The SHIFT Show

Latest Episodes:

Syd Soloski Discusses Helping Gymnasts Retire and Move On In Healthy Ways Nov 08, 2022

Show notes

Today on the podcast we have a super important and must-hear episode about gymnasts and athletes of all sports retiring or transitioning out of gymnastics, or their sport.

This is not commonly talked about but is hugely important because of its devastating impact on athletes, who have a sudden, abrupt end to their sport.

You go from being super regimented, having a plan, training towards a goal, and you have an identity and a community tied to the sport so when it goes away you have a void, feel lost and don’t really know what to do.

I recently saw a tweet from former National Canadian Team Member and Utah Gymnastic alumni Syd Soloski:

“Retired athletes!! Do you feel like your university/college/program/coaches etc prepared you for life after sport? The transition, identity crisis….??”

So I invited her onto the podcast to discuss this issue as she has experienced this tricky transition firsthand.

Exploring a better offramp system for gymnasts and athletes moving on from their sport.

We discuss:

There’s an onramp system for College, but why isn’t there an offramp?

How to find a new purpose in your life after sport.

Coach because you're passionate about it not because you’re trying to fill a void.

The importance of having conversations with your kids about who they are.

How do you shift your training mentality and motivation from being an elite athlete to living a ‘normal’ healthy lifestyle?

How to come to terms with the goals that you didn’t accomplish.

What to do when coaches aren’t supportive of athletes quitting?

How to cope with having to medically retire.

And…

Why therapy is like prehab.

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Overcoming Mental Blocks, Anxiety, and Low Confidence in Gymnastics with Rebecca Smith Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

Today on the podcast, I had a great chat with former gymnast, coach, and Gymnastics Mental Skills expert Rebecca Smith.

Founder and CEO of Complete Performance Coaching, Rebecca helps high achievers thrive under pressure allowing kids to reach peak performance as well as maximum enjoyment.

In the last few podcast episodes, we've been dancing around mental blocks, what to do and how to help.

I’ve received countless emails and messages about sons or daughters struggling with back walkovers, back handsprings, and flyaways.

So many parents, gymnasts, and coaches want to know what they can do to help get through freezing up on skills, nerves, anxiety, dwindling confidence, and mental blocks, particularly as season approaches.

Rebecca has worked with 100s of parents, clubs, and athletes on how to help get through mental blocks.

We deep dive into her experience helping people, and what works to overcome these challenges that so many gymnasts face.

We discuss:

Mental blocks are biological.

How to overcome the fear response in your athletes.

Why the brain wrestles between logic and emotion.

How growing can impact fear.

Communication is critical for success.

The relationship you have with yourself is your biggest asset in overcoming challenges.

Parental pressure.

Kids learn more from how you behave than what you say.

Do you really need to post competition results on Instagram?

And…

What to do if your gym is not open to change.

We want to invite you to a FREE training for gymnastics parents that Rebecca is putting on:

http://completeperformancecoaching.com/dave

This free class is next Sunday 11/6 @ 9 am PST / 12pm EST, covering exactly how to help with mental blocks and gymnasts struggling with confidence.

You’ll learn the entire 3-step Mental Block Breakthrough Method that will teach you how to help your athlete overcome fear without being too controlling or too involved.

https://event.webinarjam.com/register/21/249ymfq

If you’ve ever wondered “how can I fix this for her?” This is for you.

If you’ve seen mental blocks making her miserable, then DO NOT MISS THIS FREE TRAINING.

Click here to save your spot:

http://completeperformancecoaching.com/dave

P.S. Who do y

Instilling Confidence In Your Athletes Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

This week's mini podcast episode is a sneak peek of our brand new Herolab guest lecture: Instilling Confidence In Your Athletes, which will be released next week.

This month's guest lecturer is Ariana Eydenberg, M.S. physiologist and owner of The Mindful Gymnast

Ariana was a former Junior U.S Elite but struggled with fear which lead her to pursue her interest in psychology.

In this episode Ariana covers:

Building Confidence from the inside out

Learn how to embrace failure
Fostering an Athletes Grown Mindset
Self Talks Role in Confidence

Hopefully, you enjoyed this mini-podcast episode, if you would like to hear the rest of the Instilling Confidence In Your Athletes lecture head over to the Herolab.

https://shiftmovementscience.com/theherolab/

Are Ankle Weights, Oversplits, and Aggressive Hip Flexibility Drills Bad for Gymnasts? Why & What To Do Instead Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

Today on the podcast is Physical Therapist and former Collegiate gymnast Kaysha Heck, PT, DPT, SCS discussing hip flexibility and injuries.

