Exercises for Gymnasts
33 Exercises For Gymnasts To Improve Strength at Home
Exercises for gymnasts can now be done from the comfort of your home! Get effective strength training with our revolutionary counter-balance board (aka COBA Board).
Strength training is essential for gymnasts to build muscle, improve balance, and enhance flexibility. With the right exercises and tools, like the COBA Board, you can target key muscle groups and boost your performance without needing a gym.
In this post, we’ll guide you through a variety of exercises that will help you strengthen your body and reach your gymnastics goals from the comfort of your own home.
Strength Training Exercises for Gymnasts
Upper Body
Kneeling Cable Curl
While kneeling on the COBA Board, attach the resistance bands to the board and pull the bands toward your chest. This move focuses on strengthening your biceps, while the kneeling position engages your core for added stability.
Kneeling Upright Row
With resistance bands attached to the COBA Board, you pull the bands upward towards your chin while kneeling. This exercise works your shoulders and upper back, improving posture and upper body strength.
Seated Overhead Tricep Extension
Sitting on the COBA Board, you hold the resistance bands behind your head and extend your arms upward. This move strengthens the triceps, the muscles at the back of your upper arms.
Seated Single Arm Shoulder Press
While seated on the COBA Board, press one arm at a time overhead with resistance bands. This strengthens the shoulders while improving balance and core stability.
Skull Crushers
Lying on your back on the COBA Board, hold resistance bands and bend your elbows to lower your hands towards your forehead, then straighten your arms. This works the triceps, with the COBA Board providing added stability.
Standing Hammer Head Curl
Standing on the COBA Board, hold the bands with palms facing inward and curl them towards your shoulders. This works your biceps and forearms while the board engages your core and legs for balance.
Standing Tricep Kickback
Standing on the COBA Board with bands in hand, bend forward and extend your arms backward. This strengthens the triceps and engages your core and legs for stability.
Standing Two Arm Bend Over Row
Standing on the COBA Board, bend forward and pull the bands towards your chest. This strengthens your back, arms, and core, while the COBA Board adds resistance to your lower body.
Wood Chop
Attach a band to the COBA Board and mimic a wood chop motion, pulling the band diagonally across your body. This works your core and upper body muscles, with the COBA Board enhancing core engagement.
Chest Fly with Crunch
Lying on the COBA Board, hold the bands and open your arms wide, then bring them together above your chest while adding a crunch. This strengthens your chest and core.
Chest Press
Lying on the COBA Board, press the resistance bands upward from your chest. This exercise builds strength in your chest, shoulders, and triceps.
Core
Reverse Crunch Pullover
Lying on the COBA Board, pull your knees toward your chest while pulling a band over from behind your head. This works both your core and upper body, with the board enhancing stability.
Abdominal Twist
Sitting on the COBA Board, twist your torso side to side while holding a band or weight. This exercise targets your obliques and engages your core, with the board adding instability to challenge your balance.
Chest Fly with Crunch
Combine a chest fly with a crunch while lying on the COBA Board. This move strengthens your chest muscles and engages your core as you crunch upwards.
Overhead Crunch
Lying on the COBA Board, extend your arms overhead while performing a crunch. The COBA Board challenges your core stability throughout the movement.
Lower Body
Squats (Regular)
Stand on the COBA Board with feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down by bending your knees and lowering your hips, while keeping balance on the board. This strengthens your thighs, glutes, and calves.
Squat (Downhill)
Elevate your heels on the COBA Board and perform a squat. This variation targets the quads more intensely.
Squat (Sumo)
With a wider stance on the COBA Board and feet turned out, perform a squat. This move targets the inner thighs and glutes.
Squat (Pulsing)
Stay low in a squat on the COBA Board and pulse up and down in small movements. This increases muscle endurance and time under tension.
Lunge (Standard)
Step one foot forward while keeping the other on the COBA Board. Lower your back knee towards the ground, working your quads, hamstrings, and glutes.
Lunge (Curtsey to Step Up)
Step one leg diagonally behind the other (curtsey position), then step up onto the COBA Board. This move targets your outer thighs and glutes.
