Stop Procrastinating And Start Getting Fit!

When it comes into the topic of keeping ourselves healthy, what we have to say is: enough with procrastination and just start exercising! The lifelong health benefits of physical fitness are too great to be disregarded, we believe.

Feel younger, live longer. It’s not a slogan, but rather the actual health benefits one can get from physical exercise. According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, people who engage in moderate to intense physical exercise on a daily basis are at lower risks of suffering from certain types of diseases.

Physical Fitness: Is Exercise Really Good for You?

Ready for some good news? According to some research, regularly participating in physical exercise promotes better sleep, helps in maintaining a healthy weight, minimizes the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and even helps fight off depression.

“One study found that when breast cancer survivors engaged in exercise, there were marked improvements in physical activity, strength, maintaining weight, and social well-being,” said Rachel Permuth-Levine, PhD, deputy director for the Office of Strategic and Innovative Programs at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

“Another study looked at patients with stable heart failure and determined that exercise relieves symptoms, improves quality of life, reduces hospitalization, and in some cases, reduces the risk of death,” Dr. Permuth-Levine added. She cleared out that physical exercise isn’t only beneficial for people with good health conditions. “If we can see benefits of moderate exercise in people who are recovering from a disease, we might see even greater benefits in those of us who are generally well.”

Physical exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous in order to bring positive results. Even just by taking part regularly in a moderate exercise (walking, jogging, running on the treadmill, etc.), can already produce positive and healthy results.

Making Physical Exercise a Lifelong Habit

The most common reason why most people don’t exercise is because they don’t have enough time to do so. If you find it hard to add regular exercise to your daily schedule, keep in mind that even just short bouts of physical exercise in your free time could bring numerous health benefits such as minimizing the risk for cardiovascular disease. Aim for at least 10 minutes of short and light exercise every day to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

If you have lived a sedentary lifestyle for too long, then you might find adding physical exercise to your daily routine to be an overwhelming task. What you could do is try to gradually shift to a more active lifestyle, so you won’t be too overwhelmed with the transition.

For example, instead of using the elevator to go upstairs, you could try and take the stairs instead. Also, instead of driving to a nearby grocery, you could go and take a walk as an alternative. The key to physical fitness is to start gradually and get yourself prepared. “Have your shoes, pedometer, and music ready so you don’t have any excuses.” Rachel Permuth-Levine said.

Learn more about health and fitness by visiting and reading our educational blogs. Live a healthier and more active lifestyle, enroll today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy and learn gymnastics for kids with us.

Why Gymnastics Is Good For Kids’ Academics

Did you know that children’s weight and physical activity levels can affect their thinking and learning skills?

Researchers gathered 45 children aged 7 to 11 with normal weight. 24 children were physically active while 21 of them were not. Those children who are active are part of sports like gymnastics, swimming, soccer, or dance, which they do for more than an hour in 1 week.

The study also gathered children who are overweight and inactive.

As it normally is, kids with normal weight and who are active had less body fat, and a lower resting heart rate compared to inactive and overweight children.

However, the researchers also observed that children with normal weight and who are physically active did better on mental skill test in comparison to those who are inactive. The test includes planning and paying attention.

On the other hand, as the study found an association between physical activities and mental skills in children, it did not find a cause-and-effect relationship.

According Medical College of Georgia health psychologist Catherine Davis, “Activity made a difference even among normal-weight kids. That verifies that physical activity makes a difference in brain function. If they can cut some of the empty calories out of their diet and pick up the pace on physical activity, they may grow into their weight.”

Catherine Davis also stated that the study focused on weight, but would probably be more accurate to look at the amount of body fat in children. In the study, overweight kids had more fat that weighing more because of extra muscle mass.

Others suggest that future studies should also include children who are overweight but physically active, just to see if their mental skills also benefit from physical activity, also to learn more about how kids’ brain health are affected by their weight and exercise activities.

The Exercise-Effect on Academics

Sports and physical activity are generally linked with positive effects on children’s physical health. It is believed that a regular participation in physical activity is associated to enhancement of brain function and cognition, which positively affects academic performance.

Yes, exercise is good for cognition and here are some reasons why:

• Increased blood and oxygen flow to the brain
• Extended levels of norepinephrine and endorphins reduce stress and improves mood
• Increased growth factors can help make new nerve cells and support synaptic plasticity

Those are just some of the reasons why exercise benefits children’s academic skills. The rising pressures to improve academic scores which often lead to instructional time for subjects, including mathematics and language, at the cost of time for being physically active.

Exercise is one of the biggest factors children need, but unfortunately, most kids are not exercised enough. If you still do not consider exercising important for your child, here are some reasons why you should:

1. Physical activities reduce the risk of diabetes and pre-diabetes

2. Being physically active improves immune system function

3. Physical activities improve children’s sleep and mood

4. Sports help children’s bones become stronger

5. Sports can decrease restlessness or hyperactivity

6. Being physically active reduces ADHD symptoms

7. Physical activities balance weight

As stated by University of Chicago Psychology Professor Sian Beilock, “We show that non-language related activities, such as playing or watching a sport, enhance one’s ability to understand language about their sport precisely because brain areas normally used to act become highly involved in language understanding. Sports Experience Enhances the Neural Processing of Action Language.”

