Hard surface plyo

Sometime last year we started adding some plyo on harder surfaces, influenced in part by Yuka Sugiara’s post: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DF-2mizSGNo/ Text from @levelupneuro post: “About Achilles tendons... From a conversation I had with the Athletic Trainer for @stanfordgymnastics: She had a sports scientist come into the gym to give input on what could be done to prevent Achilles injuries that are prevalent in NCAA gymnastics. His observation: Soft surfaces EVERYWHERE. Everything is padded if not also sprung. Every surface is giving back load when tendons need the opposite in order to build stiffness. So: Do your calf raises and ankle proprioception exercises on the hardest floor you can find. If it’s tough to find space, consider doing 1-2 minutes of isometrics in the lobby; could be 4 sets of 15 secs or 6 sets of 20 seconds at near max contraction with a few seconds rest in between. Have them hold weights to add load or have a teammate push them down for resistance.” Over the summer we added in some tumbling. When I really thought about it, I remember how each Labor Day weekend, we had this tradition nicknamed “the Beach Meet” (Santa Monica Gymfest). A 30+ year tradition until around 1993. Real gymnastics equipment was brought out. Just no crash mats. So if you missed your bar release, you came coughing up beach sand. It was a very laid back, fun competition where I don’t remember there being age divisions. You could be a kid competing against an Olympian. I saw someone tumbling while smoking a cigarette; Mitch Gaylord’s brother would wear shades and smile at the spectators while holding a Maltese cross. It was a fun time. There wasn’t a spring floor but wrestling mats rolled out over the sand. So hard surface tumbling. The following Monday, back in the gym, I found my muscles reacting quicker and I tumbled much higher. That eventually wore off by the end of the week (and I never thought to add regular outdoor tumbling to my conditioning 🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️). But I do remember how much better my tumbling felt. -Coach Michael #paramountelitegymnastics #plyometricstraining