Gymnastics Books

This book is nothing special in my opinion. I bought it expecting a discussion of how weight training can benefit gymnastics training. Unfortunately all I got was a general discussion of how to lift weights. There was little on programming, a decent discussion on periodization, and a good discussion of general lifting exercises...but why do you need general lifting exercises? There's nothing special here. It gives a decent, but not great, overview of how to lift for general conditioning and strength training. Basic questions such as:
How to incorporate weight training with gymnastic training
What lifts will help you power through sticking points in which gymnastic techniques
No discussion of appropriate volume.

One of the biggest problems this book has is it recommends a complete weightlifting regimen. You don't need that if you're training for gymnastics already. You get a lot of strength and explosive work through normal training. Adding a compelte lifting routine on top of that is a sure route to over-training.

I give this three stars because it is a good introductory weight lifting text. It just has nothing special for gymnasts.

It's the best way to training gymnastics and gaing muscle and condition.

This book tells about how Amanda thinks that gymnastics is just luck! Like throwing up a coin and you say it will land on heads and it does! In this book her friends do everything they can to prove to Amanda that you don't need luck to be a good gymnast! So go read it! Hope you have a good time!

This book was written just before the 2000 Olympics and is full of prognostications of an American women's gold-medal sweep in Sydney to rival their brilliant coupe of the 1996 Atlanta games; sadly, the American women's team that competed in the Sydney Olympics was a rather lackluster group: Not one gymnast made it to the event finals, and the highest individual ranking garnered was Elise Ray's 13th-place finish. It was the most dismal Olympic showing since the 1970's, and you wondered what had happened between 1996 and 2000 that caused the American women to completely fall flat.

This is written in an interesting slant for children, but some of the gymnasts' biographies, even if they are true, are rather invidious and would cause a lot of depression in a young athlete: most of the gymnasts started gymnastics at the age of 3, hit the ground running, and were coached by top-notch coaches who flew gleefully out of retirement upon seeing these girls perform. It must make a young gymnast who hasn't attained such lofty heights what she is doing wrong.

The biggest drawback about this book is the color photos. I don't know if it was poor camera angles, an overall lack of bad form on the gymnasts' part, or both, but these are the worst gymnastics photos I've ever seen.

Although good, but very BASIC guide to decathlon. If you're envolved in Track & Field already, 99.9% chance is that you already know 99% of what this book is talking about; things such as common injuries, basic nutrition needs, what to bring with you to the meet, training with (a) partner(s) is better than alone, implements needed for decathlon (shot, discus, javeline...)...etc

As far as training, this book gives you a BASIC, sample, two-week split for traing 10 events.

You may learn some history of the event however; Find out how top U.S.A. decathletes were introduced to the event.

The part I found most useful for myself, is the scoring tables. Gives you an idea of what performances in each event will lead to a world class score.

Bottom line, this book is good, but VERY BASIC. Good for encouraging future decathletes, and gives you an idea of what its all about. If you're looking for a serious traing guide - look elsewhere.

As Jenna Song gets ready for a three day sports camp, she's so competitive that no one else on her team can do anything right in her eyes. She wants to be the best. In fact, she wants to be better than the best! Irritation at her team members and Nels Ansgar, the gorgeous new spotter, cause lies and envy on Jenna's part. In the end, she must realize that unless she and her team want to fail, they must pull together and help one another.

Great book for girls!

Chelsea Higa broke her leg on the balance beam trying to show off. And it's just weeks before the big meet! Now Chelsea's afraid to go near the balance beam. And then the team gets a substitute for Chelsea until her leg gets better. Now she's jealous. What's a gymnast to do?

Based on the title, I had expected this book to be about competitive gymnastics. And it was, sort of. It dosn't talk about going to competitions or preparing for them. The book dosn't really talk about the competitive side of gymnastics, but includes safety tips, stretching and conditioning exercises, basic moves, and a big glossary with definitions of many words that have to do with gymnastics. I would say this book would be good for beginning gymnasts, or gymnasts who want to learn some safety tips or conditioning exercises.

This book surveys the whole scene of gymnastics, past and present, outlining the history and modern development of the sport. Its huge popularity today owes much to personalities such as Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci, whose inspired performances at the Munich and Montreal Olympics were watched so enthusiastically by vast television audiences.
The author explains in depth present-day routines and exercises, both on the floor and using apparatus, and describes the use and construction of equipment. He analyses the structure of gymnastics competitions and details both men's and women's events. There are chapters on floor exercises, on each type of apparatus, on tumbling, sport acrobatics, rhythmic and school gymnastics, trampolining and keeping fit. Short biographies of famous gymnasts, past and present, a glossary and bibliography are included, and useful diagrams illustrate the routines and apparatus described. There are eight pages of colour and over 100 black and white photographs.
This is a book for both participant and spectator. It will be useful and enjoyable for aspiring gymnasts, teachers, parents, and everyone interested in physical fitness.

I checked this out-of-print book out of the library, and I found it too be mostly a coaching guide, but it was pretty cool. There are detailed instructions for many gymnastics moves on all the apparatus. I especially liked in the directions how there were various errors and ways to fix them. I have a better backward roll to handstand, more powerful round-off, and a fantastic front handspring, thanks to this book. My only complaint is the pictures showing the moves are really just 3D stick figures doing gymnastics. (I'm not kidding!) For example, they have no faces, they have sticks for arms and legs, and the apparatus was weirdly drawn too. I mean, a slanted line for a springboard, a little line for bars, two circles for rings, and three lines for a balance beam. Aside from the simple diagrams, it was a great book.

My six year old daughter loved this book. I really enjoyed listening to her read it, too! It is the story of a group of nine year old girls who are on a Level 5 gymnastics team. In this first book of the series of six, the girls are getting ready for their first competition. The story is very realistic and engaging. I would recommend this book to any young girl interested or involved in gymnastics.