Can someone explain what “ Twisties” is in gymnastics and is there a similar occurrence in running?

Easy Quit wrote:

Easier to quit than to push through. That is an indisputable fact. Biles sat on the side watching. That took mush physical effort and mental focus than to push through. Try running a 10k all out and then try again quitting after 1 mile. Check your watch to see how many calories you burned. If you don't understand that it is easier to quit than to push through, then I guess you should not admire anyone who has success in sports because you are claiming that it is harder to quit than to push through and finish. I plan to tell my runners at practice today that I have had it wrong all of these years. Quit, quit, quit. That is the more difficult path which means it is more admirable than their opponents who push through that 5k and are exhausted at the line.

Push through and harm herself and the team? Are you really that dumb or is this just your shtick, because if it is ,that's pathetic. If you actually looked at the competition, which you being the gymnastics expert that you are probably didn't, she was clearly lost in the air on that vault. The commentators (actual gymnastics experts) were shocked that she managed to land on her feet and not her back. You, keyboard warrior may think quitting is easy because obviously the most arduous task in your life is posting crap on this site, but real elite athletes who sacrifice and train 5 years to compete don't quit unless they feel it's the best decision, which it clearly was for her and the team. Funny how nobody called her a quitter when she pushed to win 5 medals in Rio. Apparently she just woke up yesterday and decided today was the perfect day to be a quitter. You're an idiot and I'll gladly say that to your face.

ReallybroReally wrote:

Bound4Glory wrote:

That's true. But Simone did all that stuff quite well two days before when she qualified first in the world. So, clearly no yips. Just pressure.

actually she had some problems in prelims as well, just not as large.

You're absolutely right but can't you tell that most of the people posting here haven't even looked at the competition or gymnastics, period. Imagine speaking so confidently about something you know absolutely nothing about? She had problems since the Olympics trials, they were also evident in the qualifying round but really became obvious on that vault. She was clearly lost in the air. She made the best decision for herself and the team. But don't try to reason with the Patriots on this site because being American means competing on a broken leg, or concussions, hey maybe even fighting to the death because obviously that's what sports demands. The Romans would be proud.

coyote eye wrote:

vertigo wrote:

Thanks, this was a good explanation. Makes a lot of sense.

I was on competition dance teams from age 4-14 before moving on to other sports. When doing any rotational move, we are trained to 'spot' which is basically trying to keep our brain as still as possible while our body does whatever the move requires. Obviously your head still moves since it's attached to your body, but spotting helps with balance during mid-air moves and staying in one place during pirouettes and such. Like with anything involving the CNS, sometimes you can't spot as well due to any number of stressors and while it can come across as nerves, it's really unsettling when something that you've trained until it's near-instinct becomes untrustworthy. Sometimes it's a bad day, sometimes it's the beginning of the end for a dancer.

Not only was a T&F club dad and S&D club dad, one of my daughters' doubled as a ballerina. See film, The Game with Dwayne Johnson. For one reason or another, dance instructors asked me to fill in. I guess I looked like I could catch a (120 to 145) pound ballerina. I will tell you, jumping in my mid-40's was more than challenging.

AP5000 wrote:

There is no application in running. Running is the easiest sport in the world. It takes no athletic ability, talent, or mental ability. You don't even need two legs to run fast anymore. Every single child born without major defects can run by age 2. It's why its hilarious to see the clowns here talk stuff about Simone Biles.

American Made Internet Culture^

“I don’t like it when people post extreme opinions, so I’m gonna post an even more extreme opinion of my own with no real goal in mind and the only possible end result being a strange mural of satire-like posts painted up and down what should be a discussion board!”

I'm tired wrote:

ReallybroReally wrote:

actually she had some problems in prelims as well, just not as large.

You're absolutely right but can't you tell that most of the people posting here haven't even looked at the competition or gymnastics, period. Imagine speaking so confidently about something you know absolutely nothing about? She had problems since the Olympics trials, they were also evident in the qualifying round but really became obvious on that vault. She was clearly lost in the air. She made the best decision for herself and the team.

But don't try to reason with the Patriots on this site because being American means competing on a broken leg, or concussions, hey maybe even fighting to the death because obviously that's what sports demands. The Romans would be proud.

I agree with the beginning of your post. But you are wrong with your last two sentences. People expecting to compete on a broken leg or suffering through a concussion while being expected to preform your duty {thinking military here} are not unique to Americans. Humans have acted/preformed this way for many thousands of years before America/ns were ever thought of.

If you don't like America or Americans then just say so. Just stop trying to blame all of the ills in the world on Americans.

