Gyrotonic Method: is this the best-kept training secret among Tokyo Olympic athletes?
- Hong Kong’s Olympic karate hope Grace Lau, tennis player Andy Murray, diver Tom Daley, Tiger Woods and singer Lady Gaga have used the Gyrotonic Method
- American karate veteran and Gyrotonic Method coach Billy Macagnone says the system is about movement and ensuring your bones and joints move in harmony
Britain’s Andy Murray, the former Olympic gold medallist and two-time Wimbledon champion, has practised it. So has golfer Tiger Woods and singer Lady Gaga. British two-time Olympic bronze medallist diver Tom Daley said he was also a fan and, recently, Hong Kong’s karate medal hope Grace Lau Mo-sheung revealed that she was using it in her preparations for the Tokyo Games.
The Gyrotonic Method – a relatively recent exercise regime derived from dance and yoga, among others – is growing around the world and its practitioners swear by it. However, it may be something many Olympic athletes are reluctant to advertise, preferring to keep it hush-hush for now given the intense scrutiny and competition they face from rivals.
“To tell the truth, some of them, they really don’t want people to know about it because it’s so competitive and they don’t want people to know what they are doing to improve their skills and technique,” said Billy Macagnone, an American karate black belt who runs a number of studios in New York.
“They don’t want to give away their secrets. But we know for sure Andy Murray used it, he won a bunch of tournaments. His back was out of it and he did Gyrotonic and went out and won some tournaments.
“Tiger Woods, [NBA star] Shaquille O’Neal, NFL players and lot of soccer players in Europe are using this. It is much more popular in the dance world but more and more athletes are using it.”