As athletes around the world prepare for next summer Olympics that will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 5 to August 21, 2016, the viewing audience prepares to watch their favorite sports showcase their most talented individuals. Few summer Olympic events draw more spectators than mens and womens gymnastics. And while the most successful Olympic gymnasts win the majority of their medals long before the age of 20, the training involved in this sport can be helpful to older athletes as well. In fact, gymnastic classes for adults offer participants the opportunity to increase their strength, flexibility, and endurance.
Gymnastic Classes for Adults Offer Flexibility Training
A typical gymnastics class starts and ends with stretches. This is a key component to any sport. Stretching prevents the athlete’s body from becoming sore, or straining its muscles. Not only preventing injuries, stretching helps with overall flexibility. Most adults lose most if not all of their flexibility as they age. Getting flexibility back as an adult is more difficult than it was when you were younger.
Going to a gymnastics class three times a week, however, makes this process much easier. Although many people are capable of coming up with their own stretches, stretching in the wrong way or for too long can cause serious damage to a person’s body. Learning proper techniques makes having a professional lead these activities very beneficial.
Strength Training Is an Important Part of Gymnastic Classes for Adults
In addition to flexibility, gymnastics classes focus on strength. Using their own bodies as a weight much of the time, gymnasts learn to train nearly every muscle in their bodies. While core strength may be a newer trend in some fitness circles, it has always been a major focus of any gymnastics academy program.
Gymnasts use bar work and rope climbing to focus on upper and lower arm strength; balance beam work to strengthen their leg and back muscles, and floor and vault drills to strengthen the largest muscle groups. Finding local gymnastics classes to help improve strength will teach many athletes exercises and drills that they can benefit from for a lifetime.
Gymnastic Classes for Adults Provide Endurance Training
Several new fitness crazes and trends focus on strength and endurance. Interestingly enough, if you go to any cross fit gym or watch any athletes on television shows like the Amazing Race, the athletes with the most endurance are often former gymnasts. This is no surprise to anyone who has ever coached gymnastics or participated in the sport. Training for endurance is an important part of any gymnastics and tumbling program, and the results are amazing. Warm up periods that include running, as well as floor routines that require great focus and concentration, go a long way toward building endurance.
Visit any elementary school gym and you will quickly pick out the students who have had gymnastics training. They will not only be the students with the school records for most push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups, they will also be the students still going strong right until the end of class. Gymnastics builds an athletic and mental endurance that is not found in other sports.
Are You Ready to Achieve Your Fitness Goals?
Gymnastics as a sport has been popular for 2,000 years. At its most basic level, it is a great training ground for any athlete. While Olympians like Carly Patterson, who was 16 in the 2012 Olympics, catch people’s attention when she won the Olympic gold medal in the Women’s All-Around gymnastics event, it is not a sport for just the stars. In the year 2013, for example, nearly 5 million participants, starting as young as six years, participated in gymnastics. And while the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests children between two and five years old practice large motor skills such as tumbling, running, throwing, and catching, these recommendations also serve adults.
Making the decision to stay physically fit as you age is important. How you approach that goal, however, can determine your success. While many athletes select running or a more leisurely skill like tennis and golf, gymnastic classes for adults are a great way to stay flexible, strong, and healthy. How much longer will you wait to reach your fitness goals?