In addition to what other commenters have mentioned regarding vertigo and loss of muscle memory, I wonder whether part of it is simply her age. She's 24, and we know that insurance companies have identified 25 as the age where there's a drop in risk-taking behavior. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a point in neuro-muscular development where the brain just goes, "Nope, we're done tumbling now. No mas." At the age of 40, I still have the relatively same aerobic fitness as I did when younger. But the idea of doing cartwheels like I used to terrifies me, and I have real desire to ride a roller coaster ever again.

Regarding how long Biles has been struggling with this, my other theory is the "twisties" may explain why she was so keen on performing that double Yurchenko pike vault that supposedly is too dangerous to give high scores to. Crazy hard, but no twisting. Some reporter asked her why she wanted to do it, and her reply was basically, "Because I can." Maybe she was speaking more literally than anyone realized.

I don't think you understood my point and where did you get the idea that I hate America? or that I'm not American?I never said that such sacrifices are new or a are never necessary. What I said that they shouldn't be viewed as necessary in sports. An athlete shouldn't have to prove their commitment to their country by risking their health and future career to win a medal. Based on the responses online people truly believe that it's unpatriotic of her to withdraw for her own health. WE as a culture glorify those who who compete with broken bones or concussed etc because somehow they are viewed are more "American". All that I'm saying is that shouldn't be the standard.

Concussions/vertigo/head injuries

The runners/triathletes who blow up and legs giving out at the end of a race.

I don't have a clue about gymnastics but have a lot of hours flying aerobatics.

Pilots will sometimes randomly get what's called the "wobblies".

I flew aerobatics for close to 4 years and never had an issue, all of a sudden

after a fairly mild practice session I was motion sick and stumbling.

Real bad feeling, happened every time I practiced, came on very quick.

Gave up on aerobatics and hardly flew for about 6 months.

It was about a year before it resolved.

I think the official term was G induced vestibular dysfunction or something

like that.

All that said I can see why she might quit.

Singled

All I said was based on your post, the second to last sentence was incorrect because you invoked America for what is a world wide phenomenon. And also you referenced the word Patroit in that sentence and made it sound derogatory.

I don't know where you live or where you're from. And Jimmy Crack Corn And I Don't Care.

Then your reply was; WE as a culture glorify those who who compete with broken bones or concussed etc because somehow they are viewed are more "American".

So again you believe that WE "American"/s as a culture want our athletes to play through a higher pain threshold than other athletes around the world? Are you antifi or blm?

This is a pretty insightful post! I didn't think people like you existed on LR :-)

to those who say she was fine in the prelims because she had the highest score ... actually not true. She was struggling in qualifying, too, just not as badly.

Magness had an excellent twitter post about a story that explains quite well what happened.

Forgive me for choosing to refrain from speaking specifically to other cultures, seeing that I don't belong to those cultures. Additionally while I specifically said "We" I did not see "We Only" , again I will not presume to speak on any culture that is not mine without adept knowledge. That being said Simone Biles is an American gymnast, that competed on an American team and faced backlash from the American public thus my thoughts,. opinions and subsequent responses were framed from and American perspective. I donot believe that being a patriot is in anyway a bad thing, on the contrary, we would hope that all Americans are patriotic. My point was that an athlete choosing to protect their health and patriotism are not mutually exclusive( as is being touted is some courts of public opinion).and should not be viewed as such. I find it rather unfortunate that because my opinion, though respectfully stated, differed from yours that you automatically concluded that I belong to blm and antifa,. How did you come to that conclusion based on a gymnastics discourse I will never know, but unfortunately that too is an American problem

FM117 wrote:

I don't have a clue about gymnastics but have a lot of hours flying aerobatics. Pilots will sometimes randomly get what's called the "wobblies". I flew aerobatics for close to 4 years and never had an issue, all of a sudden

after a fairly mild practice session I was motion sick and stumbling. Real bad feeling, happened every time I practiced, came on very quick...

All that said I can see why she might quit.

Thank you for posting this. It's hard not to think "Controlled-Flight-Into-Terrain" when you hear about gymnasts losing their sense of where they are during a routine.

Just curious: How did your fellow pilots react? Did any of them tell you it was "all in your head"? Call you a quitter? Tell you just "push through"?

Thanks, I stand corrected. Your explanation does jibe with the Rea Kolbl’s description of her case following a concussion.

Seems like this thread has send “Bound4Glory” home devastated!

I'll give you a concession and an apology for using blm and antifa and asking your political leanings. That was very rude of me. I'm sorry.

However that doesn't change my opinion of how you phrased a few words in a few of your posts. They sounded to me you had an American and Patroit problem. Forgive me if I miss read your thoughts. :(

Actually this article includes some quotes from her former coach which indicates she has had problems in this area before and that it is more again to the yips for her, with emotional issues making the twisties more likely to come on, but time required for them to resolve.

Maybe there are multiple types of twisties, some more neurological m, some more psychological.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.today.com/today/amp/tdna226838

More akin to the yips, not more again