Conditioning for gymnastics prepares students for all sports, but most importantly, it contributes toward the general health of participants. Conditioning for gymnastics is one of the most important aspects of gymnastics training, but sometimes it can be the least fun. In order for gymnastics to be fun, students must be capable of learning gymnastics skills and that requires some strength and flexibility. Conditioning for gymnastics trains all parts of fitness. Anaerobic exercise is required more so than aerobic exercise in gymnastics, but gymnasts in training will usually be trained in all parts of health related fitness and skill related fitness.
The health related parts of fitness that are developed in conditioning for gymnastics include body fatness, flexibility, muscular strength, muscular endurance and cardiovascular endurance. The skill related parts of fitness are worked on as well because a gymnast not only needs strength and flexibility, but the skill related parts of fitness that include power, speed, agility, balance, reaction time and coordination. All parts of fitness are worked on in a quality gymnastics program even if it is not called strength and conditioning for gymnastics.
Conditioning for gymnastics can be fun because there is a lot of variety in the sport. A student can go from one event to another to work on different skills that develop specific parts of fitness. For example, the balance beam gives students an opportunity to work on balance as they learn skills on the beam. Another example would be working on the bars. Students work on strength as they try to mount the bars which makes gymnastics ideal preparation for other athletic endeavors. If the students enjoy what they are doing they will generally work harder, progress faster, and perform better.
Because the training is so varied and gymnastics involves so many different muscles of the body a well- trained gymnast is thought to be the most fit athlete pound for pound. Of course physical preparation and injury prevention is the key to success. Conditioning for gymnastics gives athletes all the benefits of fitness while having fun doing it.
In conditioning for gymnastics weight training based on high-intensity low-repetition sets can help improve the performance of most gymnasts according to Bill Sands, a well-known expert in the field. Weight training in this way can increase strength with minimal muscle hypertrophy. Often times when a gymnast is having difficulty learning a new skill it is because their muscles are not strong enough. Many coaches across the nation in clubs and teams use many of the same exercises with or without variation for conditioning in gymnastics. Deciding on which exercises to do depends on the goal of the gymnast and/or coach. Using good judgment and starting slowly and gradually building up muscle strength is important in conditioning for gymnastics or any other activity. It is important not to do exercises that are too difficult such as bench pressing a weight you can barely do once or twice. This will not give the muscles the proper aerobic stimulation they need to get stronger. It is always important to have a medical checkup before conditioning for gymnastics or starting any program and equally important to have a knowledgeable trainer/teacher/coach. A knowledgeable person will know how to train an athlete to keep a balanced sequence of inhaling and exhaling. Holding the breath will deprive the muscle cells of oxygen which will result in them having to use an alternate respiration pathway to give the athlete the energy needed. This results in little muscle development making it a waste of time.
There are numerous articles and books on gymnastics training and conditioning for gymnastics and other sports. Sport specific resources are helpful because different activities utilize different skill related parts of fitness, but gymnastics requires all of these parts of fitness. Online stores such a brandsplace.com and Activa sell fitness equipment that can be helpful as well as workout clothes. It's important to be comfortable when conditioning to get the best workout for your body.