Types of gymnast- which is better?

[cbone]

This is probably an oversimplification, but I've noticed two major types of gymnasts- powerhouse and graceful. Powerhouses are the little balls of muscle that can tumble and explode. Graceful gymnasts don't necessarily look super athletic, but they have beautiful lines and flow very well.

Do one of these types tend to fare better or last longer in the sport?

 

[LiveLoveTumble]

I would like to know too. I am definitely a powerhouse, which is why I try not to put much dance in my routines...
An example that came to my mind quickly is Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson. Nastia is definitely more graceful, while Shawn is more of a powerhouse. And look what successful careers they've both had!

 

[gymgal]

Dunno has a great explanation of the 3 body types. I'm sure he will pop in soon to reference it. As for which fares better, it really depends on the judges and the styles of the time. For a while now it seems like the way to go has been as many big tumbling skills as possible in the routines but it seems lately that the elites are including more of the dance/graceful moves so maybe the pendulum is swinging back toward the middle

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

In simple terms:
Shawn Johnson- Powerhouse
Nastia Liukin- Graceful

You tell me? Looks to me like BOTH types are destined to succeed. It's not so simple as this vs. that.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

Somebody who is a great dancer should dance. Somebody who is a great tumbler should tumble. Artistic gymnastics asks both of all its participants.

 

[JessLW]

There is no "better," and it is fine to be either type of gymnast, depending on your particular gifts.

It does seem that recently Marta has said a few times that certain gymnasts have an "international" look that European judges favor, and by that she means long lines, grace, fluidity -- pretty gymnastics. But that didn't stop a power gymnast like Jordyn Wieber from becoming world champion, so it really isn't as cut and dried as all that, especially with a code that rewards difficulty over style. There's room for both types in the sport.

 

[2020vision]

I don't know that there is a better but I have noticed that the non-powerhouses in our gym tend to have more injuries than the powerhouses. Not sure if I would say the correlation is because of causation or if it is a simple coincidence in our particular gym.

 

[ALgymMom]

My daughter is the tall, skinny, & graceful type and she has a lot of back pain. I'm thinking the powerhouse girls last longer!

 

[cbone]

One thing I've noticed is that I find myself rooting for powerhouses since their style is like my daughter's. Does anyone else find themselves rooting for the type that most closely resembles their daughter's?

 

[wallflower]

This is probably an oversimplification, but I've noticed two major types of gymnasts- powerhouse and graceful. Powerhouses are the little balls of muscle that can tumble and explode. Graceful gymnasts don't necessarily look super athletic, but they have beautiful lines and flow very well.

Do one of these types tend to fare better or last longer in the sport?

I think in JO both body types fare equally. They can have their strong events and weak events. I think elite seems to favor complete freaks of nature lately.

 

[GymBee97]

I don't think one is better than the other - they are just different. My DD is more the graceful type and does very very well - her presentation and flow are so beautiful (at least I think so). Her friend is the tumbler powerhouse and does just as well but the dancey graceful stuff she stumbles over and can be choppy in her flow from one skill to another yet she scores very very well too.

It just a matter of did they do the required skills well and present it in nice way.

 

[SignHere]

I have two gymmies, one is taller and more graceful and the other one is def a powerhouse! (she's eight years old and is doing 9 press handstands in TOPS).

Both are now in the same level, so it should be an interesting year!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

In simple terms:
Shawn Johnson- Powerhouse= endomorph
Nastia Liukin- Graceful=ectomorph
Jordy=mesomorph

You tell me? Looks to me like BOTH types are destined to succeed. It's not so simple as this vs. that.

In simple terms:
Shawn Johnson- Powerhouse= endomorph
Nastia Liukin- Graceful=ectomorph
Jordy=mesomorph

 

[Deleted member D3987]

My daughter is the tall, skinny, & graceful type and she has a lot of back pain. I'm thinking the powerhouse girls last longer!

nope. gymnastics does not discriminate. all 3 body types have their own inclusive and unique injuries.

 

[Faith]

This is very interesting . I don't think any body type in particular is better, except for height. I don't think I've ever come across an elite female gymnast over 5'4?

