Sports after gymnastics

[gymnasticsfreak]

A couple weeks ago, I decided that I was done with gymnastics. But now, I need to find another activity\sport to participate in. My mom and I decided to try lots and lots of activities to see which ones I liked best.The ones I would like to try so far are...

-Volleyball
-Track and field
-Modern or jazz or some other kind of dance

So my question is, what sports would be good for a former gymnast to start in that I would already have a okay muscle base in?

 

[ginnymac]

Diving. Fun and a lot less stressful on your body.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

my DD recently quit too. She is taking dance classes - hip hop & tap. loves them both. She also went back to horseback riding. very happy camper.

try anything & everything to see what you like best.

 

[iwannacoach]

Any sport you've ever dreamed about doing, except maybe basketball if you're under 5 feet (whoops!) 1.54 metres tall. Your greatest advantages from strictly a muscle "skill set" point of view would be sports requiring well developed core muscles for quick lateral movement and direction changes front and back. If you have the height for volleyball, and I don't know what that would be, your leg strength and jumping ability will give you an advantage.

Some of the sports I've seen my former gymnasts excell in:


Tennis...speed in all directions

Volleyball....speed in all directions

Track and Field.....Hurdles, 800 metres, and a taller one picked up pole-vaulting like it was the "common cold"

Golf....great core strength for a consistent swing

Diving.....why not?

Martial arts.....scary flexibility combined with strength, balance, timing, and several years worth of supressed "gymnastics frustrations" to unload!

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

My oldest quit gymnastics last year, she now does cheering and track & field (sprints and high jump)

 

[kecks]

may i add olympic weightlifting? check out youtube for videos of girls in the -48 and -53kg weight classes! former gymnasts do very well in this sport, sincle it's all about "gymnastics with a bar" (explosive, very technical, speed, no room for error, lifter needs lots of flexbility, lots of practice - literally years - to get technique down).

 

[gymkat]

Figure skating is fun, and a lot of dance elements in gymnastics are similar to jumps or spins.

 

[GetaGrip]

A lot of people I know who used to do gymnastics are now very successful dancers. I've heard that dancing coaches really appreciate that a gymnast is not only flexible, but is strong and can jump high as well.

I also have a former gymnastics friend who is a really good diver. She's said that once you get past the fact that you flip to your face, it's very easy and fun.

Track and field are definite options, as you get to run fast and be strong. Also, you can usually do these sports at school, so that's a plus as well.

I think if I had to quit gym I would probably go into some sort of combat sport (boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, karate, etc). I'm not much of a dancer, and there aren't many sports out there where you can really go all out.

Really, a gymnast is an all around athlete that can transition well into any sports environment. All you need to do is find something that you love!

 

[sally]

what about tramp or sports acro

 

[gymnastbeth]

Pole vaulting! Gymnasts have the perfect build for pole vaulting. Also, they are used to running full speed at stationary objects, and flying through the air. And it's extremely fun

 

[superflipgirl]

I'm a former gymnast and I do:

Diving, which I've actually been doing almost as long as I've been doing gymnastics and the skills come pretty naturally to me, and the form I get from gymnastics helps me with dives

Track, I do sprints, hurdles, long and high jump and the gymnastics background helps with all of those(I have a VERY flexible back so I thought I would be really good at high jump, I'm okay but I can't really use the flexible back unless I can actually get over the bar right!!!!!!! lol)

Cheerleading for my school, which I consider my "replacement" sport for gymnastics, the reason why I decided I would be fine quitting gymnastics was because I had cheerleading, and the gymnastics helps SO MUCH. I am really flexible which helps me to fly in stunts, my upper body strength helps me base stunts, of course there's tumbling and the jumps come pretty naturally to me. I know a lot of gymnasts(and parents!) groan at the idea of cheerleading but I think it's a lot of fun, and it helps me to not miss gymnastics.

And this summer I'm starting jazz dance classes!!!!! I'm so excited, and I'm interested to see how my gymnastics background plays a role in it

So there are many sports out there for you to try, I get to use my gymnastics skills so much in different sports that I almost don't miss gymnastics at all!!! Good luck and I hope you have fun with whatever you choose!