Drills
Strength and flexibililities are very trainable but requires consistent daily practices. The following are drills and conditioning exercises needed to excel in the sport and are effective for different reasons:
Strength
- Calf raises - needed to land soft, to jump high as well as for balances on toe eventually.
- Shoulder blade - to help pull the shoulder backward for better postures.
- Strong legs for jumps - do daily multiple sets of jumps, practice take-offs with two legs as well as one leg, emphasize on height, extension of legs / shape and remember to land soft. Relax the upper body and generate the power via strong legs and speed change.
- Locked knee position - tip toe walks or turns, hold the leg up front with knees locked.
- Sit ups and arch ups - Sit ups uses the abs and arch up uses the back and butt muscles.
- Balance - requires a lot of ankle, calf and leg strength.
Flexibilities
- Ankle flexibilities - to facilitate toe pointing, high releve, etc.
- Shoulder and chest stretches - to open up the chest to enhance performance impression. This also helps in some of the behind the back handover of the apparatus.
- Leg stretches - especially hamstring (behind the leg so that you can raise your leg to at least 90 degree angle with straight back) and the hip flexors (so that your rear leg for arabasque, split leaps and splits can be high and straight).
- Back flexibilities
Apparatus Handling
- Wrist motions (figure 8s) - assuming that most gymnasts do not have apparatus at home, improvise and use for example chopsticks to replace ribbon stick, practice spirals, figure 8s, etc. Socks with tennis balls, a stick, a rubber duck etc are good simulations for the clubs.
- Throws and catches - learn to 'trace' the apparatus down first to prepare to absorb the catch, then practice the throws. Emphasize on the arms action and do NOT flick it with the wrist unless it is intended (like small flicks of the clubs). For some gymnasts, you may want to put a blanket or similar on the floor so that they are not scared of the noise generated from missing the catch.
- Free arm - the free arms should be extended even when the focus is on the manipulation of the apparatus, e.g during throws and catches, rotation of the rope, twirling of the hoop, etc.
Visualization
- Each piece of music has some 'markers' - listen to the music of each routine and visualize through the routine hitting the 'markers' at the right time. Work on maintaining the state of mind with all the little details like the joy of doing rhythmic gymnastics (or showing off to a large crowd) and therefore the smile, the confidence, the free arm and extension is being practiced each time you go through the routine in your head - visualization is more than a memorization exercise.