Kaysha has unfortunately had a lot of hip injuries herself as a result of outdated flexibility methods such as oversplits, using ankle weights and holding splits and stretches for two to three minutes plus.

She is now on the other side of 10 hip surgeries and reflecting back on what can she have changed.

We discuss:

Kaysha’s gymnastics story, 10 hip surgeries.

How does a gymnast atomically get into the splits?

Labrum tears and growth plate related injuries.

Stop using ankle weights.

Is over splits bad for gymnasts?

Why you need to screen athletes who can’t don’t have their splits.

The dangers of 2-minute oversplits.

Is three full over splits realistic and possible for gymnasts?

Is there a magic exercise for getting splits flat?

And…

Should stretching hurt?

5 Ways For NCAA, Club, and Elite Gymnasts To Increase Competition Season Performance & Reduce Injury Risk Oct 18, 2022

Show notes

This week's podcast is a survival guide for club, college, and elite gymnasts to tackle meet season.

In compulsory and younger years you train a little less intensively and meets aren’t as frequent but as you get into optional levels 7-10, elite, and then college the season becomes much more of a grind.

It can be hard to get through a competitive season when you have school, other life commitments, training sessions, traveling to meets plus managing your time with friends, family, and hobbies.

I’ve been there and remember trying to make lineups, do schoolwork, and trying to have a social life was absolutely exhausting.

But I have learned so much since then from studying research, hearing and talking to different experts as well as consulting with various club, elite, and college programs to really understand what the common problems are.

So I have comprised all this knowledge and research into 5 easy ways to not only optimize your training and performance but also minimize the risk of injury.

I discuss:

The importance of sleep for performance.

What are circadian rhythms?

The importance of seeing the sun first thing in the morning.

Stress management.

How to schedule time to relax and recharge.

What fuels your work and recovery?

And…

Soft tissue care and flexibility maintenance.

If you want to learn more and get further information on the topics covered in the podcast check out these:

Master Your Sleep & Be More Alert When Awake | Huberman Lab Podcast #2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm1TxQj9IsQ

Sleep Toolkit: Tools for Optimizing Sleep & Sleep-Wake Timing | Huberman Lab Podcast #84 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2aWYjSA1Jc

The Food and Body Image Talk Gymnasts and Coaches Must Hear with Christina Anderson, RDN - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ9ZZ4qDDWI

What Gymnasts Need for Nutrition with Dr. Josh Eldridge - https://youtu.be/DYwbU3wcZ04

The Gymnastics Injury Concepts Everyone Must Know Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

This week's podcast is the first lecture from our recent and very popular 2022 Gymnastics Rehabilitation Virtual Summit.

The three-day event was aimed at helping medical providers who work with gymnasts, gymnastic coaches, and S&C coaches learn the exact exercises, manual techniques, and programs needed to treat gymnastic injuries.

In this lecture, I explain the five phases of rehab.

When working I work with an injury, implementing these phases in order and following the timelines I have an excellent success metric.

This is my step-by-step guide from the beginning incident to a smooth return to sport along with exercises to get above and beyond your past level of strength, power, capacity, and flexibility.

I discuss:

Main focuses for each of the 5 phases of injuries.

Why manual therapy is not the main thing I do.

The importance of interdisciplinary care in pain management.

What are the five phases of rehab?

When to progress between phases of recovery.

The importance of maintaining workload.

And…

An example of a 12-week ACL program.

If you loved this episode or are keen to learn more about treating gymnastics injuries you can access all The 2022 Gymnastics Rehabilitation Virtual Summit lectures, videos and handouts here:

https://shiftmovementscience.com/gymnasticsrehabsummit/

And use coupon code summit25 to get a discount!

Building S&C Programs for Rehabilitation vs Sports Performance Roundtable Oct 04, 2022

Show notes

What is the difference between programming rehab versus programming for sports performance?

Today on the podcast I am joined my by fellow experts and colleagues from Champion Physical Therapy and Performance to explore this topic.

Performance Physical Therapist Dan Pope DPT, OCS, CSCS, C-PS, Director of Fitness & Strength and Conditioning Coach Diwesh Poudyal BS, CSCS, USAW, C-PS, and Director of Sports Science & Strength and Conditioning Coach Jonah Mondloch BSC, CSCS, C-PS.

We discuss:

What are the goals of a rehab program and a sports performance?

