原文翻译：
如果世间最好的状态是为了变强大而拼命地伸展自己，为什么你不呢？
CHRISTOPHER SOMMER
克里斯多夫·萨默尔(IG/FB:@GYMNASTICBODIES,GYMNASTICBODIES.COM)是前任美国国家体操队教练和 GymnasticBodies 的创始人，GymnasticBodies 是一个健身训练系统，这个系统我自己也尝试了8个月（它不隶属任何机构）。作为享誉世界的体操教练，萨默尔以将他的学生培养成最强壮，最有力的世界运动员而著称。在他40年的教练生涯中，萨默尔教练将他的训练技巧认真地记录下来 — 他的成功和失败 — （这样做）以便于他能把关键的要素系统地变成能让高手和新手运动员练习的优秀方法。他利用40年的细心观察创建了Gymnastic Strength Training(GST)。
本文精神动物：猎鹰
背景故事
在去年， GST 和双人瑜伽 AcroYoga （本书第53页）的结合彻底改变了我自己。39岁的我变得比我20岁的时候还要柔韧和灵活了。尽管我在书中讲了关于双人瑜伽动作的要点，但我难免会遗漏掉可以通过视频和图片表达的内容，不过不用担心，你可以上谷歌哦。
在你的劣势上下功夫
“如果你想成为种子选手，你现在必须是个布丁（笨拙）”—要想有所成就，必须放下一切，那么刚开始看起来肯定很笨拙。
当我抱怨自己直臂后举（请想象一下：双手紧握同时放在你的后背，手臂伸直，然后不带弯曲地缓缓抬升）的动作如此笨拙时，教练首先告诉我的是：当你对自己越没有信心，甚至要放弃时，越要迎难而上，克服你的弱点。我自己最大的弱势：直臂后举和胸椎弯拱（相对应的还有后背弯拱）。在经过3-4周的练习后，效果提升了10% — 从一开始我的动作能让教练吐到现在能让教练笑（说明已经有了质的进步）— 困扰我多年的身体问题（就是之前那些在开始的时候显得如此笨拙的动作）终于彻底消失了。为了能让你找到自己身体的薄弱点和劣势，可以找你身边的教练或其他人进行功能性运动测试（FMS）。就像萨默尔所说的那样：“不管你现在拥有什么，你应该尽最大努力将你所拥有的能力发挥出来。 ”（不要抱怨自己的劣势，而要将它们变成你的优势）
“柔韧度”VS“灵活度”
萨默尔是我见过对“柔韧度”和“灵活度”之间的差别描述地最为具体和清晰的教练。“柔韧度”可能是被动的，但是“灵活度”需要通过整个移动的范围以及最终移动的范围来确认你的身体抗压强度。我们也可以看书中15页和18页的两个“灵活度”的例子，它们也被可看作是“主动柔韧度”（与被动柔韧度相对）。“屈体上仰”就是一个特别清晰的证明，它会测试大部分人身体抗压强度的极限。
请保持训练强度的一致性和连贯性
“慢点，干嘛这么着急？”萨默尔教练的提醒：首相要确定你已经适应了当前的训练强度，然后再慢慢增加强度，要让自己训练强度前后连贯一致。如果你想一口吃个大饼，那么受伤你是逃不掉的。在 GST（Gymnastic Strength Training）中，惊喜通常会不知不觉的出现，而这之前你可能长时间看不到任何进步。大概在六个月内你会一直处于收效甚微的状态，而我感觉有非常大的进步也是突然之间的事（正所谓量变引起质变），但这对于萨默尔教练来说没有什么惊讶的。
“我过去经常告诉我的运动员：有笨的运动员，也有老的运动员，但没有又老又笨的运动员，因为它们都死了。”
从“控制饮食 与 锻炼”到“吃 与 训练”
萨默尔教练不喜欢将健康和“控制饮食 与 锻炼”画上等号。他发现更有效的是：“吃 与 训练”。一个是是为了美，另一个是为了实用。前者没有明确的目标，而后者总是有明确的目标。
他们尽然不做热身运动！
萨默尔教练讲述了一个大概在2017年他参加一个非体操成年组的研讨交流会的情景：
“当时我们身边全都是站着野兽般一样的举重高手，它们拥有强壮的肌肉。这些越强壮的运动员就能越快的蹲下，他们的膝盖，腰，脚踝…这些身体部位长得就像婴儿一样。当时我们也没有进行激烈的任何讨论，只是站在适当的地方开始做些简单的弹跳热身运动。
“不会吧！他们根本不会做像我一样的初级热身运动。他们的灵活性如此之差，而我们用了15分钟就做完了日程安排的热身运动项目。这些运动没什么复杂的，也没什么强度，只是些简单的，基础的伸展运动。这样的运动能使一天的肌肉处于放松的状态。但那些所谓强壮如牛的运动员做了整整一个半小时，最后全部累趴下了，当时的场景就像我在越南或者拍一部战争片一样。于是我非常惊讶的看着我们的学员，然后说 ‘我现在该怎么办？他们尽然不做热身运动，他们尽然不做热身运动！’ ”
为什么那些奥运男选手有如此大的肱二头肌？
男奥运体操运动员的肱二头肌一般都会很大很强壮，他们主要是通过直臂运动，特别是吊环运动来锻炼肱二头肌。
但是作为一个新手我们怎样才能做吊环运动来锻炼我们的肱二头肌呢？我是用一个50/50的滑轮组将我自身的重量分摊出去，这个跟在吊环上是差不多的。然后我将这组滑轮和一根绑有金属装置的杠杆组合在一起，这个金属装置可以放置我的前手臂，那么我就可以将自己抬升起来，这样就是一个自制的吊环了。像类似的吊环装置最好的版本是在欧洲，而在美国则是用的类似“iron cross trainers”的装置。
3种每个人都可以做的肩部练习动作
> J-Curl(下一篇就会介绍)
> 肩部伸展：将双手放在后背，然后紧握双手，慢慢地抬升，或者坐在地板上用手支撑起你的臀部然后移动。
> 胸桥运动：首先向后抬起你的脚，尽量地抬起（大约离地1米以上），让你的肩膀和上背有明显的拉伸感，然后将所有的注意力集中在你的手臂上，伸直你的手臂（如果有可能，还可以伸直你的腿），最后保持好姿势进行深呼吸。
适合非体操人士的运动目标
下面的这些目标是将许多力量和灵活性的运动整合成一个动作：
初级：J-Curl
中级：跨踏式倒立[我正在练习]
高级：斯塔尔德式倒立
有时候你仅仅只需要一个震动按摩棒
萨默尔教练给我介绍了一位俄罗斯医疗按摩专家，这位专家建议我使用一个带插头的日立牌震动按摩棒。（后面有点污这里就不翻译了，但可以看原文，哈哈）
