Let’s Talk Conditioning

‘It’s boring!’ 

‘It hurts and my muscles are aching’

‘Why do we warm-up for so long!?’

These are all the kinds of complaints that we often hear from gymnasts when conditioning is introduced into their lesson plans – but what seems to be difficult to get across is that conditioning issupposed to hurt!

Gymnastics conditioning is one of the most important (and sometimes least fun) aspects of a gymnasts training. Conditioning trains the muscles to help the gymnast balance, move and tumble without damaging the body. Think of it like this…humans do not naturally walk on their hands, we use our feet instead and the muscles in our body allow for this; however when a gymnast tries to handstand if they have not conditioned their arms and wrists correctly then they will collapse into a heap on the floor.

If the gymnasts core is not conditioned correctly the gymnast may briefly be able to balance on their hands but with an arch in the back, this can cause all kinds of damage to the spine, neck and hips and will not allow for the handstand to be progressed into harder skills such handsprings.

Without conditioning a gymnast will never be able to achieve a high level of gymnastics. If ever a parent or gymnast asks why they cannot achieve a certain skill there are always two main factors – lack of strength or lack of confidence; both can be improved through conditioning.

So what advice can I give for those wishing to improve their gymnastics skills?

CONDITION! CONDITION! CONDITION!

Conditioning exercises do not always require equipment or space, they can be performed at home or at the gym and do not need to be complicated (speak to a coach or your development officer if you don’t know what to do). They do however need to be performed regularly and consistently to see any kind of improvement.

So what are you waiting for… get conditioning and see those gymnastic skills improve rapidly!!

Interested in our Gymnastics programme? Enquire today