved her business over to Santa Monica Gymnastics Center, renting out the gym at the same time Richie Salas ran his Adult Gymnastics program. When Richie moved, we "inherited" some of his leftover clients, like Sarah Black and Cathleen Handler.

The following is a promotional stint we did on the Home Show. If I remember accurately, we arrived very early and did take after take after take after take. I was very muscle-fatigued by the time we actually started taping (as well as out of competitive shape) and got stuck on one of my handstand push-ups, just as the camera panned my way.

Easter Prayers for Hector and His Family

Coach Hector used to help out with intermediates, around 2004-7. Originally from Colombia, I believe he moved out to Oklahoma by the end of February of '07. Recently, I found out that he suffered a work-related head injury back in June of 2008. He has total amnesia. If anyone has any pictures or videos, let me know. His wife, Maria, is trying to collect them up. I do have stuff to share with her, of course, being the hobbyist film-maker that I am.



I remember once, going to a Cuban restaurant with him after teaching, and it was the most in-depth conversation I had with him on technical aspects of gymnastics and teaching. Actually, the conversation was mostly one-way, as I didn't always understand his English, and just nodded along with what he was trying to communicate. He knew quite a bit, but the language-barrier made it difficult for him to transmit his knowledge base to the class.

MeTube a Bit Less....

3 years ago, YouTube disabled my first account (I was one of the first YouTube users!). Nowadays, they simply disable your videos.

Checking into the YouTube account I use to upload videos I don't wish to tag and identify (so as to minimize internet exposure), I noticed a number of videos have either had their audios disabled, or the video itself killed due to copyright claims. In some cases, copyright owners have IDed the video, but allowed it to stand (thank you!).

Certainly I feel that artists and producers should be rewarded financially for their work; but I think it's a mistake on their part to crack down on users like this, as I see it as personal usage for many uploaders and and free advertising for those others concerned. I could be wrong, but business-wise, I don't see the wisdom- especially if I've already paid for most of the songs. I'm basically using music for my own personal use and sharing mostly with friends and family, via the internet. This is part of what made YouTube so great in the beginning. I'm all for capitalism, but I feel like the crackdown impoverishes everyone. The only way you're ever going to stop what the business industry might consider as "stealing", is to take away technology- from the internet, to CD and DVD burning, to recordable audio cassette tapes, to VHS tapes. I think WMG (the one primarily responsible for the crackdown) is doing more harm than good.

Anyway, I've migrated the disabled videos over to BlipTV. Higher resolution than YouTube. My one concern is that blip.tv gets so big they become targeted for copyright violations; or become so small, they close down, leaving me with the painful chore of finding another video hosting site.

The following videos have been salvaged:
Birthday Dream Believer
Someplace Under the Rainbow
Malaika's Bad Days
As Time Goes By
Far Away
GyMah Na Mah Nastics
The Return of GyMahNaMahNastics
Gymnastics Zone
"Gymnastics Will Turn You Around"
A Rainy Day Outside Keeps the Sunbeams In
Anyone Else but You
Take it Easy
Georgia of the Junge Gym
Summer Magic
The SMGC Monster Family Movie Trailer
Wake Me When Summer Ends
Let's Do the Twist
Bubbly Gymnasts
Only Time
Forever Young
Surfin' SMGC
Start Here
Al's Slip 'N' Slide
SMGC Vacation
Overnight 2006
What's Up?
Missing Yuri
Gymmmbopnastics
Spider-Gymnast
Gymnast 007


Really, you take a look at something like the birthday video at the top of the list, and how is it anything but a home video for personal use? How is it harming the owner of the rights to the music by sharing?

Where's Abby?

Oh! There she is:



She's been missing her Saturday classes for her Wildwood School Theater rehearsals of Les Miserables, in which she plays the part of Cosette. "Castle on a Cloud", I think, was the first song that made me curious about the rest of the musical. I remember my dorm neighbor had the Broadway Cast album. It was interesting, but foreign to my tastes. Then I think I saw the actress who plays Cosette in the Los Angeles Company appear on the Tonight Show to sing "Castle on a Cloud". After that, I borrowed and listened to the entire album and was hooked.

After moving out of the dorms and getting an apartment with Michael Chaplin, Scott Keswick, Terry Notary, I would still play the musical. Chainey Umphrey would be over, playing Japanese Nintendo video games with Keswick and after initially knee-jerk rejecting it, they soon became hooked on Les Miz as well. We eventually bought tickets to see it at the Schubert.

