JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?L班Wd),yDPJTc?ʚTzx tR>R>:fۜPISgK`O1@vwJ=l1SA}$t[ҁ<@#Ѓ^fy@Fi|3 'jk[z1zPa3?t2zVÎ EN(+b#4PǃqLٞ;,G'ϵVrp(,(qS?2?E5c*}( zR@Ҕ4MS1a HT1@NX2{5ͺ3.0r} K*p]*l:9,9"@<QI~e=Hbw2he\UGL 7h4zS\+;UQ $!呰s^ %1X##wN麇 i-I3)0D]GN>&xcR^OLJJ{cm$<2@PV?) B9Wo"8>|}1dҵy˩ms=F+rNYjXsҩ@>?O2Y}l|?JWxFvIw5ϋq${IPBg>sxMwq3 &(Ϡ@$eD@N6Cn%!## bx=WoE?͖ʞj/1Aav-7)>(Y|@6WA>jA*$PDA;uǥzG~Aa!QZLc_OY2[,nNu=*pTu{23*9#1&JTGB84u`R=?2d1$ $E}7i2)s6{o ]}IR 3yuÙR潺`ȹP#+5.-J#r 𽞙1;ߠ,:W%}7ȹ͝MvPF)0T+խnѼb|NrC@q~GJnX.uùq^Ee+vO|"7F=O@ em >]Vo 2G$[hڷPȬrX>{QU-PYx_PԮݕ Dc^? Bv 4Gn*c5]I(k(G*Ԍu7q\! XObPBE9 Kpy#T_3 .NoJsp{Cp0[%sԑL'I J(--$v\p=hhv`dct6;WDe*~qfAׁWDݫg1Zpq_˥qEqҘG~ݪWz1Kg Qv.}xsk# (FaCZwd`qrM{rH?_Ekucqe>bLou6]Vyl+cPH`{U;{(8;'Z|#}EYȞ; FL=WTr;ײ=m)Mkh[>@<P7;WOm6@sg}5PxGD@n69G;ZeEzXy)}`˛Ȫc\}IY.U沶Oa*|%_jkXPD*ooV䱳\JG^J=F~e~ږyrNCJvxHִ5=9 !zըm3*ٍ\62\ᯊF8 rtV^5Ċ-Ad!q@ Lv2/sYqVTsyk1 {t,3VH 3zյks;o;y,f&/h;yF@>EEW$)#Lơկ@'N/ \ ,2psӽtWpR*:p1Pzk*VWu'czFJ+h2OLcڤcPa;su`WgvNI^3SNzxtyj>x|I ihY(IA" 5kKA.=Y>%wShI`=EbFv?O~'"$*6\2"AHNxHawsd, 1)leqUjޟY5K>w5C<*@~Uhh ˨lyXAv863A87_ƣ.+%b"`d`SZZڴk'J(([@~ӧ˴F\z]ΟQY؞)?L PHM֩ X ii1XXUO|g޼IV 潯DԎZ\0uڄu+ƙCF8oɏ^ƻ2y+]Aqns(~ߔ,0$UH:jv_mfacg@jGjj< F[rįր'꫿jc^E H5i xCガi1Hj=δN7$FF~?X qWwAҀ ㍏*?*0JEJgQܟzG8Huwb__ιLtq] =6Mvf> nYQ=U9&׶ !hOj(KF")n`Lgy \0*PSZaLki{Pl0c GA@ Vֱv==iOZ/We}H Aj>4{[mPu8=8]q=j ؆$9O >YGg\LDd+7@Vs;gΊ program and signed her up for soccer, and the girl injured her knee! <br>Although there is some perception that gymnastics is associated with a high risk of injury, Ayars says,  When you consider the number of participating hours we have, the injury rate in gymnastics is surprisingly low. The most common injury, and it s not so much an injury as it is just an ache or a pain, may be to the ankles or wrists, and that s usually for athletes who are just starting out who lack good conditioning. In the six years we ve owned this gym there have only been three times when kids were hurt badly enough so they had to go to a doctor. One of those three happened during an open-gym situation in which a friend pushed a boy off something and he fell and broke his arm, and the other two were broken arms from just falling and landing badly. <br>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 Gymnasti