Gymnastics requires athletes to be flexible, strong, coordinated and agile. Thus, gymnasts use a variety of training equipment to learn events, practice their skills and perfect their techniques. Gymnastic training equipment varies according to the gymnastic event and the gymnast's gender. Most training equipment for gymnastics requires users to have great balance control.
Mats
Gymnastic mats are vital pieces of training equipment for gymnasts because their padded surface helps athletes avoid injury on impact. These mats come in a wide variety of sizes, colors, thicknesses, shapes and materials. Lower-level gymnasts often use thin polyethylene foam mats covered in leather or vinyl, while high-level gymnasts require thicker mats specifically designed to absorb hard landings. Floor exercises, which consist of tumbling passes and dance moves, are performed on gymnastic mats that are approximately 40 feet long and wide. Use gymnastic mats whenever you practice your tumbling moves, dismounts and landings.
Uneven Bars
During the uneven bars event, a female gymnast swings from a lower bar of about 5.4 feet tall to a higher bar that stands about 8 feet above the ground. Approximately 6 feet separate the two bars. Train on the parallel bars to perfect your timing and to practice your flying releases, handstands, pirouettes and dismounts.
Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bars
Male gymnasts can compete on the parallel bars and the horizontal bars. For the parallel bars event, a gymnast swings his body between two bars while executing gymnastic moves. These bars run about 11.5 feet long and stand about 6.4 feet high. The horizontal bar event has the gymnast swinging and twisting on a single bar around 1 inch in diameter. Horizontal bars hang about 9 feet above the floor and run about 8 feet long. Both of these bar events require great hand-eye coordination, balance and split-second timing. Use training parallel bars and horizontal bars to perfect your swings, handstands, turns, mounts and dismounts.
Balance Beams
Female gymnasts often train and perform routines on balance beams that are only about 4 inches wide and about 16.5 feet long. Balance beam events require gymnasts to possess excellent flexibility, power and timing. Use training balance beams to increase your balance and practice your competition moves, such as jumps, turns, flips, dance steps and poses.
Vaults
Both male and female gymnasts can participate in vault events. In this event, a gymnast runs toward the vault, hits a springboard that propels him onto the vault and then pushes off of the vault. Between pushing off of the vault and landing on the ground, the gymnast performs a set of twists and flips. The runway length for males runs 82 feet, while the runway length for females ranges from 78 to 82 feet. The vaults for both sexes are 3 feet wide, 3 to 3.5 feet long and about 4 feet high. Gymnasts need excellent spatial awareness and speed for this gymnastic event. Train on the vault by practicing your approach and sticking your landings.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnasts use various hand-held items to perform floor routines that demonstrate their agility and flexibility. The equipment used in competitive routines includes satin ribbons, wooden or plastic hoops and hemp ropes. Train with the ribbon to perfect your throws, catches, spirals and snakes. Use training hoops to practice your jumps, twists and pivots. Train with the ropes to perfect your hops, skips and jumps.
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