Basic Gymnastics

Tarekegn
Zarihun(msc.)
 What is gymnastics?
 Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of
exercises requiring :-
 physical strength
 flexibility
 agility
 coordination
 and balance.
 Internationally all of the gymnastic sports are
governed by the Fédération Internationale de
Gymnastique (FIG) with each country having its
own national governing body affiliated to FIG.
Gymnastics
• Is a sport that involves the performance sequence of
physical movements?
• Is a graceful and artistic sport that requires a
combination of strength, balance, agility, and muscle
coordination, usually performed on a specialized
apparatus?
• Is a sport in which people move their bodies smoothly?
• Is a competitive sport that requires physical strength,
flexibility and kinesthetic awareness?
Gymnastics is a sport that requires
 Balance
 Strength
 Flexibility
 Agility
 Coordination and
 Endurance.
The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the
development of the arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest
and abdominal muscle groups
AS A SUBJECT MATTER
• Gymnastics is a harmonized system of specially
selected activities which are scientifically organized
and methodologically arranged to achieve motoric and
educational objectives.
ENTYMOLOGY
• The word Gymnastics comes from the Greek word
gymnazein/ gymnos, meaning exercising without
clothes (Train naked).
 HISTORY OF GYMNASTICS
• There is no doubt among historians that, people perform
gymnastics and gymnastic-related activities like, trembling,
jumping, swimming and a group of acrobatic in the early
history of mankind in a number of areas around the world.
• Gymnastics is the oldest sport has been around for over
thousand years.
• This sport was first introduced for military training and later
on recognized as a sport.
• It is one of the oldest games to be part of the Olympics.
• The sport traces its origin from Greece, to Roman ceremonies
and to today’s modern days.
• It was introduced to the United States in the mid 1800’s.
• In1896 gymnastics came into the Olympics.
• The World Championship gymnastics emerged in the early
1900s, and it is still held to this every day.
• In Gymnastics there are many people who accomplish above
the line. Such as Mary Lou Retton, the first women to gain a
gymnastic Gold medal in all of United States.
• Another, famous gymnast is Larissa Semyonovna Latynina,
the first woman to win more Olympic tittles than any sport.
• Circus style acrobatics were performed in ancient Egypt.
• By 800Bc Greek, China, Persia, and India were using
gymnastics for military training.
• Especially Spartans were rigid in providing gymnastics training
for their girls.
• Ancient Romans used gymnastics as part of their military
training to improve the strength, balance, and flexibility of the
soldiers.
• However, the actual development of gymnastics began in the
early history of Greek and Rome. In fact the name is drive from
Greek.
• In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Germany, two
pioneer physical educators contributed for the development
gymnastics.
1. Johann Guts Muths who is known as “The great grandfather of
gymnastics”
• Introduced gymnastics in to the Prussian school.
• Wrote several works on the subject including gymnastics for youth
and the first book on modern gymnastics in 1793.
• Develop a complete program of exercise designed to improve
balance and muscular strength.
2. His follower, a gymnast teacher Fredrich Ludwing John, The real
father of gymnastics
• Developed the idea of combining gymnastic training with patriotic
demonstration.
• Developed three types of apparatus that are still used in gymnastics.
– High bar
– Parallel bar
– Rings
 In the end of 19th century men gymnastics become
popular enough to be included in the 1st modern
Olympic game held in 1896.
 The 1st women Olympic game was held in 1928 in
Amsterdam.
 FEG which include representatives from Belgium,
France and Netherlands was founded on July 23, 1881
Liege and Nicolas J. cuperus was a president.
 Forty years later (April 7, 1921) FEG becomes FIG
(Federation international De Gymnastics).
What is the value of gymnastics?
• It has the ability to develop individuals’ physical development, strength,
coordination, balance, special awareness and mental thinking while focusing
on an athletic task.

• The various movements in gymnastics make the body stronger, more flexible
and can prevent physical deterioration.

• Gymnastics is both an Olympic sport and one can be done recreationally.

There will be different goals for each pursuit.

• As an Olympian you would want to reach the top of your sport by earning a
gold medal on an event, in the all-around or being on a team.