“Experience playing and watching sports has enduring effects on language understanding by changing the neural networks that support comprehension to incorporate areas active in performing sports skills,” Professor Beilock added.

In conclusion, regular physical activities or sports are essential for children’s needs. Not just to improve their body appearance, but also to improve their mental skills and critical thinking.

Gymnastics also does a great job for helping your kids boost their physical activities, so if you’re looking for a school that can give your child the best training experience, you could try and check Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy. With our state-of-the-art training facility, fun and exciting training sessions, and extensive knowledge and experience of our head coach — Bianka Panova, we can ensure that your child will receive the highest quality of training and education. Enroll now and learn gymnastics for kids with us!

10th Doha World Cup Finalists, Ready For The Last Match

The 10th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup has taken off in Aspire Dome, Doha, Qatar on March 22 and is scheduled to last until the 25th. The qualifying round has been done and a lot of the big names have made it into the finals. Of course, the newcomers also showcased their talents and some of them have made it into the finals as well.

So far, one of the many promising athletes in the competition was China’s Liu Tingting who appeared to be in top form. She qualified for the finals by being the second on uneven bars but the top in women’s floor exercise and balance beam. Tingting missed last year’s Rio Olympics due to injuries, but the 15-year-old did amazingly well at the Melbourne leg last month, and she was determined to continue her good record into Doha World Cup.

Close on Tingting’s heels in what seemed to be at almost all of the events is Australia’s Emily Little, who participated at the 2012 London Games. Little took her share of gold, silver and bronze from the Melbourne World Cup like Tingting and she was recorded to be saying that, “It’s always an honour to represent my country. I look forward to pick up some medals in Doha.”

So far, Little has qualified into the finals by being second in floor exercise and third in women’s vault and balance beam. Who went ahead of her to take the second spot on the balance beam to qualify for the finals was 2004 Olympic Champion from Romania, Catalina Ponor. Three days before the Doha event, Ponor has bagged two gold medals at the World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. “I hope to maintain the good show in Doha,” Ponor said.

Another one of the big names in this event was Uzbek veteran Oksana Chusovitina, who also squeezed into the finals by being second on women’s vault, behind China’s Wang Yan who was a bronze medalist in the 2016 Olympic Games. There are doubts if Yan can still compete for the finals, as she injured herself in one of her tumbling passes on the floor exercise during the qualifications.

Elsewhere, the men’s artistic gymnastics competition was led by Hungary’s 2012 London Olympics gold medalist Krisztian Berki, who qualified for the finals by dominating once again the pommel horse. Next to him was China’s Zou Jingyuan and Croatia’s Ude Filip respectively. Jingyuan was also first in parallel bars, followed by Switzerland’s Pablo Brägger and Turkey’s Ferhat Arican

The Australian team managed to get in male representatives as Christopher Remkes qualified by being third in men’s vault while teammate Clay Mason Stephens was on sixth. Compatriot Mitchell Morgans was also second on high bar.

For a complete list of finalists, visit FIG’s twitter account.

Be the first to know the winners of the 10th Doha World Cup by following our official blogs and social media sites. Enroll today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy and learn gymnastics for kids with us! Come and experience world class training and education!

Nastia Liukin, Youngest Texas Sports Hall Of Famer

February 21, 2017 marks the day when the 27-year-old artistic gymnast Nastia Liukin becomes the youngest member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2017 with seven other members. This is the sixth in a series of profiles on the Texas Sports Hall of Fame induction class.

“Gymnastics has taken me places I never thought I’d go,” she said. “It’s still part of my life today. It’s what I loved to do as a young child, I had a passion for it, which is why I went as far as I did. It’s really exciting to be honored for something that was such a big part of your every-day life.”

Liukin has grown to be one of the top gymnasts in the world with her nine medals at the World Championship, five medals at the Olympic Games and the gold medal in the all-around at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Her passion for gymnastics has brought her not only to a ride all over the word, but also to record-setting heights.

Nastia Liukin’s Life

Nastia was born on October 30, 1989 in Moscow to a father that is an artistic gymnast and two-time gold-medalist at the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea—Valeri Liukin. Also, her mother is a world champion in rhythmic gymnastics in 1987 named Anna Kotchneva. Having both parents from the sport of gymnastics, people naturally assume they put her up to follow on their steps, but Liukin debunks this.

“When we moved to Texas, we didn’t have the money for a babysitter to watch me all day long,” Liukin said. “So I spent the days at the gym with my parents. Luckily for them, I fell in love with gymnastics. People thought because my parents were successful gymnasts that they pushed me to follow in their footsteps, but it was the opposite. I wanted to do gymnastics because it made me happy.”

Their family has moved to US when Liukin was just two years old, in search of a new start after the fall of the Soviet Union. They then settled in Texas after being in New Orleans for a while. Her father and his former teammate opened a gym in Plano called World Olympic Gymnastics Academy. This is what became as Liukin’s second home.

Nastia Liukin’s Career

By spending too much time in the gym, the Olympian has fallen in love with gymnastics that she devoted too much time on it until her talents began to show. By the age of six, she has registered for her first gymnastics competition, her father as the coach. That was the beginning of her budding start career.

