ASYMMETRY ANALYSIS OF CROSS ON GYMNASTICS TRAINING AND COMPETITION RINGS

Abstract

Based on biomechanics and the principles of training specificity, the purpose of this study was to verify whether the use of a training device is a specific drill to the static cross posture on rings. Six elite Brazilian gymnasts performed the cross on competition and training rings. Variables analysed from digitised video data were right and left shoulder angles in the frontal plane. Larger angles were found when performing the cross on training rings for right (RMSD 3.20°) and left (RMSD 3.27°) shoulders. Less inter-limb asymmetry was also reported for the training rings (1.87%), compared to the competition (2.25%) condition. The training device seems to allow elite gymnasts to reduce shoulder asymmetry and deviations from 90° whilst performing the cross, which can lead to execution penalties in competition.