ridge of Allan gymnast Andrew Mackie has enjoyed his best season since taking up the sport.  This summer he became Scottish Senior Champion for the first time, then finished sixth in last month’s British Championships.

Now, with the Scottish Area Institute of Sport network supporting gymnastics, and following his selection by the Central Scotland Institute of Sport this autumn, things are getting even better for the 20 year old Stirling University Sport and Exercise student.

“I’ve been with the Central Institute since September and it’s helping me in a number of ways,” said Mackie, who began gymnastics at Dunblane Primary School and competes for the Alloa club.  “It means I’ve got some of the best experts in Scotland behind me.”

The first gymnast selected for the Central Institute, Mackie and his coach, Tan Jia En, can draw from a wide pool  of the network’s teams that work together to deliver essential support services locally in sports medicine, sports science, strength and conditioning, and career and lifestyle guidance. 

As a Men’s Artistic competitor Mackie must juggle the diverse and complex demands of six separate pieces of apparatus.  

“On the rings there’s a lot of static strength and holding positions but I’m improving on them, getting a bit more strength so I can do some do some harder skills,” he said.  The pommel horse is his current forte.

“I did some strength training before but nothing like I’m doing now with the Central Institute and I’m really thinking about everything I’m doing.  I’m generally stronger so I’m finding things easier and I’m finding I’m not getting as tired as I used to.”

Scott Crawford, Strength & Conditioning Coach at Central Scotland Institute of Sport, is the man in charge of Mackie’s gym sessions.  Gymnastics might be a new sport in the Institute network but the knowledge already accumulated at the Institute through working in a diverse range of sports can, with the odd tweak, be applied successfully to other sports.

Crawford was not surprised to see that Mackie’s previous strength programme lacked real progression.  Nor was he taken aback to learn his new athlete had an injury history – particularly in the knees – which could have been reduced with the right type of conditioning.
 
“When a new sport joins the Institute it’s not a case of going back to the drawing board, but applying the principles we have to another area and putting the right building blocks in place,” said Crawford.

“We can rest some of those injuries and work alongside his physio, hopefully to prolong his career.  We are very keen on posture because if it’s not good then that’s when injuries occur, so we’re trying to help him out with stabilising his shoulders, making sure his posture is good.

“He’s been lifting for most of his career and we are at a stage where he is being supervised when he’s lifting and we’re picking up on very small details which can make a big difference.”

It’s no great revelation that Mackie’s strength to weight ratio, particularly in his upper body, is enormous.  Much of his gymnastics training is strength related so Crawford’s weekly strength session has to be balanced and devised skilfully. 

“It’s really how much we can get out of him with the amount of upper body work he already does,” said Crawford. “We’ve structured his programme and added in some whole body exercises like an overhead squat, a hang snatch, some power based and strength based exercises, which really challenge your balance and strength.”

Mackie has been Scottish Junior Champion on two occasions and was a member of the 2006 Scottish Commonwealth Games team.  Not expecting to peak until into his mid twenties gives him at least one more opportunity to compete in the 2010 Games at Delhi. In the meantime he plans to consolidate on his 2007 form.

“Winning the Scottish Championships was a good achievement and shows all the work I’ve put in is paying off. Next year I want to defend my senior title and try and improve on my result in the British championships. I want to finish top six in the British nationals next October.”

RE-J
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