The gymnast has the ability to push her body beyond the limits, showing her superhuman flexibility. The jumps, somersaults, and rolls are fun to watch, which is why gymnastics is such a popular sport at the Olympics. However, behind every gymnast move you see lies countless hours of practice. Becoming a gymnast requires a balance of mental strength and physical agility. If you want to learn what it takes to become a gymnast, read this article to learn how to get started.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Learning the Basics
Step 1. Practice your flexibility
Being flexible is one of the most important qualities of a gymnast. If you want to become a gymnast, you can start working on your flexibility now. Do stretches and other exercises daily to make your body more flexible, which allows you to perform gymnastics movements beautifully and easily. Being flexible also improves your coordination. To improve your flexibility, do these exercises daily:
- Do a neck twist and try to bring your ears as close to your shoulders as possible without lifting your shoulders.
- Next do the shoulder stretch, where you pull your arms across your chest.
- Stretch your chest by locking your fingers behind your back and then pulling your arms up.
- Stretch your back in a seal-like style: do a push-up position, then do a push-up with your waist down.
- Stretch your leg and back muscles by leaning in to touch your toes.
- Practice doing the splits until you can do the full splits with ease.
- Starting from a sitting position, touch your knees to your chin. Raise one knee to touch your chin, hold it, then repeat with the other knee.
- dear. Lie down with your knees bent. Place your hands on the floor behind your head and lift your body up to a heavenly position.
Step 2. Learn how to do the pulleys
This is a fun gymnastics move that will help you get used to using your flexibility. You'll also learn what it's like to be upside down. To start, get into a crawling position with your hands touching the floor. Put your head in and roll on your back, letting your legs follow naturally. Keep practicing until you can do the pulleys on your own.
- Make sure you keep your head in and don't roll directly on your neck. You can injure your neck if you make it load-bearing.
- Try an advanced version of the pulley by starting from a standing position and lifting your legs to roll over without using your arms to help you.
Step 3. Practice the wheel
Find a soft or grassy place to practice wheeling. It's not a dangerous move, but you may fall a few times before you get good at it. Start in a standing position with the toes of your right foot (or left, if you are left-handed) pointing in front of you and keep your hands above your head. Tilt your torso to the side, and place your right hand on the floor, followed by your left. When your hands touch the floor, lift your feet up and use your hands to support your body. Your left foot should touch the floor first, followed by your right foot. End this movement by standing up straight.
- The first few times you're wheeling it can be difficult to lift your legs straight up. Keep practicing until you get used to this upside down position. Over time, you will be able to wheel without bending your knees.
- Try to land with both feet together rather than one at a time. Hold your feet together and place them on the floor.
Step 4. Try to see if you can stand on your hands
This is the basis of many gymnastics moves, and it is one that you can perfect at home before learning more. Find a soft place to practice. Stand straight with your hands up. Step forward with your right foot (or left if you are left-handed) and drop yourself down to place your hands on the floor. At the same time, lift your legs straight up, holding them straight and together. Hold this position for a few moments before dropping your feet on the floor and standing up straight.
- Practicing with a wall, or with the help of someone else, can help you learn this move.
- Tuck your chin in and position your head so your ears are next to your shoulders.
Step 5. Take a gymnastics course
If you think that you have a talent for gymnastics, and are ready to try other, more complex moves, it's time to take a gymnastics course. A qualified gym trainer will teach you how to do difficult moves the right way. You will learn how to strengthen your muscles so that they can perform various movements perfectly. Last but not least, your coach will show you how to train without risking safety.
- A coach can show you how to do a "roundoff," a "front walkover," and a "back walkover," as well as moves that are difficult for you to learn on your own at home.
- At the gym, you'll learn how to use professional equipment such as parallel bars, bracelets, walkways, and saddlebacks, and advanced floor exercises such as backflips, handspring, front tuck, back tuck, and aerial.
- To find a gymnastics course near you, do an online search with the keywords “gymnastic club” or “gymnastic gym” followed by the name of your city. In the course, your level of ability will be measured and assigned to the appropriate class group.
Part 2 of 3: Think Like a Gymnast
Step 1. Don't be afraid of your body
Gymnasts threw their bodies in the air head first as if it was no big deal. To be a good gymnast, you have to be willing to take physical risks to see what your body can do. It's normal to feel scared before you try a new move on a high bar or pull up a catwalk, but you need to overcome your fear if you want to thrive. The more you practice, the more courageous you will be.
- Although gymnastics has its risks, with the help of a coach you will learn how to minimize harm with the right moves. The coach won't make you do moves that he doesn't think you're capable of.
- You will often fall when you are training to be a gymnast. You have to get up and keep practicing. The further you practice, the more tears and pain you will experience. However, if you are a determined gymnast, the results will feel amazing as if you forget how hard you train.
- Concentrating on what you have to do is a good way to beat fear. If you think deeply about what your body should do, you will not feel panicked and afraid of failure.
