Posts in Fitness
12 Reasons Your Child Should Be Involved in Gymnastics

At Apex, we love kids! And we know how good gymnastics is for our minds and bodies. Let us share with you our top reasons… 
 
Why We Believe Your Child Should Be Involved In Gymnastics 

  1. Exercise 
    With our media-saturated culture and busy schedules, it’s difficult to find the time to exercise. Even P.E. is being cut in some cases. Exercise should be FUN and PRODUCTIVE. Gymnastics is both, which is why we believe it’s perfect for children! Our desire is to instill a love for health, fitness, and an active lifestyle—all in a fun and safe environment. 

  2. Following Instructions 
    Our instructors are trained to be specific and detailed in their instruction of gymnastic skills. This encourages students to listen and follow carefully and correctly, even when the gym is busy. This is a key life skill! 

  3. Focus 
    Students are often surprised to learn what they can accomplish when they can focus well. We believe that the ability to stay on task for a set period of time, without getting sidetracked or distracted, is incredibly important. 

  4. Coordination 
    Spending time learning gymnastics will benefit every sport your child plays. Nothing teaches coordination like needing to control your body while upside down in a flip! Body inversion and the trampoline are tremendous training tools that develop coordination as well as gross, and fine motor skills.   

  5. Patience 
    Gymnastics takes time. We love seeing students who are comfortable with being patient, both with themselves and with others.  

  6. Asking For Help 
    It has been shown that one of the hardest things for people to admit is, “I don’t know,” or “I need help.” We want our students to overcome this obstacle. It’s okay to not know, and it’s okay to need help—and we believe gymnastics provides the opportunity for instructors to teach this lesson. 

  7. Learning How To Handle Failure 
    Students WILL fail in gymnastics. Many times, gymnastics is the first time that a young child comes face to face with their own failure. “I tried that skill and I fell.” “I couldn’t finish the conditioning drills in time.” “I lost the game of ‘Stick It’.” What matters most to us is that our athletes learn that failure does not mean defeat. Instead, we coach that failure means a chance to learn from mistakes, and to get another step closer to success. 

  8. Grit 
    Defined as strength in resolve, or, as the ability to stick with something over a long period of time without giving up. Gymnastics students must have grit to succeed. What a crucial ability to have! 

  9. Ambition and Drive 
    We often tell children to dream big. Gymnastics provides the opportunity to dream—along with the ability to directly affect that dream now!  

  10. Courage 
    Gymnastics requires students to step outside of their comfort zones. Though the drills to be accomplished, the mats, and the instructor all make putting whole skills together safe, it can often still be a somewhat scary and uncertain experience at times. We want our students to get lots of experience in knowing their limits, and encourage them to be ready to try hard things. Courage is acknowledging the “scary,” but doing your best anyways. 

  11. Respect 
    To maintain order in class respect must be given to rules, classmates, the equipment, and of course, the instructor. Gymnasts have ample time and opportunity to learn respect. 

  12. Appropriate Levels of Confidence 
    Being overly confident in one’s abilities is not good. However, students can and should learn that society’s expectations are often limiting, and something that they can far exceed. Children can accomplish many difficult things. We coach students to know the difference between the difficult, and the dangerous.  In other words, our goal is to help students understand which skills simply require hard work and training to attain, and which skills that are out of reach for their ability levels. Students should know their limits, but also push themselves to do their best. 

What are your favorite benefits of gymnastics? 

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See you in the gym!