Andrew Elkind's Training Blog

Site Switch

jerseyelk — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:38:52 +0000

I have moved my blog to blogger. The address is: http://andrewelkind.blogspot.com/

Winter Cup Week

jerseyelk — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:02:46 +0000

I will not be able to post updates this week (after tonight) because I will be in Las Vegas and without internet. However, before leaving, I still had one more day of practices here. I had a PH and PB routine and halves on the others. I went around in competition order and knocked out a solid fhs-1/1 off the bat. Moving to PB, I did a very nice routine with a slight mistake on my healy; however, everything else looked great. Also, I hit my PH routine. Halves on the other events went well. My ring strength was a little short today, but no worries. I will have plenty of strength at the meet; it is mainly my nakiyama that I need to be aware of and use proper technique to help me settle into a nice cross. Overall, I am very prepared and confident because I have done lots of quality work/preparation for this meet; just keep up my focus, attacking, and use my preparation routines. It is time to celebrate my hard work with a strong showing!

Still Putting in Work

jerseyelk — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:52:46 +0000

My workout today consisted of a PH routine and some problem solving from last night. It was a very efficient workout; I did some 2 1/2′s on FX, a 1/2 tak on HB, and a peach sequence along with some double pikes on PB. All are minor problems and I performed them well today. On my 2 1/2′s, I just have to use a strong snap-down out of the round-off and take off nice and tight. I am still working to consistently keep my PB dismount within a tenth deduction because that will obviously help me. I am pleased that I attacked my PH routine, which is tough after a hard week, and hit a solid set. Now, I am ready to relax and rest up for the upcoming week.

Intrasquad Follow-Up

jerseyelk — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:16:31 +0000

Today was my last day of 1-on-6 before Winter Cup. As expected, I was a little more fatigued seeing as it is like the second day of competition. However, despite somewhat of a lack of surge, I was improved on 4 events. I landed my vault, did a better PB and PH dismount, and hit my HB set. There were 2 instances where I briefly lost my cool. I got a little distracted/ahead of myself on FX and missed my 2 1/2 and did not fight through all the way to the end on R. Although I am not happy with those 2 moments, I can learn from them, which is precisely what practice is for. Also, after venting for a moment, I recognized an angry mindset and re-focused myself in a positive direction. In both cases, when I am slightly tired, I can recognize that and really utilize my performance cues.

Intra-squad

jerseyelk — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:17:28 +0000

Today I had an intra-squad among teammates and the Air Force gymnastics team also came to participate. It was a good test run for Winter Cup with people there watching. I started on V and finished up on R. Overall, it went very well. There is still room to improve; however, I was good at attacking my routines and moving on mentally from event to event. Although I did not have super-hits on any of the events, I made the most of the routines when it was necessary.

V – M, PB – H, HB – H-, FX – H, PH – H-, R – H

Despite landing short on my vault, I know that I am capable of performing it well and safe.

Pushing Through

jerseyelk — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:08:26 +0000

Just as I will do in Vegas, I did halves today before routines tomorrow. Unfortunately, my ankle has been hampering me, so I have to be smart about how many dismounts and how much FX and V I do. My halves went well today. There were some minor mistakes, but overall very good seeing as fighting to make the most of every turn is more important, and realistic, than perfection. I have been doing extra tong-fei’s (which I fell on today in my set) because they have been a little off. Aside from that my PH set was very high quality and I simply need to harp on my performance cues more.

Final Week of Training Before Winter Cup

jerseyelk — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:00:41 +0000

I am entering the final week of preparation before I leave for Winter Cup. I had a PH intra-squad this afternoon. Unfortunately, it did not go well; however, I did hit a set afterwards and I will definitely learn from the intra-squad. We have these types of things to help us in our preparation and that is what I will do. Specifically, I will attack my routine more and arouse my mindset more, so my awareness is heightened. After PH, I did parts on PB and HB. I was happy with how both went. My taks were much better on HB, but I need to adjust my tap for my yamawaki slightly when my full tak is to handstand. I stayed off FX and V, following the advice of my coach, to rest my ankle. My ankle has been flaring up a bit, so I really need to monitor it.

As the meet approaches, it is natural to become a little more tense, so I have to really pay attention to my attitude. In doing so, I will better handle various situations, make the most of everything, and stay more upbeat/confident.

No Rest for the Wicked

jerseyelk — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:27:07 +0000

After a hard day yesterday and a hard week, I had dismounts and a PH routine. My dismounts on each event went well and I am getting better at minimizing landing deductions. My goal is to have no more than a tenth off on landings. PH was tough today due to my fatigue. Although I did not hit my set today, I was able to get in some solid work on PH and I got back up and finished my routine strong. Tough days are part of the training cycle, so, as I was reminded today, it is very beneficial to use days when I feel tired to get something done and keep my attitude in check. To close out practice, I once again knocked out some good diams and peaches on PB because I can save a few easy tenths in routines on those skills. Now, just as there is no substitute for hard work in the gym, there is no substitute for quality recovery time outside of the gym.

A Circuit of Routines

jerseyelk — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:52:29 +0000

Although today was an exhausting, tough workout, it feels very good to get through everything. I had 2 routines on PB, HB, and PH, 1 routine on R, and a FX routine immediately followed by a watered down routine. There were some ups and downs throughout practice; however, I am glad that I was able to battle back with positives after mistakes. Also, I displayed a good attitude throughout practice, which is key on such a challenging day.

PB – M,H; HB – H,M; FX – H; PH – H,A,A,H-; R – H

This afternoon, I did vaults on a “fat pad” and was able to knock out my first fhs-1/1; that vault is all about a great hurdle. I used the remainder of the second practice to solve some minor problems from this morning and polish some details. I do not like that some minor mistakes are recurring. I would like to better transfer some of those minor mistakes into routines because they are very good when I do them in problem solving sessions. Tomorrow, I will focus on dismounts.

Meet Simulation Day 1

jerseyelk — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:31:03 +0000

Simulating the meet week at Winter Cup, I followed up yesterday’s halves with routines today. It was tough, but I managed to push through rather well. Because I do not know which event I start on yet, I drew PH out of a hat and started there. PH can be a tough event to start, so I am happy to practice it because it is a challenge. I stumbled a little on my FX dismount, but the routine was good otherwise. Also, vaulting outside for the first time, I was a bit anxious. I will have to really focus on my performance cues and approach it just like vaulting into the pit. I hit PH, R, PB, and HB. Aside from little mistakes, those routines were solid and I am definitely working to fix some things from this past weekend. It is important to continue to emphasize fighting and attacking my routines.