Deadlift (Regular)
Stand on the COBA Board with resistance bands. Bend at your hips and lower the bands towards the board while keeping your back flat. This strengthens your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back.
Deadlift (Single-leg)
Stand on one leg on the COBA Board, holding a band, and perform a deadlift. This variation challenges balance and works the hamstrings and glutes of the standing leg.
Calf Raises
Stand on the COBA Board with your toes and raise your heels off the board, then lower them back down. This strengthens your calf muscles and improves balance.
Lateral Side Step with Squat
Step to the side while standing on the COBA Board, then lower into a squat. This works the outer thighs, glutes, and challenges balance.
Abduction
Attach a band to the COBA Board and move your leg away from your body to the side. This exercise strengthens the outer hips and glutes.
Kickback
Perform a quicker, more explosive version of the donkey kick, using the resistance of the COBA Board to build power in the glutes.
Donkey Kick
On hands and knees on the COBA Board, kick one leg up towards the ceiling, focusing on your glutes.
Glute Bridge (Regular)
Perform the same movement with one leg lifted, challenging balance and working each side individually.
Hip Thrust (Regular)
With your upper back resting on a bench and feet on the COBA Board, push your hips upwards. This strengthens the glutes and hamstrings.
Hip Thrust (Single-leg)
Perform the same movement with one leg elevated, increasing the difficulty and balance challenge.
Kneeling Thrust w/Weights
Kneel on the board, lowering your glutes towards your heels, then thrusting your hips forward, engaging your core and glutes to improve lower body strength and stability.
Setting Fitness Goals with COBA Board
Build Strength
Upper Body Strength
The COBA Board has many upper body exercises like bicep curls and two-arm rows to help gymnasts gain strength in their arms, shoulders, and back. This is especially important for moves like handstands, bar swings, and holding your body up.
Core Strength
Exercises like reverse crunches and abdominal twists strengthen all the muscles in your torso. A strong, sturdy core helps gymnasts take better control of their bodies when flipping, jumping, or balancing.
Lower Body Strength
Gymnasts absolutely need strong legs and the COBA squats, lunges, deadlifts, kickbacks, among many more exercises can help get you there. Strong legs are incredibly important for jumping high, doing flips, and sticking landings.
Increase Flexibility
The COBA lunges and hip thrusts help to stretch and strengthen your hips, legs, and back. This helps gymnasts do things like splits, high leg lifts, and other moves that demand the body to be flexible.
Improve Balance and Coordination
The COBA exercises help gymnasts practice balance and stability, like single-leg deadlifts and glute bridges. These exercises help make you more aware of your body and positions you to stay balanced, which is important for things like handstands and beam routines.
Build Endurance
The COBA Board Workouts On-Demand has workouts that mix strength and cardio, which helps gymnasts get in better shape to perform long routines. By doing exercises like squats and push-ups in a series, gymnasts can last longer without getting tired.
Develop Explosive Power
COBA's squats and deadlifts help gymnasts build power in their legs. This is crucial for jumping high in vaults, tumbling, and landing properly. Explosive power comes from having a strong lower body, this is what COBA Board specializes in.
Improve Body Control and Precision
Core-focused exercises like COBA's reverse crunch pullover, helps teach gymnasts how to control their body movements better. By practicing in a slower, controlled movement, this enables gymnasts to perform their skills more precisely during routines.
Prevent Injuries
The COBA Board is great at strengthening the muscles around important joints like the knees, hips, and shoulders, which would help gymnasts avoid injuries by building out these key muscle groups. Glute bridges and kickbacks make these areas stronger so that gymnasts stay safe during high-impact movements and transitions.
Improve Agility and Speed
Lateral side steps on the COBA Board can help improve agility when gymnasts move quickly and change directions smoothly. Agility is important because it helps to transition between different skills during routines.
Build Mental Toughness and Focus
Using the COBA Board regularly helps gymnasts stay focused and disciplined. This mental toughness is an important skill for all types of athletes when learning how to handle the pressure of competitions.
