Gymnastic Classes

The body wave is such a fluid movement that a complete and true ripple through the entire body is extremely difficult. Many gymnasts wave their arms around in the pretence of doing a body wave, but so often the body itself is doing very little. For this reason, I suggest that the learning stage should deal solely with the movement of the spine, with the arms eventually following the movement rather than initiating it. There are a number of practices which will help achieve the right sort of feeling for the body wave. 1. Stand with the feet a little way apart, and with the arms out sideways, try to flatten the back, keeping the head in line with the body. You might need someone to correct your position or stand sideways on to a mirror turning your head to see if you have achieved a completely flat back position. 2. From the position described above, lift the shoulders and round the top part of the spine, pulling the stomach in and pressing the shoulder blades upwards. 3. Relax the knee …

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However, the rope is also used when folded three or four times, either to jump over, to hook up the foot into a balance, to hold momentarily around the waist or shoulders or in any position. Again, possibilities are wide and varied, and there is opportunity for the gymnast and coach to create their own original movements. One other rope action which should be added to your vocabulary is the release. This means that one end of the rope is thrown away whilst a grip is maintained on the other end. This is developed from an open rope swing. Probably the easiest to try first is from the side swing in the door plane. As the weight is transferred across to the right side, swing the left arm down towards the floor and at the same time let go of the end of the rope. Because you are swinging across to the right, the rope will brush the floor and swing out to the right side. As the end rises up from the floor, you can either catch it in your right hand which is already holding the other end, or …

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The body must also show tension, any movement, particularly of the limbs, or any slight relaxing of the muscles will cause a wobble and so pull the body off balance. The body line must be exact, and the body shape held, without the shoulders hunching up. Attitude Balance This position is as described in the pivot turn above. The attitude is a ballet position, and is effective when held with the weight still over one foot. Arabesque Balance Another ballet position, this time with the leg extended high behind. The higher the leg will go, the lower the shoulders are permitted to drop. However, do not allow the line of the back to break, i.e. do not let the leg stay low and the shoulders drop down as this creates a poor line of the body. Balances on other parts of the body, though interesting and seemingly easy, become more difficult when the apparatus skill is added, for it is difficult to maintain the motion of the apparatus during low level balance. Equally, balances on a flat foot are …

I have seen gymnasts benefit from the general strength exercises such as push ups, but when it comes time to perform certain skills the gymnast’s muscles are not always prepared, accustomed to the sequence of movements for the skills, or strong enough in each position required to safely complete the skill. Gymnasts really need a variety of training to include sport specific training besides general strength conditioning in order to more closely simulate the skills in our sport. For example, many straight arm exercises such as the front lateral raise, press handstand, or planche drills more closely simulate gymnastics skills than bent arm exercises such as the push up, bench press, or reverse dips. Here is one straight arm exercise that has helped many gymnasts strengthen their chest, shoulders, and back muscles, becoming stronger in two very important motions. Since the gymnast often must be able to open and close the shoulder angle during skills on uneven bars, I have included a very …