Gymnastics at the YMCA has many benefits including building strength, flexibility, and coordination. Find the Gymnastics class that’s right for your child.

Gymnastics

 

 

6 Reasons to Enroll Your Child in Gymnastics 

 

Gymnastics offers a fun way for both boys and girls to get active, learn new skills, and have fun with their peers. At the Countryside YMCA, kids of all ages can enjoy both recreational and competitive gymnastics programs. These start with parent and child toddler-level tumbling and go all the way up to the Junior Olympics for older kids.

 

No matter what the age range or ability level, there are several great reasons to enroll your child in gymnastics at the YMCA.

 

1 – Get Regular Exercise

 

The importance of regular physical activity cannot be understated. Sports like gymnastics can help fight long-term health issues like obesity, diabetes, and eventual cardiovascular issues. For children, it helps contribute to a lifelong love of fitness. Lack of regular exercise is one of the most damaging things to your children's health. Unfortunately, with the popularity of technology and indoor games, it may be difficult to find an opportunity for regular exercise without an organized class in gymnastics or another sport.

 

2 – Strengthen Muscles and Bones

 

The variety of different gymnastics moves provide a total body workout that contributes to strong muscles and bones. With the right teacher, the fun activities are safe and highly effective when it comes to developing core strength, exercising limbs, and improving balance and flexibility. Unlike some other sports, gymnastics offers a more holistic approach to muscle strength development because the different tricks and actions utilize different parts of the body.

 

3 – Improve Gross and Fine Motor Skills

 

For the youngest gymnastics students who are still developing motor skills, the different poses and moves create a stronger sense of natural coordination. By improving agility, your child will be less likely to get injured during other physical activities.

 

4 – Learn Discipline and Self-Control

 

A large part of gymnastics classes is about getting along with the other students, taking direction from the instructor, and practicing discipline to do these skills as well as possible. Simply being in a high-quality class that mixes education and fun helps children of all ages self-regulate their behavior. From toddlers to teens, gymnastics classes help young people learn important social skills that will help them get along with others more successfully.

 

5 – Boost Self-Confidence

 

Self-control, patience, and self-confidence are essential parts of childhood development. When your son or daughter achieves a goal in their gymnastics class, they can experience a boost of success that makes them feel great. Research has shown that physical activity leads directly to improved self-esteem.

 

6 – Contribute to Strong Cognitive Abilities

 

Gymnastics goes beyond the physical. When your son or daughter learns new skills or complicated routines, their brain gets a workout, too. The combination of body and spatial awareness, memorizing techniques, and using their creative minds helps them with many other aspects of life.

 

Find the gymnastics class that’s right for your child at the Countryside YMCA. Whether they are interested in recreational fun or getting involved with the Junior Olympics, there are plenty of options to improve skills and get all of the physical, mental, and social benefits that gymnastics programs can bring.