A Workout & Physical Conditioning Plan for Gymnasts

Conditioning programs for gymnasts need to focus on exercises that emphasize and re-emphasize proper form. The gymnastics skills themselves that are incorporated into routines help develop strength, but conditioning specifically reinforces proper form to help reduce injury and increase power. In addition to practicing specific skills, incorporate conditioning drills and exercises daily to increase your strength, stamina and power.

  1. Core

    • Your core consists of all the muscles in your abdomen, legs, glutes and back -- any muscle that stabilizes your upper and lower body. These muscles are imperative to gymnasts because a strong core reduces risk of injury and keeps your body tight, thus allowing for greater skill power. According to iSport Gymnastics, the most basic core exercise that reinforces good body mechanics is the hollow body hold. Lie on your back with your arms overhead and legs straight, toes pointed. Press your lower back into the ground and lift your head, shoulders, arms and legs about 6 inches off the floor and hold for 30 seconds. Repeat for three to six repetitions with only a 10- to 20-second rest in between each.

    Plyometrics

    • Gymnastics is a high-ntensity sport that requires a lot of jumping, so practice jumping as conditioning to help prepare your body for takeoffs and landings. Do squat jumps and lunge jumps to strengthen your legs and help prepare for tumbling pass landings. Add tuck jumps and pike jumps to help achieve proper height and form with back and forward tumbling passes. Split jumps and straddle jumps help with dance moves that female gymnasts need in their beam and floor routines. Incorporate box jumps to help improve your power, and single-leg jumps to improve knee, hip and ankle stability. For muscular endurance and injury prevention, Olympic Coach Mary Lee Tracy recommends high-repetition small rebounds.

    Handstand Drills

    • Much of gymnastics is done supporting your body weight on your hands, so practice handstands with a tight core on a daily basis. For increased upper-body strength, do handstand pushups against a wall for support. Handstand blocks help prepare you for advanced tumbling passes and vault exercises. This drill involves an immediate rebound on your hands right after you kick up to handstand. Handstand pirouettes with a straight body help with upper-body coordination and kinesthetic awareness while spinning.

    Bar Drills

    • Bars, whether single, parallel or uneven, are a huge component in gymnastics and can usually make or break a gymnast. Pullups and hanging leg lifts are a mandatory component of any bar conditioning program. On the parallel bars, also incorporate dips. On a floor bar, practice donkey kicks to handstand to improve grip and balance. Add in casting drills to handstand with a coach or partner, maintaining a hollow body hold.

    Programming

    • Body-weight training is ideal for gymnasts, because it is most applicable to the sport. CoachesInfo.com recommends that when you work against your own body weight, such as with pullups, pushups and leg lifts, do repetitions until fatigue. Allow yourself to fully recover for about one to three minutes, then repeat until fatigue for three sets. For explosive plyometrics exercises, like squat jumps and lunge jumps, do eight to 12 repetitions using maximum power. For complete gymnastics conditioning, train five days per week, but focus on a different aspect each day. For example, one day do 30 minutes of bar training, and the next day do plyometrics training.