The Gymnastics Book: A Young Person's Guide to Gymnastics

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

This guidebook for budding female gymnasts focuses on artistic
gymnastics and trampoline, since these are the two areas typically
encountered at the beginner recreational level. Coauthor Elfi Schlegel
is a Canadian national champion, a six-time all-American, and the owner
of a gymnastics club.

The introduction provides tips on choosing a club, a coach, and a
program, after identifying one’s goals (recreational and/or
competitive). A chapter on “the healthy gymnast” discusses attitude
and expectations, nutrition, and warming-up and cooling-down strategies.
The section on skills describes the various gymnastic movements that can
be combined to create a routine of two or more elements, which, in
artistic gymnastics, are performed on an apparatus. A color photograph
illustrates each skill. The last chapter, which “raises the bar” to
the next level, deals with the transition from recreational to
competitive gymnastics, looking at time and commitment, the importance
of school, family and friends, and financial costs. A training schedule
demonstrating the events of an average competitor’s day gives the
prospective competitor an indication of what to expect.

The Gymnastics Book will appeal to young girls interested in trying the
sport. The author states that gymnastics is about three basic
things—fun, fitness and fundamentals—and her book is reflective of
this. Recommended.