How to Do Gymnastics

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Edited by Jack Herrick and 78 others
Edited 5 days ago

Three Parts:Getting Started Taking It to the Next Level Staying Safe and Healthy

Gymnastics can be the most fun thing in the world and it's good exercise. You get to learn all kinds of tricks and even compete with others once you get more advanced! Although there are tons of pros you need to think about the cons, too. If you are ready to take up this fun-filled, dangerous sport, see Step 1 below to get started.

Part 1 of 3: Getting Started

1
Research local classes. Gymnastics isn't really a sport you can teach yourself. Sure, you can watch videos, you can read wikiHow articles, but at the end of the day, you need someone who knows what they're doing and can provide you a safe environment. Coaches don't just say, "Okay, now do a backflip!" You'll need to take classes to get started.
- The most important thing to consider is the safety of your facility. Are there nice, padded walls? Are there wall spotters? What does the gym/school provide you with when it comes to gear?
- In addition to those things, ask to talk to the coaches. Get a feel for their program. Ask whether they compete, the levels offered, how many hours per week are required, how much the class costs, whether it is a recreational class or a team (a team is much more intense), and what the teacher-to-student ratio is.
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2
Get started at your level. If you have a hard time physically getting up in the morning, that may be something your teacher should know before they enroll you in a specific program. On the opposite end, if you've been doing cartwheels and round-offs since you could crawl, that's something to take note of, too. Your program needs to be something you can handle but also challenges you -- or you won't stick with it for very long!
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3
Learn all the different activities. Depending on whether you're male or female, your coach will have you be developing different skill sets. For women, you'll be doing floor work, the uneven bars, the vault, and the beam. Men will be doing floor work, the pommel horse, the bar, the vault, and the rings. It's all about where your natural strength (as determined by your sex) lies.
- You'll need different equipment for different activities. But the one thing you'll probably definitely need? Chalk. Not too much and not too little -- too little and your hands aren't protected; too much and you risk getting "rips." Ow.
- There may be one you hate, there may be one you love, but it is best to get a feel for them all before discounting it. The more well-rounded you are, the better and fuller your skill set will be.
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4
Work on your flexibility. If there's one thing you can (and should!) do on your own time, it's work on your flexibility. You have no excuse! While you're sitting and watching TV, sit down on the floor, and start touching your toes in just about every position you can. Whatever you're doing, you can fit in a stretch.
- It's not just your legs, it's your whole body. Even super fit people who start gymnastics often get caught off guard when it comes to this. What's the one area everyone forgets about? The back. Turns out your back (and the flexibility of your back) is super important when it comes to gymnastics!
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5
Get strong. Gymnasts may not have the biggest muscles but they're extremely strong. They don't get that strong just by doing cartwheels, that's for sure. In addition to your classes, start weight training and working on your important gymnastics muscles (abdominals - lats - biceps - triceps - pectorals - quadriceps - deltoids). The more you can deal with your own weight in exercises like push-ups, pull-ups and squats, the more ready you'll be when you put more variables (like bars or flips) in the mix.
- If you do begin weight training, your muscles will start enduring rips and tears and will need time to heal themselves. So be sure to take days off! You've deserved it. You can still do cardio and exercise, but lay off on the weights to give your muscles a breather.
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6
Take a dance class. There is something very fluid and graceful about gymnastics. Those floor routines are a combination of impressive tricks and dance. If you're choppy and can barely manage to do the macarena, a beautiful floor routine will be quite the challenge. Ask your coach if he knows of a good studio that works with gymnasts -- and ask your friends, too!
7
Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Here's two little nuggets of wisdom: If you're sooo comfortable while doing these tricks that you don't have any fear, you're going to hurt yourself. And if you're so scared that you're shaking in your boots, you'll hold your breath, won't get the trick done, and will feel terrible. You need to find a happy medium. You need to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
- That is to say, accept that you're a little nervous. That's a very good thing! Being a little nervous will make you hyperaware -- instead of shutting you and your logic down. So when you start feeling a little tense, breathe that sigh of relief; you're doing it right!

