Gymnastics Training

            Training and diet are very important for male and female gymnasts, especially for Olympic gymnasts. Dedication, time, and hard work all go into their training hours to make sure athletes stay in shape and healthy to compete. Gymnastics is a full-time job that the athletes cannot slack on if they want to eventually make it to the Olympics.

This wordle describes gymnastics and what it takes to be a gymnasts in multiple words.

Overview of Training

            Gymnastics requires great flexibility, strength and agility. Years of practice and training are put into the gym to master skills and the athletes have to train year-round. Gymnasts must learn and try to correctly master the skill they are learning the very first time so they can mentally master the skill; “re-learning a skill can be time consuming, frustrating and inefficient” (The training that it takes to be a gymnast,2011). Gymnasts have incredible physique, but they don’t spend hours in the weight room lifting weights like bodybuilders who train muscle groups. Instead gymnasts train movements (The training that it takes to be a gymnast,2011). Gymnasts learn the skill by practicing over and over trying to get it perfect, which then allows the brain and muscle groups that are helping perform the skill to remember how to do it the next time the gymnast performs the trick. Gymnasts are armed with poise and a high amount of muscle mass; gymnasts are well-rounded athletes and are physically able to use the strength they possess to do a wide variety of movements (How do gymnast train for success?,2008).

Training

            Male and female gymnasts have great bodies and strong muscles because they train about 30+ hours a week in the gym (How do gymnast train for success?,2008). Usually a gymnast will have one day off a week and, otherwise, will be in the gym twice a day, six times a week. While the athletes are in the gym training, they focus more on maximizing sport-specific strength because unnecessary muscle bulk will weigh an athlete down (How do gymnast train for success?,2008). As well as trying to gain strength for the skills they have to perform, gymnasts also need to have great flexibility to allow them to perform the movement of the skills on each apparatus, and “flexibility training is perhaps the most undervalued component of conditioning (Flexibility training,n.d.).  When increasing flexibility and the range of motion, the risk of injury is reduced and the performance may be enhanced (Flexibility training,n.d.). Gymnasts stretch before and after works outs to allow the body and muscles to relax and cool down completely.

Elite Gymnastics Training

This video on Elite Gymnastics Training shows gymnasts during their conditoning, training, practicing, aand stretching (flexibiltiy). It helps to give a quick insight on what goes on in the gym during practice.

Gymnastics Diets

            Professional gymnasts have diets that they follow to help their body and muscles. Gymnasts train for hours every day, but their events only last for a minute or two, “with the floor exercise being one of the longest at about 90 seconds” (Olympic gymnast diet,2011). Carly Schuna points out that “the Hughston Clinic suggests that an optimal diet for a gymnast is about 60 percent carbohydrates, 15 percent protein and 25 percent fat. Calorie needs differ depending on gymnasts' body types and activity levels and may range from about 1,500 to more than 2,500 daily” (Olympic gymnast diet,2011).  Protein is the most important food for a professional gymnasts because low-fat and lean proteins encourage muscle development but are still low in calories to avoid weight gain (Olympic gymnast diet,2011). In the article What do Olympic gymnast eat? States, “they eat several times a day, all in small quantities: egg whites for breakfast, a small piece of chicken for lunch, small snacks of cheese and vegetables in between meals and maybe some fish and fruit for dinner”. Great gymnasts have to be dedicated, willing to work hard, and love the sport!

Refrences

Clark, S. (2008, August 25). How do gymnasts train for success? Retrieved from             http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/how_gymnasts_train.htmHow do gymnast train for success?

Gordon, J. (2011, September 1). The training that it takes to be a gymnast. Retrieved from  http://www.livestrong.com/article/530494-the-training-that-it-takes-to-be-a-gymnast/

Schuna, C. (2011, May 26). Olympic gymnast diet. Retrieved from             http://www.livestrong.com/article/349512-olympic-gymnast-diet/

Sports fitness advisor. (n.d.). Flexibility training section. Retrieved from  http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/flexibilitytraining.html

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Overview of the World of Gymnastics

         Gymnastics is a worldwide sport that is very popular although many people do not know much about the sport. I want to help educate readers more about gymnastics, even if they are gymnasts themselves, because I was a gymnast for eight years before I actually did some research on gymnastics. I did not know anything about the past history of the sport nor how many types of gymnastics there are. I just knew what it took to be a gymnast and how much hard work and dedication gymnasts need in order to accomplish their goals in gymnastics. With that said, the purpose of my blog is to inform readers about gymnastics, its history, and the different kinds of gymnastics.
                                                                       Carly Patterson

         What is Gymnastics?

