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Hi everyone this site contains materials to help teach you about how the purpose of the accurate center of gravity will help make a gymnast's performance of airborne flips more efficient.
What is balance?
Balance is a combination of both a natural sense and the development of combined physical and mental training. In the sport of gymnastics, balance is fundamental to success, no matter how skilled or fit one may be. Balance is a body's state of equilibrium that depends on equal distribution of weight throughout your body.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPMV_4DsRBJh0rftGXiodWWq3Lqxee9Azewdm8t-db6tWzze0nQqyblB0841ZHaHO99CH7WlfszrcynBzqbc9oVJHpR9t8NS1wIZjsBYAhThpZv7xkW6fwfg-ZO3Cv1lbKiE1CDi4XoOLD/s760/nastia_beam_split2%5B1%5D.jpg)
The gymnast you see here is able to maintain her balance by making sure her center of gravity is directly over the top of the beam at all times, even as she is upside down.
Gymnastics is a sport that requires both physical exercise and training that builds the overall fitness of a gymnast. Physical fitness in terms of the function and wellbeing of the body incorporates the elements of strength, power, speed, endurance, and flexibility. Balance, in addition to a gymnast's ability and "motor control" is one of the basic and fundamental components necessary to produce and enhanced athletic performance. In conclusion,
"the determination of the precise center of gravity will make the performance of aerial movements more efficient."
The improvement of balance in any gymnastics performance routine is an understanding of the body's center of gravity and its value and importance to fluid movement within the body. The understanding of the "precise center of gravity" allows a gymnast's routines to become more efficient. In an athlete the center of gravity is defined as the point at which the body will rotate and revolve around.
How is balance affected by center of gravity?
Balance is a "biomechanical" construction that is often easier to imagine and visualize than to grasp and understand. So consider a sea-saw. If you place an object at one end of the sea-saw and a heavier object at the other end what will happen to its balance?
If you said the balance of the see-saw will be off you were correct. Because the center of gravity of an object always tends to shift towards the heavier weight concentration. An object's center of gravity is able to balance best when its center of gravity (the point where all the mass) is over a point of support.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJInrfOx7tovLzWmf-b36DCoi_UqF8xmWHDf_RnNz2ZHhlyWK8bNkoi8Midu6IRh0-3JPAB04QvWxQ3qqi9KHozcngKVQk7FD1Tv0kw8CitIkVfpD560l4UEFgqKvUaEoz7aWpumKWG1D/s760/CE070400FG0010%5B1%5D.gif)
The center of gravity of an object tends to shift towards the heavier weight concentration. An object is able to balance best when its center of gravity is over a point of support.
A person's center of gravity shifts with every movement they make.
![A person's center of gravity shifts with every movement they make.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXISj_BlwK91kqLnhYJEwgk8HUhdod8cWo0gQTEi68o84EbYOo04e_jjgbBHdGSX2ifatkEMJW17hxcmZwXaPtm7HLOzqCdWiA_DZI3EOMIjrTfBT1R3Gh9s7AF04TJobc_BLldaj8sPqF/s760/5257203jpg_00000049400%5B1%5D.jpg)
How is the center of gravity different in male and female athletes?
Everybody's center of gravity is different. The center of gravity in both males and females varies in response to the different physical structures of the position and "relative width" of a person's hips to their femur length. A woman's center of gravity is slightly lower than a male's, meaning that women have better balance. The reason females center of gravity is slightly lower than men is because women have a larger pelvis area. Why does a woman have a larger pelvis area than a male?
Women's pelvis skeletal structure is bigger than a male's in order to help a female prepare for when she becomes pregnant, allowing her body to have more stability and support. Since a female's center of gravity is lower, this means that a female's lower body is generally heavier in refernce to the rest of their body, because more of their body mass is concentrated in the lower parts, allowing the center of gravity to shift lower down, in response to the fact that the center of gravity of an object always tends to shift towards the heavier weight concentration.
Where as a male's center of gravity is considered to rest right around the where your sternum is located. A male's center of gravity is higher than a female's because of muscular distribution, in which the upper body is heavier in respect to the rest of the body. The location of a person's center of gravity depends on the proportion of body parts, distribution of fat and muscle mass, skeletal configuration and distortion, and outside external forces on the body.
Women's pelvis skeletal structure is bigger than a male's in order to help a female prepare for when she becomes pregnant, allowing her body to have more stability and support. Since a female's center of gravity is lower, this means that a female's lower body is generally heavier in refernce to the rest of their body, because more of their body mass is concentrated in the lower parts, allowing the center of gravity to shift lower down, in response to the fact that the center of gravity of an object always tends to shift towards the heavier weight concentration.
Where as a male's center of gravity is considered to rest right around the where your sternum is located. A male's center of gravity is higher than a female's because of muscular distribution, in which the upper body is heavier in respect to the rest of the body. The location of a person's center of gravity depends on the proportion of body parts, distribution of fat and muscle mass, skeletal configuration and distortion, and outside external forces on the body.
Male vs Female Skeletal Structure
![Male vs Female Skeletal Structure](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEitKpVdG1PsVHswtN4vli8R3WEieqm-vs5sodmg8OHgo1Ni-QCF569wBXlBnH4QQ6wnx6F6CF25UB3-TA97xezB6XAh45BM9LJs2U_hilt-YykOSn65tHcEpAG2oUJAS7HsPIIbJtqmj-/s760/male-female-skeleton%5B1%5D.jpg)
The center of gravity in both males and females varies in response to the different physical skeletal structures of the position and "relative width" of a person's hip to their femur length.
In the sport of gymnastics there are many aspects which affect an athletes performance. Body proportions with the respect to the center of gravity play a large part. A gymnast with a bigger upper body can allow their center of gravity to shift outside their foundation of support, causing someone to take an extra step to recover or fall much faster than those who have a larger lower body that are ideally more stable. Allignment of the body as well can affect someones performance such as being over-arched on a skill, or simply coming off "high toes" on a full turn on beam allowing your ankle to drop causing you to lose your balance.
Sources used:
http://www.faqs.org/sports-science/Fo-Ha/Gymnastics-Balance.html
Http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070904040802AAlzLaT
Http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aleisa/Kinesiology%20RHS341/kinesiology%20lecture-9pdf
Http://en.allexperts.com/q/Gymnastics-2245/2008/8/balance-1.htm
http://www.xomba.com/files/images/nastia_beam_split2.preview.jpg
http://images.machinedesign.com/images/archive/5257203jpg_00000049400.jpg
http://hippie.nu/~unicorn/tut/img/basics/humananatomy/male-female-skeleton.jpeg
Http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070904040802AAlzLaT
Http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/aleisa/Kinesiology%20RHS341/kinesiology%20lecture-9pdf
Http://en.allexperts.com/q/Gymnastics-2245/2008/8/balance-1.htm
http://www.xomba.com/files/images/nastia_beam_split2.preview.jpg
http://images.machinedesign.com/images/archive/5257203jpg_00000049400.jpg
http://hippie.nu/~unicorn/tut/img/basics/humananatomy/male-female-skeleton.jpeg
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