Are You In Search of an Adult Gymnastics Conditioning Plan?

Professionally designed gymnastics conditioning plans from a Certified Personal Trainer, former JO athlete (now DP) and Adult Gymnast give you the edge in your training

Adult gymnastics conditioning plans tend to be lacking in adult gymnastics programs. A lot of adult gymnasts already work out on their own, and with practice time at a premium, many programs don't include a lot of conditioning. The other thing is, adult gymnasts can be coming from so many different places with strength, flexibility and endurance that it can be tricky for programs to serve all needs.

Gymnastics is arguably the most physically demanding sport in the world. If you don't physically prepare your body, you will increase risk of injury and make learning and perfecting skills so much harder. The truth is, not a lot of gymnastics coaches are experts in exercise physiology. They normally teach the conditioning they learned themselves as athletes decades ago. How times have changed in terms of using science to maximize results. 

Why else is having scientifically based gymnastics conditioning plans so important? 

    Well, it's one of the only things you can control in gymnastics. 

     ...You can't control when you might develop a fear or mental block.

     ...You can't control when you have a headache on the day of a meet.

     ...You can't control when you have a freak accident and get injured.

But...You can control your conditioning. You can control your physical preparation. And when you are more physically prepared, you will feel more mentally prepared, too. The two go together. Conditioning prepares your body for the demands of gymnastics, leaving you healthier and happier in the sport that I am sure you want to continue for years and years to come.

Bars is the most demanding event of all in terms of the conditioning required.

How a Solid Conditioning Plan Will Help Your Gymnastics

1. A strong athlete learns more quickly. The limiting factor when learning many skills is going to be strength. Don't make strength the reason you don't pick up skills. It's such an easy thing to fix - low hanging fruit, if you will!

2. A strong athlete will score better. Strong athletes hold better shapes. When you are strong, you will not be so gassed during your routines that you can't focus on form. You will also have an easier time keeping up if you are the last to warm up and the first to compete.

3. A strong athlete will tend to stay healthier. Whether it be fewer crashes because you can keep  better control of your body in control, or reducing nagging injuries, strong balanced athletes are less likely to miss training time due to injury. Creating balance in the body means that the body doesn't have any weak links. You can't always see these weak links in yourself unless you are trained to do so.

4. A strong athlete has less fear. Many cases of fear are due to a deep-seeded understanding that the body isn't quite strong enough to handle the skills being attempted. It ca be adaptive to be afraid when you are in a bit over your head! By strengthening the body and gaining experience in the positions demanded, fear is reduced.

What About Flexibility? Will I Become Less Flexible the Stronger I Become?

Gina Paulhus competing at the AAU Winter Nationals in the Ladies Division.

Any Conditioning Program Worth It's Weight Includes a Flexibility Component as Well. Getting Stronger Can Actually Help Your Flexibility - When It's Smartly Designed.

Flexibility is about more than just hitting 180 on that leap. Flexibility and mobility need to be addressed separately. Mobility is how the joints move. Flexibility is the range the body parts can get to. Both are important for gymnasts. Depending on the gymnast's age and body type, different flexibility and mobility issues need to be addressed. I can offer plans to cover all needs.

In addition, strength training (especially when focused on the eccentric, or lowering phase of a strength move) can result in marked gains in flexiblity. It's pretty cool stuff! Here are 3 reasons to focus on gaining flexiblity when thinking about your adult gymnastics conditioning plan.

1. A more flexible gymnast learns skills faster.  If your body can easily attain the positions needed, the skill becomes much more achievable and consistent. Active flexibility is most important for this. It's not enough to have your split - you need to be able to pull your legs into that split in the air through the power of your own muscles. There are exercises to train this.
2. A more flexible gymnast scores better. 180 leap? No problem. Open hips on your giant? Easy. Good shapes on tumbling? No big deal. Straight arms on flight on beam? Every time!
3. A more balanced flexible gymnast stays healthier.  More is not always better. There is an optimal level of how flexible a gymnast needs to be since stability and flexibility are usually two sides of the same coin. We don't want to sacrifice stability in the pursuit of extreme flexibility. Meeting in the middle tends to work best, especially for adult athletes. We want to maintain balance within the body as well, both with left/right side and with upper and lower body. The more out of balance a body becomes the more prone to injury. That's why it's critical to have a general program to address all joints as well as both "good side" and "bad side" splits.

Ready to Get Serious About Your Adult Gymnastics Conditioning Plan?

Gina has been a personal trainer and a gymnast for over 20 years.

Start with a Free 15 Minute Discovery Call on My Calendar. You can explain your needs and I'll let you know if I can help. Who can schedule a call with me?

• Coaches or Gym Owners with an adult team
• Adult Gymnasts who want to achieve a higher fitness level for their gymnastics
• Adult Gymnasts who struggle with injury
• Adult Gymnasts with pelvic floor issues or diastasis recti issues
• Postpartum adult gymnastics who want to return to sport and meet or surpass their previous abilities

If you prefer, you can submit a request for an email price quote for plan construction for your team or yourself. Simply fill out the form below to get started. We never use your information for anything but the follow up quote.

Gina Paulhus Offers Corrective Exercise for Gymnasts, including gymnasts with Diastasis Recti, Hernia, or Pelvic Floor Issues.

Did you know that young kids as well as women and men who have never had children can get hernias and diastasis recti? Furthermore, pelvic floor issues often develop in the tweens and teens. The deep core system and the pelvic floor are important parts of our core's overall functioning, and if we don't address these muscles, we are leaving lots of core strength on the table. Not to mention, issues like these can cause many men and women to leave sports altogether. What a tragedy! 

You can read more about these individual programs here:

Special Core Corrective Exercise Programs for Gymnasts