Every gymnast needs conditioning. It is vital that their body develops strength and, at the same time, is flexible. There are many conditioning exercise and gymnastic drills which help a gymnast develop their conditioning and gymnastic flexibility and some of these are explained in this article. But there may be a problem. Doing the same gymnastic conditioning routines over and over can be and often is boring. This is where coaches need to be smart. There should be variety in the work and above all there must be an element of fun.
Keep It Challenging
Enthusiasm is a fabulous quality for a gymnast. In training and in competition, if a gymnast is keen on their task they will do better. Help your gymnasts become enthusiastic by clever use of conditioning routines and the setting of new and interesting challenges. The coach can put fun into conditioning exercises by doing some or all of the following:
- Keep things on the move and don’t have gymnasts sitting around
- Be positive and give praise for good efforts
- If the coach is enthusiastic this feeling will become catching
- Have mini competitions seeing who can do say, the most leg lifts in an exercise
- Announce a winner after each conditioning routine
The following gymnastic drills are ideal as conditioning exercises for all athletes but are perfect for gymnasts. How many times you repeat each exercise will depend on the age and ability of the gymnast. Watch them perform and if they are struggling with that extra repeat, then you’ll know how many to set tomorrow. These are exercises for general gymnastic conditioning. Remember that the speed of the routine is important and strength and muscle power in most cases is achieved more by slowness of movement. With mature gymnasts, conditioning exercises are recommended to be done three times – the first to warm the muscles, the second being deemed the workout and the final set allowing for strengthening of the muscles.
Power Exercises for Gymnasts
Leg lifts using the bar can be [a] 10 lifts without coming free of the bar, [b] 5 pull-ups with an over-grip bringing your neck to touch the bar and [c] 5 under-grip pull-ups.
Using the rings, dead hang for 10 seconds then raise legs to horizontal, hold then release. Repeat several times.
To condition your hip flexors, perform 12 leg lifts on the bars.
Handstand push-ups are ideal if you wish to strengthen your vertical line position. If you can perform full push-ups, fine. If not, a half handstand push-up done 4 times is good. Handstand conditioning takes time, but is incredible for gymnastic strength training.
Toe rises are good for your speed conditioning. Make sure your heels dip below the horizontal in order to maximize your benefits.
Jumping from the floor to a mat is excellent conditioning for your power development. Do 30 jumps in each set with one jump being from floor to mat and back to the floor.
Remember that all the goodwill in the world towards your gymnastic conditioning will be weakened if you are tired or have a bad diet. Eat well and get plenty of rest in order to maximize your conditioning gymnastic workouts.
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