26 Mar The G-Force Source: New Coach Profile – Little Loz
“Hiding from your weaknesses is a recipe for incapacity and error.” — Greg Glassman, Founder of CrossFit Inc.
Gymnastics is an extremely large part of the CrossFit methodology and mastering its movements is no easy task. There are layers upon layers of progressions and accessory movements to help build better foundations in your gymnastics which should not be neglected. Luckily for G-Force, we have some great minds with great experiences in gymnastics and beyond. Now, we compliment our coaching team even further with gymnastic-specialist Little Loz.
Pay no mind to her nickname as there is nothing little about her ability in gymnastics and teaching its movements. Little Loz has been coaching our weekly workshops which have been a great success and she’ll continue to help improve our athletes’ movements in further workshops and a new gymnastics speciality class starting at G-Force.
Continue reading below to read more about our talented gymnast, as well as some tips to help you on your way.
G-Force: Can you give us a background of your training?
Little Loz: Growing up I was a competitive dancer and softball player before I changed to compete in Artistic Gymnastics (vault, bars, beam, floor). Training was up to four days a week (sixteen hours per week), one hour of strength and conditioning, then three hours of apparatus training every session. Most of training consisted of skill and routine repetition in the competition season and in the off season I would learn new skills to compete for the following year. There was huge emphasis placed on learning the basics of body shapes, allowing me to recognise spatial awareness and practice consistency in training. I learnt the significance of a strong body and working hard for what you want through perseverance.
After I stopped training gymnastics, I started CrossFit in 2014 and haven’t looked back since.
What do you love about CrossFit?
I love creating my own body to be the machine. The mix between Olympic lifting and gymnastics movements are my favourite workouts.
Why do you want to coach?
I want to help people improve and help them to perform higher-level skills in workouts so they are constantly challenged.
What are your top five gymnastics tips?
– Master the basic shapes of gymnastics to build a solid foundation.
– Concentrate and take mental notes of body positions when performing a skill so you can apply changes.
– Core strength will help you more than anything else to improve your skills.
– Practice skills when your body is fresh and also under fatigue.
– Make sure you work on strict strength and static holds weekly to be able to progress to higher skill levels.
What about tips to deal with injuries?
– Do accessory work to help prevent injuries.
– Mobilise and stretch regularly.
– If you are injured, be diligent with the recovery process. take the time your body needs to heal and stick to your recovery program.
Keep a lookout for Loz’s workshops each week at G-Force, as well as our new speciality gymnastics and weightlifting classes starting this week.
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