Gymnastic Classes

The ball is one of the pieces of an apparatus where throwing is a listed fundamental according to the Code of Points book, though it is of course common to all the other pieces too. This means that particular attention must be paid to the throwing technique and that sufficient throws of various types must be included in the final exercise. Skills common to the other pieces of apparatus, those of swinging, circling and spinning, must also be practiced and included in the routine. For improving throwing and catching technique the ball would seem to be the obvious apparatus to use, but though we usually associate the ball with throwing and catching, the technique used in games such as netball, basketball and cricket is very different from that used in rhythmic gymnastics. The objectives are so vastly different, the games player is aiming to keep possession of the ball within his team, and how he received and passes the ball is of no consequence as long as it is accurate. The rhythmic gym …

The ball is one of the pieces of an apparatus where throwing is a listed fundamental according to the Code of Points book, though it is of course common to all the other pieces too. This means that particular attention must be paid to the throwing technique and that sufficient throws of various types must be included in the final exercise. Skills common to the other pieces of apparatus, those of swinging, circling and spinning, must also be practiced and included in the routine. For improving throwing and catching technique the ball would seem to be the obvious apparatus to use, but though we usually associate the ball with throwing and catching, the technique used in games such as netball, basketball and cricket is very different from that used in rhythmic gymnastics. The objectives are so vastly different, the games player is aiming to keep possession of the ball within his team, and how he received and passes the ball is of no consequence as long as it is accurate. The rhythmic gym …

The guests at a 21st birthday party are at the peak of their athletic abilities so if weather and local zoning permit challenging games can be planned for this party. Those who have access to specialized fields will want to utilize those for softball, beach volleyball or even riding and racing. For most people though the space is limited to the backyard and imagination and energy are more readily available than stables and riding habits. A couple of fun and rowdy possibilities include Crab Football and Backyard Hoops. The trick here is to make up rules loosely based enough to include all who wish to participate. Everybody is familiar enough with basketball to loosely organize a quick game on the driveway. Make rules that keep the competition at your 21st birthday from getting too serious and so windows and barbeque grills stay in tact. Crab Football is something like soccer, played with the largest and strongest beach ball available. The difference is that the players move around on t …

This posture can carry over to their personal lives as well, and one can easily identify a swimmer or gymnast by the particular way they stand, walk or carry themselves. While football and basketball are “leg based” sports, swimmers and gymnasts have assimilated a decidedly hunchbacked posture because of the “hand based” orientation of their particular athletic activities. The hunchbacked posture in gymnastics is part of the sport’s proper form and is known as “hollowing out”. Constant training in this posture can lead to the athlete’s assuming the same form in the daily course of his or her life, which is potentially a cause for serious injuries in the knee, shoulder, neck and lower back. The Fundamental Athletic position in most land-based sports requires the athlete to assume a medium stance with the hips back, and the chest and head aligned with the spinal curves. This posture enables swift movement forward, backward or sideways. It is the basic position assumed for squatting, dea …