At the age of twelve, Liukin competed in her first junior national meet. She did not finish splendidly at it, but she qualified herself for USA’s Junior Pan Am team. At that event, she finished second in the all-around, helping Americans claim a team gold medal. Since then, Liukin grew and matured to the point that she even won multiple junior national and world titles.

Like many other athletes, Liukin has dreamt of becoming an Olympian, although she said it was hard to say when the Olympics became a reality. When she was on the age ten to twelve, it was when it started to become achievable. Only one thing stood in her way: she was not as powerful when it comes to upper-body strength like her other world-class competitors. She made up for it with her unmatched balance and grace though, and became a beast on the uneven bars and the balance beam.

In 2007, she had an ankle injury which prevented her to compete much on that season. Liukin being a strong-willed athlete, she came back with a fury, determined to make her dreams come true. She won the American Cup and finished second at the US Championships. At the US Olympic Trials, she won a second place, which gave her ticket to the Beijing Summer Olympic Games.

In China, she showed the world what she has to offer with the performance of her lifetime. She brought home five medals in all, including helping the US women to a team silver medal. Among all awards, she also claimed that “heavyweight belt” of gymnastics, defeating US teammate Shawn Johnson for the all-around title and a gold-medal.

After that win, she had a layoff because of tours. She immediately got back to training soon enough, in hopes of returning to Olympics in London. However, Liukin couldn’t bring back her old flame. She fell face-first on the mat during the bars competition of the US Olympic Trials. She stood up and finished her routine, but she has lost her chance for another Olympic Games.

Although she did not have any regrets at all, soon after that she announced her retirement from the sport. She was contented from having accomplished so much, add to all her medals a diploma from New York University, but she didn’t get away from her beloved sport that much. She still spent last summer in Rio as a part of NBC’s Olympic broadcasting team.

After all of that whirlwind of a career and life, now Nastia Liukin is a part of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame—before even turning 30.

Keep up with the latest news and updates about the sport of gymnastics by following our official blogs and social media sites. Enroll today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy and learn gymnastics for kids with us! Come and experience world class training and education!

How To Safely Practice Gymnastics At Home

Gymnastics is a kind of sport that requires the following qualities: strength, flexibility and focus. To be a great gymnast, one must be dedicated to do their workouts and training on a daily basis for them to develop the physical qualities they need to perform better.

As parents of gymnasts or athletes, if we know that our kids really love their sport and are working hard on being successful at it, we also know that sometimes they forget about it. There are days when they want to stay home because they are lazy for some reasons, or that one of their friends in the sport is not going to train on that certain day and they don’t want to train alone, or they are just uncomfortable in the gym. There would always be a time when they don’t want to leave the house, and it is our job to make sure they are not slacking in their efforts to reach their dreams.

If they don’t want to leave the house, they might prefer to do their workouts at home. Luckily, there are some exercises that they will be able to practice at home which are safe and simple. Some of these exercises require sport equipment, but some of the trainings can be performed at home without the need to travel to a gym.

Listed below are some of the things we have to prepare in order for our kids to safely practice their gymnastics skills at home. Before beginning anything, we should keep in mind that before our kids performs any kind of workouts by themselves, they should seek the guidance of a fitness professional or their coach.

• As the head of the house, we should make sure that our house has enough room for our kids to perform a gymnastics workout. Find a room that has enough space and clean it up to make sure that no obstacle can hinder the exercises that they will be performing.

• We must find a high-quality gymnastics mat and put it on the floor on the space where we want our kids to perform their workouts.

• We have to make sure that our kids are wearing comfortable clothes, preferably a loose-fitting one so that it won’t restrict their movements and they will be able to move freely.

• Before doing any kind of workouts, we should make sure that our kids do a series of warm-up exercises such as jogging or walking. Working out while their muscles are cold can cause injury so they have to always remember that they include a set of warm-up exercises in their daily workout.

• Aside from warm-up exercises, our kids have to perform stretching exercises as well to increase their flexibility and range of motion. Also, by stretching their muscles, they can reduce the possibility of a muscle strain, a thing that can hinder their workouts, even for a long term.

Although exercises can be done at home, our kids should be careful especially when performing intense workouts, as improper technique can cause injury. When performing their exercises at home, they can use educational videos and instruction manuals as their guide. We should also accompany our kids to a visit to their local gym every once in a while so that the instructor can correct their technique.

It is advised, however, that for a younger child it would be a safer bet if you would send him/her to a school that teaches gymnastics for kids. You could check and visit Bianka Panova Academy at 2 Bukit Merah Central, Singapore 159835 to see if we are the appropriate training ground for your child!

Are Gymnasts’ Bones Healthy?

Most people take for granted the health of their bones and only think about it once they are in midlife or later, by which time is can be too late to do very much to protect against serious bone loss and resulting fractures of all the physically-demanding activities they have done in their younger years. Especially athletes like gymnasts, who mostly start their gymnastics careers at a very young age, and sustains a lot of injuries their entire careers. So it would not be a surprise if sometimes we ask ourselves, are gymnasts’ bones healthy?

At What Age Does Bones Develop?

Researchers who study bone health said that concerns about the strength of one’s bones should start in childhood and continue through adolescence, because this is the time when the body builds most of the bone that must sustain it for the remaining years of life.

