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Weight??
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There is no "ideal weight;" it depends on the height and build of the gymnast.
Obviously, being lighter makes most skills easier. But being stronger makes most skills easier as well, and muscle is pretty heavy.
And round and round it goes.
Obviously, being lighter makes most skills easier. But being stronger makes most skills easier as well, and muscle is pretty heavy.
And round and round it goes.
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hammy
I agree with GT. There are some coaches who stress weight, but in the end it all depends on the build of a gymnast. It's also important to keep in mind that muscles do weigh more than fat. As a coach, I just look to encourage gymnasts to keep a healthy weight and eating lifestyle.
i think that the stronger you are, you may be heavier and just a little harder to get some skills. but if you are really light but have no strength, skills will be harder. so, really, ther is no ideal weight cuz everyone has diff amt of muscle mass. for example, i have a heavier build but find i dont have trouble with many skills
It all depends on body type and age. Everyone will differ. Like I'm 5'3'', so that's tall for a gymnast but I'm muscular. Nastia Luikin is tall but skinny. Shawn Johnson is short and a powerhouse. My sister is short and skinny. It all depends.
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lil_gymnast_lanny
Right on!
Our gym isn't a serious gym, which kindda sux for me coz im the only national gymnast, So none of our coaches say anything about our weight.
What buggs me though is a former team-mate of mine quite last year and now she's come back to "stay in shape" but al she does is talk and distract other gymnasts! Hello! Our parents are paying for gymnastics not gossip girls!
Our gym isn't a serious gym, which kindda sux for me coz im the only national gymnast, So none of our coaches say anything about our weight.
What buggs me though is a former team-mate of mine quite last year and now she's come back to "stay in shape" but al she does is talk and distract other gymnasts! Hello! Our parents are paying for gymnastics not gossip girls!
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dancing9118000
That is very right. In my case, I am 5'7" (currently the tallest in my gym, including coaches) but I have a smaller build than average so it all depends.
It deepends on the gymnast. I'm a tad shy of 5' and i haven't been weighed for about 5 monthes by my geuss would be closed to 107. I'm very musclar and close built so....
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BlairBob
all depends on body size and genetics. if you eat poor quality food or have poor eating habits, well...it'll show. if you're not eating enough, it will reflect in your strength and energy levels.
i would rather my gymnasts focus on getting stronger through proper strength training, eating habits, hydration and sleep. weight will fall into place if these 4 points are down.
however, it's really hard getting parents to adjust their child's diet at home or promote good eating habits at school or home. well, sometimes it is and sometimes kids ( especially girls past pre-teen age ) don't eat enough. then they stay scrawny and stagnate strength wise which tends to stagnate their skill learning.
gaining too much size ( hypertrophy ) can be a problem for either gender but is something that should be controlled by the conditioning program run by your coaches. don't worry about it as a gymnast.
i would rather my gymnasts focus on getting stronger through proper strength training, eating habits, hydration and sleep. weight will fall into place if these 4 points are down.
however, it's really hard getting parents to adjust their child's diet at home or promote good eating habits at school or home. well, sometimes it is and sometimes kids ( especially girls past pre-teen age ) don't eat enough. then they stay scrawny and stagnate strength wise which tends to stagnate their skill learning.
gaining too much size ( hypertrophy ) can be a problem for either gender but is something that should be controlled by the conditioning program run by your coaches. don't worry about it as a gymnast.
Great answers!!
I asked about this to our L9 coach while chatting sometime back. She was more then happy to share her thoughts.
The first thing she stressed was to be wary of ANY coach that tells you that you need to loose or gain weight -- just because the coach says so. That's dangerous territory and has led to countless eating disorders among athletes. Unless the coach is certified as a sports nutritionist (which precious few are), they really aren't qualified to make those determinations and could be doing more harm then good.
She also mentioned (and I hope I remember this correctly) that mathematically, there is no difference between a person that is 75 lbs or one that is 150 lbs IF both athletes have the same differential in strength and endurance. Meaning: A 75 lb person may be required to move and maneuver 100 lbs to perform with endurance. Whereas a 150lb person would have to be able to move and maneuver 200 lbs. If both can -- then they are equals in strength and endurance. The lighter athlete won't have any advantages due to weight.
As mentioned, muscle weighs more then bodyfat. This means that building muscle and strength can also mean gains in weight. These gains can be misunderstood as "excessive" weight - And it's not. It very well could be the muscle that you worked so hard to build and strengthen. There are ways to measure bodyfat (google it), and from what I've read, bodyweight scales should be avoided as a measuring tool. They simply can't determine what's fat, and what's muscle. Nor can any simple mathematic formula based on height & weight.
