- Strong leg muscles, especially in the quadraceps, hamstring area, and calves, are essential in gymnastics. Much of your tumbling power comes from your legs, and staying on-balance on the beam requires strong leg muscles as well.
Heel Rises
This exercise focuses strength in the calves as well as the ankles. Often, ankle injuries are due to weaknesses in the muscles in the ankles. The likelihood of twists, strains, and sprains can be reduced by keeping those muscles strong enough to support your weight.
Begin by standing on a solid elevated surface (such as a low beam or a block), facing a wall. With your feet together, standing only on the balls of your feet, go up as high as you can on your toes, drop so that you flex your feet as much as possible, then push back up to high toes. You should try to do them slowly and with as much of a height range as possible.
There are several variations that target different muscles. Try them on one foot at a time, with your feet turned in, or with your feet turned out.
Leg Squats
Standing, with your hands on a wall for support, and with your feet together, bend your knees forward a few inches, and straighten your legs. When done with your feet flat on the ground, you work your hamstring muscles more, and when done on high toes as shown in the illustration, you work the quadraceps.
If you want to make this exercise more difficult, have someone of equal or less weight sit on your back in a piggy-back position. You could also try not straigtening your legs completely.
Mountain Climbers
This exercise will focus on the quadraceps and hamstring muscles. From a standing position jump into a one-knee kneel. Then immediately jump up so that your legs straighten and come together, then switch legs and kneel with the other leg up, and repeat. Be careful not to let your back knee hit the ground too hard as it could injure your knee.
Strength and Conditioning: Legs |