Sovetsky Sport. December 2, 1967. It's impossible to create a gymnast in a year or two. Shortening the training period will lead to 'cramming'. Without early specialization, we will only be able to train good gymnasts at a relatively mature age. The necessity of starting gymnastics training early is obvious. What are the possibilities for this? Physical loads must be precisely dosed, and then extreme strain can be avoided.
The expediency of early specialization in gymnastics is dictated by the special advantages of children, their heightened perception. We often underestimate both the actual abilities of children and their potential. It is said that the famous dancer Isadora Duncan, watching a little girl dance to the rhythmn of the surf, was struck by the expressiveness of her movements. This subsequently led the artist to the idea of creating a new direction in dance.
Most children aged 12-13 have a remarkable ease in mastering new elements. Everything comes to them effortlessly. In subsequent years, each new execise requires significantly more effort.
In gymnastics, performing exercises typically involves overcoming the weight of one's body. Therefore, an important factor is the indicator of relative muscle strength; that is, the ratio of the athlete's maximum strength to their body weight. Thus, the decrease in relative strength in girls after the age of 13 is explained by a significant increase in their weight by the age of 14-15. This is what needs to be strictly monitored at this age - the relationship between strength and weight! For example, in Natasha Kuchinskaya, thanks to the application of the correct training methodology, her relative strength did not decrease, but even increased. At the age of 16, her total strength was 13.80, and by the age of 18 it had grown to 15.90!
Currently, all countries are experiencing a significant trend of younger athletes entering women's gymnastics. Therefore, in order to keep up, we must constantly improve training methods, starting gymnastics training at a very young age. Girls should not be allowed to participate in competitions with adult gymnasts until they are at least 16 years old. At the same time, competitions for young gymnasts should be widely practiced.
N. VINNIKOVA, Master of Sports