Abby's mom was kind enough to supply Robyn, Thea, and I with tickets to Friday night's performance. The show was stellar; I was really impressed. And Abby really shined!

UCLA Invitational After Action Non-Report

I've made a lot of bad decisions in life. Sunday was another one of those, I suppose. Every week Yefim would ask me if I was going to the Invite since there would be a special alumni gathering (I think focused on the 1984 team). But I opted out, even though I knew I should probably attend. Setting aside how nice it would have been to see faces I've not seen in over a decade, from a citizen journalist standpoint, it would have given me something to blog about: photos, videoclips, etc.

There was a reception/luncheon at noon, with the meet starting at 2pm. Today at the gym, Yefim and Al talked a bit about it (Coach Dan also went), along with one parent and some of the LASG team girls mentioned it to me. A number of alumni were there, including one guy from the 1930's. Some of the LASG girls were used as runners and got free t-shirts; others from the gymnastics community and local clubs were also in attendance.

Oh, well...can't be everywhere; but it's a bit embarrassing that I decided not to drive 5-7 miles from Santa Monica to Westwood while others flew as far away as Japan to be at Pauley Pavilion yesterday.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Erin, one of Al's jr. advanced girls who moved over into my Thursday advanced/pre-team class made this card for me. Thank you, Erin!

I passed out some origami beating hearts on Thursday, and gave one to Isaac; for some oddball reason, he just couldn't stop laughing and making it beat....

Thea, his sister, knows how to make it now; she's made it to origami library meetings about 3 months in a row, and is getting better and better at folding and flipping.

Malaika's Birthday Party and Computer Woes

This picture was taken by Neil (father), sent to me by Stacey (mother) from Malaika's birthday party yesterday at the gym. Good to see so many familiar faces.

Lots of fun. I'll write about it in detail, if I get around to making a video. Weird to have a birthday party at the gym on a weekday.

Disappointing for me last night to have lost the greater bulk of videoclips I've taken from 2008, all on one of my external hard drives that somehow became corrupted after trying to reconfigure my windows media player to import music from the hard drive (I recently had my computer "fixed"). Lost some really good stuff, waiting to be made into videos. Entire files were either corrupted or the contents simply vanished. This includes some of my music videos, some of which I do not have copies; so the only existing evidence are the lower resolution videos on the internet.

I recovered a few from the recycle bin, as I was trying to burn some vids for Thea, and disgarded "temporary files" a few times, when they wouldn't all fit on one disc. Thankfully, this includes salvaging copies of Julia's videos and at least one of Erin's.

Modem also broke down last week, so I've not really had a lot of access to the internet. *sigh*

Brief Clips from College

This is just a few random clips from an old vhs workout tape. Even though I could hold crosses without a false grip and had a record 7 cross pullouts in a row, I had chronic problems with my right shoulder (had arthroscopic surgery after my first year) and didn't hold my strength positions in workouts as long as I normally would in competition. Could never really do inlocate to handstand, due to the stress-load on my shoulders, which were tight then (and ridiculously tight today).

Life Goes On

Saturday, after teaching classes from 9:30am to 2pm, I went home for lunch and a nap. The farewell reunion began at 3pm, and by the time I got there around 5pm, it was a zoo. I was disoriented and overwhelmed when I first walked in, because I didn't know who to talk to first. Lots of interruptions, and I apologize to anyone who felt snubbed.

It was quite a good turnout. Very bittersweet. Rather than dwelling on the sad, which I might cover in Part II (this is Part I), I'll focus on the celebratory. Late Sunday night, after a few email correspondence with Erin, I got to work on an upbeat video. It only took 3 hours tops, as I just went through the clips in order, mostly, until I ran out of song. All the leftover footage will go into Part II. Maybe enough for III, as well.

I'll save my sad thoughts for another day.



Pictures are already up, too, as I had the whole Sunday off. Today (It's 1:30am, Monday) is the last week of our session, which will be at LASG, to acclimate our SMGC students to the new environment, and encourage them to continue with us there.

Also blogging:
Sparklehaus (Teacher Carol)

Santa Monica Gymnastics Center Comes to an End

*Update*

02/15/08:
Carol gives a reminder of our reunion celebration, Saturday February 23rd, from 3pm to 8pm. She also gives some personal reflections on her time at SMGC and her future goals.