The best time to pay attention to bone development is from childhood through adolescence, since once the peak bone mass has been reached, further gains are minimal. Between ninety and ninety-six percent of girls’ peak bone mass are gained by age twenty, while for boys peaks occur only a few years later. Conversely, abut twenty-six percent of total adult bone is accrued in two years around the time the bone mass increases the most, at ages 12.5 in girls and 14.1 in boys. The amount of bones added during those two years is about the same as what is typically lost in the 30 years between ages 50 and 80.

In all of the mentioned years above where bone masses are developed, gymnasts have started training and probably ended their careers already. The peak times for gymnasts are around the same ages, from childhood to until twenty years old, so it means that while their bones are still developing they are doing harsh physical trainings and competitions simultaneously.

Growth and Gymnastics

Based on a study in 2004 published at “The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism,” the impact of stress and physical training on growth is influenced by a lot of different factors like the intensity of training, the type of exercise, and the time that the physical activity began. Competitive gymnasts spend usually between twenty-six and twenty-eight hours a week on training. Aside from this, the time spent on competing is at the same time of puberty. The said study proved that the intense physical training of gymnastics really does impact the musculoskeletal growth and maturation that is supposed to occur during puberty.

In the same study, the researchers evaluated growth and skeletal maturation in male and female artistic gymnasts between ages thirteen and twenty-three. The results reflected that both male and female artistic gymnasts were shorter and slimmer than normal girls and boys around the same age bracket, exhibiting a significant delay in skeletal maturation. This observation is also more evident in males. 

Artistic gymnasts have a reduction of growth potential, especially males, but the females of rhythmic gymnastics, on the other hand, only have a significantly delayed genetic predisposition for growth.

A study in the same journal, only conducted in 1999, evaluated 255 female rhythmic gymnasts from ages eleven to twenty-three years old during the 13th European Championships. The researchers studied the skeletal growth and sexual development in the said elites and they observed that the rhythmic gymnasts had a significant delay in both skeletal and pubertal maturation. However, the study states that the final adult height of the athletes was not expected to be affected by their involvement in gymnastics.

To read more gymnastics-related articles, visit our educational blogs. Experience a fun and imaginative gymnastics training, come and enroll today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy.

Exercises To Prevent Injuries To The Wrist

In most sports, especially gymnastics, the wrist is forced to hold an overwhelming amount of weight, and is exposed to huge amount of trauma by performing different activities that exceed normal daily activity. 

While doing a tumbling or a handstand, the wrist of a gymnast is often required to hold his own bodyweight while bending his wrist backwards. Also, most of the movements done by the gymnast require fast and sudden movements that may stress their wrists and hands too much.

Daily exposure to this kind of stress may cause fractures, sprains and dislocations to the wrist of an individual. Luckily, there are several exercises that you can perform to avoid to protect your wrist for these kinds of injuries.

1. Wrist Extensor Stretch

Extend your hands with your palm facing up and elbows straight. Using your other hand, pull your extended hand downwards. You would feel a mild to moderate stretch in your wrist while doing this. Hold this position for 10-15 seconds and then repeat using your other hand. Do it for three sets.

2. Wrist Flexor Stretch

Stretch your hands by keeping your elbow straight and then pull your wrist backwards using your other hand. During the exercise, you should feel a mild to moderate stretch. Hold this position for 10-15 seconds before repeating with your other hand. Repeat for three sets.

3. Resistance Band Wrist Flexion

Using a resistance band, wrap the band around your hand while your palm is facing up. Put your elbow by your side and keep your elbow bent at a 90-degree angle before slowly curling your wrist up, just like doing a dumbbell curls. Do it for 15 repetitions before repeating on your other wrist.

4. Resistant Band Wrist Extension

Wrap the resistance band around your hand with your palm facing down. Keep your elbows at your side and keep it bent to 90 degrees and curl your wrist up slowly, just like doing a reverse dumbbell curls. Perform 10-15 repetitions before repeating on your other wrist.

5. Tennis Ball Squeeze

Grab a tennis ball and squeeze it as hard as you can without hurting yourself. Do it for 5-10 seconds and repeat 8-10 times.

It is very important to take care of your wrists as it serves a lot of function for you as a gymnast, and as an individual. However, keep in mind that these exercises are meant for preventative measures only and are in no way to be used to cure existing injuries. If you are already injured, you should consult your physician and you should not just rely on information found on the internet.

If you are looking for a great and reliable school that teaches gymnastics for kids you could check and visit the official website of Bianka Panova Academy.

Flexibility Exercises For RG

Flexibility is by far the most important and focused aspect of the sport of rhythmic gymnastics, while some other aspects like core strength is just secondary. This is important because the routines require great flexibility of the gymnasts to bring the music to life through their bodies—so important that stretching and flexibility takes up most of the warm up routine.

While stretching the body to its extremes is necessary for success, a rhythmic gymnast needs to make sure that they are performing this task without causing any injuries. While stretching, she should listen to what her body is telling her because there are two types of pain: good and bad. A good pain is described as the uncomfortable feeling of the muscles being stretched and although the gymnast is uncomfortable, she should still be able to control her breathing and remain somewhat relaxed. On the other hand, a bad pain is described as the feeling of muscles being pushed too far, the feeling of something dislocating, pulling, or being in so much pain that she starts tearing up and breathing abnormally.

