I love books like Gerald S George’s recent “Championships Gymnastics” and his 1980 book “Biomechanics of Women’s Gymnastics” and my current love Monem Jemni’s  ”The Science of Gymnastics“. The Science of Gymnastics Journal often has some really great pieces that interest me, especially the current edition which has contributions from FIG Members.

The FIG are set to do some scientific research of their own this month. They have invited a panel of scientific experts from Great Britain, USA, Belgium, Greece and Australia to participate in a study to investigate the effects of intensive training on the growth and development of gymnasts.

A team of internationally recognised experts will be received in Lausanne to address an issue that is largely debated within the FIG; the aim is to bring objectivity and answers to questions that loom in the minds of both gymnasts and their technical entourage.

Chaired by Canadian Keith Russell, the FIG Scientific Commission was the project initiator before it was passed on to Dr Adam Baxter-Jones (USA). Discussions will hinge on the impact of intensive training on a gymnast’s adult height, segmental growth, growth rate rhythm and the possible presence of negative hormones in that process. The colloquium will bring concrete answers to whether or not there is an effect, and the degree of personal impact.

Sounds great, really interesting. I’ll be looking forward to the results and answers that the panel come up with. I hope that they’ll be widely released for everyone to see.

Via FIG

Part 1: Physiology for Gymnastics

Part 2: Bio mechanics for Gymnastics

Part 3: Psychology & Mental Training for Gymnastics

Part 4: Interaction between physiological , biomechanical & psychological aspects of gymnastics performance

The book was edited by Moném Jemni, who is a former international gymnast and coach. He is a Principal lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Greenwich in the UK. In the dedications, he dedicates the book to Boris Shakhlin who he says was an inspiration to him as a gymnast. Boris, a six time gold Olympic medal winner was the first documented gymnast to perform mental training and mental practice before competition, before each event.

Remember you can order yours too. I ordered mine from Amazon.Co.UK which has an earlier release date than ordering from Amazon.com

Here we were also shown the body in Transverse and Saggital sections. The exit then lead to a small gift shop and a visitors book in which to write your thoughts, I really wish I had done this, although it could have been as long as this blog post! I treated myself to a pair of socks from the Gift Shop, for those of you who know the cost of them, I will try to convince you that it was well worth the “X” euro! My socks are great, they map out the structure of the feet and legs – a bit geeky but I love them!!

As you can probably tell , I very much enjoyed the exhibition. It was definitely one of the highlights of my year so far. It would be impossible, as the exhibition had been on for so long but I wish that there could have been a professional there that I could have posed my questions to. I have so many that remain unanswered.  Whilst viewing the specimens gave me a sense of clarification, I still wanted to touch everything, it was hard not to! I still wish that I had the chance to work on cadavers in college. Although smaller than I expected, I can understand why it might take people hours to get around the exhibition. There is some reading material to explain the specimens on display. I tended not to read these as I was already aware of the information.

Despite the negative reviews and reports, I found the exhibition to be amazing. A fantastic learning tool for anyone, whether you’re in the profession of medicine and biology or not and also for children. There were a few children there who seemed completely clueless to what they were looking at. The origin of the bodies on display is of mixed opinions and ideas, many people insist that these specimens were unclaimed bodies, which appeared to discourage some people from attending. Either way, donated or not, perhaps it would be some small comfort to the deceased that they have, in death, managed to provide such a wonderful educational opportunity for so many people. You are not permitted to take photographs at the exhibition, although these images will never be erased from my mind. I can assure you, the pictures in this blog post do the specimens little justice. I would encourage everyone to attend this exhibition.

Bodies finished in Dublin on July 27^th. A similar exhibition “Body Worlds & The Mirror of Time” is currently running in The O2 in London, from the fantastic Professor Gunther Von Hagen ,whom some of you may know from the Autopsy programmes on Channel 4 some years ago. This exhibition is running until Sunday August 23rd, I think it would be well worth even a day trip to London just to see this –  especially as flights from Dublin to Heathrow are very reasonable at under €100 return! Unfortunately I can’t see myself getting to London before the closing date so I just hope that this exhibition might come to Dublin due to the popularity of Bodies but somehow I doubt it.