← Girls Gymnastics Video Curriculum
These are the physical abilities we test with Midwest Twisters team athletes. Every gymnast can work toward them at their own level. Start with the version your coach gives you and build toward the full test as your form improves.
Practice casts, handstands, and advanced flexibility with your coach. Ask your coach which strength drills you can practice at home.
Upper Body & Core Strength
Pull-Ups
Grip the bar overhand and start with your arms fully extended. Pull until your chin clears the bar, then lower all the way back to a straight-arm hang.
What counts · Count strict reps in 30 seconds. Reps with swinging or a break in form do not count.
Push-Ups
Start in a straight-body front support. Bend your elbows to 90° and press back up. Keep your hips and shoulders moving together.
What counts · Count clean reps in 30 seconds.
Leg Lifts
Hang from stall bars or use the test setup with a flat support behind your back. Keep both knees straight as you raise your feet to the bar or your hands. Lower back to a vertical hang.
What counts · Count clean reps in 30 seconds.
Hollow Body Hold
Lie on your back. Reach your arms beside your ears, point your toes, and lift your shoulders and straight legs while keeping your lower back pressed into the mat.
What counts · Needs Improvement, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, or 60 seconds.
Arch Body Hold
Lie face down and reach your arms forward. Lift your chest, arms, and thighs together, and keep them raised as you hold.
What counts · Needs Improvement, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, or 60 seconds.
Lower Body Power & Speed
20-Meter Sprint
Start from a standstill. Accelerate down the marked 20-meter course and sprint through the finish. The gym uses OVR Sprint timing gates on a vault runway or a clear lane.
What counts · The gates record time to 0.001 seconds.
Vertical Jump
Stand flat-footed between the OVR Jump sensors. Jump straight up as high as you can and land back between the sensors.
What counts · The sensors use flight time to measure jump height.
Gymnastics Elements
Straight-Body Casting
Start in front support on a single bar. Cast to your highest controlled angle with a straight body, then return to the bar. A cast that tips over past handstand does not count. You get one retry if that happens.
What counts · Below horizontal, Horizontal, 30°, 45°, 2 × 45°, Handstand, or 2 × Handstand.
Press Handstand
Start in a standing straddle or a seated straddle-L. Press up to a handstand and lower back down. Keep your hands planted throughout.
What counts · 0, Feet to handstand, Straddle to handstand, 1 full press, or 2+ full presses.
Handstand Hold
Kick up to a freestanding handstand on the floor. Open your shoulders and hold a straight body line.
What counts · The timer stops when you step out or reach 30 seconds.
Flexibility
Right, Left, and Center Splits
Show a right split, a left split, and a center split. Keep your hips square, knees straight, and toes pointed.
What counts · Needs Improvement, Down (flat on the floor), or Oversplit (front leg elevated for a front split).
Shoulder Flexibility
Push up into a bridge. Straighten your arms, straighten your legs if you can, and open your shoulders so they move toward or beyond your hands.
What counts · Needs Improvement (shoulders behind hands), Over hands, or Past hands.
Pike Flexibility
Stand with straight knees and fold forward from your hips. Reach both palms toward the floor without bending your knees.
What counts · Needs Improvement, Hands flat on the floor, or Hands flat behind the heels.
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