Sadly, some gymnasts who want to increase their flexibility endure through the bad pain just to have immediate results. What they need to remember is that this is a slow process and needs to be taken with caution.

Many coaches and gymnasts have different approaches to achieving their desired level of flexibility, but here we have gathered some exercises to help someone out there get started with their flexibility foals.

1. Butterfly Stretch

This is probably the most famous and most basic kind of stretch for someone who’s just beginning their flexibility exercises. Although even when a gymnast is already in an advanced level, they still do this.

The butterfly stretch is done while sitting down on the floor. Starting position is sitting with your feet stretched in front of you, flat against the ground. Now pull your legs together, with your knees to the sides, until your soles connect. Now pull your heels as close to your groin as possible. In the beginning of course you can only pull your heels in for a little distance, but as you continue doing this for weeks, eventually your heels would connect to your groin.

After you’ve pulled it as close as you are comfortable, start gently bouncing your knees up and down to loosen the muscles. Do this for about 10 seconds, then use your elbows to gently press your knees toward the ground for another 10 seconds. After a while you’ll notice that your flexibility has improved because it has become easy to press your knees to the ground.

2. Swan Stretch

This exercise is commonly seen in the gym. You can do this like how gymnasts do it by lying face down on the floor with both hands in front of your shoulders, fingers facing forward, like how you would start a push-up. You should then press into your hands to lift your belly off the floor. While keeping your abs tight, shoulders down and pelvis grounded, lengthen your upper body away from the floor, reaching out and up from crown of the head. Pull your shoulder blades together, at the same time opening the chest, and then hold it for 30 to 45 seconds. Release and then repeat.

3. Ceiling And Toe Touch

This exercise is what its name suggests. While sitting on the floor, extend both arms over the head, fingers pointing to the ceiling, for as far as you are comfortable. Then, stretch your left arm towards the ceiling for 10 seconds. Relax it and then do the same with the other arm.

Once those are done for a couple of reps, lower your arms in front of you. Bend your waist and reach for your toes. Do this for 10 to 15 seconds too.

This exercise can be done while standing up as well, but sitting down is better as it lessens the weight in the lower back.

4. Over-splits

Before doing this particular stretching, it is important to remember that this is only done by gymnasts who has some degree of flexibility already and not for beginners as this is really hard and dangerous if not done right.

Over-splits is what it is called when a regular leg split went over 180 degrees angle. You can do this by putting one foot on an elevated object like a chair or table while the other leg is stretched directly behind you. This position is held for 2 to 3 minutes.

It is important to keep in mind that while in this split position, the torso should be up and hovering above the ground. If your pelvis is touching the ground, then you need to increase the height of the object her elevated leg is resting on. Conversely, a coach or team mate can help increase flexibility by carefully pushing your pelvis towards the floor.

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3 Things To Look For In A Nutrition Label

As parents of gymnasts, we prepare their meals most of the time so it is important that we know the proper nutrition for young gymnasts and how to properly check if a food is good for our kids or not. This is why we prepared a list of three things to look for in a nutritional label. 

Reading nutrition labels, or nutritional facts, are not only good for ourselves, but especially when cooking for other people like our young athletes. If our children are gluten free, we need to make sure that we cook something that doesn’t have any gluten in it. If our child’s diet doesn’t include a lot of carbs for a day, we need to be able to properly compute how many carbs there are on a food that we cooked. 

Nutritional labels of different food products aren’t exactly all the same, but reading a regular nutrition label can still help. As long as we know what we are looking for, we should be able to decode any kind of nutrition labels. So here we have prepared pointers on what we all need to know about reading nutrition labels. 

Serving Numbers and Serving Sizes 

When it comes to the number of servings and serving sizes, it is important to remember that nutritional facts are mostly based on one serving only. Always check the serving size to know how many servings we are going to take from a certain product, or how many servings we are letting our kids to eat. This means that the bigger the serving, the higher the calories. 

Take a bag of chips, for example. Usually at the top of the label, it is indicated how many chips make up a single serving. From there, we can identify how much sodium our children are going to eat from a serving size of eleven chips, for example. And as athletes who follow a strict diet, their intakes of salt should be very limited. 

On instances that we are comparing nutrients and calories between two different food brands, always check the serving size to ensure that they are based on the same measurement. 

Calories from Fat 

The “Calories” label under “Amount per Serving” is where we can see the number of calories the product has per serving. We will also see the amount of calories from fat here. 

Take note that even if something is fat-free, it doesn't mean that it's also free from calories. Even if a product is low-fat, it may have the same amount of calories as other products have, so we should always check the number of calories in the label. 

One thing to keep in mind is that just because something has a lot of calories, it doesn’t mean that our children are eating badly. We should look out more on how many of those calories come from fat. If a lot of the calories are from fat, then it’s good to steer clear of that product. Or, we could look if another brand has that product with less calories from fat. Then, we’ll still be able to get the food our young athlete wants and it will be a lot better for them. 

What is the %DV 

A lot of people doesn’t know what this means, but if you have been in charge for your child’s diet for a while, you might be familiar with it. %DV or the percentage of Dietary Value that each nutrient gives is essential for us to know how much of each nutrient we should allow our kids to consume daily to attain the health he needs for his sport. This is also a great way to find out if our children are not consuming enough of any particular nutrient. We need to make sure that we record all the %DV that our kids consumed each day. If any nutrients go over 100, then we’ll know he’s consuming more than he needs to. We should try to keep it as close to one hundred as possible. 

