Artistic gymnastics improves biomarkers related to physical fitness and health at primary school age
International Journal of Applied Exercise Physiology, 10(1), 115–128
Do young gymnasts show a different health-related fitness profile?
Health-related fitness in childhood includes body composition, muscular fitness, speed and agility, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Assessing these qualities together gives a broader picture than body mass or a single performance test alone.
The researchers compared children who had practised artistic gymnastics for at least two years with peers who were not seriously engaged in sport beyond school physical education.
How did primary-school gymnasts and non-gymnasts compare across the Alpha-Fit measures and age- and sex-specific reference values?
Ninety children completed a multi-domain fitness assessment.
The sample included 49 gymnasts from five British Gymnastics clubs and 41 comparison participants, all aged 7–11 years.
The cross-sectional study used the Alpha-Fit test battery, anthropometry and age- and sex-specific percentiles. Group comparisons were analysed separately for girls and boys.
- Body profileHeight, mass, waist, BMI, skinfolds and body-fat estimates
- StrengthHandgrip measured in absolute and body-mass-relative terms
- Motor fitnessStanding long jump and 4 × 10 metre shuttle run
- Aerobic fitness20 metre shuttle run with estimated VO₂max
Gymnasts and comparison group
The gymnast group included 19 boys and 30 girls. The comparison group included 18 boys and 23 girls who took part in no more than one organised sport session per week.
Several complementary measures
BMI and waist measures were combined with bioelectrical impedance and triceps and subscapular skinfolds. Reference percentiles were used to interpret growth and body composition.
Strength, power, agility and endurance
Handgrip, standing long jump, 4 × 10 metre shuttle and 20 metre shuttle tests assessed different aspects of health-related physical fitness.
Gymnasts performed better across several relative and functional measures.
Significant group differences were found for jumping, agility, estimated aerobic fitness and handgrip relative to body mass in both girls and boys.
Long-jump performance was higher
Mean standing long jump was 154.61 vs 123.48 cm in girls and 176.78 vs 124.56 cm in boys, favouring the gymnast groups (both p<.001).
Shuttle-run times were faster
Mean 4 × 10 metre time was 11.97 vs 13.88 seconds in girls and 11.18 vs 13.36 seconds in boys, favouring the gymnast groups (both p<.001).
Estimated aerobic fitness was higher
Estimated VO₂max averaged 52.06 vs 45.88 ml/kg/min in girls and 53.98 vs 46.36 ml/kg/min in boys (both p<.001).
Body-size context changed the strength result
Handgrip relative to body mass was higher in gymnasts of both sexes. Absolute handgrip did not differ significantly between gymnasts and comparison participants.
Gymnasts had lower body-size and fatness percentiles
The gymnast groups had lower height, weight, BMI and body-fat percentile scores. All gymnasts were within the reference range for body fat, and 46 of 49 were within BMI norms.
Many gymnasts ranked highly
Among the gymnasts, 84% exceeded the 90th percentile for standing long jump, 71% exceeded it for the 4 × 10 metre shuttle and 82% exceeded the 80th percentile for estimated aerobic fitness.
A broad fitness advantage in this sample, with important boundaries.
The measured gymnasts showed a stronger overall health-related fitness profile than the comparison group. The pattern supports using several complementary tests when monitoring children rather than relying on body mass or a single result.
Monitor several domains together
For coaches and teachers, the findings support viewing fitness as a combination of body composition, relative strength, explosive power, agility and cardiorespiratory fitness. The contrast between relative and absolute handgrip shows why body size matters when interpreting children’s results.
What constrains the comparison
- The study was cross-sectional, with a relatively small non-random sample from selected UK locations.
- Group differences in age, body size, training exposure and self-selection may have influenced the results.
- The design did not track growth, training exposure or health outcomes over time.
- The unusually high prevalence of overweight and obesity in the comparison group limits generalisation.
No causal or diagnostic claim
- It does not prove that gymnastics caused every observed group difference.
- It does not establish the same outcome for every child or an optimal training volume.
- It does not diagnose health or demonstrate long-term health outcomes.
Read and cite the paper.
Read the complete published article PDF and use the formatted reference when citing the study.
Kolimechkov, S., Petrov, L., & Alexandrova, A. (2021). Artistic gymnastics improves biomarkers related to physical fitness and health at primary school age. International Journal of Applied Exercise Physiology, 10(1), 115–128.