 Gymnastics is defined as "a competitive sport in which individuals perform optional and prescribed acrobatic feats mostly on special apparatus in order to demonstrate strength, balance, and body control” (What is gymnastics?,n.d.). To be a gymnast, one needs to have a lot of determination to work hard in the gym to build up the strength and flexibility to perform the routines on each event. In women’s gymnastics the athletes perform on events such as vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and the floor exercise. In men’s gymnastics the athletes perform on still rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, vault, the floor exercise, and the high bar. Other types of gymnastics which you will read about later on will explain about the other kinds of gymnastics and events gymnasts perform. Basically, all male or female gymnasts perform acrobatic feats on or with a piece of apparatus, such as leaps, jumps, flips, turns, and handstands (What is gymnastics?n.d.).
                                           Shawn Johnson on balance beam (Olympic Trials)

This is a video of Shawn Johnson doing her balance beam routine at the Olympic trails, before she actually competed for a score form the judges. The balance beam is one of the apparatus that the women compete on as I stated earlier.

The History of Gymnastics:

Gymnastics is a sport that requires a lot of skill and balance that originated from the ancient Greeks (What is gymnastics?,n.d.). “The term ‘gymnastics’ derives from the Greek word for naked ‘gymno’. In ancient Greece, male athletes trained and competed in the nude” (History of gymnastics,2012).  The activities that took place in the palestra, a square, open-air area, included weightlifting, jumping, throwing, wrestling, running, and swimming which Greeks considered gymnastics (History of gymnastics,2012). Gymnastics continued to spread throughout Europe as mainly a physical training tool for their military (History of gymnastics,2012). Eventually, this led to the civilization learning more about the sport and Europeans started to make gymnastics clubs which led to the first modern Games in Athens, Greece. In 1896, the events in the games included rope-climbing and club-swimming (History of gymnastics, 2012). As the years went on, gymnastics became more modern with the changing of events, allowing women join and more specialized equipment for each event. These changes also led to different types of gymnastics.

 Three Types of gymnastics:

“There are three types of gymnastics currently in the Olympics: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline” (What is gymnastics?,n.d.). Artistic gymnastics is the most commonly known type of gymnastics and it is where men and women compete on different events showing their strength and flexibility on events such as the vault and floor exercise. “Rhythmic gymnastics is probably the second best-known; in rhythmic, gymnasts all compete on the same floor mat, but use ribbons, ropes, hoops, and other equipment as part of their routines” (What is gymnastics?,n.d.). Trampoline became a discipline in gymnastics in the 2000 Olympics games; athletes that preform in trampoline do a series of flips on every single bounce they take and are judged on their skills (What is gymnastics?,n.d.). In the video below you will watch a rhythmic gymnast preforming her routine on the floor using some of the equipment I mentioned before like the ribbon.

                                                   Rythmic gymnastics video

Gymnastics is a sport that has become very popular over the years and has allowed gymnasts to show off their flexibility and strength while on different apparatus. As gymnastics continues to grow, the types of gymnastics will evolve, allowing this sport to take on a whole other level of skills that the body can perform. As the history of the sport continues to grow, I cannot wait to see where it goes.

References

a1a2a3sofy. (2009, April 8). Rithmic gymnastic 2004. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJNzS-xPrhc

Deusen, A. (n.d.). What is gymnastics? Retrieved from http://gymnastics.about.com/od/gymnastics101/a/What-Is-Gymnastics.htm

History of gymnastics. (2012, March 2). Retrieved from http://www.gymnastics247.com/history.html

Idolwatcher0. (2008, July 10). Shawn Johnson-balance beam (Olympic trails). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qQq9lhNwHA&feature=related