只是开个玩笑了，使用这个按摩棒可以放松你紧张的肌肉（比如有时候肌肉忽然紧张起来）。你可以将这个按摩棒放在你腹肌上，调整到合适的震动频率，然后按摩个20-30秒。另外使用按摩棒对于紧张性头疼和落枕有很好的放松效果，你可以将按摩棒放置在你的枕骨部位（头盖骨的正下方）。注意：将按摩棒放置在家里可能显得很异样或者看上去也非常的棒（呵呵）。最后祝你能有个好的按摩体验。
译者笔记：
本文主人公克里斯多夫·萨默尔教练，通过他40年的体操执教经验告诉作者蒂莫西·费里斯很多体操上的训练技巧，但作者得到最多可能是对于自身的劣势是如何转化为优势的。萨默尔教练时常提醒我们，开始不能着急，当遇到困难特别是自己的弱点时，我们应该迎难而上，慢慢地一点点地克服困难，可能在开始甚至是相当长的时间里进步缓慢，但越是处于这种境地越是要耐得住寂寞和枯燥乏味，奇迹或许就出现在你一觉醒来的时候。
本文中主要讲了训练身体柔韧度和灵活性的一些动作和技巧，还有些是我们平时在家里就可以练习的基本动作，比如直臂后屈，胸椎拱屈和后背拱屈。文中还提到了我们作为新手怎样利用类吊环装置锻炼我们的肱二头肌，有条件的可以去试试。最后的小按摩棒确实是个好东西（不许瞎想哦，谁想谁污，哈哈哈），它对我们的头疼和落枕都能起到很好的放松作用哦！
赶快试试吧！
原文：
“If the best in the world are stretching their asses off in order to get strong , why aren’t you? ”
CHRISTOPHER SOMMER
Christopher Sommer (IG/FB:@GYMNASTICBODIES,GYMNASTICBODIES.COM) is a former U.S. National Team gymnastics coach and founder of GymnasticBodies, a training system that I’ve tested for the last 8months (no affiliation ). As a world-renowned coach, Sommer is known for building his students into some of the strongest, most powerful athletes in the world .During his extensive 40-year coaching career , Coach Sommer took meticulous notes on his training techniques — his wins and failures — so that he could translate the best elements into a superior exercise system for both high-level and beginner athletes . His four decades of careful observation led to the birth of Gymnastic Strength Training(GST).
Spirit animal :Falcon
BACK STORY
The combination of GST and AcroYoga (page 53) has completely remodeled my body in the last year . I’m more flexible and mobile at age 39 than I was at age 20. I’m going to skip explaining a lot (e.g.,Maltese, St-alder press handstand)that is best seen in video or pictures , though I’ll describe the most critical (starting on page 53).Google is your friend.
ON WORKING ON YOUR WEAKNESSES
“If you want be a stud later , you have to be a pud now.”
Coach first told me this when I was complaining about slow progress with shoulder extension (imagine clasping your hands together behind your back, arms straight , then raising your arms without bending at the waist). When in doubt, work on the deficiencies you’re most embarrassed by. My biggest weaknesses are shoulder extension and bridging using the thoracic spine (versus lower-back arch).After improving them 10% over 3 to 4 weeks —going from “making coach vomit” to merely “making coach laugh”—a host of physical issues that plagued me for years completely disappeared .To assess your biggest weaknesses , start by finding a Functional Movement Screen (FMS) near you . Related from Sommer: “You’re not responsible for the hand of cards you were dealt. You’re responsible for maxing out what you were given.”
