Conditioning
"Conditioning" is a term in gymnastics that basically consists of different exercises to strengthen core, leg, and arm muscles. This is a vital component of gymnastics because a lot of the skills in the sport require great strength and cardio. Gymnasts typically condition for half and hour to an hour at the end of their practice so the conditioning does not wear them out in the beginning of practice, making them too exhausted to perform well on their events.
Conditioning consists of many different exercises that single out a specific part of your body. There are exercises for your core, arms, legs, cardio, specific skills and events, etc. There are hundreds of different ways to condition for each of these sections but gymnastics typically does not use weights to exercise. What I mean by this is that we do not do the bench press or squats with weights. Gymnasts focus on working out using just their body and gymnastics equipment such as pull ups on the uneven bars.
Core strength is one of the most important things to have as a gymnasts. All events and all skills require core strength in order to pull off the skills flawlessly. A popular core exercise is called the "hollow body hold." There are many variations of this exercise to make it harder, but the basic hollow body hold forces the gymnast to use all their core muscles to hold themselves up. This exercise is pictured below.
Another crucial part of gymnastics is arm strength. Exercises such as pull ups, push ups, handstands, etc exercise the arms (and most of them exercise the core as well because the core is used in everything). Lots of arm strength is needed for each event, but mostly for bars. Your arms and hands have to be strong enough to hold onto the bar while you swing around doing complex skills. If your arms are too weak, you will become fatigued very quickly and not be able to complete your routine.
The last main part of conditioning in gymnastics that I am going to talk about is leg strength. Gymnasts must have powerful legs in order to tumble, stay on a beam, get power for vault, land dismounts, etc. so it is important to condition your legs very well. Leg exercises range from squats to toe raises. Gymnasts try to strengthen every muscle they can in their legs in order to get as much power as possible for their skills. Aside from the uneven bars, the legs are what give a gymnast the initial power to fly through the air and do all of the breath-taking skills that gymnasts are known for doing.
Although many gymnasts may not enjoy the conditioning part of practice because it is exhausting and makes you very sore the next day, all gymnasts know it is a key component to becoming a good gymnast. As many gymnasts know, the more sore you wake up the next day, the better gymnast you will become.
Sources:
https://www.google.com/imgres
Conditioning consists of many different exercises that single out a specific part of your body. There are exercises for your core, arms, legs, cardio, specific skills and events, etc. There are hundreds of different ways to condition for each of these sections but gymnastics typically does not use weights to exercise. What I mean by this is that we do not do the bench press or squats with weights. Gymnasts focus on working out using just their body and gymnastics equipment such as pull ups on the uneven bars.
Core strength is one of the most important things to have as a gymnasts. All events and all skills require core strength in order to pull off the skills flawlessly. A popular core exercise is called the "hollow body hold." There are many variations of this exercise to make it harder, but the basic hollow body hold forces the gymnast to use all their core muscles to hold themselves up. This exercise is pictured below.
Hollow Body Hold
Another crucial part of gymnastics is arm strength. Exercises such as pull ups, push ups, handstands, etc exercise the arms (and most of them exercise the core as well because the core is used in everything). Lots of arm strength is needed for each event, but mostly for bars. Your arms and hands have to be strong enough to hold onto the bar while you swing around doing complex skills. If your arms are too weak, you will become fatigued very quickly and not be able to complete your routine.
The last main part of conditioning in gymnastics that I am going to talk about is leg strength. Gymnasts must have powerful legs in order to tumble, stay on a beam, get power for vault, land dismounts, etc. so it is important to condition your legs very well. Leg exercises range from squats to toe raises. Gymnasts try to strengthen every muscle they can in their legs in order to get as much power as possible for their skills. Aside from the uneven bars, the legs are what give a gymnast the initial power to fly through the air and do all of the breath-taking skills that gymnasts are known for doing.
Although many gymnasts may not enjoy the conditioning part of practice because it is exhausting and makes you very sore the next day, all gymnasts know it is a key component to becoming a good gymnast. As many gymnasts know, the more sore you wake up the next day, the better gymnast you will become.
Sources:
https://www.google.com/imgres
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