Care Tips for your Gymnastics Equipment

Welcome back to The Gym Spot – your go-to destination for all things gymnastics! Whether you’re a gymnast practicing at home or a dedicated club owner, taking care of your equipment is key to keeping it safe and durable. In this blog post, we’ve got the inside scoop on how to clean, inspect, and maintain your gymnastics gear for maximum performance and longevity. Let’s dive … Continue reading Care Tips for your Gymnastics Equipment

8 Stretches to Master the Splits

Mastering the splits requires dedication and consistent effort! By learning the right techniques and sticking to a structured approach, you can make significant progress in your flexibility journey. In this blog, we take a look at five valuable stretches to help you master the splits at home. Never try to rush the process or push yourself to ‘overstretch’ when attempting to master the splits as … Continue reading 8 Stretches to Master the Splits

Two gymnasts performing a cartwheel

How to do a Cartwheel

Learning to do a cartwheel becomes easier when you break it down into simple steps. To master the cartwheel, it’s crucial to practise each step individually before combining them. Bughy, the Head Gymnastics Coach/Club Director at Gold Medal Gymnastics demonstrates the step-by-step guide for performing a cartwheel in the video below. Happy cartwheeling! What other gymnastics skills are you working on? Let us know in … Continue reading How to do a Cartwheel

Back Handspring Drills

Developing a proper handspring form is vital for gymnasts, cheerleaders, and dancers as it’s a foundational skill for many complex manoeuvres. To improve your technique in no time, try these three easy drills from the Royal All Stars Cheer & Dance Academy! 1. Resistance Band Swings Improve arm swing and strength with the help of a resistance band. They are versatile and can be used for … Continue reading Back Handspring Drills

Strength and Mobility Exercises

To prevent injury in sports such as gymnastics, cheerleading, acrobatics and dance, it is crucial to condition on a regular basis. Conditioning has various physical benefits, which include strengthening the joints, eliminating muscle imbalances, core strength development, and better balance, speed, mobility and overall range of motion. In cheerleading, it is important to make a conscious effort to condition the hips, ankles and knees to … Continue reading Strength and Mobility Exercises

Injury Prevention for Knee Pain

Did you know that our legs can experience 4-17x our body weight when we are tumbling or coming down from working on an apparatus? This is why it’s important to ensure that we monitor this part of the body, most especially our knees when participating in high-impact sports like gymnastics. For the final series of our injury prevention with Physiotherapist Dani Davey, we take a … Continue reading Injury Prevention for Knee Pain

Injury Prevention for Achilles Tendon

The Achilles tendon connects the muscles in the calf (gastrocs and soleus) to the heel bone (calcaneus). It is one of the thickest tendons in the body.  The Achilles, calf and foot act as a spring, absorbing energy when we land from tricks and using that stored energy to give us the power to move again. Studies say that the Achilles can be put under … Continue reading Injury Prevention for Achilles Tendon

Injury Prevention for Wrist Pain

According to Physiotherapist Dani Davey, weight-bearing exercises such as handstands, bridges, planks and tumbling can cause frequent wrist pain in gymnasts, cheerleaders, acrobats and dancers. To prevent wrist pain or injury, it’s important that athletes work on their motion extension and strength exercises before doing any of these movements. The below image portrays the recommended motion of extension. Measure the angle between the forearm and … Continue reading Injury Prevention for Wrist Pain

Injury Prevention For Lower Back Pain

Introducing Dani from Edgeworth Physio! Dani graduated from the University of Newcastle in 2012, and and she works mostly with gymnasts, dancers, aerialists, cheer leaders and hypermobile people for when it comes to recovery from sports- and movement- related injuries, as well as provides ways in which you can prevent them. Gymnastics, acrobatics, aerial and cheer are high risk sports, meaning that athletes are prone … Continue reading Injury Prevention For Lower Back Pain