These are just three things to look for in a nutritional label, to read more and get updated on all important health information, follow the posts on our Facebook Page. Looking for a fun and exciting way to learn gymnastics? Then come and enroll at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy today :) Come and learn gymnastics for kids with us!

New FIG World Cup To Be Held In Melbourne

Gymnastics Australia has confirmed today that International Gymnastics Federation’s (FIG) new World Cup Gymnastics is going to be held in Melbourne as a part of the 2017-2020 Olympic Cycle. The organization has successfully bid for one of the four stops on the Individual Apparatus World Cup four-year circuit along with Cottbus (Germany), Baku (Azerbaijan), and Doha (Qatar). The discipline included in this stop of the circuit are both men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics.

Later on in their Twitter account, Gymnastics Australia has also proudly announced that Aly Raisman, a member of Team USA’ Final Five, the team which garnered gold at the Rio Games, would be the official ambassador for the World Cup in Melbourne and will be in Australia for the events.

The mentioned events are a part of the 2016-2018 FIG Artistic Gymnastics Individual Apparatus World Cup Series. The first stop of the series has already been held in Cottbus, Germany, on November where the Hungarian gymnasts grabbed three of the 10 titles, the most of any nation.

In Australia, the events will be held in Hisense Arena on February 22-25, 2017. The first two days will be the qualifying and the last two days are for the finals. Across all these eight events in the 2016-2018 FIG Individual Apparatus World Cup series, the gymnasts will be given points based on their rankings on each apparatus at the different World Cup stops. The points from each gymnast’s best three finishes will be added to determine the World Cup series winner on that apparatus. The prize for the winner is 5,000 Swiss francs and will be awarded at the end of the series.

Additionally, the events hosted in 2019 and 2020 will be used as qualifying competitions for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Reportedly, there are already 13 countries which confirmed their attendance to the 2017 Australian leg of the FIG Individual Apparatus World Cup Series.

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Familiarizing the Rhythmic Gymnastics Events

As a parent who is new to gymnastics and wants to learn more of it, maybe because you are thinking about letting your kid join the sport, you probably have some misunderstanding of it. Most people think of artistic gymnastics when they hear the word “gymnastics.” This is not entirely wrong, but there is also another kind, which is rhythmic gymnastics. In this article, we are going to help and make you knowledgeable in this unique sport.

In rhythmic gymnastics, there are five pieces of equipment. These set of equipment are also called “events” because they are performed one at a time. One performance cannot use two or more equipment. Every two years, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), who is the governing body for Gymnastics worldwide, designates four of the apparatus to be used, and the other to be set aside for two years.

Before explaining what these events are, let us first get familiar with the floor.

The Floor

Accompanied by music from 75 to 90 seconds, every single rhythmic event is performed on a floor mat which has a measurement of about 42.5 feet by 42.5 feet. The floor for artistic gymnastics is different from that of rhythmic gymnastics. For rhythmic, the floor doesn’t have the same amount of spring or padding compared to the artistic floor, as per the request of rhythmic gymnasts. According to most, it is much easier to perform the skills required on a floor without spring and padding.

Aside from the events, there are also exercises done on the floor and without any apparatus. This event is only on the introductory levels of competition in the United States and abroad where it is a compulsory routine. It won’t be seen at the Olympics and other international competitions.

The Events

1) Ribbon – This apparatus is a single strip made of satin or a non-starched material, about 6.5 yards long and 1.5 to 2.3 inches wide. The ribbon is attached to a stick made of wood or synthetic materials that is 19.5 to 23.4 inches long and .4 inches wide.

2) Rope – The rope is measured proportional to the height of the gymnast and is made out of hemp or synthetic material.

3) Hoop – This apparatus is made of either wood or plastic and is 31 to 35 inches in its interior diameter.

4) Clubs – The clubs has the same length, which is about 16 to 20 inches long. They are made from wood or synthetic material and should weight about 5.2 ounces each for easier handling.

5) Ball – The ball must be made from rubber or synthetic materials and should also be 7 to 7.8 inches in diameter. Neon-colored balls are not allowed and the only patterns approved on the ball are geometric patterns.

To know how these apparatuses are used, watch Bianka Panova herself perform on each here:

To read more fitness and gymnastics-related articles, visit our educational blogs. Experience a fun and imaginative gymnastics training, come and enroll today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy :)

How to Get Over a Block

On a previous article, we have discussed briefly the important things we needed to know about blocks in gymnastics and the different reasons why this phenomenon happens. To refresh our knowledge, here is the article: What is a Block in Gymnastics?

Now that we know what blocks are and why it happens, it’s about time that we learn HOW to get past it. It has been mentioned that the gymnast herself who is suffering from a block doesn’t have any conscious control over it, but there are ways that could help the gymnast and here are some of them:

1. Talk to the coach

- First thing to do when one has a block is talk to her coach. Almost all gymnast encounter a mental block during her entire career, so chances are the coach have already seen this happen many other times. The gymnast should be honest about what she feels and what she is experiencing so the coach would understand. Work with the coach and create a plan about how the gymnast can get comfortable with the skill.

