Gymnastics lessons can be fun for kids – it’s a great way to release energy and develop coordination while learning and growing.
Serious gymnasts who want to deepen their gymnastics training may be interested in increasing their skills by working on additional exercises outside of class.
These skill-building gymnastics exercises target specific aspects of strength, mobility, and endurance to make athletes better gymnasts overall.
Here’s what to know about some of the critical exercises supporting gymnastics performance and why they benefit young gymnasts.
Key Areas of Fitness to Build with Gymnastics Exercises
Before diving into specific exercises, let’s consider the main fitness areas that physical activity in gymnastics targets.
Strength: Gymnasts need strength in their core, arms, legs, and back to thrive at complex movements like flips, jumps, handstands, and holds.
Flexibility: High-level gymnastics moves, especially those involving splits, backbends, and handstands, require flexibility. Flexibility is also essential for preventing injuries.
Balance and Coordination: Many gymnastics hinge on controlling your body in mid-air or while balanced on narrow apparatuses. Top-tier balance and coordination are required for everything from the floor routine to beam and bar exercises.
Endurance: Gymnasts need endurance to maintain power and concentration during their routines, particularly when performing routines over a minute long and requiring multiple complex skills in a row.
With this in mind, let’s consider exercises that help in gymnastics and help students develop these attributes.
Squats: Building Lower Body Strength
Squats are among the best exercises for developing the lower body strength required in gymnastics. Strong legs are essential for jumps, landings, and vaulting.
Squats activate the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves, all of which play a key role in gymnastics performance.
How Squats Help
- Improve power for jumps and vaults
- Strengthen the core and legs for controlled landings
- Enhance stability during balance beam routines
Variation for Gymnasts: Add jump squats to build explosive power or one-legged squats to focus on unilateral strength, which helps in movements that require balance and symmetry.
Push-Ups: Upper Body Strength
Gymnasts rely heavily on upper body strength, particularly for moves on the bars, rings, or handstands. Push-ups focus on the chest, shoulders, core, and more, making them an excellent choice for building the upper body strength needed for gymnastics.
How Push-Ups Help:
- Strengthen the arms, shoulders, and chest for holding positions such as handstands and presses
- Build endurance to support longer routines and holds
- Improve control and stability for floor routines and pommel horse work
Variation for Gymnasts: Try handstand push-ups (if your child is strong enough) to mimic the inverted movements of gymnastics routines or incorporate push-up holds to build isometric strength.
Pull-Ups: Enhancing Upper Body Strength and Grip
Pull-ups are an excellent exercise for improving the pulling strength needed for bar work in gymnastics.
Whether swinging on the uneven bars, muscle-ups on the rings, or transitioning between positions, a gymnast’s ability to pull their body weight is crucial.
How Pull-Ups Help:
- Develop the back, shoulders, and arms for bar routines and muscle-ups
- Improve grip strength for better control during various apparatus routines
- Enhance core stability for moves like the L-sit or planche
Variation for Gymnasts: Try adding weighted or assisted pull-ups (using resistance bands) to increase strength progressively.
Handstands: Perfecting Balance and Core Strength
Handstands are not only common in floor routines but also form the basis of many other gymnastic movements, from the handstand press to the planche.
Practicing handstands develops the upper body, core strength, and balance, all of which are essential for gymnasts.
How Handstands Help:
- Strengthen the shoulders, arms, and wrists, which are crucial for handstand-based elements
- Build balance and spatial awareness
- Engage the core to control movements and maintain proper alignment during routines
Variation for Gymnasts: Practice wall handstands to build strength and stability or attempt handstand walking to improve balance and coordination.
Planks: Core Strength and Stability
Core strength is a cornerstone of gymnastics. Planks are one of the best exercises to strengthen the abdominal muscles, lower back, and glutes, all of which are essential for maintaining proper form and control during gymnastics routines.
How Planks Help:
- Improve core stability, which is necessary for almost every gymnastics move, from back handsprings to bar transitions
- Enhance posture and alignment during routines
- Support the execution of controlled movements and landings
Variation for Gymnasts: Add side planks to target the obliques and improve lateral stability, which is helpful for balance on apparatus like the beam.
Leg Lifts: Strengthening the Core and Hip Flexors
Leg lifts are a great way to improve the strength and endurance of the core, hip flexors, and lower abs. These muscles are engaged in a variety of gymnastics skills, such as tuck jumps, handstands, and floor routines.
How Leg Lifts Help:
- Strengthen the hip flexors, which are critical for raising the legs in splits or jumps
- Build core endurance for holding difficult positions
- Improve control over leg positioning during complex movements
Complementary Sports and Activities
Certain sports can benefit gymnastics training by increasing essential physical skills. These include:
Swimming
This increases cardio endurance, upper body strength, and flexibility, especially in the shoulders and back.
Dance
Dance improves flexibility, balance, and coordination while also teaching fluidity of movement, which is valuable for gymnastics routines.
Martial Arts
Increases agility, balance, and flexibility while promoting body awareness and control.
Track and Field
Activities like sprinting and jumping can boost explosive power, agility, and lower body strength, all of which are beneficial for gymnastics.
Kids’ Gymnastics For All Levels
Alongside working on supplemental exercises, most kids who love gymnastics are incredibly excited to get into classes focused on the sport itself!
At America’s Kids In Motion, we offer gymnastics lessons for a wide variety of skill levels and ages.
We also offer a range of other activities for kids, including swimming lessons, dance lessons, ninja lessons, and more. Contact us today to learn more and sign up.
