JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?IJk ^Z##B6v[p>ᑎ*Mؚp dԉAJHpEŐRNQ b%+!td86&(f=MW10ǃztK?:83HC` )cJO#=̑\U}txce`j|³Cb0Vb }hGn09A⇌|G851@I\WFAzUvLҴ<'Jb-@$Oj*ԐS5#ǃNQ?ZIeҫ qVb#nB9IֻPԧmLITkڻ:zֵmUAEU i=)&Hd.NR1c[8 c?4bq{7,>99?VM=Vw71ƭ}Vt#^~ǒqw9 }MMw[ٙìS\W86Cvje܍z;kFv"8JݼqxruQF#9]i ךgMur|4 1d"TJ]  [mNHi2 ޕn5E )Jϩ-ă$bfcC\$V 8p;t5c_LήTve4b]p,(@P:U@@bizZʆJ㎔kF?JolWj'4s:Ę5gd8HUJ(b(ŸEŸQERZF#mC+p~P|%#֟;YYb*"O*ךO63Ԙp O_Jd&vހ+qiJ?2 I5Dpk{opYcF*FEq"6 8GyO~z{TI\ތ]qc#ڱC[j`Hk. _ZtO7Mh5fm+T6zJ;bHI4Cfn1Mv5oCs46;k[ )ȩ%m(;Qv_=1;0 Z(DQUYD;ZqܮT1'&gRz]VhP>Q+N1_ƷJŠ( (qN<u=:QLw*N |$y6>"F`OJMQV0 C gp4H 'azT+G?uiaBGJtH9QW}#T%un麸 碷hJE\f쟭nBH+hW\n904FML. , 2yp EE͹5do˂1E%gF`l G ys@銋#DZi\sU8y+j<1wm!F[ִcz=t+jOLmkţ|WWM;sZOCکʾ+{I񞗫H"I|OE~C_==хpS ^B=_%%̏!J75j۔Q@-gޣi0qnQ4RpOS4p2j$#i<HQČ.~&EtKntv,dN Gjx[!rz Psց 88ڑ[lh~$%oMwV 9Ce5*E3Hq>qMկt..QUx`+íNB}p$6y9o#tK1!# 2}~3H7h3#ҁv8H=H 1♷S;N5'KcLm40{g,n}j]0sREez@W)PjĂ&BTsqOkn,{Tk&{%BnT\jm VfCeIRKJKpsZ!WpqJ=hH1!yW(u#SRUsӧ4gU )F3zLq4;9 p(sR qڔr 4{ڛʗ9W$L`?N>Vj0{3N^q@,3K"gMZ-Z`BXPaS(>a&w H{wtoSq@M*`2i=)UH`qTCEXITJ2Oz@8O)S<INQA$>)4q@AKt(ހRTuUJNZQh4_&{SLnS?JhJ[oLP0& L42rކ֚8iEE,azxf#ހ gp4OZPw3Ƞ? i98/ǎh:/403!^TЯ>!riE~٩JCޡuqV,Ft^W#z䍈ZWnpA#$n^R!gpp0HHɳ/Öj.#I^M*Ru#UqGs2Upon enlisting the support of most of the parents for his new strength program, Ayars had to sell the athletes on the weights.  Most of the younger ones were gung ho and thought it was the neatest thing in the world to lift weights. Some of the older athletes, especially the female gymnasts, either had a fear that they were going to look like men if they weight trained or believed that weight training wasn t important. <br><br>Flipping for the Program<br><br>Once the new strength program was underway at Sandhills and the positive results rolled in, enthusiastic support replaced the former resistance. In his current program, Ayars introduces weight training to athletes as young as seven years old, having them do squats with a light bar, or even a broomstick, to teach the technique.  We start them with light weights they can handle easily so they can work on technique, and then we just slowly pyramid the weight up. <br>Ayars keeps the reps in the three-to-five range, increasing weight as long as the athlete s technique is good.  As we raise the weight, I expect their speed to slow down a little bit, but we will stop them if their technique worsens. On squats, Ayars allows them go as deep as desired as long as there is no bouncing. Despite the conservative nature of this method, Ayars has set a standard for the girls to power clean their bodyweight for three reps, and he already has five girls as young as 13 years old achieving it. He also wants them to squat their bodyweight, a goal that he says most of his athletes achieve quickly.<br>One key auxiliary exercise in Ayars program is the overhead squat, one of the BFS power balance exercises.  My experience has been that the overhead squat is one of the best all-around body exercises an athlete can do, says Ayars.  It works on flexibility, which of course the gymnasts need, and it s very good for working on balance. In gymnastics, having the arms overhead during the exercise transfers well to what they do on the balance beam, because during part of the routine they will have their arms overhead and their knees bent. <br>A Strong Future with Gymnastics<br><br>Although gymnastics is popular, especially at the Olympic level, the sport is not without controversy. A book entitled Little Girls in Pretty Boxes discusses some of the apparent abuses in gymnastics, especially in regard to promoting eating disorders.  The book painted the entire sport with a very broad brush, says Ayars.  Some of those abuses may take place at the elite level, which is what you see at the Olympics, but the same can be said for other spor