5 Reasons To Join Gymnastics

The benefits of gymnastics training are obvious. Just looking at a gymnast and it becomes apparent that gymnastics training will take the mind and body and to higher levels.

Gymnastics is a fun and exciting sport that involves lots of movement. It's not a requirement that a young athlete practice and perform difficult moves in order to qualify as a member. Rather, the programs can be tailored just for kids, even adults, to just have fun and stay fit.

Here are our top 5 reasons why we think children can benefit from joining a gymnastics club.

Benefits of Gymnastics

• Strength & Flexibility - In gymnastics, strength and flexibility run hand-in-hand. Warming up before strength training will help muscles grow faster and resist injury. Stretching a muscle will make it grow longer and stronger, and involves muscle movements that will cause a muscle to become more elastic. Only after the warming-up session is complete will a certified strength trainer guide the young gymnast through the rest of the strength training session.
• Balance & Coordination - Even though gymnastics can be very difficult, there are simple moves that can be performed by almost anybody. These moves can be achieved by starting out slowly and progressing at any desired rate. Even beginners can experience the benefits of balance training in gymnastics. Good balance and coordination is important for any sport, and is especially true for gymnastics since almost everything you do in gymnastics will involve some level of balance and coordination. The specific types of training moves are good for every part of the human body, ultimately leading to better overall control. Balance and coordination training can help any type of athlete in their preferred sport, whether it's football, basketball, wrestling and many others. It improves their technique and form, enhances their mood and well-being, and fights against the risk of injury.
• Memory & Concentration - When you consider all other sports, no other sport in the world matches the level of memory and concentration that is required in order to learn gymnastics. The process of visualization starts at the tumbling level and becomes even more important as the athlete advances to handstands, half turns and full turns. Although not every athlete will ever make it to more advanced events such as the balance beam, concentration is still important, and will be a part of every regular training session.
• Listening & Following Instructions - Just as basic demands in life will require a student to listen and follow instructions, gymnastics will teach a student gymnast to listen to the careful guidance of a trainer and to follow instructions. As in other sports, the athlete must be able to listen to a coach, but willing accept criticism. Although gymnastics is much different from other sports, the concepts of training carries over into other sports and aspects of life as well.
• It's Fun! - Yes, gymnastics is fun, especially for kids who just want to jump, hop, rollover and run. It's important to have fun at a young age because it's a constructive way to build relationships. When kids have fun, they learn how to make friends and interact with others. And of course, it teaches them how to exercise and have fun at the same time.

Competition

Although competition isn't really a reason for just anyone to join gymnastics, it can be considered a good reason to join for the athlete with stronger ambitions, especially aspiring Olympians. IGC has turned out state champions before, and is currently supporting a Level 9 State Champion.

Most clubs will provide the opportunity for young children to have fun competing in various events. Children will learn what it's like to train and prepare for an event performed in front of parents, friends and teammates. Large audiences can sometimes turn out. Events are formatted in various ways...

• Artistic - Generally, this is the most well-known type of gymnastics event where men and women athletes compete on their corresponding apparatus.
• Rhythmic - Gymnasts perform jumps, tosses, leaps and other moves with different types of apparatus. This is commonly a female-only sport and involves five different types of apparatus: rope, hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon. Floor exercise is also an event in the lower levels of competition.
• Trampoline - In trampoline gymnastics, gymnasts perform high-flying flips and twists on every bounce. This became an Olympic discipline for the 2000 Olympics.
• Tumbling - Tumbling is performed on a spring runway allowing them to flip and twist in succession.
• Acrobatic - No equipment is used. A two- to four-gymnast team performs all types of handstands, holds and balances on each other, while members of the team throw and catch their teammates
• Groups - Usually performed competitively under an event name. Athletes compete together in groups and may be all-female, all-male or mixed.

Competition will get more intense and demanding as the athlete gets older, and thus some young athletes might not want to progress any further. Nonetheless, gymnastics can be beneficial to anyone, even older adults looking for nothing else other than to increase their flexibility and coordination.

⚝ Read more about types of competition»

Gymnastics is for boys and girls..

The sport of gymnastics is more popular among girls, but it's also for boys too. It's a good cross training sport, so even if a young boy or older teen is already involved in their primary sport, taking gymnastics will serve as a cross-training exercise.

Even if a young boy has little or no desire to pursue gymnastics as a sport, there are still many benefits for boys to participate in some form of gymnastics. The type of environment needed to train is usually in the form of a gymnasium, and that means that there are all types of training equipment and supplies available to a young athlete that will help them increase their strength, speed, flexibility and balance.

There are positive benefits for both boys and girls. Gymnastics helps sustain good health and offers other benefits as well. Apart from the physical and developmental benefits, doing gymnastics is fun and socially rewarding. Gymnastics in El Paso is a growing sport, and IGC is a good place for a young child to join a club that a child can grow with. It's all about teaching children the fundamental movement skills they need to lead a physically active and healthy life.

There are benefits for everyone..

For serious kids who want to join gymnastics, the reasons are obvious. But for the child who has little or no interest, there are distinct benefits for them too. IGC Club wants to give ALL children incentives to join our gymnastics club. And for the child who might think that he or she is not good enough for any reason, it doesn't matter because they are always welcomed to join us and just have fun. Whether a young boy or girl thinks they are too big, too small, not fast enough, not strong enough, they are always welcomed at IGC.

Getting Started

Getting started is easy. Just call us and we'll invite you to come visit us. If your child is very young, our tumbling program is designed for children 3 years and above. Our gymnastics program is more advanced and might by something that older kids are interested in. Read more about our overall gymnastics programs here.