Impressive gymnastics poses are the envy of social media perusers, and it’s thanks partly to those gawk-worthy online platforms and the phenomenon that is CrossFit that has many gym goers trying their hand at a sport that in their mind used to be reserved solely for pint-sized girls in sparkly leotards.
 
Gymnastics principles are a formidable and important component of a successful strength training program, improved quality of life, and a method of casually #bragging to followers on Instagram. And though muscle-ups, kipping pull-ups, or handstand walks may look simple to the untrained eye, they require diligence and practice. 
 
Jeremiah White of Lexington, Ky.-based Legacy All Sports is a formidable force in both the gymnastics and weightlifting worlds. He has a few tips for training athletes or gymgoers who need to develop body control and strength through gymnastics principles. He also has mean skills that he regularly posts @jpwhite22.
 
White said there is definitely a correlation between mastering basic gymnastics and seeing gains in strength training. 
 
“I think a good, sturdy handstand will result in good lockout on a barbell overhead,” he said. “I also know that you need to be able to fire your core muscles at the right moment for all strength training, and even though you might be doing an arm or leg specific exercise, it helps immensely to be able to control your midsection and stay tight.”
 
He suggests beginning with a focus on the hollow and arch positions. “There are many, many CrossFitters out there that can do some pretty amazing things without having done gymnastics in their adolescent years,” he noted. “As with the way we train our kids, there needs to be a large amount of time spent on just body shaping — more specifically the hollow and arch positions. Those two positions are key.”
 
And, he said, get comfortable in static handstand holds. 
 
White knows a thing or two about being upside down. A competitive gymnast for 13 years, he finished his career at age 20 as an elite gymnast. He placed sixth on the vault at Junior Olympic Nationals. For the last seven years, he’s coached gymnasts and is the Boys Level 5/6 Head Coach at Legacy. After he retired, he eventually found his way to CrossFit and then Olympic style weightlifting. “Just like gymnastics, you can always do it better, and it’s an ever-evolving movement that takes a lot of time and dedication to master,” he said. White set Kentucky records for the 69-kilo class with a 96-kilo snatch, 111 kilo clean and jerk, and 207 kilo total. 
 
In that time slinging barbells and kettlebells, he has seen non-gymnasts get the most excited about muscle-ups on the rings or bar, handstands, handstand walking, and back tucks. “Everybody loves a good back tuck! Even if it’s a 'huck-and-chuck' flip,” he said.
 
But when training, he said people need to be leery of training those and other movements too quickly. Use proper progressions and achieve mastery before moving on. In his new private online training community, “Gymnasty With J,” these are some of the things he emphasizes. He pushes accessory WODs and supplemental workouts to what they might already be doing at their gyms. And many of them are the same movements he’s having his gymnasts do. 
 
“I’m working very hard to educate people on how to use the right muscles at the right time, so they can get stronger and either help them get skills later on or just to supplement what gymnastics they can already do,” White said.
 
The commonalities between gymnastics and strength training already exist — the obvious ones being body control, mental toughness, and utilizing proper form. Here are some specific training cues to use in the weight room to achieve some of the basics. 
 
For starters, work the hollow body hold. Start lying on your back, then lift arms and legs up to make a “crescent” shape with your body.
 
“Make sure your lower back is pushed completely into the floor and keep your chin off your chest,” White explained. “The lower back pushing completely down is a common mistake. A lot of people don’t sit up high enough to completely sink down into the floor which puts a lot of stress on the lower back. Maintain locked out arms/legs, pointed toes, and keep ears in between your shoulders.”
 
Next up is a basic swing on the rings. 
 
“For rings, I feel like you need to walk before you run,” White said. “So my suggestion would be to work on basic swings. Our kids work on their basic swings from the time they first begin gymnastics all the way through the upper levels. So if it’s important for our kids that do this regularly to do it, it’s definitely important for adults with no prior training to do it.”
 
Mastering the hollow and arch shapes are crucial since those two shapes “are what you will use to create tension in your body and a nice smooth swing,” he added. “In the front, you want to kick to a quick and tight hollow while maintaining that all the way to the bottom of the swing. At that point, you will counteract the hollow with a tight kick to arch and hold that all the way to the top and through the bottom of the swing. You need to feel like you’re pulling the rings down, try to avoid bending your arms as this will create slack in the ring straps and put a lot of stress on your shoulder joints when that slack comes out at the bottom of the swing.”
 
These movements are important, White said, for body control and understanding how and when to activate the proper muscles and avoid injury.
 
“I think what people need to understand is that some of these skills that they want to learn and even just the body shapes it takes to do these skills take a lot of time to fully develop,” White said. “Our kids train 15-plus hours a week and are also pre-pubescent or were already involved in this type of training before hitting puberty. Adults have already fully developed, and as such, our muscles are much tighter and don’t move in the same range of motion.”
 
This shouldn’t discourage adults with no gymnastics background to give it a whirl, because it can, in fact, improve their athletic performance.
 
Sarah Martin, PT, DPT graduated with a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of Kentucky before returning to the UK to pursue Physical Therapy. She is a physical therapist at Bauman Physical Therapy & Wellness in Lexington, Ky. and is trained in a therapeutic technique developed by the Postural Restoration Institute, visceral manipulation, strengthening, and women’s health. 
 
She noted that when undertaking gymnastics training in the capacity of a weight room, it's important to keep in mind proper execution and form. It may seem like a no-brainer, but be sure that the coaches themselves are highly trained in the movements and being aware of when form is breaking down due to fatigue. 
 
“It is also important to understand who may not be appropriate for a given exercise and to know effective regression exercises, so the person still gets a good workout,” she said. “These coaching concepts are especially important with gymnastic movements because many of them require that the person has appropriate range of motion in their joints as well as the ability to absorb shock, due to the power component of the movements.”
 
Martin said most of the injuries she sees are due to a breakdown in form, overexertion and improper technique. But trying movements should not be on the “never” list. There is hope for your Instagram account!
 
“Movement is a skill that must be continually practiced,” she said. “What I like about gymnastics type movement is that it moves people through many planes of motion and it incorporates many types of movement skills: proprioception and kinesthetic awareness (body awareness and movement), strength, balance, power, and flexibility. These are all important skills to continue improving as we get older.”