Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Background: Teamgym is a relatively new and emerging sport that originating comes from Scandinavia. Teamgym differs a lot from the most known form of gymnastics, artistic gymnastic. For example artistic gymnastics is an individual sport, while teamgym is performed by 6-12 members in each team. In general gymnasts have to acquire many skills at a very young age like jumping, bouncing and twisting in different directions. A good jumping ability has been linked to a successful performance for gymnasts and is defined by a gymnast’s capacity to jump upwards and then perform series of forward and backward rotations in a successful way. Plyometric is a type of training based on the stretch- shortening cycle (SSC) and is often used to improve an athletes sprint and vertical jump ability. Studies indicate that these two components have been linked to a successful performance in gymnastics but there are no studies that are looking at this correlation in teamgym. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate how strong the correlation is between the vertical jump height in counter movement jump with arm swing, drop-jump and 20, 25- meters sprint in young female teamgymnasts. Methods: Seventeen (17) female teamgymnasts participated to test their vertical jump ability by using countermovement jump with arm swing (CMJa) and drop-jump (DJ). Their sprint ability was tested through 20 and 25 meter sprint. The highest CMJa and DJ were correlated with the fastest time on 20 and 25 meter sprint. To study the relationship between the vertical jumps and the sprints, Spearman’s rank order correlation (rs) was used in SPSS version 20.0. If the correlation is between 0.30 to 0.49 (-0.30 to -0.49) it is considered as a medium correlation. Anything under these values is a weak correlation and everything above it is strong correlation. Result: CMJa showed a strong significant correlation with both 20 and 25 meter sprint and DJ showed a moderate non-significant correlation with both 20 and 25 meter sprint. When the weight was set as a control variable the CMJa showed a moderate non-significant correlation with both the sprints but DJ showed a strong significant correlation with both 20 and 25 meter sprint. Conclusion: No other studies have looked at the relationship between vertical jump and sprint ability in teamgym but the result of this study somehow reflects findings in studies looking at the same variables. The findings in this study can be useful for gymnastic coaches when they create training programs for their athletes. Coaches and gymnasts will know the value of a good jumping- and sprinting ability and that plyometric- and sprint training can improve the gymnasts skills. More research is needed on this type of gymnastics and future studies should look at these variables in a larger sample size and with more experienced test subjects.

Background: Teamgym is originally from Scandinavia and the first competition was held in Finland in 1996. The sport includes parts such as trampette, tumbling and floor programs which is performed by the whole team which often consists of six to twelve gymnasts. Trampette and tumbling program consists of three series of tumbles and vaults performed by six gymnasts of the team. The floor program is three minutes long and performed by the team. Female elite gymnasts are often short, lightweight and have a good strength and power and are very flexible and limber. Jumping movements are common in this sport especially to vault and floor programs. It is also preferable that the gymnasts achieves a high sprint speed in order to carry out the movements that are included in the sport. Plyometric training along with resistance training has proven to have positive effects on the gymnasts jumping ability. Especially the jumping ability is incredibly important for a gymnast and for its development in the sport. Plyometrics improves not only the acceleration during the sprint, but also increases the athlete’s strength in the lower extremity. Very few previous studies have been done on gymnastics, particularly in teamgymnastic. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate if there is any linear correlation between vertical jump height and 10 and 15 meter sprint in teamgym gymnastics. Method: 17 young female teamgymnasts, 12-17 years old, were tested in 10 and 15 meter sprint and two different vertical jumps, countermovement jump with arm swing (CMJa) and squat jump (SJ). The highest was correlated with the fastest sprint time. To analyze the correlation between vertical jumps and sprint the Spearman’s rank correlation (rs) was used. Result: CMJa shows a moderate negative correlation to 10 meter sprint (rs = -0.447) and CMJa also shows moderate negative correlation to 15 meter sprint (rs = -0.488). SJ shows a weak negative correlation to 10 meter sprint (rs = -0.23). SJ also shows weak negative correlation to 15 meter sprint (rs = -0.16). When controlling for the weight, SJ and both sprints went from a weak correlation to a strong correlation. Conclusion: The strongest correlation was found between CMJa and 15 meter sprint. When controlling for the weight, SJ and both sprints went from a weak correlation to a strong correlation. The result showed that the test subjects jumped higher during CMJa than during SJ, with a median of 36.0 compared with 30.0 centimeters. No previous studies have examined these variables and their relationship on teamgymnasts. Further research should be done on the teamgymnasts, since very little previous research has been done in this area.

