Flexibility Training for Gymnastics
This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide to flexibility training tailored to gymnastics. It will cover the importance of flexibility in gymnastics, and effective tools and tips to improve dynamic flexibility and mobility for gymnastics.
And while flexibility in and of itself is important, possibly the most important aspect of flexibility training for gymnastics is building control and strength while in motion, not just sitting and stretching, and this article will also cover how to achieve that.
A quick definition of flexibility
Flexibility is a physical capability or characteristic. A most basic definition: The ability to voluntarily move a joint through its full range of motion (ROM). This capability depends on our unique anatomical and physiological make up (to some degree influenced by our genetics) including our muscle & tendons, peripheral nerves, the states of ligaments, bones and cartilages that form the joint, and neural reflexes. (Thomas, Ewan, et al. "The relation between stretching typology and stretching duration: the effects on range of motion." International journal of sports medicine 39.04 (2018): 243-254.)
Why flexibility training is crucial for gymnastics
Gymnastic skills require fairly extreme ranges of motion of the shoulders, hips and back in particular. Many skills are difficult or impossible to do well without a certain level of flexibility, and a lack of flexibility in gymnastics can certainly be a reason for a young athlete to pursue a different sport.
One of the most basic things young gymnasts learn and train are bridges and splits, and the ability (or inability) to do these are often seen as early indicators of potential success. In fact, in order to be invited to a pre-team development program, gymnastics coaches assess flexibility as it can be a prerequisite for future ease in learning skills and progressing to higher levels.
For example, being able to do a back handspring on beam with proper mechanics requires good shoulder and thoracic spine flexibility. Without those, the desired trajectory and dynamic is difficult to achieve, and then adding skills after that - another back handspring or a flight element like a back tuck or layout will be more difficult to achieve.
Gymnastics also has an aesthetic component; certain positions are more pleasing visually than others. Similar to dance, sufficient plantar flexion (pointed the foot) is desired to create a good ‘line’ in both acrobatic and dance skills.
Flexibility training for gymnastics plays a role in injury prevention
Gymnasts with a lack of flexibility may also suffer wrist, shoulder and back injuries. Because so many gymnastics skills are done with weight on the hands–usually multiple times their body weight–if a gymnast’s shoulders aren’t sufficiently mobile, there will be compensatory (and not mechanically sound) forces through the wrists, elbows and back.
And to enable good landing mechanics, gymnasts need good range of motion in dorsiflexion (flexed position) to avoid ankle, knee or back injuries.
As a gymnast advances in her career, the skill level and physical impacts increase; without mobility and control of that mobility, repetitive stress injuries may be more likely to develop.
What flexibility training for gymnastics looks like
Static stretching for gymnastics
This is the most common mode of flexibility training that you’ll see if you were to visit a gymnastics club. Gymnasts will sit in splits - forward, middle - and in a pike position, often at the end of practice. They will often train flexibility in over splits, where one leg is propped up on mats to achieve more than a 180 degree split.
While many coaches believe that ‘longer is better’, gymnasts should remain in each static position for no more than 45-60 seconds. In fact there are studies that show that there is very little difference in physical properties of the muscles when a position is held for more than 60 seconds. (Magnusson SP. Passive properties of human skeletal muscle during stretch maneuvers: a review. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 1998;8:65–77. )
One study found that the total daily stretching time was the key variable more than the number of times subjects stretched or the duration of the stretch. In fact, six rounds of a ten second stretch (done twice a day) had a similar result as two rounds of a thirty second stretch done twice a day. (Cipriani, Daniel J., et al. "Effect of stretch frequency and sex on the rate of gain and rate of loss in muscle flexibility during a hamstring-stretching program: a randomized single-blind longitudinal study." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 26.8 (2012): 2119-2129.)
A meta study on flexibility types demonstrated that the total stretching time per week was a key factor: A minimum of 5 minutes per day and 5 days per week was the recommended frequency to achieve significant ROM improvements. Of the modes of stretching included in the study, static stretching had the greatest positive effect, over PNF and ballistic methods.
Dynamic flexibility training for gymnastics
Dynamic flexibility training for gymnastics is just as important as static or passive stretching. This is training that requires the gymnast to move into the full range of motion with or without resistance from bands or additional weight from ankle weights.
While many gymnastics clubs and coaches incorporate dynamic stretching into their flexibility programs, often there is insufficient attention to alignment at the expense of achieving desired end positions. Gymnasts will use momentum and torque their trunk and hips in order to get greater height, and often the form of their legs (straight legs in particular) is forgotten in an effort to kick their leg higher.
This is in contrast to ballet training, where proper or desired alignment of the torso and hips is emphasized at all times, even at the expense of greater ranges of motion.
This focus on strength and control at end range is often missing in flexibility training for gymnastics. An important factor for a gymnast’s ability to hit a full 180 split (or more) or to have strength from the shoulders is to have control at the full range of flexibility. This is better achieved via isometric strength training and joint mobility exercises that require control at the end ranges.
One effective isometric exercise to achieve better control at end range is to do isometric contractions in 4 directions. The gymnast moves their shoulders or leg to end range, contracts their muscles (at 30% of max effort) into the resistance (one plane at a time). One to two rounds will typically yield a greater passive AND active range of motion.
Summary
Flexibility is an essential part of gymnastics training in order to achieve dynamic mobility in the extreme ranges of motion that are required of the sport. Sufficient range of motion plus control and strength in those ranges are necessary for gymnasts to achieve basic skills and to safely progress to higher levels.
Both static and dynamic flexibility training should be incorporated into any gymnastics flexibility training program, limiting the amount of time spent in static or passive stretching to as little as 45 seconds in each position. And a sufficient amount of flexibility training time each practice should be dedicated to building strength in full ranges of motion and in gymnastics skill-specific positions.