For example: Some may claim Shawn Johnson is fat. Compare her to Nastia...and yes, she may look a little heavy. What they don't get is that ‘babyfat’ looking girl is a very muscular. Olympic weight lifters and pro football players weigh in at some 350+ lbs, and are only 5'8" - 6' 4". Are they grossly overweight? If you used a weight scale or a height/weight forumla...they are clearly big fat heffers! See the difference?
If I recall, being in the range of 12-15% total body fat is considered "athletically healthy", with 15-25% being the goal for us "normal folks". (Our national average is...much higher in reality). If you venture less the these percentages, the risk is deterioration of muscle. Muscle that took a very long time to build up in order to perform. Why would any athlete want that? Just something to rememeber when you hear of athletes that whittled themselves down to 2% total bodyfat. Bottomline, if they did, all they are really doing is hurting their own chances of success.
Listen to the coaches when they say: EAT properly, get your rest, etc. (avoid soda...even diet soda. it's all evil! Drink water, and natural juices.) I also recommend reading up on proper nutrition for athletes. Blairbob is absolutely correct. Young athletes don't know how to eat properly. And parents (shame on us!) don't learn how to feed them!
I asked about this to our L9 coach while chatting sometime back. She was more then happy to share her thoughts.
The first thing she stressed was to be wary of ANY coach that tells you that you need to loose or gain weight -- just because the coach says so. That's dangerous territory and has led to countless eating disorders among athletes. Unless the coach is certified as a sports nutritionist (which precious few are), they really aren't qualified to make those determinations and could be doing more harm then good.
She also mentioned (and I hope I remember this correctly) that mathematically, there is no difference between a person that is 75 lbs or one that is 150 lbs IF both athletes have the same differential in strength and endurance. Meaning: A 75 lb person may be required to move and maneuver 100 lbs to perform with endurance. Whereas a 150lb person would have to be able to move and maneuver 200 lbs. If both can -- then they are equals in strength and endurance. The lighter athlete won't have any advantages due to weight.
As mentioned, muscle weighs more then bodyfat. This means that building muscle and strength can also mean gains in weight. These gains can be misunderstood as "excessive" weight - And it's not. It very well could be the muscle that you worked so hard to build and strengthen. There are ways to measure bodyfat (google it), and from what I've read, bodyweight scales should be avoided as a measuring tool. They simply can't determine what's fat, and what's muscle. Nor can any simple mathematic formula based on height & weight.
For example: Some may claim Shawn Johnson is fat. Compare her to Nastia...and yes, she may look a little heavy. What they don't get is that ‘babyfat’ looking girl is a very muscular. Olympic weight lifters and pro football players weigh in at some 350+ lbs, and are only 5'8" - 6' 4". Are they grossly overweight? If you used a weight scale or a height/weight forumla...they are clearly big fat heffers! See the difference?
If I recall, being in the range of 12-15% total body fat is considered "athletically healthy", with 15-25% being the goal for us "normal folks". (Our national average is...much higher in reality). If you venture less the these percentages, the risk is deterioration of muscle. Muscle that took a very long time to build up in order to perform. Why would any athlete want that? Just something to rememeber when you hear of athletes that whittled themselves down to 2% total bodyfat. Bottomline, if they did, all they are really doing is hurting their own chances of success.
Listen to the coaches when they say: EAT properly, get your rest, etc. (avoid soda...even diet soda. it's all evil! Drink water, and natural juices.) I also recommend reading up on proper nutrition for athletes. Blairbob is absolutely correct. Young athletes don't know how to eat properly. And parents (shame on us!) don't learn how to feed them!
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I'm 5'3 and 95 lbs. I wish I could gain 15 pounds because I really want to be able to donate blood. There are advantages to weighing more.
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Saturate15
I've been weighed & measured at school for PE (and on my wii fit at home!) and I am always boarding "normal" and "overweight" I'm not though. I'm a healthy weight, I'm not fat by any means. None of the girls on my team are, some are skinnier than others, but it's fine. Our coach definitely encourages eating! One morning we got donuts, sometimes we get pizza, we always take treats on the bus and eat out at meets. Food gives you strength, and if you don't eat, you won't practice or compete well. That's no good at all.
in my gym they dont but i think if u like gymnastics and u want to keep with then dont worry about and work in conditioning and u will stay fit!!
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