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The purpose of the study was to determine young male gymnasts’ and swimmers’ knee flexor:extensor (F:E) ratios during isokinetic testing at different velocities. Nine gymnasts (10.3 ± 0.5 years) and 14 swimmers (10.5 ± 0.5 years) participated. Concentric isokinetic peak torque was measured by a Cybex® Norm dynamometer at different angular velocities (60,120, and 180°/s) during unilateral knee extensions and flexions after gravity correction. Significant differences were found only in gymnasts’ knee F:E peak-torque ratios between the angular velocities of 60 and 120°/s (p < 0.01), as well as 60–180°/s (p < .01), whereas swimmers’ ratios were unchanged. Gymnasts presented significantly higher F:E ratios than swimmers did at the angular velocities of 120°/s (p < .01) and 180°/s (p < .001). The reciprocal ratios provided some indication that the training context of young athletes can influence the balance between agonistic and antagonistic activity of the lower limbs’ major muscle groups.

Although warm-up and stretching exercises are routinely performed by gymnasts, it is suggested that stretching immediately prior to an activity might affect negatively the athletic performance. The focus of this investigation was on the acute effect of a protocol, including warm-up and static and dynamic stretching exercises, on speed during vaulting in gymnastics. Eleven boys were asked to perform three different protocols consisting of warm-up, warm-up and static stretching and warm-up and dynamic stretching, on three nonconsecutive days. Each protocol was followed by a “handspring” vault. One-way analysis of variance for repeated-measures showed a significant difference in gymnasts’ speed, following the different protocols. Tukey’s post hoc analysis revealed that gymnasts mean speed during the run of vault was significantly decreased after the application of the static stretching protocol. The findings of the present study indicate the inhibitory role of an acute static stretching in running speed in young gymnasts.

The aims of the study were (a) to test the effectiveness of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict Greek university students’ voluntary participation in an extracurricular gymnastics course, and (b) to evaluate gender differences. Two hundred sixty-three (127 female, 136 male) students participated in the study. Students’ attitudes, intention, and PBC were measured with a questionnaire and their attendance in the course was recorded by the teacher. Results from the MANOVA conducted showed that females had higher scores compared with males in all observed variables. Results from the structural equation modeling (SEM) employed supported the usefulness of TPB to explain students’ attitudes and behavior toward extracurricular physical activities (PA). Differences also emerged on path structure of the relationships among the variables.