Meaning of Gymnastics - What it is, Definition and Concept

Gymnastics is a discipline that involves the systematization of a set of physical exercises that involve flexibility, strength and agility , selected to achieve a therapeutic, competitive or educational objective.Gymnastics, like any activity physical, it is beneficial for health because it counteracts the effects of sedentary lifestyle, stress, and reduces the risk of disease.

The word gymnastics comes from the Greek gymnazein, in reference to how this activity was carried out in old Greece, since its meaning is "naked".However the origins of gymnastic activity go back to the ancient East, specifically to the ancient culture of China.

The first treatise on physical culture was directed by Chinese religious sects, which designed gymnastics as a set of individual group movements , in a kind of choreography, dance or dance, constituting the most former gymnastics that is known.

Gymnastics is an activity that not only can have different purposes, but can be practiced by young, children, elderly, disabled, sick , workers and people of any age in general.

The physical exercises chosen are aimed at solving physical development problems, improving motor skills, and improving the health maintenance of those who practice them.

It is about the combination of physical exercise with the senses, intelligence, customs, and faculties of the human being in an integral way.A systematic harmony that provides the human body with beauty, health and pleasure in an integral way.

Among the types of gymnastics stand out:

• general gymnastics : gymnasts perform synchronized choreography in groups.


• artistic gymnastics : body expression movements are performed with music.


• rhythmic gymnastics : it exists in female mode only, routines are executed on a tapestry with tape, ball, hoop, rope and maces, where aesthetics is valued more than acrobatics.


• aerobic gymnastics : they are movements of high intensity and difficulty that are executed in 100 seconds, showing continuity, strength, flexibility and perfection in difficulty.


• acrobatic gymnastics : it is a group discipline, with modalities of male, female, mixed couples, female trio and male quartet.