Step 2. Follow an athlete's diet
Your body will be able to move better if you feed it a healthy diet. Athletes need a lot of calories to keep their muscles strong, but it's also important not to eat so much that you feel heavier when you perform. The athlete's diet is as follows:
- Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other organic foods of plant origin.
- Meat, milk, and other foods that are a source of protein.
- Grains and legumes as carbohydrate intake for energy.
- Avoid sugary foods, fizzy foods, processed foods, and anything that makes you less energetic.
- Don't forget to stay hydrated: drink six to eight glasses of water per day, especially before and after training.
Step 3. Strengthen your body and soul connection
Being a gymnast is more or less the same as being a dancer. Gymnastics involves style and beauty, just like dancing. Gymnasts and dancers alike have a rare mental and physical connection. It is a special awareness of what their bodies can do, and the ability to move with confidence. Doing fun physical activities can help you strengthen your body's ability to do amazing things. Try to do one of these things:
- Take dance lessons. Try hip hop, salsa, or ballet for beginners. If you don't want to take this course, dance freely to the beat of the music.
- Self-defense. Try capoeira, karate or ju jitsu.
- Do yoga. This is a good way to tune your body to increase flexibility.
Step 4. Desire to train as hard as you can
The desire to train hard at all times is a quality of every successful gymnast. Practicing good gymnastics requires a lot of practice so there is no other way but to train hard. Even novice gymnasts train four hours a day, four days a week, with light exercises and stretching in between days.
In addition to training hard, if you want to become a professional gymnast, you will have to make some sacrifices. You may not have time for other extracurriculars, and your socialization time will be very limited because you have to keep yourself in good shape for training and competitions
Step 5. Make perfection your goal
Each movement must be practiced repeatedly until you can do it perfectly. If you're not a perfectionist, the repetition can be annoying. However, it is also your coach's job to help achieve perfection, because in a competition your every move will be judged. Having the perfect pose is also the best way to avoid injury; bent knees or hips can throw you off balance causing you to fall off the walkway.
Gymnasts have a reputation for being perfectionists, but this can also have a negative impact on life. Don't overdo it so that you injure or injure yourself just to perfect a move. Know your limits, and take breaks if you need to
Part 3 of 3: Become an Elite Gymnast
Step 1. Start early and train hard
When you know you want to be a gymnast, start taking classes right away so your body learns flexibility from a young age. As you train with a coach and improve your skills, you will move to higher levels, and eventually be ready to compete. Developing flexibility and muscle memory is important to do as early as possible, because these abilities are more difficult to achieve in old age.
- If you want to become an elite gymnast, have your skill level assessed so you know where you stand now and how much effort it takes to progress to the next level.
- If you are older, you can still be a good gymnast, but it will be difficult to compete at a high level. Many gymnasts reach their peak before the age of 18.
Step 2. See if your body fits
Everyone can work on flexibility and find out what their body can do, professional gymnasts tend to have specific postures that help them perform in the air. They are usually shorter and lighter, yet strong. If you are tall, or you tend to be bulky, becoming a professional gymnast may not be your thing.
- Work with a coach to see if training hard will give you the body you need to compete at an elite level. With the right practice, you may still be a gymnast.
- Don't feel sorry for yourself if it turns out that your genetics doesn't match your desire to become a gymnast. It is not appropriate to starve yourself or stunt your growth; don't risk your health. Try pursuing other areas of athletics that don't require you to be lighthearted.
Step 3. Find a professional coach and take part in various matches
A gymnast will not be successful without a good coach to help her. When you get serious, ask questions and find the best coach in your city as soon as possible. Practice with your coach to improve your skills to the point where you can enter professional matches.
- It's possible that you can't find the person you're looking for at your local gym. In fact, you may even have to travel to another city to train with the best trainers available.
- When the skill level is high enough, you can compete as part of a team. Each team will have certain conditions that your coach will help you achieve.
- Watch videos of Olympic gymnasts like Gabrielle Douglas and Aliya Mustafina to see their technique and beauty, which will help you in the match.
Step 4. Dedicate your life to gymnastics
At the elite level, your life will be gymnastics. Half the day, almost every day, would be spent practicing. You will learn advanced skills that can only be mastered with daily practice. If you want to compete with the best, you have to become a gymnast, which means making gymnastics the most important part of your daily routine.
- Many elite gymnasts are homeschooled, giving them more time to spend half the day practicing. There is no time for other extracurricular activities.
- In order to train with the best coaches and teams, you may have to move to another city, or even another country, as many elite gymnasts already do.
- The result of devoting your life to gymnastics is that you will see your body do amazing things and it is possible that you can win some medals too.
Tips
- Make sure to wear comfortable clothes. In this case, it means a tight gym shirt, or a comfortable sweatshirt and sweatpants. You should make sure you can move freely in your clothes before doing the gymnastics; You won't be able to train with jeggings and a coat.
- Your coach will go out of his way to encourage you, but if he's pushing you to lose a lot of your weight, or won't let you rest when you're very tired, there's something wrong with him.
- Always try your best when doing gymnastics to improve your flexibility.