2. Visualize

- Once a plan has been worked out with the coach, the nest step is to visualize the skill. The gymnast should mentally imagine that she is doing the skill. The more detail, the better. She should find which part of the skill scares her the most and give emphasize on it. Repeat the part over and over again in her head. Also, she can try doing the hand and foot movements without actually performing it while her eyes are closed, still visualizing the skill.

Now on an instance that she can’t visualize herself performing the routine, she could watch a video over and over again until she could picture herself doing it.

3. Advancements

- Once the gymnast has visualized enough that she thinks she can do it even in her sleep, she should try going back to the last skill she was able to do successfully. Repeat it multiple times until she’s gained confidence that she has once again regained her footing in gymnastics. Once she’s confident enough, she should then try doing the skill that scared her. Try it while the coach spots, on stacked mats, or into a pit or resi. Keep doing the skill many times until she feels ready to increase the level of difficulty. Remove a mat one at a time or have the coach spot less and less.

4. Keep at it

- The gymnast must be patient with herself, as well as the coach with their student. She can and she will get the skill back, it’s just a matter of figuring out how to get her mind on track. She must keep working on different methods and she’ll eventually get there, just don’t give up!

Listed here are just a few ways that could help a gymnast going through a block. However, it should be kept in mind that these ways doesn’t have instantaneous results, because this is a continuous process. If it didn’t work on the first time, continue doing it a few more times.

To read more gymnastics-related articles, visit our educational blogs. Experience a fun and imaginative gymnastics training, come and enroll today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy :)

USA Gymnastics National Team Starts Four-year Training Cycle

Due to a scheduling error at the USA Gymnastics National Team’s normal training site at Karolyi Ranch in Huntsville, Texas, the team ended up practicing and holding their first post-Olympic camp at Midwest Training and Ice Center over the weekend.

The national team’s quadrennial began last Thursday. Quadrennial is a four-year training cycle done in preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games. The members from the Trampoline and Tumbling Senior National Team, Senior National Development Team, and Junior National Team were all training together, and among them were 2016 Olympic trampolinists Logan Dooley and Nicole Ahsinger.

Before they were Olympians, the two trampolinists went through hard times like everyone else. Ahsinger was beaten by teammate Shalyee Dunavin in the USA Gymnastics Championships and she was afraid that she wouldn’t make it into the 2016 Olympics team. As luck would have it, Ahsinger garnered two Olympic selection points from the 2016 Elite Challenge and this helped push her score over Dunavin’s to claim a spot on the Olympic team.

Ahsinger was recorded to be saying that she watched the scores go up and thought to herself that she might have just done it, and when she told her mother, the older woman started crying. This selection into the 2016 Olympics made her the only female US Olympic trampoline athlete, and together with teammate Dooley they are the only two US Olympic trampoline athletes in Rio.

Logan Dooley also came from behind. He used to be an alternate for the 2008 and 2012 Olympic teams before he was the only male US trampoline athlete in Rio. Unluckily, he placed 11th in the qualification round and did not reach the finals. However, Dooley had the best Olympic finish in Team USA’s history for a male trampoline athlete. This motivates him to return to the 2020 Olympics by training harder.

Last Thursday’s camp is the beginning of a four-day program including newcomers and elitists. According to Catherine Cabral-Marotta, High Performance Director of the USA Gymnastics Trampoline and Tumbling Program, the theme of the four-day camp was foundations because wherever an athlete’s skillset lies, the basics still have to be studied.

“The idea that we want to achieve at this camp is a lot of mental performance and goal setting,” Cabral-Marotta said.

In a performance sport like gymnastics, athletes learn to only compete with themselves and are taught to train their hardest and outdo themselves every year. These are some of the first lessons taught at camp.

Stay updated on the news about gymnastics by following our official Facebook page! Learn gymnastics from the best sports academy in Singapore, enroll today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy! Join us and learn gymnastics for kids with us!

Do You Know What Ingredients to Avoid Feeding Your Child?

A few articles in our blogs have already tackled what are the best foods you should allow your athletic kid to eat and what could help develop his muscles and reduce fat. All over the internet, there are also countless materials talking about this, but do we really know what food ingredient we should avoid?

(Also read: Nutritional Needs of Young Athletes)

All around the places there are confusing articles saying one should eat this and shouldn’t eat that. The media further confuses people as one day they are talking about the disadvantages of fats, then the next day they would say that carbs are great for the body.

Food manufacturers also add to this muddle by printing misleading labels and bogus health claims. It had started to look like the whole system is set up to confuse and frustrate us into buying the latest and greatest packaged food.

But really, what ingredients are harmful to your young athlete’s health?

Listed below are the four ingredients you should avoid diligently.

1. White Flour

-White flour is a result of the processing of natural whole wheat until it is stripped off of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Basically, once this happened an ingredient is nutritionally void already. White flour is also packed with calories that release quickly into your child’s system, creating a spike in blood sugar and leads to hunger and ravings. A good alternative to this is whole wheat.

2. White Sugar

-Once again, this is a result of a sugar cane plant that underwent an intensive refining process. By refining a sugar cane, all of the enzymes fiber, vitamins and minerals are destroyed. Aside from weight gain, white sugar has been linked to weakened immune system, ADD, hyperactivity, mental and emotional disorders.

