JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?pGZPb8'܊B3N9ߕ83H֔3JI( .qLSO+Su*i٠lMiw)(E(V(C Rw4h4[7Rh搃ڀoj\oj(PjqR 9Qc4ڀ%')zwPӥ;4Mf@ zN"'' xYt?T1ր.2 0J*ۆL6{ $a\xpzi9ru,w #hDRb 8ʟ '5!\Rmn=i:SI:Td)E7#񢂠q(ȧ4Sy G4~4྽(,R=Ҁ"U=jUJWe U[HcVXܼON4.x vA,@8f ֢ ;Y4 #J>sPaOjeF]H=0*- O"+NP7(A=;U tj^pqEWG0:yx%Y#qYm TKPG fL !v@GB3֤qڐR0T!RT0`@ "-(NfhΦDtJIuyOd\ů'P"9?!q;ՈlM.~6#`uEHXzuT b /^uvzw#ENOdxS,F{tNC{AYw hn`=np;^`IY2^x9曚@ɜQr3ґP${ytv#362;RSM% B-0@fq R@`3<9\dD4&=*lz> )QR}1E+dޜ9MNE9 T踨9e 9G5a`qSRD7 cwBW$+Ḅ<\Ҕ`r34&LjDžg'-ݴkef>4՝+`&Ց]C o[\c`vw+Xce ~`3X##0I5mpv&y|Nr d֛HcR`}9jh1'ak $R9]3\M*r4g4jPcgL V ޣyWLt6q#55'NIVtj FW=ZZ*0S(V*R'I)z止tAv4vS)ՄOZLhU : ))R<]umd,p=+UnaYzFcQ{2xTңGÓҵR2q3TmT$9 0v6 049f%$cE&J?Zq"&O8"iztKu4zԦ - k_ظhA%zVC;vI s@~\d㠩l+V=p1ۥb1?3ZX<\\b A,dօ ;]yurHGP>?*,\8$#${U$Pl5H?sV5 soO5q1*]nu4JrǢܾΐHQFIWn-Y{QR=P:>$ޡĺe9Z˾"my n@X2:<;pI{dܮR ²q+׼3|4ifVʇ^'fv0 =<~O٘ ZOoda}k"g>.:^1kɺ=\]HwL=?LGLSwCQ3֞s3<; C7tiKY'*˵awf ?#~5#VmjjRhܓE+09?>l{h߿*ʜ ~9*rHELO_Ƥ'}cFixiӀ*@W&sS F*.70;Xv()Rs޿{v5vާ2F500:گ:&Y'yz\#>0>+tRe>?$_THk>;|{z]' .᳑g暱-fe&p>PXg,+~57+r:0y@PrEv~'V2I?:/Srw}9ᚕf#|1,mLJF7 »),|olSN88`df'{{fr=H݀FN;F(ҟܟ^iഇݨV%x'<ޛ=1P=fK 订8x7{w.c;@=}k8=оj y^h7U%Zʢ4.Y&r2FqDU8TcϥOM[I.f@K<\}$yWf=HUi.i6>IǺ,*r3=r[7~vʛ؎?^ԡJg5#fiRW5{oRŌ}8u!A~M=cjp:vcDmyMB+8 HH`ԌcWXOdnFWVWa{ zP"ռ#EZuzOnƥ^@n @\8CqU9f7;SLV&y={Tl6} BO?/o.J ~glV|֧-V9ޥy'j69lqC7S2C VR*= >PF8 McfI}ieFy *jçC#ʟjd)<Қ iy1%II`UD|ўS9W>DvJO#My QFs)?h=> d\2GpheC/Coj_?Jm8G!uJgR05l 9;e@?8?#/$<ƾSVbFWSwJ=_hkpmc6u#M{7)A7^~YGL_ ;?,wr葙GHlAH#5)D=+H3k5a>Upon 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, bu