• As a recreational gymnast, you may just want to learn how to flip or get
more flexible or just have fun in the gym.
 What is the purpose of gymnastics?
• To promote the sport of gymnastics as a multidiscipline sport
providing the opportunity of participating and promoting fitness,
wellbeing and social values at all levels of interest and ability
regardless of age from the recreation to the high performance level.
• Promote health
• Gymnastics are not limited to producing and maintaining health, but
are also used for correcting physical defects, to overcome round
shoulders, flat chests, and other common faulty positions. A good
carriage of the body is worth a fortune. The time to acquire that is in
youth. Little or nothing can be done to correct defects after twenty
years of age.
• Another purpose of gymnastics is to develop strength by increase of size of
muscles. Size of muscles is not the most important object of exercises as many
people think, although it is the most widely advertised feature; yet size of
muscles usually denotes strength and physical vigor, therefore it must be
considered in this connection.

• Gymnastics are not only used for health, correction, and strength, but for
esthetic and social purposes. The appeal to the sense of beauty was first
made through bodily motion, such as dancing and evolutions. It still, holds its
place by the same means, and also by large classes performing simple or
intricate movements in unison, gracefully done with the accompaniment of
music and dress. It certainly has a distinct and unique place in esthetic culture.
VALUES AND PURPOSE OF GYMNASTICS

