We know quite a number of you attend sessions but would still need to hone your gymnastics skills by practicing them from the comfort of your home. Here are tips for home training that can significantly help improve gymnastic skills.
We have created exercise plans to help you improve your gymnastics skills from the comfort of your home.
Because there is a wide range of skill levels within the different gymnastics levels, we have segregated the home exercise plan into three distinct groups: the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Depending on the level of the athlete, these can be appropriately tailored.
We will start by tackling the elementary principles of home-workout. Then we proceed to warm-up, followed by the main workout and finally the conditioning workout program. Remember, exercise should be fun.
Basic Principles of Home Exercise
1. Quality Over Quantity
Concentrate on performing every exercise in the correct form instead of the number of repetitions. If done correctly, the training will touch the right muscles. This means that the benefits of every move will be gained, and it will become easier and easier to do in the future since the muscles have been taught the right way of executing a skill.
2. The Law of Gradual Progression
Rome was not built in a day. If you want to improve your game:
- Work at it.
- Perfect it in the gym before you can try it at home.
- If you cannot make a certain number of repetitions, work on it slowly but incrementally. You will eventually get there.
- Do not break your back trying to be somebody else.
3. We Are All Different
If a move is uncomfortable, do not force it. We are all abled differently; a task that comes naturally to one person may be pushing another person into an unnatural position. Quit pushing yourself to keep up with the Joneses. Remember, exercise should be fun. Otherwise, you will give it up soon.
4. Safety First
Do not engage in any activity that is not safe. First, practice it in the gym before trying it at home. We do not recommend any skills that would compromise safety at home. Home workouts are geared towards working on the basics, getting the form right, and mastering proper body posture.
Even in the advanced stages, we emphasize staying with variation in the basics.
Having dispensed with leading practice principles, we now delve into the main workout, beginning with the warm-up. Have fun.
5. Warm-Up
You must warm-up before every training session. Warming up the muscles makes them ready to work out and stretch. If you try to work out muscles that are not warmed up, you will have injuries. You do not warm up only the muscles you target to use in the exercise; you warm up the whole body. In any case, gymnastics is the one activity that engages many muscles.
The warm-up movements ensure the flow of blood to all the body muscles. A warm-up should be dynamic and not static. You keep moving throughout the warm-up to keep the blood flowing. Stretching will be done at the end of the whole session to cool down.
Let us give a simple warm-up procedure below. Remember this is a guide, and you are free to modify it to your requirements.
- 30 jumping jacks
- 30 seconds of high knees
- 30 seconds of jogging on the spot with the ankle touching your bottom
- Arms swinging side to side five times
- Up and down, arm swings five times.
- Roll wrists inward and outward ten times each
- Roll ankles inward and outward ten times each
- Walk across the floor on toes ten times.
- Walk across the floor on heels ten times.
- High kicks forward ten times each leg
- High kick backward ten times each leg
- With feet, shoulder wide apart, lean to the left and hold for 10 seconds.
- Repeat the above move to the left leg and hold for 10 seconds
- In a left lunge position, twist to the right and hold then to the left.
- In the right lunge position, twist to the left and hold then to the right.
- Sit in a straddle on the floor, lean to the right, middle and left leg, and hold for a second. Repeat ten times, touching the feet as you progress
- Sit in pike with feet flexed, hold for ten seconds, point your feet, and hold for ten seconds.
- Stretch your legs out as wide as possible and hold each for ten seconds
- Make wide circles with both arms forward ten times and repeat backward.
If you still feel some muscles warrant additional warming up, please feel free to work them. After the warm-up, you can pick one or more events from the main workout, depending on your particular regime. Conditioning and stretching will come at the end.
The Main Workout: No Equipment Home Training
The following exercises should form part of the main workout:
1. Spider-Man Against the Wall
A handstand is a common feature in almost every form of gymnastics moves. Spiderman against the wall is a perfect means of performing handstands in good form. In gymnastics, handstands are done on the beam, on the floors, on bars. These include cartwheels, front handsprings, back handsprings, and round-offs.
To perform a spider man against the wall:
- Stand with your back against the wall in your house.
- Put both hands on the floor in front of you, and one by one put both feet on the wall.
- Move your hands towards the wall as you push your legs up the wall.
Do this until your body is lined up and your stomach touches the wall. View your hands with your eyes while in a handstand position and your head neutral. Tighten up your muscles and visualize pushing your feet towards the ceiling.
Hold this position for as long as possible before releasing. This is a perfect way to practice correct handstand form since the wall helps to keep your body straight.
2. Sprints
Sprinting is running a short distance in a short time at high speed. This can be practiced anywhere. One way to improve your vaults is to practice sprinting. A vault is a stationary horse-like device used in a gymnastic vault. It involves sprinting, jumping off a springboard, maneuvering on a vaulting horse, and landing.
Superb vaults involve speed and power. The faster the sprint, the more power during the vault.
3. Splits
A split is achieved by the legs stretching and forming a straight line of 180 degrees below the body. The Straddle split involves extending the legs symmetrically on the sides of the body, while in a front split or grand jete, the feet are stretched to the front and back of the body. The split shape will be frequently observed in leaps and jumps and prominently in gymnastics.
Splits are done on the floor and in the air. If you can do them better on the floor, the better you will be able to do them in the air. Perfecting your splits is a great way to work on your flexibility at home. Flexibility is a must-have ingredient in gymnastics.
4. Pull-ups
Hold a horizontal bar with both hands with palms facing either inside or outside. With your feet off the ground and knees bent, raise yourself as high as possible, and hold and lower yourself slowly. That is one rep. Do ten reps. Your feet should not touch the ground between the reps.
This exercise improves your upper body strength, enhancing gymnastics skills at home. You may install a pull-up bar on any doorways or improvise around the house.
