Ap0747026

Karen Cockburn Jason Burnett Team Canada Silver medalists in trampoline Gymnastics

So you want to be a gymnast…

Gymnastics can be both a fun and competitive sport. Those who aspire to be an Olympic gymnast must be committed 100 percent to their training. It is sad to say that only few will reach that goal. For a gymnast to train for competitions it requires 30 – 40 hours a week of training. For a child or teenager who is still in school, this could affect their studies and with the long hours of training they may have to leave school early to get in enough training time.

A normal training syllabus would involve strengthening, conditioning and working on flexibility. You may think that if you are not able to increase your flexibility or body strength you will not be successful. This is not true, because there are many different elements in gymnastics. If a Gymnast is not flexible but has impeccable upper body strength they would train more on the uneven bars then they would on floor. It may seem like a lot of time and work but once your standing at the Olympic games, knowing that you made it that far, it’s worth it.

2008 Beijing Olympics Top Five medal standings by nation Overall gymnastics

Pick your element…

Trampoline

Trampoline consists of four events: Individual, synchronized, double mini and power tumbling. The trampoline event is the newest addition to the Olympic games. In this event, the gymnast goes through a build up phase to achieve height. This is then followed by a sequence of ten leaps without any pauses. The gymnast would show their best aerial tricks to gain additional points for difficulty.

Floor

The floor event involves elements of dynamic strength, static strength, jumps and leaps, kicks, balance and flexibility. This is the only event in gymnastics that is performed entirely to music. There are different elements in floor such as Rhythmic, aerobic and acrobatic gymnastics. Each shows the different strength of the gymnast and Rhythmic gymnastics is the only floor event that requires using a ball, ribbon, hoop, clubs or a rope.

Parallel Bars

Parallel bars is an apparatus only used by male gymnasts. It looks easy, just two bars parallel to each other, but this event requires upper body strength. Any typical performance on parallel bars will involve swinging skills, a hanging position and an upper arm position. They are also allowed to show a variety of flips and turns. Like many events the parallel bars end with an impressive dismount, either off the ends of the bars or off the side of the apparatus.

Beam

The balnace beam is an artistic apparatus. This event requires balance and performance. A balance beam routine would include both a mount and a dismount off the beam. This is a flip decided by the gymnast to show their level of difficulty. The performance on the beam roughly lasts between 60 and 90 seconds. This routine will include acrobatic elements, turns, leaps and dance poses.

Top Injuries

References