From the SMGC website:

Santa Monica Gymnastics Center, Inc. was founded in 1973 by Al and Linda Luber. Our first gym was in downtown Santa Monica. SMGC moved to West Los Angeles for 17 years and has been located in Culver City for the past 15 years. It is with great sadness that we announce our closing as of March 1st, 2008.

The building that houses our facility is in the process of being sold and and after 35 years and three different facilities we do not have the energy both physical and financial to contemplate another move. Please drop in anytime on February 23rd for our 35th year anniversary celebration from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm. We would love to see everyone and reminisce.

It has been fun!

Warmest Regards-

Al & Linda Luber and the SMGC Staff

01/25/08 Note that this will remain up until February 23rd. If I make any new posts, between now and then, they will be published underneath.

____ is pretty upset by the news; she spent last night and this morning crying off and on. She really feels at home there and in your class. Any recommendations on a gym would be helpful. She's really bummed about not being able to make it to team at SMGC since they are closing down; she kind of had her heart set on it, I think...

That is from an email from one of the parents, and sums up the heartbreak feeling that many have been expressing.

Carol Luber, daughter of Al and Linda, writes:

After 35 years of dedication to the sport of gymnastics, Santa Monica Gymnastics Center will be closing it doors. The culmination of years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears is not strong enough to take on the new breed of gymnastics schools that are opening everywhere. Mega-schools that run as many diverse programs as YMCA's are popping up everywhere. My family did not want to change with the times. Al Luber wanted to coach gymnastics. He could of chosen an easier road. If it was about money he could of stayed on his old career as an engineer. He opened the gym with my mom Linda in 1973 to follow his dreams of bringing gymnastics to everyone. His coaching roots sprouted at Venice High School back in the 1960's. As a gymnast who looked up to more senior gymnasts, he learned how important having mentors was in this sport. He absorbed the history of gymnastics, the technical side of gymnastics and everything else that comes with it. He would bring people under his wing the same way older gymnasts guided him. When it comes to gymnastics he is all knowing.

Read the rest. And while you are there, check out the wonderful photos that Carol's been scanning and uploading.

February 23rd is the date to keep in mind. We invite everyone and anyone- especially all of you who have ties to SMGC over the last 35 years- to come by the gym and help us celebrate 35 years of history. I do believe the hours will be 3pm to 8pm. Call the gym for more information: 310 838-4228.

My own observations: It's been a difficult, stressful time for the Lubers. Nor has it been easy on the kids, who specifically chose SMGC as the place to be nurtured at, over its competition (there are about 3-4 other major gymnastics club within a mile+ radius).

For myself, I'd like to thank all of the wonderful coaches who I've worked with over the years at SMGC. I can't believe I lasted there, for as long as I did. This is certainly not how I planned out my life; but somehow, teaching gymnastics became a big part of my life for the last 10 years, at least- probably longer.

I learned so much from Al, from my fellow staffers, and from the kids themselves.

Without jumping the gun, it would appear that Al will probably migrate over to Los Angeles School of Gymnastics; and the team girls will go with him. He isn't ready to retire just yet; and I think our team would be lost without him. If this is the case, LASG has my endorsement as the place to be for all of our SMGC students. It'd be nice to see all of our SMGC family continue, in one place.

I've been asked by parents and the children "Where will you go?". I've given the answer to some; for others, I've tried putting off answering the question. In part, because the answer is not crystal clear to me yet; but more significantly, because I do not think they will like hearing the answer.

What I've had a mind to do, is to enlist in the military.

Even before there was news of the possibility that SMGC would close down at the end of its lease (the landlord ended up selling the property to the private school next door, making the issue a mute point) in March, last February I tried to enlist in the National Guard. Military service had been something on my mind for the previous 6 years. I love being at SMGC, watching the kids grow up and how they are cultivated and transformed by their experiences in the sport. I figured serving in the Guard would be a way for me to serve my country, and still at least try to retain a civilian life. I scored high on the ASVAB, but hit a snag when I took my physical and medical exam. It would seem that my eyesight falls .5 below the allowable refractory limitations to get in. The doctor there is not part of the military, and does everything possible to find something wrong with you. One recruiter got held up for months, because he failed to tell his recruiter about a jammed finger or write it down; but during his oral examination with the doctor, he just happened to mention it on a whim. So the doctor didn't pass him. All because of a jammed finger.