5. Scales
Scales are exercises involving pivoting on one leg while keeping the rest of the body straight. There are two types of scales; front scales and back scales. For front scales, stand on one leg; lift the other leg straight in front of you as high as possible.
Hold it for as long as you can without losing your balance. Alternate the legs. Back scale involves lifting the leg directly behind you. Doing scales at home works on and dramatically improves your balance, strength, and flexibility. These are all critical elements of gymnastics.
6. Jumps
By making straight jumps, you significantly improve your jumps. Keeping your body tight and maintaining your body position as much as possible, jump as high as possible.
7. Leaps
A gymnast’s routine involves doing leaps both on the floor and beam. Keep your legs straight and come off the floor as high as possible. All the while, concentrate on ensuring that the angle of both legs remains even.
8. Turns
Turns are common as part of the routine on the floor and the beam alike. Turns can be performed on the carpet or any other floor wearing socks.
9. Conditioning
Conditioning exercises help strengthen your body muscles. Strengthening your muscles improves your gymnastics since this is one sport that entails using most body muscles.
Conditioning exercises that you should consider adding to your routine include calf raises, push-ups, sit-ups, planks, and lunges.
10. Your Routine
Those who have gymnastics routines go over them at home without stumbling. Practice makes perfect. The more you go over the training, the more likely you will remember them. Repetition is great for improving your artistry and expression.
11. Stretch
Always stretch after any exercise session. Stretching helps cool down the body and relax the muscles in readiness for the next session.
Let us now look at segregating the exercises in terms of skill levels such as beginner, intermediate and advanced.
Floor Workouts At Home
You need a gymnastics mat for these workouts or just any mat. The workouts are not cast in stone, and you can modify them here and there depending on your level. You can increase the repetitions but not reduce them because this is the bar. Always remember to make exercise fun.
At Home Floor Workout Program: Beginner
- Tuck jumps – 10 reps each
- Straddle jumps – 10 reps each
- Split jumps – 10 reps each
- Split leaps – 10 leaps
- Forward roll – 5 reps
- Backward roll – 5 reps
- Spiderman against the wall – 5 handstands, hold for 15 seconds each
- Cartwheel – 20 times
- Bridge kick over – 5 reps
If you find these beginner’s steps too easy for you, it is time to move to intermediate.
At Home Floor Workout Program: Intermediate
- Split jumps – 15 reps each
- Straddle jump – 15 reps each
- Half turn jump – 15 reps each
- Wolf jump – 15 reps each
- Split leap – 10 reps
- Half turn on toe – 10 reps
- Back extension roll – 5 times
- Spiderman against the wall – 5 handstands, hold for 30 seconds each
- Aerial drills – 10 times
If you find these moves way too easy for you, it may be time to move to the advanced level.
At Home Floor Workout Program: Advanced
- Pike jumps – 20 reps
- Straddle jump – 20 reps
- Split jumps – 20 reps
- Split leaps – 15 reps
- Switch leaps – 10 reps
- Forward kicks – 15 kicks
- Backward kicks – 15 kicks
- Turn on toe – 15 turns
- Spiderman against the wall – 5 handstands, hold for 1minute each
- Press handstands – 10 handstands
Bar Workouts at Home
For these workouts, you need home bars The exercises are not cast in stone, and you can modify them here and there depending on your level. You can increase the repetitions but not reduce them because what is given here is the goal.
At Home Bar Workout Program: Beginner
- Casts – 10 reps
- Leg cut – 3 reps
- Pullover – 5 reps
- Tuck ups – 10 reps
- Glide – 5 reps
At Home Bar Workout Program: Intermediate
- Casts – 20 reps
- Pike glide – 10 reps
- Straddle glide – 10 reps
- Leg lifts – 15 reps
- Pull-ups – 5 reps
At Home Bar Workout Program: Advanced
- Casts – 20 reps
- Kip – 10 reps
- Leg lifts – 20 reps
- Pull-ups – 15 reps
Conditioning
When you think of Simone Biles, what comes to mind is strength and power. That is what conditioning does to your body to improve your gymnastics. To be a successful gymnast, you need to be strong. Below is an outline of the intermediate and advanced workouts incorporating an equal amount of horizontal push and pull as well as vertical push and pull exercises.
Conditioning Workout Program: Beginner
- Knee push-ups – 10 reps
- Arm bends with pull up bar – bend arms while hanging on a pull bar
- Hip lift – 5 reps twice
- Squats – 5 reps twice
- Swiss ball leg curl – 5 reps twice
- V ups – 5 reps twice
Conditioning Workout Program: Intermediate
- Push-ups – 10 reps
- Bent over rows – 10 reps twice
- Chin-ups with pull up bar – 5 reps
- Hip lifts – 10 reps twice
- Kettlebell – 5 reps twice
- Squats – 10 reps twice
- Leg curl – 10 reps twice
- V ups – 10 reps twice
- Planks – 30 seconds twice
Conditioning Workout Program: Advanced
- Push-ups – 10 reps twice
- Bent over rows – 15 reps twice
- Chin-ups with pull up bar – 10 reps
- Hip lifts – 15 reps twice
- Kettlebell – 10 reps twice
- Squats – 15 reps twice
- Leg curl – 15 reps twice
- V ups – 15 reps twice
- Planks – 60 seconds twice
When you are through with your conditioning, you are done with your workout. You can now stretch and cool down.
We sincerely hope that you will enjoy these gymnastics skills to practice at home. Practicing these skills at home will improve your gymnast’s technical skill and confidence.
Let us know in the comments what you think of these tips and gymnastics skills to practice at home. If you liked this article, share it with all your gymnastics friends!
See also: Gymnastics Home Equipment Buying Guide