Become an Elite Gymnast
Elite is the top level of gymnastics competition. At the elite level, you can compete internationally. From this point on, your county normally chooses the gymnasts who can compete in larger competitions. Such as the Olympics Games, or world championships.
Steps
- Being an elite gymnast requires up to 30 hours of training per week, plus coaching, exercising, stretching, and eating a healthy diet. You need to be flexible and strong to be a Level 3, 4, or 5 student. If you have never done gymnastics before, you better start now. If you don't know how to do a cartwheel, start in Beginners. You need to train as early as possible in order to have more flexibility at a young age.
- Have the right body. You must know skills and stretches in order to be in a high level. The Elites or USAG is when you may be on a team and start competing. You need to keep track of your health because being on a team requires excellent nutrition. Most gymnasts are small, short, and are reasonably thin. That doesn't mean you should starve yourself. It means that they aren't necessarily overweight. They do have to be the right weight, and that means you cannot be underweight or else that may lead to further problems. They normally have thick, strong muscles and great abs. Do not overexercise. It may lead to soreness, weakness, and you will be in severe pain. But you must exercise at least five (5) times per week. Six (6) is optional, but you need some rest. You can take Saturday and/or Sunday off for rest.
- Get a good coach. Some coaches are too easy on you and some are too hard. One coach pushed so hard on his Olympic gymnast that she became anorexic and bulimic and died at the age of 22. That is––for sure––not a good coach. A sign of a good coach means stability, precision, but still puts a little bit of pressure.
- Have flexible school hours. In order to be elite, you must train a lot. Half of your day will be spent doing gymnastics. Half of the elites are homeschooled instead of public school, but some may make plans to do part-time public/private school.
- Train for TOPS. TOPS is a special USAG training program designed to help 7-11-year-olds prepare to become elite gymnasts. In TOPS you will spend a lot of time working on strength, flexibility, and advanced skills, and then attend a testing clinic. Your results will be compared to others across the country and those with top results will be invited to attend a training camp. TOPS training is not absolutely necessary, but is a great way to make sure you don't have any weaknesses that could stop you from becoming elite.
- Work hard in strength and flexibility training. These can be some of the most boring parts of training. It's always more fun to be competing and learning new skills, but these are also the most important parts of training. Don't cheat yourself! To do elite-level skills, you need to be very strong and very flexible.
- Eliminate fear. Fear is one thing that stops many gymnasts from ever becoming elite. The skills at the top level are scary but your coaches will know if you are ready to do them or not and will help you work toward them. It is safer to trust in your coaches than to try skills and pull out because of fear.
- Never give up. The road to being elite will be very difficult one and there will be lots of times along the way where you will want to quit and go back to living a "normal" life. Just remember that quitters never win and winners never quit.
- Consider other forms of gymnastics, such as acre or trampoline and tumbling. Trampoline and tumbling causes less stress on muscles and joints, making it less demanding. Also, the top trampoline athletes tend to be older, around 30 rather than the 19 that artistic gymnasts tend to be. Alternatively, if you lack flexibility, or are larger, you can compete as a base in acrobatics.
- Enter Competitions. As you work up the gymnastics levels, you need to enter some competitions to get experience. Ask your coaches if they are entering teams to a competition or are hosting a meet.
- Research. When you have free time, you should watch videos of Olympic gymnasts like Gabrielle Douglas and Aliya Mustafina. You can take notes of their artistry and technique which will help you in competition.
Tips
- Spend free time practicing the basics, or easy skills at home. Remember, practice makes perfect!
- It's a good idea to practice on a soft surface such as a trampoline or an exercise mat.
- Do not underfeed yourself. Ask your coach about a healthy diet.
- Remember that if you don't make elite, there are still many wonderful things you can do with gymnastics. You can still learn many exciting skills and compete with lots of success. You may even make it to college-level gymnastics!
- Avoid developing an eating disorder. If you need to lose weight, diet in healthy ways.
- Even if you start at the age of 13, you could still have a chance to be able to go to the Olympics. Work as hard as you can and as fast as you can to become elite/Olympian at age 13.
- When you practice have friend that would work with you or if you go to the gym to practice invite your coach to make sure you are doing right.
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