Presumably muscle type will count- if you don't have fast twitch explosive power and a high muscle to weight ratio you're never going to be able to get enough height to double back, or even standing tuck, for example. So your graceful gymnasts need power, but your powerhouses also must have flexibility for the range of motion. So I doubt you'll ever find extreme examples at elite level, but rather variations on a theme.

In the UK at least the elite track seem to be leaning more and more to the graceful flexible ones. With the range and conditioning at compulsory level, and the limits on difficulty, the ones leading the field are the ones with beautiful oversplits and control. In Romania too I've heard they're raiding rhythmic clubs for future elites. So the current trend seems to be for graceful, flexible gymnasts with power second.

I do wonder how that'll work out at senior elite level though. Catherine Lyons for example, who has led the field from 8 years old and just won the 2012 british espoir (11-12 years). Beautiful, beautiful gymnast, but when you look at her scores (Vault 12.350, A-Bars 9.950, Beam 13.900, Floor, 13.900 Range 13.300) while she won the floor, beam and range (range by over 1.0), she was 2 points behind the winner on the vault, and 3 points behind on bars, not making top 10 even for either piece. Obviously I don't know if she had an off day or whatever, but I can't help thinking now the difficulty is increasing gymnasts like her might struggle with the power aspect.

Anyway. DD is a total total powerhouse, but her flexibility is naturally poor (for a gymnast) She has gone from about a foot off to just about down on all 3 in the last 6 months so she does have the ligaments that will improve with work. However she's not on the elite track because she doesn't have the split leaps and the control to hold split handstands, slow tiktoks etc.

I do sometimes wonder whether we're missing something at the early age. Having an elite track (vs the US system where everyone works the same levels) means any children that if you don't get picked up for the elite track before age 9 you're going to really struggle to get there at a later age..

 

[Muddlethru]

One thing I've noticed is that I find myself rooting for powerhouses since their style is like my daughter's. Does anyone else find themselves rooting for the type that most closely resembles their daughter's?

I am drawn to graceful gymnasts. And even though I am in awe of powerhouse tumblers, if I were a judge, I might show preference to graceful gymnasts. My daughter's body type is more on the long, lithe type. So I guess I do like gymnasts that are more my daughter's body type. As a dancer, I just wished she turned out those feet more and was more aware of where her arms are when doing a skill. It drives me nuts.

 

[wallinbl]

I am drawn to graceful gymnasts. And even though I am in awe of powerhouse tumblers, if I were a judge, I might show preference to graceful gymnasts. My daughter's body type is more on the long, lithe type. So I guess I do like gymnasts that are more my daughter's body type. As a dancer, I just wished she turned out those feet more and was more aware of where her arms are when doing a skill. It drives me nuts.

I like the long lines on beam and bars. I like the short powerhouses on floor and vault.

 

[NastiaFan]

Please don't misunderstand: ALL GYMNASTS ARE "POWER" GYMNASTS! Think about it, even though people like Liukin are not 4 foot 9 or doing full twists on beam, they must be VERY powerful to succeed. Nastia was actually the first woman to get a quad twisting layout on floor, and she also performs a very difficult double front punch. People mistakenly considered Shawn and Nastia's Olympic matchup to be "power vs. graceful" when a more accurate description would be "power vs. power AND grace". Which is why Nastia won, because she has BOTH qualities.

If you have to favor one over the other, however, being a power gymnast is definitely easier. As a gymnast I was always criticized by coaches and judges for being too tall and (even though I am only 5'2) and for my legs being too long. The problem was that I was a graceful gymnast without much power.

 

[cbone]

Would there be a little bias toward Nastia when your screen name is "NastiaFan"?

 

[GymBee97]

I am drawn to graceful gymnasts. And even though I am in awe of powerhouse tumblers, if I were a judge, I might show preference to graceful gymnasts. My daughter's body type is more on the long, lithe type. So I guess I do like gymnasts that are more my daughter's body type. As a dancer, I just wished she turned out those feet more and was more aware of where her arms are when doing a skill. It drives me nuts.

I think you have the clone of my DD LOL. I was a dancer when I was young and when I look at her I think the same things you think. LOL