It has the ability to

 develop individuals
 physical development
 strength
 Coordination
 Balance
 Special awareness and mental thinking while focusing on an
athletic task. The various movements in gymnastics make the
body stronger, more flexible and can prevent physical
deterioration.
FACTORS AFFECTING GYMNASTICS PERFORMANCE
There are four big factors that affecting the performance of a
gymnast.
Physical factors: these are all to do with the
body and include speed, strength, endurance,
flexibility, coordination and agility.
Mental factors: these are related to your
thoughts and feelings. Includes concentration,
maintaining attention, decision making,
dealing with pressure and staying alert.
Technical factors:-these involves skills specific
to the given sport. In gymnastics a technical
elements would be forward roll or static
balance.
Tactical factors:- these are the method or the
strategies used by the individual or team to
achieve the
Medical and illness related factors
• Colds and flu - cause a shortness of breath
and feelings of fatigue
• Asthma - affects breathing if not properly
controlled
• Anaemia- usually due to a lack of iron which is
important in oxygen carrying due to
haemoglobin within the red blood cells
Hayfever - causes your nose to run and makes you
sneeze and cough, affecting your breathing.
Fatigue - not having enough rest or overdoing
things can cause you to feel permanently tired
Lack of sleep - not enough sleep means you can't
concentrate properly and feel weak and tired
Menstruation - women perform better at different
stages of their menstrual cycle.
Physical ability - your training, fitness and skill
levels will all impact on your performance
Psychological Factors
These are factors related to the way you are
thinking and your state of mind
Mental preparation - relaxation techniques and
imagery can help prepare the athlete for
competition
Mental ability - your ability to concentrate and
make good decisions
Experience - a more experienced competitor will
know how to prepare themselves mentally
External Factors
These are things largely beyond our control:
Environment - the weather can affect your
performance either positively or negatively.
For example a good wind will improve a
sailors performance but may impair a tennis
players performance
Equipment - better equipment will help your
performance, but even then sometimes
equipment can go wrong!
• Technology - the use of technology in sport is
increasing with the use of better equipment
and video and computer technology for
technique analysis
Other players - an opponent’s or team mates
performance can have an effect on our own.
For example a team mate performing well may
inspire us to do the same
Officials - a poor decision from an umpire or
referee can either spur us on to perform better
or make us think there is no point trying.
SAFETY
 Gymnastics is considered to be a dangerous sport, due
 in part to the height of the apparatus,
 the speed of the exercises and
 the impact on competitors’ joints, bones and muscles.
In several cases, competitors have suffered serious, lasting
injuries and paralysis after severe gymnastics related
accidents.
• For instance, in 1998, at the Goodwill Game, world-
class Chinese artistic gymnast Song Lan was paralyzed
after falling on voul.
• Safety is a major component of any gymnastics program
and teaching must be aware of the risk involved.
• So proper safety measures should be included in any
gymnastics instructional procedures.
 So proper safety measures should be included in any
gymnastics instructional procedures.
• Safety considerations
• Spotting
• Emergency procedures
• Progression
• Aware of risk factors
• Rules
• Students’ limitation
• Equipment set up
• Adequate space
• Clear boundaries
The following is a brief guide to the safety factors to be observed
when participating in gymnastics.
1. Ensure that a safe environment is provided at all times.
i) Ensure that the equipment is correctly assembled and suitably
padded with landing mats appropriate for the apparatus and type
of activity.
ii) Ensure that there is sufficient space to move between apparatus.
iii) Adjust the height/width of the apparatus to suit the ability of the
gymnast.
2. Supervision
i) Gymnastic activities should only be performed under the
supervision of a qualified person
ii) When additional supporters – assistants – are used, ensure that
they are physically strong enough and competent to assist
 3. Personal Care
i) Don’t wear jewellery in the gymnasium
ii) Don’t wear loose baggy clothing or clothing which will restrict
movement
iii) Always warm up before performing gymnastics exercises
iv) Don’t permit the gymnast to attempt exercises or skills for which
they have not been prepared
v) Don’t attempt to perform gymnastics’ skills when the body is
fatigued
vi) Ensure that the gymnast has the required fitness to perform the
task in hand
vii) The ability to land or fall safely will greatly reduce the anxiety
and will reduce the risk of injury
Gymnastics is the base for all sports.
• The benefits of gymnastics for toddlers are truly amazing! Toddlers are
extremely impressionable – and energetic! Here are 10 amazing benefits
your toddler will get from gymnastics:
1. Gymnastics Develops Cognitive Skills
• Learning and completing a gymnastic routine requires the use of the
mind as well as the body. The left brain and right brain have to work in
concert, so your toddler’s body awareness and spatial awareness will
improve.
• This really helps them become aware of the world around them and
adapt better to it.
2. Develop Strong and Healthy Bones
• Gymnastics is a weight-bearing activity which can develop strong and
healthy bones. As we age, we experience a loss of bone density over the
years. By building strong and healthy bones earlier, we can reduce the
signs of osteoporosis later in life.
• Furthermore, it helps to prevent broken bones as your child grows older
and becomes more active. A great bonus when on the playground and
playing sports!
3. Gymnastics Aids In Strength Development!
• Along with the development of strong and healthy bones, your
toddler will build up their total body strength as well.
• By performing the body strengthening exercises that gymnastics
requires, your child will build up their upper body, lower body,
and overall core strength.
4. Increased Coordination
• Your toddler’s coordination will greatly improve through being
part of a gymnastics program earning alignment skills that
include standing, walking and jumping will improve their
coordination. This will make your child appear less clumsy and
• They will learn alignment skills that include standing, walking
and jumping through a variety of fun exercises. This will make
your child appear less clumsy and be more agile for other future
sports.
5. Improved Flexibility
• Gymnastics is all about flexibility. When you increase your flexibility,
you decrease your chances of injury.
• Being super-flexible as a child will often carry forward with them later
in life. This can help support proper body posture as they age, which
will deter back and spine problems as they get older.
6. Meet Their Daily Exercise Needs
• The American Heart Association says that it is important for a child to
get at least 1 hour of physical activity every day. Participation in a
gymnastics class will ensure that your child gets his or her exercise on
class days.
• Furthermore, they will want to practice their gymnastic skills on off-
days, so they can still meet their daily exercise needs then as well!
7. Prevent Diseases
• Sports like gymnastics aid in disease prevention by promoting and
maintaining a strong and healthy body.
• This is the key to preventing diseases later in life such as obesity, heart
disease, diabetes, asthma, cancer ─ among others. By teaching your
toddler healthy behaviors early in life, they will more likely keep these
habits later in life.
8. Gymnastics Helps To Create Discipline!
• Gymnastic classes will help provide discipline and self-control for your
toddler.
• Learning discipline and self-control are both valuable skills to take with you
into life. When a child learns discipline and self-control at an early age, they
learn to work with others, work by themselves, to stay on task and to
accomplish tasks.
• Toddlers who learn these skills will use them in school, the workplace and in
almost every social setting they will ever find themselves in.
9. Early Gymnastic Classes Increase Self-Esteem!
• Gymnastics is a sport of self-control and mastering self-control ultimately leads
to improved self-esteem.
• Learning and successfully completing a gymnastics routine creates the sense of
accomplishment, which in turn supports self-esteem. Your child will learn from
an early age that hard work and practice pays off – key life skills!
• It is also a sport of showing off your skills in front of a live audience. Starting
early before a child has had a chance to develop “stage fright” can help later in
life with performing in front of people.
10. It’s Fun!
• Your toddler will really enjoy being part of a gymnastics class.
They will improve their social skills by interacting with their class
and coaches. And they will get some great exercise at the same
time!
• Finding activities that are fun, hold our toddler’s attention and are
healthy is a difficult task! Fortunately, a good gymnastics program
can provide all this and more. And, just think… you never know ─
you might just have an Olympic athlete on your hands!
• Take a look at the following video “The Value of Preschool
Gymnastics” and be inspired!
 CHAPTER TWO

