Hi everyone and Happy New Year (I know it’s bit late but this is a big year!).
I had a great time off during Christmas and the holidays and I hope you did too. Now they are finished, the real work begins. January and February will be all about getting back in to performance and routine shape. I mentioned before that I will be adding new elements to my routines and the next couple of months I’ll focus on getting sharp enough and strong enough to pull off big routines. This is really important for me as 2015 is such a big year and my first few competitions are already on the horizon.
The Houston National Invitational (HNI) and Winter Cup are the first events on my schedule in early February. HNI is a fun little competition to get back in to shape and Winter Cup is a good tester. I’m not completely sure how many events I will do at the Winter Cup but I am looking forward to it. Longer term my focus will be on the various World Cup events in March and then the P&G Championships in August. Those will be the events that will help me get selected for the World Championships in Glasgow.
The World Champs are my main focus for this year but before that I would like to get myself in a position to win at the P&G Championships. That will lead in to (hopefully) being selected for Team USA and seeing you all in Glasgow. Once we get to the Championships, anything can happen but I’d like to come back with another medal and help USA climb further up the Team podium from our bronze last year.
January is always a hard month for any athlete to get back in the swing of things – no matter whether you are at Olympic level or just keeping yourself fit. Cold weather doesn’t help so I always try to maintain a good nutrition plan and eat properly. I then crank up the training to lots more two-a-day workouts and extra cardio. You don’t have to do that of course! :)
It’s not all hard work in the gym for me this month though. I will be joining Bart Conner – US Olympic gold medallist and 'Mr. Nadia Commaneci' - to commentate on the Oklahoma University men’s gymnastics. It’s something I’ve enjoyed doing back at my old university and it’s great fun. Plus I will be trying to watch some of my US team-mates in other competitions in the next couple of months. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing Sam Mikulak dominate at the American Cup in March but I’m sure the other guys from around the world – who competed in Glasgow last month for Glasgow World Cup – will give him a serious challenge. Even though it’s 9 months to the World Championships, competition is heating up already!
Take care guys and we will catch up again in February after my first competitions of the year.
Jake
Follow Jake on Twitter @jake_dalton