Strength and Conditioning: Legs

• Strong leg muscles, especially in the quadriceps, hamstring area, and calves, are essential in gymnastics. Much of your tumbling power comes from your legs, and staying on-balance on the beam requires strong leg muscles as well.

  Heel Rises (or Toe Rises, depending on who you ask)

  • Calves & Ankles. Often, ankle injuries are due to weaknesses in the muscles in the ankles. The likelihood of twists, strains, and sprains can be reduced by keeping those muscles strong enough to support your weight.

    Begin by standing on a solid elevated surface (such as a low beam or a block), facing a wall. With your feet together, standing only on the balls of your feet, go up as high as you can on your toes, drop so that you flex your feet as much as possible, then push back up to high toes. You should try to do them slowly and with as much of a height range as possible. Do in sets of 40 or more.

    There are several variations that target different muscles. Try them on one foot at a time, with your feet turned in, or with your feet turned out.

  Leg Squats

  • Quads. Standing, with your hands on a wall for support, and with your feet together, bend your knees forward a few inches, and straighten your legs. When done with your feet flat on the ground, you work your hamstring muscles more, and when done on high toes as shown in the illustration, you work the quadriceps. Do in sets of 50 or more.

    If you want to make this exercise more difficult, have someone of equal or less weight sit on your back in a piggy-back position. You could also try not straightening your legs completely.

  Mountain Climbers

  • Quads & Hamstrings. From a standing position jump into a kneeling lunge. Then immediately jump up so that your legs straighten and come together, then switch legs and kneel with the other leg up, and repeat. Be careful not to let your back knee hit the ground too hard as it could injure your knee. Also, touching your back knee to the ground indicates that you do not have control of your body and are not working your leg muscles properly. Do in sets of 10-15 on each leg, or more.

  Kangaroo Jumps

  • Quads & Hamstrings. Find a stretch of floor space or the vault runway. With your legs about shoulder-width apart, bend your knees to about 90-degrees. As you straighten your legs, push off the floor so that you go up into the air and travel slightly forward. Your legs should be straight in the air. As you land, bend your knees again and repeat all the way across the floor.
  • A very good variation of this exercise is to travel backwards instead of forwards. It is certainly more challenging, and you should feel the burn quickly, especially if you've already done these forward.

  Step-ups

  • Quads. Stand facing a low beam or sturdy stack of panel mats (should be around knee-height). Step onto the beam/mats with your right foot and straighten your right leg so that you are standing on that leg. Touch your left foot to the beam/mat but do not put all your weight on it. Step back down with your left foot leading so that your right leg is bent, and then step down with your right foot. Repeat starting with the left. Repeat the series, in sets of 20 or more on each leg.
  • You can also add a kick with your free leg (i.e. left leg if you step up with your right) straight back behind you as you step up instead of touching it to the beam. This will work your hamstrings and glutes at the same time.
  • To make this exercise more difficult, you can add a hop after you straighten your right leg upon stepping up, switch feet, then step back down with the right leg (not left, as before). Your left leg should be bent on the mats. You would then step up again onto your left without bringing your left foot to the floor, and repeat. This is recommended to be done on a stack of mats and not the beam since it would hurt less if you missed your feet on the mats.

  Leg Lift Pulses

  • Hip flexors & Quads. Start standing on your left leg, with your right leg resting on a block or stack of mats about hip-height. Your right leg should be squeezed straight and your toes pointed. At this point, only your heel should be touching the block/mat. Keeping your hips level (i.e. don't let your right hip tilt up), lift your right leg a couple of inches above the block/mat, and then lower it, but DO NOT let your heel touch the block/mat. Then lift again. Repeat in sets of 30 or more on both legs.

  Walking Lunges

  • Quads & Hamstrings. This is best done on the outer edge of the floor exercise or down and back on the vault runway. Step forward onto your right foot about a walking stride's distance. Bend both knees so they are about 90-degrees, and your back knee should be about an inch from the floor. Straighten your right leg and step in front with your left and repeat. Do not put your hands on your thigh to help you stand. It is best to put your hands on your hips or on your head. Also, as with the Mountain Climbers, do not let your back knee touch the ground.

  Lunge Pulses

  • Quads & Hamstrings. Start in a kneeling lunge position: right leg bent with your right foot on the floor, and left leg bent behind you with your knee on the floor. Your toes on your left leg should not be turned under (i.e. you should be on the balls of your feet). Lift your back knee off the floor a few inches and then pulse up and down, without touching your back knee to the floor. Ideally, your back knee should be directly under your hips and your front knee should be just barely more than a 90-degree angle. Repeat for 45 seconds or more per set, on both legs

  Tuck Jumps on a Mat

  • Quads & Hamstrings. Stand on a firm 8-incher or on a port-a-pit (you may want to use older mats if you don't want to break in new ones too quickly – but don't use mats that are so worn that it has too much "give"). Do tuck jumps. The softness of the mat will force your legs to work harder to get you up into the air. Do these for a minute per set, or more.

  Quad Squeezes

  • Quads. This is a great exercise to work on form. If you have problems keeping your legs straight in your gymnastics, this one is good to do very frequently to teach your legs muscles to squeeze. Sit in a pike position, with your back straight (no slouching!), legs straight, and toes point. Squeeze your quads even harder so that your heels lift off the floor. Hold for a minute or more.