I want to become an Gymnastic Athlete. Where do I start?

Question

I really want to start gymnastics even though I'm 15 and male I've got great upper body strength and I'm good at these kind of things. I want to know how to get started and where I can find a great Gym in georgia(united states) where there are coaches that can train me to an olympic level.

Answer 1

Check if they have lessons ar your local YMCA

Answer 2

(a "gymnastic athlete" is called a gymnast)

at your age, the chances of making it to the olympics are almost nothing (if you were a girl, there wouldn't even be a chance)...it takes YEARS of training to make it to the olympics, and there are guys your age who have been training since they were little and they aren't even close to being ready to compete in olympic level gymnastics...

On top of that, it's NOT easy to find a coach qualified enough to train people to an olympic level ("not easy" is an understatement), and even if you could find one, they wouldn't be able to train you that well (again, you're too old..the ideal person that they would train for the olympics would have to be between 4-7 years old because it takes that much time)

Just because you can't make it to the olympics doesn't mean you can't benefit from the sport, search google for gyms in your area (there is bound to be one)

edit-also, upper body strength isn't enough, you need like "all-over" body strength, and you need to be in really good shape (did you notice how all of the male gymnasts at this years olympics looked like they came out of a fitness magazine?)

Edit-Oh! Sorry :)

but still, that goal is also basically out of reach, you're already about midway through puberty, therefore traning as hard as an olympian would would present a very high chance of serious injury, as well as the fact that getting to an olympic level at the sport would take several years..

again, that doesn't mean you shouldn't start gymnastics..you can still benefit from it...

also, if you want to get to an olympic level in gymnastics, you can't really treat it as a hobby because it would have to  become  a major part of your life....gymnastics is a VERY time consuming sport, especially if you plan on getting to a junior or senior level (which again, is unfortunatley out of reach for you)

Answer 3

sorry bud, at your age, you don't stand much chance at becoming an olympic level gymnast.  Much of the training is done at a young age to coordinate the muscle groups in order to develop a certain type of muscle memory that can only be obtained at certain size/strength ratios.

Answer 4

The best place to start is www.usa-gymnastics.org.

This is the official site of USA Gymnastics and you can find any gym that is affiliated with them.

Good luck finding a gym, I hope you have found a sport you enjoy!