An example of a rehab program for an athlete with an ACL reconstruction and a sport performance program.

How to alter a squat to work and stress either the hips or knees.

Six ways to modify a sports performance exercise.

Why three sets of eight to ten reps are the most effective.

When to progress an exercise with an athlete.

And…

The difference between rehab plyometrics vs sport performance plyometrics.

Helping Gymnasts With Anxiety, Depression, and Mental Health Struggles ft. Dr. Marcia Faustin, MD Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

Today I believe we have one of the most important podcasts produced by Shift, a discussion with Dr. Marcia Faustin about athletes' mental health.

⚠️ Trigger Warning ⚠️

In this episode, we discuss heavy content around depression, anxiety, body image, fear of failure, and suicide. If you are someone listening to this podcast but have a history of these things, I encourage you to either stop and listen to it with a professional who can guide you through it, or to listen to it in segments or don't be afraid to not listen to it at all.

A former gymnast, Dr. Marcia is a family medicine and sports medicine physician working at the University of California Davis in Sacramento where she is the associate team physician for 700 UC Davis Division One athletes.

She is also the USA Gymnastics women's national team physician and was at Tokyo Olympics giving Simone Biles care and support in her time of need.

Despite lots of progress, mental health in gymnastics is still stigmatized, which leaves a lot of athletes feeling as though they're the only ones dealing with anxiety, depression, or other dark thoughts.

This episode is to help show athletes that they're not alone, not only is it normal but it's something that can get better.

We discuss:

What's causing the mental health stigma?

Why Mental health issues should be treated just like injuries.

The difference between empathy and sympathy.

One of the best tools for Anxiety.

The way you react to your athlete's performance matters.

How to be a better listener.

What to do if an athlete starts to have negative thoughts and feelings.

Why a simple conversation can help save a life.

And…

The role fans play in gymnastics and their responsibility on the athlete's mental health.

If you want to learn more you can listen to Dr. Marcia's popular and highly requested lecture on mental health at the Shift Symposium:

https://shiftmovementscience.com/2022shiftsymposium/

What Coaches Need to Know about Nutrition Sep 22, 2022

Show notes

This week's mini podcast episode is a sneak peek of our brand new Herolab guest lecture: What Coaches Need to Know about Nutrition, which will be released next week.

This month's guest lecturer is Christina Anderson, a registered Dietitian and Board Certified Paediatric Specialist who specializes in eating disorders.

Christina helps athletes with performance, nutrition, dealing with food, and properly fueling themselves, working with high-level elite gymnasts all the way down to regular gymnasts.

In this episode Christina covers:

Dangers of Unintentional Undereating
Why "Clean Eating" is not enough for gymnasts
Intra-workout Nutrition Information for Coaches
Hydration 101: Best action plan for avoiding dehydration

Hopefully you this mini-podcast episode, if you would like to hear the rest of the What Coaches Need to Know about Nutrition lecture head over to the Herolab.

Relaunched with a brand new look, with a website that’s now more user-friendly to help coaches easily locate and access the tools to change gymnasts' lives.

Save time and money with 30+ hours of lectures from gymnastics experts gymnastics on flexibility, strength, nutrition, mental blocks, skills, and more from the comfort of your home.

As well as the revamp we will be releasing NEW monthly gymnastics lectures, so don’t miss out!

You can check it all out here:

https://shiftmovementscience.com/theherolab/

Hip Injuries in Gymnastics: A Complete Guide Sep 20, 2022

Show notes

If you've ever had questions about hip pain or hip injuries in gymnastics, then this week's podcast is for you.

Hip pain is extremely common in gymnasts. Despite the research saying that only 3.1-5.7% of all injuries in gymnastics occur in the hip, the reality is that it is much more common. Injuries like hamstring growth plate inflammation (ischial apophysitis), hip flexor strains, and labral tears can plague gymnasts for years.

Sometimes these injuries reoccur and significantly hinder a gymnast's ability to train or compete. They can get so bad they require surgery to fix. Worst of all, these injuries may be so persistent that it causes a gymnast to quit gymnastics altogether for quality of life and long-term health reasons.

In this episode, we break down everything you need to know about common hip injuries including:

Contributing factors to hip pain and injuries

Basic anatomy of the hip

Specific injuries and how to best evaluate, treat and understand from a movement category

Accurate diagnosis and treatment plans

Timelines for injuries

How to safely get back to gymnastics after a hip injury

What can be done to reduce the risk of injuries in gymnastics

And…

What to do if someone isn't getting better