How to train an artistic gymnast, with Scott Hann, coach of three-time Olympic medallist Max Whitlock
'Welly Week,' holistic methods, and adaptable training are the ways in which the British gymnast and his coach have continued to make history in the sport that has so far yielded six Olympic and World titles for the pair.
Artistic Gymnastics
A family atmosphere pervades South Essex Gymnastics Club in more ways than one. Three-time Olympic medallist Max Whitlock and his coach, Scott Hann, are also brothers-in-law.
The unique partnership, which has been ongoing since a 12-year-old Whitlock joined the club 18 years ago, has spawned quite the series of history-making moments for British artistic gymnastics.
After claiming two bronze medals at his first Olympic Games at London 2012, aged 19, Whitlock went on to became Great Britain's first-ever Olympic gold medallist in artistic gymnastics when he won both the floor exercise and pommel horse disciplines at Rio 2016. The little matter of a bronze in the blue-riband event, the all-around, saw Whitlock finish behind none other than the GOAT of men's gymnastics, Uchimura Kohei of Japan, and second-placed Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine.
Tokyo 2020 saw Whitlock defend his pommel horse title, the apparatus for which he is renowned worldwide. Should the now 30-year-old be selected for Paris 2024 – for which Team GB's men and women have both already secured five-person teams, courtesy of finishing in the top three in the 2022 World Championships – he would be in a position to become the first gymnast ever – male or female, from any nation – to win four Olympic medals on the same apparatus.
So, the results speak for themselves.
However, there is a further mission important to both; the legacy in creating happy, healthy gymnasts – from first-time toddler tumblers to senior elites – with holistic training methods at its core, a technique the pair have honed through their parallel careers.
So, what does a gymnast's training regime actually look like under the guidance of Britain's most successful gymnastics coach, who also has the likes of World silver medallist, Georgia-Mae Fenton, and two-time World bronze medallist, Courtney Tulloch, under his tutelage?
Training days with Scott Hann and Max Whitlock
A gymnast's warm-up routine is often a full workout for the average gym bunny but there's no gym time required for Whitlock. Weightlifting doesn't build the kind of muscle the three-time world champion requires, so workouts are purely body-weight based.
Triceps dips, wide-arm press-ups and leg lifts are par for the course for a sport that requires multiple skills including strength, agility, power, flexibility, speed, plus mental focus.
Out of the six apparatus on which men compete, Whitlock's apparatus of choice heading toward Paris are pommel horse, parallel bars, and high bar. All require a light body and upper body strength, hence little need for the added bulk that big muscles bring.
Stamina is an important aspect of the sport, without which, a gymnast cannot perform to their optimum. However, it's not the stamina of long runs that is required.
Cardio training in its traditional sense is of little use to a gymnast, whose routines last from 90 seconds to two minutes. So, if Whitlock does run, "it’s just a mile done as quickly as possible", maybe once a week leading up to competition, he told Men's Health.
Early season 'Welly Week' in February is a key part of pre-season preparation, specifically for building endurance.
"Probably the toughest week in the build-up (to competition)," says Whitlock on his weekly YouTube series documenting his progress toward Paris. "You're literally loading up on numbers of routines, trying to build up stamina."
This is not the time for straight legs, pointed toes and perfect execution but gritting your teeth and grinding through to create a foundation of endurance capabilities.
"It'll be a struggle this week but hopefully see the gains in the following week to come."
The routines are then refined in the following three weeks or so leading up to a competition, with Hann keeping a keen eye on proceedings.
Phased approach to training for Max Whitlock
Enjoying a lengthy career was key for Whitlock and Hann from the start, with training adjusted to suit each phase.
Gone are the 35-hour-a-week training sessions from the early years, significantly after Whitlock contracted Glandular fever (or mono) in 2015, dropping to around 20 hours over six days.
Referring to Hann's mantra of "find a way", the duo recognised competing and training in all six apparatus for the all-around event was unfeasible, so the focus switched to individual apparatus, particularly pommel horse.
“They talk about 10,000 hours [to become an expert in something]," says Whitlock. "I must have done 30,000 hours. My whole life I’ve just wanted to see how far I can push it. Whenever I’ve come back after a break, I want new routines, to push the bar again."
The pommel horse routine for the Paris 2024 phase has been meticulously put together to contain the most difficult moves into as short a period as possible with not an iota of wasted energy.
But anything can happen in a competition environment, so Hann makes sure to replicate incidences in an arena such as asking a gymnast to perform a routine with no warm-up. This way, the gymnast gains confidence from knowing the repetitions in training enable auto-pilot to kick in and they can still perform.
What makes Whitlock stand out from the rest, says Hann, is the difficulty he can perform, and his calmness under pressure in competition conditions. And, on the tough days, when any athlete just might not want to go to training, Whitlock's pure love of the sport keeps him going.
"There are periods in a sports person's life that you go through almost resenting the sport you're in because it's so hard," says Hann, who as of 2022 is also the British Gymnastics’ technical advisor, providing technical and leadership advice to the women's and men's artistic programmes. "But then I think when you get to the level that someone like Max is at, it's that pure enjoyment of actually just doing something that you love."
Holistic approach important to Scott Hann
“I'm hoping I'll never burn out," said Whitlock ahead of Tokyo 2020, "because I’m careful not to push myself too far. I do what I need to – and what I know I can recover from – so the next day is always productive.”
Hann plays a significant part in helping Whitlock keep a balance.
“Coaches and gymnasts are very keen to push themselves,” says Hann, a former gymnast himself. “But you’ve got to have that balance and that awareness of when enough is enough.”
Much of Hann’s work as director of coaching at the club now is focused on finding an equilibrium between athlete performance and mental wellbeing, for all his gymnasts. A holistic approach is key.
"A lot of people talk about the technical aspects of coaching, in terms of your knowledge and education," he told Olympics.com in February, ahead of Whitlock's return to competition after a tricky period following Tokyo in which he almost retired.
"That is important, but for me, it's more about the softer skills, the empathy around understanding the person, the holistic approach to developing a person to be able to be the best that they can be in performance.
"Building confidence is really, really essential, and that comes through dealing with adversity and actually learning from mistakes. So those are the things that I really like to focus on, and I help people with when they come to me about things, because it's those small little things that can help you through all those problems and dealing with success and obviously disaster as well."
At a talk for UK Coaching, Hann summed up the importance of his role.
"Sport can really change someone's life. It can bring so many key attributes to someone's development so it's really important that as coaches we get it right. And as a patron of UK Coaching, I can't emphasise enough how important coaching is, not just for success, not just for high-level performance but for helping to shape peoples' lives, keeping them fit, keeping them healthy, teaching them key life skills is absolutely essential and I can't emphasise enough how important coaches are."