CONDITIONING EXERCISE FOR

GYMNASTICS
• Conditioning exercise: - is an exercise performed
to make our body (muscles, bone, and general
system) to take up forth coming activities or
training in order to avoid early fatigue.
• Fitness is the ability to meet the demands of
physical task.
• Physical fitness: - is the body’s ability to function
effectively and efficiently in any leisure or
recreational activity without any unreasonable
fatigue. Or
• It is a state of health or condition of the body’s
ability to with stand the stress of daily life.
 COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL FITNESS
• Health Related components: Those factors that are
related to how well the systems of your body work
• Physical fitness is defined as "a set of attributes that
people have or achieve that relates to the ability to
perform physical activity" .
• In other words, it is more than being able to run a long
distance or lift a lot of weight at the gymnasium .
• Overall fitness is made up of five main
components:
• Cardio respiratory endurance
• Muscular strength
• Muscular endurance
• Body composition
• Flexibility
• Cardio-respiratory endurance (cardio-respiratory fitness
• Cardio-respiratory endurance is the ability of the body's
circulatory and respiratory systems to supply fuel during
sustained physical activity (USDHHS, 1996 as adapted from
Corbin & Lindsey, 1994).
• To improve your cardio-respiratory endurance, try activities that
keep your heart rate elevated at a safe level for a sustained length
of time such as walking, swimming, or bicycling.
• The activity you choose does not have to be strenuous to improve
your cardio-respiratory endurance. Start slowly with an activity
you enjoy, and gradually work up to a more intense pace.
• Muscular strength
• Muscular strength is the ability of the muscle
to exert force during an activity (USDHHS,
1996 as adapted from Wilmore & Costill,
1994). The key to making your muscles
stronger is working them against resistance,
whether that be from weights or gravity. If you
want to gain muscle strength, try exercises
such as lifting weights or rapidly taking the
stairs.
• Muscular endurance
• Muscular endurance is the ability of the muscle
to continue to perform without fatigue
(USDHHS, 1996 as adapted from Wilmore &
Costill, 1994). To improve your muscle
endurance, try cardio-respiratory activities such
as walking, jogging, bicycling, or dancing.
• Body composition
• Body composition refers to the relative amount of muscle,
fat, bone, and other vital parts of the body (USDHHS, 1996
as adapted from Corbin and Lindsey, 1994). A person's total
body weight (what you see on the bathroom scale) may not
change over time. But the bathroom scale does not assess
how much of that body weight is fat and how much is lean
mass (muscle, bone, tendons, and ligaments). Body
composition is important to consider for health and
managing your weight!
• Flexibility
• Flexibility is the range of motion around a joint (USDHHS,
1996 as adapted from Wilmore & Costill, 1994). Good
flexibility in the joints can help prevent injuries through all
stages of life. If you want to improve your flexibility, try
activities that lengthen the muscles such as swimming or a
basic stretching program.
 Skill Related Components of Physical Fitness

