Re: The Gymnast's Way to Total Fitness

foil_account@yahoo.com wrote:
> You know, the more I think about it, the more it seems that my ideals
> of "fitness" are more in line with those of gymnasts than any other
> sport or physical discipline.
>
> So just what's a gymnast's physical training like? I mean, besides
> the obvious, gymnastics itself...do gymnasts run (or jog), do they
> lift weights? Do they do yoga, or yoga-like sessions?
>
> Why aren't there books on how to get healthy like a gymnast? Seems to
> me those folks have the best of all worlds: flexibility, explosive
> power, and speed! What they do requires intense, absolute strength
> (what I like to call instantaneous strength) and endurance, aerobic
> strength (or strength over time, I say), in addition to the extreme
> suppleness of a cat -- nay, a serpent!
>
> Imagine Arnold Schwarznegger as a circus acrobat...that's how a
> gymnast looks to my layman's eyes!
>
> So how can I get like that? That's the model of physical fitness for
> me! Total physical fitness, functional strength, speed, endurance,
> and flexibility! I know that gymnasts start very young, but I'm not
> looking to be a gymnast, I just want to know what aspects of their
> particular physical training can be adapted for a broader population,
> for a broader definition of overall fitness....
>
> Anyone ever done that? "Better Health Through Gymnastics" or "The
> Total Body with Gymnastics"....

Mainly because competitive gymnastics is HARD. Even the basics take a
great deal of time and effort to learn. Plus the kind of rotation and
inversion that is intrinsic to gymnastics is simply too dangerous to
learn with out professional coaching.

I think it's just too much time, money and effort for the average person
simply interested in fitness to put forth.

Dean Dryer

"Dean Dryer" <dean@stonehill.org> wrote in message
news:4772e8b0$0$16098$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...

>
> Mainly because competitive gymnastics is HARD. Even the basics take a
> great deal of time and effort to learn. Plus the kind of rotation and
> inversion that is intrinsic to gymnastics is simply too dangerous to learn
> with out professional coaching.
>
> I think it's just too much time, money and effort for the average person
> simply interested in fitness to put forth.
>
> Dean Dryer

You can do some basic exercises with a set of rings, push-ups, etc., but
inversions without a spotter or a suitable matting on the floor seem kind of
dicey, even assuming you can do them correctly. Gymnastics has been all but
eliminated from K-12 schools due to real or perceived liability issues. I
wonder how long wrestling is going to survive in schools given MRSA and
other hazards.