Part 2 of 3: Taking It to the Next Level

1
Talk to your coach. As you progress, there's going to be things your coach wants you to do. The beauty of it is if you're not ready or if you'd like to take your skills in a different direction, say so. If you want to nail that backbend before you move onto the next move, say so. If you think you want to get into tumbling instead, say so. That's what they're there for!
- It's important to be very open with your coaches. Since this is such an individualistic, often scary, performance sport, it's all up to you. You are your own team and therefore you have to feel you're at your best. They want the best for you too!
2
Do bends. One of the first moves you'll be doing are bends (in addition to the standard cartwheel and handstand). Bends are the core part of many of the more complicated, impressive tricks. Without a bend, you definitely won't be doing flips. If you're not there yet, wikiHow has some articles to whet your appetite:
3
Do jumps. As you get better, you'll progress to jumps. When you combine jumps and bends, you get flips, so this is also moving you on up the skill ladder. As usual, wikiHow has your back on this, too.
4
Do flips. A beginning gymnast's dream: doing flips. This is where you'll really start to feel like you're making progress. Start doing them with a spotter and in your gym, and once you get comfortable you can start busting them out at parties and on the stage. All that hard work is paying off! Take a look at the following articles:
5
Do all sorts of tricks! Once you learn the basic bends, jumps, and flips, you'll be able to combine them into sweet floor routines. You'll work on the speed of your transitions and, most importantly, your confidence. If you've gotten this far, you've more than earned it. Pat yourself on the back!
6
Find your niche. You've got the skills, now what do you want your specialty to be? Do you want to try the uneven bars? Maybe the balance beam? How about the rings? Or even rhythmic gymnastics! There's going to be one that you enjoy a little bit more than the others -- so get to finding it!
- Maybe your niche is competing! Ask your coach if you can take this to the next level. S/He definitely knows of some semi-pro groups that can get you on your way to winning trophies and turning this hobby into something more than that.
7
Move up the levels. There are a whole bunch of levels (14 in CanGym and 10 in USAG) that signify your skill. At level 4, you generally begin competing. If you're reading this, you're definitely of age. However, if you want to do college gymnastics, you generally need to be be a level 10 gymnast by the end of high school.
- In Australia, it's referred to as WAG levels -- women's artistic gymnastics -- and the levels are a bit different (there aren't as many). But for the record, men can do gymnastics, too!
8
Work hard! Discipline is key in this sport. It takes time and repetition for your body to learn and remember the moves, so keep working until you get it right. If you get frustrated, sit down for a minute, get a drink, then go back and try again. It may not be easy, but once you get it, you'll know how worth it it really is.
- Be sure to work on building your strength, including arm, shoulder, and back strength, your core muscles, and your leg muscles. Include pull-ups, push-ups, v-ups, crunches, handstands against a wall in your strength conditioning routine. It's not all flips and fun! And, as always, make sure to stretch first.
9
Begin competing. Once you hit the appropriate level (your coach will know when this happens), you can enter the competing world. It may be harsh, it may be time consuming, but it also can be a lot of fun. However, don't feel obligated to compete -- gymnastics can be for leisure, too!
- You can compete in your school, then in your area, then regionally, and then throughout the country if you so choose. Competitions can get pretty intense! There's always a panel of judges eying your every move and it can be quite stressful. If it's something you want to endure and excel at, go for it! But if it's not, feel free to keep getting better on your own time.

Part 3 of 3: Staying Safe and Healthy

1
Always warm up and stretch. Always. Does it need to be said again? ALWAYS WARM UP AND STRETCH. Seriously. If you don't, you will seriously injure yourself. Gymnastics is not a sport for babies. It is a sport for disciplined men and women who want to take care of their bodies. If you don't warm up and stretch, you soon won't be doing anything else, either!
- Warming up and stretching are not the same thing. You need to warm up your body before you stretch, or your risk damaging your muscles (they don't work as well when they're cold; that's why it's called "warming" up). So before you stretch, get your heart rate going, get your body actually warmer, and then work on that outrageous flexibility of yours.
2
Know your own skill level. When your coach says, "Alright, who wants to demonstrate a backflip for me?" and you raise your hand when you just mastered the somersault yesterday, that's not a good idea. You need to know your own skill level so you know what you're capable of and what to expect from yourself. If you bite off more than you can chew, you'll wind up in a cast watching yearningly from the sidelines.
- On the opposite side of the coin, know what you are capable of! If you've been practicing for months and you're improving, you'll need to take a risk once in a while. Realize all the work you've done and what you can do. It's the only way you'll get better!
3
Work up in increments. Just like how they tell powerlifters to only lift 10% more weight than the session before (even if they feel like lifting more), you need to work up in small increments, too. You can't go from a cartwheel to a front handspring in a day. Rome wasn't built in one, and your skills won't magically develop in one, either. So take baby steps and, above all, be patient.
- You will fail. Straight up. You will fall on your butt and you will bruise yourself. You will be, at one point or another, laying face down on the floor, willing the gods to make everyone disappear by the time you open your eyes. This happens. This happens to everyone. If you never fell, you'd never know what not to do!
4
Have good eating and sleeping habits. An aspect of gymnastics we haven't really gotten much at yet is how incredibly intense it is. Seriously. People who run marathons walk into a gymnastics class and they are quite literally (and figuratively) floored. What does this mean? It means, if you're to do this, you gotta be healthy. 24/7. Your body is what you're working with. If you don't treat it right, it sure as hell won't be doing you any favors.
- Always get a good night's rest. If you're tired, you will not perform at 100% of what you're capable of. Simply put. It'd be silly to expect otherwise of your body!
- It's of utmost importance that you eat healthily. That means lean meats (you need your protein!), lean dairy, whole grains, and definitely loads of fruits and veggies. Little to no processed junk should be in your cupboards!
  - That being said, eating disorders are a huge problem in the gymnastics world. Yes, you need to be lean. Yes, it's easier to flip a smaller body. However, when you don't intake food, you lose your muscle. You become weak. It is impossible to support your own weight when your muscles are literally being eaten away. If or when this issue arises, know that you're not alone and that you should seek counsel. Your mentors may have been there, too.
5
Wear protective gear. This is especially important if you're working with the rings or the bars -- your hands need protecting! And if you're experiencing any pain whatsoever, you'll need to wrap your joints. Always take precaution -- it's not you being a wussy; it's you being wise.