• physical fitness laid down in the Surgeon General's report,

subcategorizing skill-related fitness as "those components of
physical fitness that have a relationship with enhanced
performance in sports and motor skills." The components of
skill-related fitness include agility, balance, coordination,
power, speed and reaction time.
 CHAPTER TWO
CONDITIONING EXERCISE FOR GYMNASTICS
Conditioning exercise: - is an exercise performed to
make our body (muscles, bone, and general system)
to take up forth coming activities or training in order
to avoid early fatigue

Fitness is the ability to meet the demands of physical

task.
Physical fitness: - is the body’s ability to
function effectively and efficiently in any
leisure or recreational activity without any
unreasonable fatigue. Or it is a state of health
or condition of the body’s ability to with stand
the stress of daily life.
 Physical preparation
• Physical preparation involves developing the necessary strength and
flexibility to ensure that routines can be carried out properly.

• This includes stretching (PNF) and various strength activities such

as sit-ups that assist in the physical preparation of gymnastics.

• Exercises that build flexibility are essential for gymnasts, not only
for the correct execution of routines, but also for safety reasons.
The use of weights is also necessary to build the strength needed for
many of the routine
Purpose Physical preparation
Fewer/less serious injuries
Faster skill acquisition
Faster recovery from fatigue
Reduce fear
Less muscle soreness
More intense participation
Physical preparation for gymnast includes
 Warming up
 Flexibility
 Strength
 Cool down
WARMING UP
Is an activity performed before any strenuous exercise?
Is one of the most important aspects of any physical
activity?
Should be focus on exercises that are directly related to
the type of routine to be performed.
Purpose of warming up
 Increase blood flow to the working muscles.
 Increase body temperature
 Increase oxygen up take
 Prepare the working muscles for the activity
 Reduce the chance of injury
The length of warming up depends on
 Temperature
 Individual deference
 Type of the activity
 But it must be normally 10-15 minutes in length.
The warm up should be
Incorporate same sort of team game
Concentrate on stretching specific joints
complexes and muscle groups
Included individuals as well as partner
exercises
Remember to stretch muscles gently not
dynamically or aggressively Includes same
basic skills e g. Landing drills or balancing
exercises.
FLEXIBILITY: - is required to improve and maintain the range
of movements in all joint complexes
Purpose of flexibility
 Easer to learn gymnastic movements
 Reduce risk of injury
 Allows for amplitude of movement
Flexibility training
 Should follow a good warm up to raise the temperature of the
muscles and tendons
 Use stretching which is SLOW, PROGRESSIVE, and
PROLONGED.
 Should be joints specific and major muscle movement.
 Selected to suit gymnast.
STRENGTH: - this program must be carefully planned for
young gymnast.70% of the program should be physical
preparation. As skill level increase this percentage falls but
should never drop below 30% of the total time.
 Method of strength training
Maximum strength: small number of repetition
but heavy load of resistance.
Power strength: 8 to 10 repetition medium load
or resistance.
Isometric strength: hold shapes for increasing
period of time.
Endurance strength: repetition of elements
many times i.e 20-30 low demand.
When we construct training or program try to
use exercise that stimulate gymnastics
movement and use the apparatus
Points to be considered when we construct
strength program
Age
Physical development of gymnast
Area of weakness
Type of strength you wish to develop
COOL DOWN after exercise /work out/ it is
important to promote an effective recovery
from physical activity. So cool down is an
exercise performed after a training session for
the purpose of
Regeneration
Reduce muscle soreness
Remove lactic acid
Recovery
Relax
Energy store in the muscle
 Callisthenic Exercise
 Callisthenic exercises are a natural form of exercise with variety
of simple movements using only your body weight for resistance.

 Callisthenic exercises intend to increase body strength and

flexibility using only one’s body weight with movements such as
bending, jumping, swinging, twisting, kicking, and many other
various activities engaging the arms, legs, torso, neck, back –
basically every muscle group in your body!
 With Callisthenic Exercise you avoid:
 Muscle and joint injuries with weights (the risk increases as
weights increase – your muscles might get bigger, but not your
joints)
 Risk of developing a hernia or other effects from overexerting
yourself (again, with increasing weights)
 Buying really expensive weight equipment (to increase
weights!)
Various activities such as gymnastics, martial arts, yoga,
Pilates, running, and walking are all forms of callisthenic
exercises. Moreover, you can do them all at home!