In
Ancient Greece, this sport was developed by a former soldier aiming to train
the youth into fighting shape. It was rigorous and sought to prepare them
physically and mentally for warfare. This sport later became known as
gymnastics.
اضافة اعلان
Gymnastics is an exercise that develops and displays physical agility and coordination. It
is a diverse sport, and some of the world's greatest athletes participate in
it.
There
are six official categories of gymnastics: artistic, rhythmic, trampoline,
power tumbling, acrobatics, and aerobics. The gymnastics commonly seen at the
Olympics include artistic, rhythmic, and trampoline gymnastics.
Artistic
gymnastics — the most common form worldwide — may be the most traditional form
that comes to mind, including events on the vault, bars, and balance beams.
Rhythmic gymnastics, which currently only allows female participants, consists
of jumps, leaps, and tosses using items such as rope, hoop, ribbon, ball, and
clubs. Trampoline gymnastics consists of high-flying jumps and twists and
performing skills while jumping up to eight meters in the air.
Why
choose gymnastics?
With
numerous positive effects on mental and physical health, many athletes train in
gymnastics alongside their main sport to further improve their performance.
Millions of people worldwide are reaping the life-long benefits that gymnastics
offers. When done safely, under trained supervision, gymnastics can be one of
the best sports for everyday
physical health.
Flexibility
and balance
The
most obvious benefit of gymnastics is the incredible improvement in flexibility
and balance. Outside of allowing athletes to perform thrilling flips and round-offs,
increased flexibility is a great asset to healthy bones, joints, and proper
posture.
When done safely, under trained supervision, gymnastics can be one of the best sports for everyday physical health.
Postural
disorders are most common in children during critical periods of growth and
development. According to a 2016 study comparing primary school
children who engage
in gymnastics and those who do not, there is a significant difference in the
incidence of postural disorders such as left chest scoliosis in those who do
not practice the sport.
Another
study comparing expert gymnasts to expert athletes of other sports set out to
determine whether or not gymnasts had superior postural control (i.e., balance)
and showed that although both groups had comparable performance in normal
balancing tasks, the expert gymnasts proved to be significantly better at
maintaining proper balance and minimizing postural sway when destabilized in
other ways such as removing vision.
Unlike
the other athletes, gymnasts could use their other senses to maintain
stability, even while blindfolded.
These
findings indicate life-long benefits superior to those of other athletes in
terms of posture, balance, joint, and spinal health. As we age, these factors
become increasingly relevant as they become the cause of chronic pain and, for
many, may lead to death as the elderly have an increased risk of fatal injuries
from falling.
Bone
health
Like
our muscles, our bones can also be trained and strengthened through exercise. A
2010 study of the bone health of girls aged 9–13 showed that those who
participated in gymnastics had increased thickening of the bone and bone
strength. The findings of this study showed that training in rhythmic
gymnastics could significantly improve bone health in adolescent girls.
These
benefits are important given that osteoporosis traits start in childhood. The
study's author even went on to speculate that if girls continue their gymnastic
training beyond adolescence, even if their training is less intensive, they may
have a reduced risk of bone fracture later in life.
A
similar 2016 study was conducted on female university students comparing
bone mineral density (BMD) of gymnasts to non-gymnasts. The gymnasts had
significantly higher mean lumbar (i.e., backbones) and femoral neck (i.e.,
thigh bones) BMDs than non-gymnasts.
These
results further prove that gymnastics can help build bone density, decrease
fractures, and reinforce spine strength for better posture and less back pain.
Furthermore, although most studies center on female participants, there is no
reason to believe that these benefits would not also apply to males.
General
muscle strength
If you
have ever seen gymnasts such as
Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas, you might have
noticed that gymnastics is a great sport in terms of muscle building.
Unlike
traditional
bodybuilding, gymnastics uses the power of your own body weight to
build your physique. It benefits your core and builds the legs and arms, which
helps launch athletes in the air and supports balance.
This
holistic exercise leads to a more natural form that aids everyday activities,
even just standing up straight and walking for longer without pain, carrying
heavy bags, and walking up the stairs.
Self-esteem
and anxiety
Unlike
most sports, in gymnastics, you are judged by a panel that inspects every small
movement and determine a score. This is a source of mental stress for the many
adolescents in the sport. However, as part of the competition’s training, the
athletes will learn not to let their worth as performers and humans be
determined by a score.
A study
from the
University of Toronto concluded that adolescents could develop
personal control, gain internal focus, and have higher self-esteem by
practicing highly complex and challenging sports, such as gymnastics.
The
more a gymnast competes, the more they will be able to overcome performance
anxiety and develop mechanisms of coping with feelings of self-doubt. Furthermore,
gymnastics is a unique and useful sport that can increase confidence in one's
skills and individuality. Having a hobby to be passionate about also enhances
your sense of purpose.
Depression
Like
most exercises, gymnastics can also boost mood by releasing
endorphins which
are naturally produced chemicals in the brain that fight stress, anxiety, and
pain. During training, athletes may experience a sort of high due to these chemicals,
which has effects lasting even in rest.
Gymnastics is a unique and useful sport that can increase confidence in one’s skills and individuality.
Exercise,
like gymnastics, can encourage a general sense of well-being even when not
actively exercising. A 2015 study of the influence of gymnastics on geriatric
depression concluded that a regimen of gymnastics three times a week reduces
depression in elderly individuals.
Cognitive
ability
As you
develop your
muscles, you also develop what controls your muscles: your brain.
A 2012
study examined the relationship between physical prowess and cognitive function
by comparing elite and amateur gymnasts. The elite gymnasts showed a
significantly superior cognitive ability in terms of spatial ability,
reasoning, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, and verbal comprehension
compared to amateurs.
Practicing
gymnastics helps train your mind and can potentially be beneficial in
preventing age-related cognitive decline.
Gymnastics
in Jordan
Gymnastics
is a sport for everyone. In Jordan, many places such as Atlantis Gymnastics
Academy in Al-Rawabi, Amman, and Flex Fitness Center in Khalda have great
programs for all ranges of abilities.
It is
never too late to start, and any level of intensity will surely improve our
life positively.
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