How to Pick a Personal Trainer

How to Pick a Personal Trainer

What’s up G&Gers?!

In an unscheduled break to our current series (Trampolining S&C: Part 1; Part 2) today I’m going to do something unrelated to both trampolining and strength & conditioning.
This is due to the fact that my wife and I are currently moving out of our residence, and slowly moving things from place to place for storage, so I just don’t have the time to sit down and hammer out a 3,000 word article on biomechanics.
I should have written it ahead of time, I know, but unfortunately I’m way behind with my writing.
So please forgive me for this short stopgap article, but I do hope you’ll find it edifying and interesting!

Trampolining S&C Part II: Head/Shoulder Placement

Trampolining S&C Part 2: Head/Shoulder Placement

As many of you may know, I have been a professional trampolining coach for over 6 years, and I have spent a great deal of time in those years learning what my performers typically lack and struggle with.
In my first part to this trampolining S&C set of articles was looking at glute/hip drive in somersaults, but this week I’m going to look at something else that comes up exceptionally often, from the humble front landing all the way to ¾ straight fronts and beyond – head and shoulder placement.
There are a few reasons your performers may struggle with correct head placement, and I’m going to go through them shortly, but first of all let’s discuss what exactly correct head and shoulder placement are, and why they’re important.

Trampolining S&C Part I: Hip/Glute Drive

Trampolining S&C Part I: Hip/Glute Drive

As many of you may know, I have been a professional trampolining coach for over 6 years, and I have spent a great deal of time in those years learning what my performers typically lack and struggle with.
One issue that comes up quite a lot, and that I was reminded of very recently, is the inability to initiate a somersault (particularly tuck back somersault) with a forceful hip drive once the coach’s external cue (usually the back of the hand in the lower back) has been removed.
There could be several reasons a performer struggles with this issue, including a neuromuscular signalling problem (e.g. lack of mind-muscle link or motor unit recruitment), an anatomical propensity toward poor back tension/flexibility/strength, or just a poor understanding of the difference between a hip drive and an arched back.
As stated, I recently had a performer who was struggling to initiate her tuck back without the external cue of my hand pushing her in the right place, and I want to share how we managed to begin resolving this issue easily, within a few hours of practice and gym-work.