Gymnastics Conditioning Methods

If you’re a martial artist who viewed the Beijing Olympics Im sure you would have seen the combat sports. Weather you where impressed with the standard of fighting is another matter however. One thing I bet you was impressed with though which had nothing to do with the fighting sports, was the level of strength and conditioning the gymnasts held.

The strength that gymnasts must have in order to spring many feet of the floor whilst performing all kinds of acrobatic feats is unbelievable. The way in which gymnasts are able to control and hold there bodies in certain isometric positions whilst still keeping a great level of flexibility and control is also astonishing.

So what training methods do gymnasts use to develop such a high level of conditioning? Check out the following short clip involving just a few exercises.

As you can see, it's nearly all bodyweight exercises which work strength and flexibility at the same time. A lot of swinging, isometric holds, balance work, and full range of motion training is constantly aimed for. For martial artists, the polymetric benefits that these exercises provide are ideal for the explosiveness needed for striking and grappling.

The core training which is displayed involves working the whole body. Most of the time when working the core, the top half of the body (waist up) moves whilst the bottom half does not or vice versa. In the video we see the top and bottom moving together. Combined with more common core training, (crunches, twists etc) these can provide some great benefits.

Gymnasts hold great strength and flexibility. There training methods, although aimed towards enhancing the abilities in there own sport can certainly be applied by martial artists as the aims for both types of athletes are very similar.

Marks

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