3. High Fructose Corn Syrup
-This is another form of sweetener, but man-made. It is derived from genetically modified corn. It promotes hysterical hunger, fat storage, and spikes your child’s blood sugar levels. HFCS is found in many mainstream products like cereals, crackers, ice cream, salad dressing, energy bars, and soft drinks.

4. Aspartame

-Yet again, aspartame is an artificial sweetener that was denied by the FDA 8 times before being approved in 1973. It is said to promote cravings for foods high in calories and carbohydrates as it stows away sugar. When sugar is not available, the result is hypoglycemia and severe hunger.

These are just some of the ingredients a child should avoid. Read more fitness and gymnastics-related articles by visiting our educational blogs. Experience a fun and imaginative gymnastics training, come and enroll today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy :)

Simone Biles’ Outstanding Performances in Rio Boosts Gymnastics’ Popularity

Several gymnastics facilities across the United States have reported a significant surge in enrollment after the gold medal-winning performances of the 19-year-old gymnast Simone Biles at the competition recently ended in Rio last week.

According to the owner of the Klub Gymnastics in Los Angeles, Michael Eschenbrenner, the Summer Olympics usually brings a 20% boost in the amount of gymnastics newcomers in their facility. But this year, “it’s going to be at least that because of the whole Simone Biles amazingness.”

Simone Biles has been one of the most successful gymnastics in the U.S., having won a total of 4 individual Olympic gold medals and one bronze despite being a first time competitor in the Summer Olympic Games. She also owns a large number of World Championships titles, which adds up to her huge collection of gymnastics achievements.

Her success in the sport encouraged the young generation to try out the sport themselves. Watching her perform stunning routines in the Rio Olympic Arena inspired young gymnastics aspirants to be just like her someday.

Normally, the post-Olympics surge doesn’t come until the summer session ends and the school starts. But that clearly have changed this season, with more than 1,400 weekly enrollees at Klub Gymnastics – “higher than we’ve ever been,” says Eschenbrenner.

There is typically a surge in enrollment after an Olympic Games,” said USA Gymnastics’ spokeswoman, Jennifer Teitell. “For example, the women’s program had over 16,000 new athletes in 2012-2013 which was a 22% growth over the previous year.”

Names such as Simone Biles and Aly Raisman have encouraged a generation to try out gymnastics, a sport that’s often overlooked outside the Olympic season.

“Gymnastics is one of the most popular Olympic sports. All the kids are watching it, they see that and decide that’s what they want to do,” a coach in a gymnastics facility in Huntington said. 

After witnessing her impressive performances in the 2016 Rio Olympics, everyone suddenly wants to be just like Simone Biles.

Catch the most relevant news and updates about the sport of gymnastics by following our official blogs and social media sites. 

Experience the highest level of gymnastics training and education, enroll today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy and learn gymnastics in the most fun and exciting way! Visit our sports academy and let us help you excel in the sport of rhythmic gymnastics! :)

Baku to Host FIG World Cup Finals

Azerbaijan, a country that is achieving a lot of success in gymnastics in such a short span of time, continues to organize prestigious international competitions. 

The final Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup of the season will be held in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, on 22nd to 24th of July, 2016.

Fans and audiences will get the opportunity to witness the remarkable performances of some of the most prominent gymnasts coming from 22 different countries. The competition will take place 2 weeks ahead of the most important event of the season – the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Thirty four prominent gymnasts and eleven groups will compete in group exercises on the first two days of the event. The final day of the World Cup finals will feature performances from different gymnastics disciplines.

Nine World Cup competitions have been hosted by the International Gymnastics Federation this year. At the World Cup in Baku, a special awarding ceremony will be organized for the athletes and teams taken the first places according to the best four results shown at previous Series.

“The winner of the annual World Cup is the gymnast or group with the highest number of points of the all World Cup Series Ranking Lists (Groups as well as All-Around for each apparatus) after the last event of the year.” (source: FIG)

Azerbaijan will be represented by the First European Games’ silver medalist Marina Durunda. The silver medalist of the European Championships in the junior category, Zhala Piriyeva, who has just joined the senior program, will also compete in the event. 

Siyana Vasileva, Ayshan Bayramova, Aleksandra Platonova, Diana Doman and Elif Zeynep Celep will compete for Azerbaijan in the group exercises at the World Cup event.

The competition will also feature a spectacular Opening Ceremony (22nd of July), which will be directed by Mariana Vasileva, the Head Coach of the Azerbaijan National Team. There will also be a traditional Gala on 24th of July, where the young gymnasts – the future international competitors of Azerbaijan – will deliver an outstanding performance for the rhythmic gymnastics fans to watch.

The tickets for the said event can be purchased at the ticket office of the MGA, National Gymnastics Arena, and also at the “Bazerstore supermarket. The tickets are priced from 5 to 20 manats, and a discount will be provided for those who will avail tickets for all 3 days of the World Cup competition. Students will also be provided with a special discount.

Catch the latest news about rhythmic gymnastics by following our official blog sites and our Facebook page. Learn gymnastics from a world-class school of gymnastics in Singapore by enrolling today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy. Join us today and enjoy a fun and exciting gymnastics training experience! :)