At least, if nothing else, there is an attempt to keep the quality standards to a certain level. My recruiters and counselor had me take two more eye exams, in an attempt to get me through. To no avail. The doctor said I would need a medical waiver. Everyone, including the doctor, said it was very likely I would get that waiver. My original plans were to possibly do boot camp before summer, or in the fall. And then hopefully be back to teach. But that waiver never arrived. My recruiter at first told me to just be patient; but after a while, she quit responding to my inquiries. My dad, who served career military for 33 years, said it took 3 months for his waiver to arrive. I guess mine just got lost somewhere in the bureaucracy.

In August I went to the Marine recruitment station in Culver City, to try another shot. I knew I was too old (I turn 40 next month) for the Marines, but I had been talking to Jared, who works for Big Fun and who served in OEF, and he encouraged me to look into it. I figured on a case by case basis, they could make an exception. I even went down toward the end of the month, when quotas need to be met. But the recruiters there flat-out said they could not take me, and referred me back to other branches of the military, where the age requirement is not so stringent.

Life has been so hectic for me, that I've been sidetracked by the daily grinds. But by February, I will make the call to an Army recruiter. Since the news of the gym closing down, I figured I might as well go regular full-time Army, instead of Army Reserve. It will mean, I will in all likelihood, be moving around a lot. It will mean no longer growing up around all those kids and their families I've come to adore.

But this is something I've wanted to do, and to which I've given a great deal of thought. I can't help but think of the men and women serving in our Armed Forces, who are making the big sacrifices, with long deployments. And they have wives and children who need them to be at home, rather than to be out, answering a higher calling for their country. I have none of those obligations, and wish to ease the burden and share the workload, of an "over"stretched military.

It may sound pretentious and idealistically naïve; but military service is the highest expression of my patriotism, that I can think of providing for my country.

I want people to understand that I'm not doing this because I have no other options in life; I do it because I believe in this country. I believe in our military. I believe that all the people I have come to know and love are worth protecting and defending. Your kids have been like family, to me; and it has been a privilege working with them, and on occasion, spoiling them. Thank you for that opportunity.

It's very likely that if I do get sworn in, this time, I will request not to ship out to basic training, right away. I need to get my knee checked out. So, there is some chance that I might find work for a short time, at LASG. I don't know.

I might also go spend some time with my parents, who just moved back to the States last year. Since around 1988, they've been living overseas. I think I've seen them less than a total of 2 months time, in the space of 20 years. So there's some guilt factor there.

Decisions....and change.


Also blogging:
Gymnastics Coaching
Sparklehaus
Teri Genovese Photo Blog

Ana & Ash'lee's bat mitzvah montage video

It took me about 6 hours to scan two albums worth of photos. It's amazing how cute people are when they're small.

My fond memories of Ana and Ash'lee stretch back about 5 or 6 years; I think I have known them longer than I've known any of the other current crop of kids at the gym. Who would have ever thunk it, that they would make it to team? Certainly, I did not. I remember when I'd be teaching early morning adult clients; and Ana and Ash'lee would be the first kids to arrive at the gym. They'd holler out my name repeatedly from across the gym, excitedly while jumping up and down. *Sigh*, I miss those days when they worshipped the tumble trak I bounced on.

Now they are pre-teens.


Look out, world!

Photos here.

"Glory Days"

Another one of my early video experiments...

This is from a videotape, filmed March 27th, 1992. I believe it was the PAC-10 Championships in Stanford. One of my better ring performances. I was never a top gymnast. Having started the sport late in life (I was 16, and had no idea there was an entire sport built around the idea of flipping), I was fortunate to be on the team at UCLA (One reason why this blog kind of bleeds blue and gold). More than half of my teammates were Olympians and Olympic-calibre. So I was content with occupying the bottom rung of the ladder. Furthermore, I focused primarily on rings and floor. Rather than devote myself to all 6 events, I thought I'd stand a better chance of competing if I just spent more time on these two events.




I got pretty strong after doing major rehab therapy on my right shoulder, from arthroscopic surgery. Strength was the only thing that I had going for me on rings. I think I had a record of 7 or 8 cross pull-outs; I could do about 4 one-arm pull ups with either grip direction, and over 50 pull ups. I think my record was 54.