​Gymnastics is an incredibly thrilling and taxing sport, filled with many complex movements which take a long time to complete.

It should then make sense that you have to compensate for this by eating good food which gives you the energy that helps you to come back and do it again.

The sport is described as an 'anaerobic' sport which means it requires short, intense bursts of energy and activity, unlike many other sports such as swimming, long distance running or rowing which themselves require endurance. 

Gymnasts need to eat more carbohydrates and protein to ensure that they have easier access to the energy they need, and avoid foods high in fat. 

PROTEIN
Young gymnasts need foods high in protein as this part of food helps to repair and strengthen damaged muscle from training. Microscopic tears form in the muscle during training, due to the pressures they go through and so adequate protein should be consumed within two hours of training, but the quicker this is done, the better. 

CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates are a large source of energy for anaerobic athletes such as gymnasts, to control the level of sugar in their blood stream they require complex forms of carbohydrates such as bread, providing sustained energy. After exercising your glycogen levels can become depleted and so small snacks such as fruit are often useful before, during or after training or competitions.

FATS
Fats are very useful as long-term fuel sources. The best source of fat is known as mono-unsaturated fats, these can come from nuts, olives, fatty fish, coconut oil or other sources.  Subcutaneous fat, a fancy word meaning fat under your skin, can protect your internal organs, insulate the body and reduce LDL cholesterol levels in the bloodstream; which are can help solve future issues such as heart attacks and strokes before they become an issue.

VITAMINS AND MINERALS
As many gymnasts are young there is a lot of conflicting research about what you should give them, in an effort to not affect their growth and development. However, many sources agree that a multivitamin and a calcium supplement are helpful to the gymnast. The multivitamin helps keep them on top of their health whereas the calcium supplement will help prevent stress fractures, a common issue in training. 

At the start of 2018 AAAsports Sunderland began to implement a brand new structure into lessons in an effort to group children of similar abilities together.

You may have noticed the new way in which we run things in class now.

We have added a fourth group in an effort further split from the original three groups of AAAsports Members.

Previously there were three, and quickly came to the realization that the age and ability of the AAAsports Members within the 'Recreation' group was very wide and so something needed to be added to help condense this group. 

In addition to the original three, Squad, Advanced Recreation and Recreation, the group AAAsports has added is Fundamentals.

This group was designed to help split the group of Recreation, and therefore to help further split the AAAsports Members into AAAsports Classes of similar abilities.

The ability which a AAAsports Member needs to be able to perform to move up from Fundamentals to Recreation is a cartwheel on the floor, and to move on from Recreation upwards it is a Front Walkover they need to be able to perform.

However at Recreation you are expected to be able to perform all of the skills on the floor to a good standard before you are allowed to progress onto Advanced Recreation. 

There is not one route into Squad however, you do not have to go through all of the other three groups before you can go into a Squad class. You can move from any of the classes Fundamentals to Advanced Recreation into Squad.

Following the huge success of our 2016 and 2017 trips, AAAsports are excited to announce that we're heading back to Derwent Hill from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th August 2018!

All AAAsports Members aged 8 years and older are invited to join us on this action packed weekend, tackling a whole range of activities including Canoeing, Kayaking, Gorge Walking, Climbing and more, as well as taking on the Big Swing in the Derwent Hill grounds!

Prices are just £189 per child paid in 3 equal payments to help spread the cost - £63 non-refundable deposit to book the space initially followed by £63 on 15th May and £63 on 15th July!

Spaces are strictly limited on this trip and are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis!  To book your space, sign up here!  And don't forget to check out our photos from last years trip on our Facebook page!

AAAHQ is now reopen from 12pm today following our Christmas closure!  Our Membership Team are available to answer your calls from 10:00am to 5:30pm every weekday and then intermittently at weekends and during other class times.  To speak to one of our team, please call us on 03335 776787!

Alternatively, you can always email us using membership@AAAsports.co.uk or send us a message through our website!  We aim to respond to all emails and messages within 1 working day.

Don't forget you can manage your enrolments and payments at any time through your myAAA account!

Happy New Year to all of our Members and their families!  We hope you all had a fantastic Christmas break, fully recovered and ready to get back in to action with us in 2018!

All AAAsports Classes will restart from Saturday 6th January 2018, with our office reopening at 12pm on Monday 8th January 2018.  We're looking forward to seeing you all again!

Don't forget to keep checking our website and social media feeds - we have a couple of big announcements coming soon!