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The majority of gymnasts are young girls. Training hours required to meet competition demands are high and gymnasts begin serious training at a young age. Concerns regarding injury risk are substantial and may be the result of repeated high impact loads experienced during landings from dismounts, tumbling and vaulting. There is currently little information available to coaches regarding the quantity of training that is safe or not safe. The use of acceleration was tested for its efficacy for use in the field to examine risk factors for injury. Risk factors examined were loading and fatigue. Kinematics, ground reaction forces and acceleration were measured during landing from gymnastics skills and also pre- and post fatigue during landing from a vertical jump and a 35cm drop in the laboratory. A pilot study was performed in the field to examine accelerations during gymnastics skills pre- and post-training. Lower body kinematics of landing were notably different between gymnastics skills analysed. Joint positions at touchdown and range of motion available during landing due to these joint positions affect the ability to contribute to energy absorption. Peak ground reaction forces and peak accelerations measured at the pelvis showed significant differences between skills landing on both the hands and the feet. The peak acceleration during landing from gymnastics skills was positively correlated with the peak ground reaction force. A large variability stiffness during landing meant that an estimation of ground reaction force using simple modelling was not successful in improving the correlation. After a fatiguing jumping and landing task peak accelerations measured at the pelvis during landing were increased indicating the use of acceleration for identifying fatigue. Pilot field testing of acceleration during landing from gymnastics skills showed similar results to laboratory results. Pre- and post-training measurements showed no difference in peak accelerations during landing from the skills analysed. The training session completed was not demanding enough to induce enough fatigue to be seen in acceleration values Acceleration has potential to be used to quantify repeated loading and accumulative effects in gymnastics, as well as the presence of fatigue in gymnasts during training sessions.

Literature has indicated that there are psychological characteristics in elite athletes of various sports that are significantly different than those of non-elite level athletes. The purpose of this study was to discover the different psychological characteristics associated with elite level gymnasts, and contrast the results with psychological characteristics of competitive gymnasts of other levels using the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28. Participants in this study were 195 gymnasts from gymnastics training centers throughout the United States. Results indicated that there was a significant difference in the Personal Resources Score (PCR) between the elite gymnast and all other levels. Furthermore, a significant difference was demonstrated among four of the seven sub-scales making up the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28. The study supports the hypothesis that the psychological make-up of "elite" level gymnasts is different than that of other competitive gymnastics levels.

Thesis (ED. D.)--Temple University, 1929. / Published also without thesis note. Includes bibliographical references.

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The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the mechanical similarity and difference of the peach basket and the backward free hip circle by use of numerical and graphical expressions through cinematographic analysis.Sixteen millimeter motion pictures were taken of performances by four male gymnasts. Parameters such as shoulder and hip angles, trajectories of the total body’s centers of gravity, radii of the total body’s rotation, and total body’s angular velocity and acceleration, moment of inertia and angular momentum were derived.The trajectories of the total body’s centers of gravity on the peach basket and the free hip circle were found similar. The free hip circle was associated with less shoulder flexion than the peach basket, and the more frequent change of the hip flexion and extension was found on the peach basket than on the free hip circle. The free hip circle to handstand possessed larger amount of angular momentum at the ascent phase because of the larger amount of moment of inertia with the longer rotational radius (and larger amount of time of the arm pull) than the peach basket.The free hip circle could possibly be a direct introductory stunt for a gymnast to acquire the kinesthetic senses involved in the peach basket, but it would not be utilized to acquire the advanced skills of the peach basket, because the peach basket requires more complicated and different muscle movements in its successful execution.