“FLEXIBILITY” VERSUS “MOBILITY”
Sommer’s distinction between “flexibility” and “mobility” is the most concrete and clear I’ve heard .“Flexibility” can be passive , whereas “mobility” requires that you can demonstrate strength throughout the entire range of motion, including the end range. See the J-curl and pike pulse exercises on page 15 and 18 for two examples of mobility , which can be also be thought of a “active flexibility.” The pike pulse is a particularly clear demonstration , as it tests “compression strength” in a range that most people never experience.
CONSISTENCY OVER INTENSITY
“Slow down. Where's the fire?” This is Coach’s constant reminder that certain adaptations take weeks or months of consistent stimuli (see page 160). If you rush , the reward is injuries. In GST , there are surprising stair steps after long periods of zero progress. Roughly six months into doing his “hamstring series” with minor gains , I seemingly doubled my max ranges overnight. This was completely unsurprising to Sommer.
“I used to tell my athletes there are stupid gymnasts , and there are old gymnasts , but there are no old , stupid gymnasts because they're all dead.”
“DIET AND EXERCISE” ➜“EAT AND TRAIN”
Coach Sommer dislikes the fitness fixation on “diet and exercise.” He finds it much more productive to focus on “eat and train.” One is aesthetic, and the other is functional. The former may not have a clear goal , the latter always does.
THEY FAILED WARMUP!
Coach describing his first-ever seminar for non-gymnast adults, in roughly 2007:
“We’ve got all of these beasts there [advanced lifters], and they’re strong. I tried to do my entry—level plyometric group work and some floor work with them. The stronger the athlete , the faster they went down: knees, lower back , ankles···from baby stuff. We’re not talking anything hard. We’re talking about standing in place , and , with knees straight, being able to bounce down the floor using just your calves.
“No way. Their tissues couldn’t take it. They hadn’t done anything like it. [To show you ] how bad mobility was , we had 15 minutes on the schedule to stretch. Nothing intricate ,Nothing intense —just an easy, basic stretch. Get them loosened up for the day. That stretch took an hour and a half to complete. There were bodies lying everywhere. It was like I was in Vietnam or filming a war movie. I turned to my staff, and I’m like ,’What the fuck am I supposed to of now? They failed warmup. They failed warmup.’”
WHY THOSE OLYMPIC BOYS HAVE GIGANTIC BICEPS
Male Olympic gymnasts don’t have biceps the size of their waists from curls. It comes largely from straight—arm work , especially Maltese work on rings.
But how on earth can you practice a Maltese as a novice? I use a 50/50 pulley system to cut my body—weight resistance in half , which is similar to the Ring Thing (Power Monkey Fitness ) or generic “dream machine” that Jason Nemer (page 46) loves using. I combine this with “power levers” strap—on metal gauntlets that allow me to attach the ring ropes to my forearms anywhere between the elbow and the fist. This allows me to use progressive resistance , starting near the elbow and moving out to the hand. The best versions are currently only available in Europe , but there are vaguely similar “iron cross trainers” available in U.S.
3 MOVEMENTS EVERYONE SHOULD PRACTICE
>. J—Curl(page 15)
>. Shoulder Extension:Lift a dowel behind your back (standing) ,or sit on the floor and walk your hands backward behind your hips.
>. Thoracic Bridge:Elevate your feet enough to feel the bulk of the stretch in the upper back and shoulders, not the lower back. The feet might be 3+ feet off the ground. Ensure you can concentrate on straightening your arms (and legs, if possible), holding the position, and breathing.
GOOD GOALS FOR ADULT NON—GYMNASTS
The following goals incorporate many different aspects of strength and mobility into single movements:
Beginner:J—Curl
Intermediate:Straddle Press Handstand[TF: I’m working on this]
Advanced:Stalder Press Handstand
SOMETIMES, YOU JUST NEED A VIBRATOR
Coach Somer introduced me to a Russian medical massage specialist who recommended I use the plug—in ( not cordless) model of the Hitachi Magic Wand on its high setting. I’ve never experienced such heights of ecstasy. Thanks Vladimir !
Just kidding. In this case , It’s for relaxing hypertonic muscles(i.e., muscles that are tense even though they shouldn’t be ). Just place the wand on your muscle belly (not insertion points ) for 20 to 30 seconds , which is often all it takes at the proper hertz. Tension headaches or a stiff neck? It’s great for relaxing the occipitals at the base of the skull. Warning :Having Hitachi Magic Wands lying out around your house can go terribly wrong—or terribly right. Good luck explaining your “hypertonic muscles.” As one friend said to me ,”I think my wife has that has the same problem…”
推荐阅读：
中文名 —— 《巨人的工具》
原名 —— TOOLS OF TITANS
—— 蒂莫西.费里斯 （Tim Ferriss）著
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