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RESEARCH REVIEW
NOT QUITE CIRQUE DU SOLEIL:
SUSPENSION TRAINING UPDATE
Timely research studies the efficacy of home-based and supervised suspension training.
Review by Dr Mike Climstein PhD & Dr Joe Walsh PhD
I had never even seen
a regular iron cross in
gymnastics before, let
alone an inverted one, but
I was an elite lifter, so how
hard could it really be?
Title: Efficacy of whole-body suspension training on enhancing
functional movement abilities following a supervised or home-based
training program
Authors: Dr.’s Kullman and colleagues Department of Health and
Human Performance, Cleveland State University,)
Source: Journal of Sports Medicine Physical Fitness (2020). 60 (2):
244-250.
Introduction: I am traditional and old school, no doubt about it.
From training in a traditional style of karate, to traditional strength
and conditioning. Sure, I’m well read on the developments in these
areas, but old school works – and that’s why it’s still around.
Having said this, there is always room for new and improved.
In universities in the US, athletes in similar disciplines are typically
housed together, to enhance the concept of the team as one big,
living, breathing organism. As Olympic lifters at university, my
teammates and I were few in number, so were housed with other
athletes, one of whom was my good friend Paul, a gymnast whose
forte was the high bar and rings. Paul used to come into the gym after
training and ‘workout’, as he called it, with us. For Olympic lifters,
Paul’s training appeared to be a waste of time, as all he did was
many, many exhaustive reps and sets of V sit ups, pulls ups, push
ups and decline hyperextensions. Why bother?
The men’s gymnastics training facility was on the second floor
of the building, and therefore required stairs to be climbed in order
to access it. It’s fair to say that I never ventured up there, as I had
NETWORK WINTER 2020 | 45