Hi guys and welcome to my December blog for the 2015 World Championships.
As I write this, I’m in the gym! Since my last blog, I’ve been working on learning some new skills to add to my performances for the next two years. With Glasgow in 2015 and the Olympics the following year, adding the right elements and getting those skills perfected is really important. In addition to that I’m going to be doing more strength training. For male gymnasts it is a difficult balancing act (haha!): we need to be strong but we can’t become too heavy to perform our routines with the slickness and style needed for big scores.
2014 was a massive year for me. The big highlights were getting married to my wonderful wife Kayla and helping USA to a team bronze at World Championships. Plus winning bronze on the vault at the Worlds was a great achievement. Now I have individual world medals on both vault and the floor but I’m not going to stop there!
In my last blog I mentioned that my buddy John Orozco was competing in the Glasgow World Cup. John did Team USA proud on 6 December taking bronze. I think we are both now really looking forward to competing in Glasgow at the World Championships in October – I hope you will all give us and the rest of the countries taking part another warm welcome.
Talking of warmth, it’s been snowing here recently and that has been getting me right in the mood for the holidays – even if it makes getting to training a bit difficult! I’ve been raiding the Adidas kit store for winter training gear to keep warm between sessions. Recently I spent Thanksgiving with my wife and her family in Chicago. Soon we will be heading back across the country to see my family for Christmas. I can’t wait to head there and see them for the first time in a long time.
It might be the holiday season but I will still be working out. To be good enough for selection for the World Champs you can’t ease up. While I’m back home over Christmas I will be working out in my old club gym! It will be fun to get back to the place where this amazing journey started.
I hope you guys all have a great Christmas and best wishes for a Happy New Year. I’m #allinfor2015 because next year is going to be awesome!
Jake
Follow Jake on twitter @jake_dalton