Importance Of Gymnastics Exercises
Strength
Gymnastics is a physically demanding sport and requires explosive power and strength from the gymnasts. It's a critical component for athletes to develop strong muscles and have optimal performance. Core strength is vital for stability and balance for movement on the rings, bars, and vaults.
Flexibility
It is necessary to be flexible for gymnastics. It allows you to perform a wide range of movements without the risk of injury. Flexibility combines stretching, muscle strength, and the ability to be nimble. Being flexible is crucial when holding positions and maintaining control of your body movements.
Endurance
A gymnast's ability to maintain high-quality performance showcases their endurance. Muscular endurance is the ability of muscles to perform repeated contractions without fatigue. Aerobic endurance helps gymnasts recover quickly between routines. The anaerobic endurance allows them to perform high-intensity activities. Together, they contribute to athletic endurance.
Workout Recommendations For Gymnasts
Strength Training
Strength training exercises help the gymnasts focus on functional movements. Squats, push-ups, pull-ups, and lunges build the foundational strength. A solid combination of body weight and resistance is important for performance enhancement. It ensures muscle growth and overall physical conditioning.
Flexibility Training
Flexibility training allows them to perform dynamic stretches, warm up efficiently, and cool down with static stretches. Yoga and pilates are performed to enhance a gymnast's flexibility and body awareness.
Endurance Workout
Increase cardiovascular fitness with endurance workouts. These powerful workouts eliminate the need to add unwanted bulk. Swimming, cycling, and light jogging are recommended to athletes for high-intensity workouts.
Key Areas of Focus
Core Strength
Having a strong core is vital for gymnasts to maintain balance, do flips, and hold precise body positions during routines. The COBA's core-focused exercises like reverse crunch pullovers, abdominal twists, and overhead crunches perfectly target the deep abdominal muscles, obliques, and lower back. Strengthening these core areas enhances a gymnast's ability to maintain those difficult mid-air poses, allowing for better control in tumbling, vaulting, and balancing exercises.
Upper Body Strength
There are plenty of full-body COBA exercises that can help gymnasts build upper body strength, which is crucial for doing handstands, pull-ups, and uneven bar routines. COBA's seated single arm shoulder presses, standing hammer head curls, and two-arm rows can enhance shoulder, back, and arm stability and strength. These moves can help gymnasts gain the control and power that's needed for high-intensity upper body movements, which lends itself to improving their ability to hold positions like the iron crosses or execute dynamic swings.
Lower Body Strength
Leg and hip strength are critical for explosive power and stability in gymnastics - this is our specialty! We have an extensive list of lower body exercises that are guaranteed to give you the strength training you're looking for. COBA squats, lunges, deadlifts, and glute bridges focus on the legs, hips, and glutes. The movements our lower body exercises provide, build the necessary power for vaulting, tumbling, and jumping, while our other exercises like calf raises and abduction help develop ankle stability and hip mobility. By strengthening the lower body, gymnasts can improve their ability to generate power and maintain balance in landing and takeoff.
Flexibility
Build flexibility to achieve clean split leaps, straddles, and acrobatic moves. A good stretching routine is vital for gymnasts to maintain and enhance their flexibility. In addition to incorporating the COBA Board into your fitness routine, consider practicing yoga and pilates regularly to improve body awareness.
Balance and Coordination
Balance and coordination are key components of gymnastics. Utilize the COBA Board to like balance beam drills and BOSU ball. It challenges you to keep good form.
Lower Body Strength
Improve your leg strength and enhance the lower body muscles for safe flips and landing. Develop endurance and ability with squats. Also, practicing plyometric exercises will provide legs with explosive power.
The Best Exercises for Gymnasts Are Done with COBA Board
Gymnasts can totally improve their strength at home with the right exercises and equipment like the COBA Board. By incorporating a variety of upper body, core, and lower body workouts, you can build the strength, balance, and flexibility needed to level up your gymnastics performance.
The COBA Board’s unique 7-degree incline adds extra resistance and challenges your stability, making every move more effective. Whether you're working on squats, lunges, or core exercises, our COBA exercises will help you reach your fitness goals and perform at your best. Stay consistent, and you’ll see amazing results from the comfort of your home.
