Today is SHIFT’s 10 Year Anniversary. It’s insane for me to even write that. In October 2013, I wrote a blog post about hip flexor stiffness in gymnasts. 10 years later, SHIFT has grown into an international company and brand I feel has helped a lot of people. I’m blown away by the amount of support, encouragement, and help I’ve gotten along the way. Without the community, the people who have worked for SHIFT, and the friends I have, I would not have made it 10 years. In thinking about how to celebrate this milestone, I had many ideas but ultimately i wanted to just go back to where it all beg ..read more

We’re thrilled to be just days away from the highly anticipated 2023 Shift Symposium.  Over three days, we’ll be hosting an array of outstanding speakers who will cover gymnastics techniques, drills, progressions, medical care, strength and conditioning, and much more. While live tickets may no longer be available by the time this episode airs, there will be ample opportunities to access recordings and other valuable content afterward.  Many of you have been eagerly asking about the lectures—what kind of content, drills, progressions, and videos to expect.  Today, we’ve prepared ..read more

Gymnastics coaching is a challenging and rewarding profession that requires a diverse set of skills. To really excel in the sport, be happy at work, and effectively work with athletes, coaches need to possess certain key attributes. In this article, I want to share five of the most important skills for gymnastics coaches to have in order to be successful that I’ve seen work across many elite, college, and club programs and talking with over 200 guests on our podcast. This is to not only help the athletes maintain progress but also help coaches enjoy their day-to-day work. Before we dive in, we ..read more

Today on the podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Adam Paterson, Head of Performance at Portsmouth Gymnastics Centre in the UK and MAG Lead England Coach. As an accomplished MAG Coach, MAG International brevet judge, and personal coach to members of the GBR Development squad, Scotland, and England Senior squads, Adam shared his valuable insights on how to develop twisting on the floor exercise.  We covered everything from building a strong foundation to overcoming mental blocks and fear. Starting with the basics and drills, Adam emphasized the importance of vision and safe progres ..read more

Handstands are one of the most basic skills gymnasts look to perfect, but they are surprisingly very complex. There are many possible reasons why someone isn’t able to stack a full straight handstand, which can be very frustrating for parents and coaches alike. As a PT and gymnastics coach who has helped 1000s of people with handstands, I wanted to summarize the 7 most common issues I see in people and offer some exercises to fix them. Before we dive in though, if you work in gymnastics and want to learn the best information about flexibility, strength, and skill technique be sure to sign up f ..read more

In today’s podcast, we are joined by Dr. David Kruse, the USA Gymnastics Medical Director & Team Physician, who is dedicated to promoting athlete wellness and health in the sport. He gained his B.S., Biology, University of California at Berkeley, and M.D., University of California at San Diego. David has 15+ years of domestic and international event coverage experience, including the Rio and Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.  Today Dr. Kruse will be sharing his expertise on growth, puberty, and maturation, and offering valuable insights on supporting gymnasts through this challenging period ..read more

Today on The Shift Show I am joined by the esteemed Pete Etherington, an expert in the art of vaulting.  Vaulting is often considered a challenging discipline, with numerous factors to consider for athletes and coaches alike.  Pete shares his invaluable insights on mastering the fundamentals, conquering fear, and progressing safely in the world of vaulting. He is an international performance coach with over 25 years experience of in coaching high-level gymnastics, delivering coach education courses for British Gymnastics, and currently works at Waveney gymnastics club as the director ..read more

It’s that time of the year when gymnastics season is wrapping up, and people are getting excited about the upcoming off-season. No more routines, new skills to play with, and all the other fun that comes with it. That said, when coaches are looking at all the things they have to try and work on, it can get very overwhelming very fast. In this blog post, I want to offer some very specific helpful advice for where to start based on my last 10 years of coaching, working with teams, and reading research. Before we dive in if you work in gymnastics and are wanting to get an insane amount of he ..read more

In today’s podcast, we are thrilled to have Will Banthorpe, an exceptional coach from the UK specializing in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics.  Will is Head of MAG at Pipers Vale Gymnastics Club, GBR with 23 years of coaching experience. He is coach to several international gymnasts, coaching at multiple European and World Championships  Today he share’s his expertise on a highly requested topic: high bar skills, specifically release moves and dismounts.  Developing these skills safely and effectively, while also addressing the anxiety and fear associated with them, is crucial for youn ..read more

Full splits are something many gymnasts and other aesthetic-based sports are trying to achieve.  While many people rely on static or dynamic stretching to make changes (which is helpful) the reality is that without any strength or active flexibility drills, those newfound improvements won’t show up in skill. I see so many gymnasts who are frustrated because they are dedicated to daily stretching but still struggle to get good scores or hip their leap/jump angles. In this blog post, I want to share 5 of my favorite active flexibility split drills to help with this. Before we dive in though ..read more