Gymnastics is a sport that can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities!

People tend to think gymnastics is just for kids but I would like to share with you the benefits it can offer to adults.

Gymnastics covers so many amazing skills that can be used in everyday life as well as helping us develop a healthier lifestyle outside of the gym. At gymnastics we learn flexibility, balance, co-ordination, strength, conditioning and so much more. In this blog I am going to go through some of the important benefits taking up an adult gymnastics class can have for a healthier you.

When you participate in gymnastics, you can achieve greater overall health.

Being strong and healthy promotes your body’s ability to fight off disease and illness. With the ability to heal itself when you do get sick. There are studies that show adults who are physically active have lower instances of cancer, asthma, cardiac disease, diabetes, and obesity.

You will also increase your flexibility, co-ordination and balance!

This gives you a greater range of motion and greater control of your movements. Many adults assume they might get injured when they think of partaking in gymnastics. This is not the case. As you train in your gymnastics classes and become more flexible,  you will reduce the risk of injury not only in the gym but in your everyday life.

Gymnastics will help you build strength!

Especially core strength which we use for most things we do in our daily routines. It can also be a great social event. You can build friendships with people you train hard with each week, and you learn to encourage/support each other.

Gymnastics or any physical activity is beneficial for improving your focus and concentration capacity, when you work out, your body produces more endorphin’s.

Endorphin’s are an important part of feeling happy and satisfied with life, being involved in gymnastics helps you feel happier!

If you are reading this blog and have always wanted to try gymnastics I urge you to go for it. It is an all-round sport, it is great for so many factors we use in our everyday lives. You'll also be challenged in positive ways you never thought you could, it's amazing what the body and mind can achieve if we just give things a try!

If you want to try an adult class, get in contact with us to book in your free Trial!

Cheers,
Coach Kelesa

Every individual that walks through our gym is going to learn in a slightly different way. Some require verbal ques (linguistic) to understand a process, while others might require a kinesthetic approach by trying the activity themselves. There are many other ways to learn that include Visual (spatial), Aural (auditory), Logical (mathematical), Social  (interpersonal) and Solitary (intrapersonal). All of these methods of learning will help our gymnasts to fully understand and grasp a concept.

In our gymnastics classes we try to use as many of these learning styles in each class as possible. This way all of our gymnasts are getting the most out of their experience. 

Our learning styles have a large influence over the way we recall information and the way that information is internally represented. Research has shown us that each of these learning styles activates different parts of the brain. By increasing the number of parts of the brain used, we remember more of what we have learnt. Resulting in a more effective learning environment. 

In young children, it is especially vital to take all of these learning styles into consideration. As children often learn through play, they will be using nearly all of these learning styles simultaneously.

In our Playskills programs - such as our Gecko's program - we utilize these learning styles through use of "learning cards". These learning cards are accessible through out the gymnastics circuit to the children and their grown ups. The learning cards will contain imagery of the gymnastics skill (visual), a worded description of the activity (linguistic) as well as the opportunity to work on their social skills (interpersonal) with their grown up and the other gymnasts around them.

This is the perfect learning environment for young children to develop their neural pathways in their brain, that will lead to a successful opportunity for learning into their adult hood.

It is also a great opportunity for parents/grown-ups to observe the manner in which their child is engaged through learning.

Do they seem the most interested when the group plays a game of "Follow the leader" (Kinesthetic)? Do they constantly ask you to read the learning cards to them? (Auditory)? Do they need to see how a skill is achieved before they try (Spatial)? Take as much as you possibly can in. The more you know about how they learn; the more you will be able to help them learn.

Do you know how you learn best? Do you think your child learns the same way you do?

Let us know in the comments below! We would love the hear you responses.

Signing off for now,
Coach Maygan

​"So can you do the splits?" - This is one of the most commonly asked questions when gymnastics is brought up in a conversation.

​Flexibility is not just a fundamental part of gymnastics, it is actually very important in nearly every sport - although it
may not be as obvious.

Playing soccer,  rugby or footy the athletes need hamstring
flexibility for their kicks. Rowing needs good hip flexibility to get the most out of
each stroke. Swimmers shoulders need a good range of movement to increase
their speed. I could carry on but you get the point... flexibility is important!

So how do we help our children increase their flexibility? Try these top tips!

Stretch consistently!

If gymnasts are only stretching once or twice a week in class, it is unlikely they
will see a lot of improvement. To increase flexibility, it is important to create a
stretching routine to do either every night or every second night. It doesn't have
to be long 10-15 minutes a day is plenty of time to start seeing some great
results. This could be incorporated before or after (for an extra challenge try
during) homework, while watching tv or even just before going to bed.

Take photos!

Progress photos are a great tool to help motivate both children and adults. When stretching, it may feel like there are no changes being made as it can take a few months of consistent stretching to really see some big results. Taking a photo of your child (or yourself) while they are stretching every couple of weeks will help them see the differences and help keep them motivated to keep going!
Use a mixture of active and passive stretches.
It is important that both active and passive flexibility are practiced. Active
stretching incorporates flexibility through movement, this kind of stretching
requires strength through the muscles to help achieve the stretch which is done without the use of gravity, or a hand - think all kinds of kicks (its harder to hold your leg in the air if you don’t have a hand helping pull it up).
Passive stretching relies on body weight and gravity and requires good joint mobility. Both kinds of stretches are very important for example – you need to be able to do the splits on the floor to do them in the air however; just because you have them on the floor doesn’t necessarily mean you have the active flexibility and strength to be able to do them in the air.

The information to take away from this is incorporate
both kinds of flexibility into your stretching routine!

Get some inspiration!

There are so many videos of amazing gymnasts, dancers and contortionists on
YouTube. Try watching some videos with your child and you both might be
inspired to stick to that stretching routine. When I first started stretching I kept a photo of a skill I wanted to be able to do as my phone background – it may have taken a year but when I finally managed to do it I was so proud! So find some inspo and have your gymnast set themselves a challenge.
You’ll be amazed at what can be achieved!

Be careful not to over stretch!

Yes I know this sounds slightly crazy considering I have been going on about how great stretching is, however we need to make sure our gymnasts/children/selves are not stretching to the point of injury.
When stretching it is important not to feel pain. Discomfort yes but pain, no!
If it is too painful for the gymnast to sit in the stretch for more than a few seconds they are stretching too far and need
something simpler to start with.

The ideal length of time to hold a stretch is between
20-30 seconds. It is also important to note we never want gymnasts ‘bouncing’ in their stretch to try get further as this too can cause unwanted damage.

Hopefully you can enjoy the process and learn to love stretching as much as I have!

Thanks for reading today's blog.
Did you find any of it helpful with your own personal stretching goals?

Cheers,
​Coach Saskia