Pommel Horse
Gymnastics Pommel Horse
Giddyup! No it is not a real horse – it is a piece of equipment that male gymnasts compete on. It takes a lot of strength to hold yourself above it and do the stuff these guys do. Watch some of the top gymnasts ride the pommel horse!
Unless you have tried to do this yourself, you probably have no idea how much strength is required to do what these athletes do.
You have to have strength to hold your body suspended above the horse, and they also keep your body up as you perform the required skills.
This video shows how to do the circles properly on the pommel.
You have to bring your right hand back faster to the grip for better balance. (Keep your volume low while watching this one as it gets quite peaky).
Can you tell the difference between the first routine and the later one? It's all in the hands. In artistic gymnastics, men must learn routines to compete five different skills: pommel horse, parallel bars, suspended rings, floor routine and vault.
Women gymnasts also do floor and vault routines, but do uneven bars and balance beam, which male gymnasts do not do.
Gymnasts also do a lot of training off of the equipment, building strength and flexibility. They often learn a lot of the skills on the ground, so they avoid injury falling off the equipment (which can hurt even with the mats on the ground under the equipment).
Gymnasts develop very strong core, lower and upper body strength, since they use most major muscles training on all the various equipment. Gymnastics is a great way to develop strength, coordination, and awesome ninja skills!