Just buy some rings from ringtraining.com or some other store, and look up planche and lever progressions, iron cross progressions, etc. - whatever your goals are. That way you don’t need to screw yourself with landings, and you can work the strength part of gymnastics which it seems you are interested in.
The activity of gymnastics is awesome for your overall body strength and flexibility. However, just like any other sport, the problems come not from the training involved, but from athletes who are pushing through injuries for the sake of competition. For example, they get ankle problems and then are forced to push through them and keep on landing on pointed toes (which is biomechanically horrible for your ankles, knees, back, etc.) all for the sake of the competition and the judging. But if you where just doing gymnastics training for fitness, if you hurt something, you don’t have to force yourself to keep doing it for any reason.
Like any sport, its just the the culture and the coaching and the pushing through injuries all surrounding the competition that is the problem.
Gymnastics as a method to increase muscle size is overrated. The skill level required to perform most gymnastics movements are quite high and will not give you near the amount of benifit training in a gym with rusty plates would.
Handstand pushups, planche-pushups, and pull-ups (plus variations) are the best “gymnastics-like” movements for muscle building, in my opinion.
[quote]oboffill wrote:
Gymnastics as a method to increase muscle size is overrated. The skill level required to perform most gymnastics movements are quite high and will not give you near the amount of benifit training in a gym with rusty plates would.
Handstand pushups, planche-pushups, and pull-ups (plus variations) are the best “gymnastics-like” movements for muscle building, in my opinion.[/quote]
Agreed. Cutler isn’t practicing backflips. Eat+Lift+Sleep=Big. It’s simple.
Give it a go and take some before and do us a favour by taking some before and after shots of your lats.
[quote]mrl179 wrote:
i have been interested in training like a gymnast for a number of years. Mainly to even out my body in the future, both weight training and bodyweight training to create an amazing body to BE FEARED!!!
I went on yahoo answer and just wanted to see how people like it, well it turns out that some have problems…serious problems. I know that weight lifting also has its ups and downs but this looks really horrible. Look at what the people have to say
“i was a gymnast for 10 years. i dont mean to scare you but my body was worked way too much and i have ankle injuries and back problems that even but me in a back brace. the worst part is that i am only 12 and it was on of the worst things i could have done to my body. dont get me wrong gymnastics has been the best thing that has ever happened to me and it has taught me how to overcome my fears. but gymnastics definately has its ups and downs”
"I was a gymnast for 15 years, it was one of the best things I ever did, but I’m starting to regret it. I’m 37 now, and in pain everyday and my doctors all agree that my health problems are directly caused by gymnastics. I see a chiropractor at least once a week and sometimes 3. My back and neck are a total mess and there is no cure. I will be in pain for the rest of my life, just something that you should consider. "
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If you’re not going to be actually competing as a gymnast I don’t see why you’d want to train like one.
Why not incorporate some gymnastic type movements into your training? Rings are popular over at Crossfit if you’re into that type of thing.
There’s a lot more to it though, like flexibility, the bar, the flips, etc. They’re not the only athletes that are flexible, or that can do flips or the like.
Besides, Olympian gymnasts are very muscular, but there’s other gymnasts that are not; don’t take them as the norm, they’re the best of the best.
If you decide to take up gymnastics training with the only goal being to look like a gymnast, I think you’re biting off more than you can chew; it’ll be years before you’re probably doing anything significant.
Some football players are jacked. Should I take up football?