The History Of Artistic Gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics is an ancient sport. It is believed that, in ancient times, the Greeks practiced various movements and acrobatics in specific apparatus to achieve physical perfection. Some of these movements are, nowadays, part of those practiced in artistic gymnastics gyms.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the German pedagogue Friedrich Ludwig Christoph Jahn (1778-1852) was responsible for transforming artistic gymnastics into a sport modality. Friedrich was an important figure in creating gym clubs for young people interested in this sport. In addition, the educator also created several gymnastic equipment apparatus that are still used today. Thus, for these various reasons, Friedrich is known as the “father of gymnastics.”
In 1881 the European Gymnastics Federation was founded, which resulted in the consolidation of this sport. Thus, with the sport’s title, since 1896, artistic gymnastics has been present in the Olympic Games. Also, at the Pan American Games, gymnastics has been part of the competition since 1951. Concerning the women’s category, only in the 1928 Olympics in Holland, women began to compete in artistic gymnastics. However, nowadays, this category has excellent representation in gymnastics worldwide.
Artistic Gymnastics Devices
In addition to floor movements and jumps performed by gymnasts, artistic gymnastics with its equipment brings together various devices during practice. Gymnasts use a kind of splint on their hands to perform these movements.
It is important to remember that for the female and male categories, the gymnastic equipment apparatus used is different. Thus, for male practice, the primary devices are:
- Pommel horse;
- Rings;
- Parallel bars;
- Fixed Bars.
For female practice, the primary devices are:
- Asymmetric Bars
- Balance Bars
- table jumps
- Ground
Both women and men perform movements using the ground as well as perform jumps.
Conclusion
Thus, artistic gymnastics and calisthenics are commonly present in CrossFit training and training for other activities. We must keep in mind that studying this topic and applying gymnastics and calisthenics in training, little by little, with programmed and studied progressions, this habit will bring significant benefits for you, the practitioner, and your students. The gain in body awareness, the evolution of strength, and the core toning are essential and visible results of this combination of activities.
