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1. It will get you crazy strong.

You might not have guessed it, but gymnasts are the strongest, pound for pound, of all the Olympic athletes.

Holding yourself upside down for long periods of time, flipping through the air, using rings and bars and all the other amazing stuff involved in gymnastics will get you seriously strong. Gymnasts have a level of strength that most normal people would consider near superhuman strength—but even training in gymnastics as an amateur will get you upper body strength, core strength, and power like no other workout can do.

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2. You’ll impress your friends.

This probably isn’t a good reason to do gymnastics if you have no other interest in it (ok, it’s a really bad reason), but even doing a back flip, a freestanding handstand, a push-up, or a cartwheel into a handstand forward roll will get a “wow” response from your friends every time.

Just think of how many cool party tricks you’ll be able to pull off!

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3. You’ll increase your flexibility tenfold.

Or twentyfold! Or whatever!! The point is, it doesn't matter how inflexible you currently are. training in gymnastics will make you a more flexible person.

Working on backbends and pikes requires more flexibility than the average workout. And yes, you may even be able to do the splits one day.

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4. You’ll become more coordinated.

If you’ve ever thought you were an uncoordinated human being, we can certainly relate. As mentioned above, many people are the opposite of graceful and not very coordinated. Taking part in gymnastics, however, will increase your coordination by helping you gain more control over your body. You'll notice that after just a few lessons, you will become more coordinated.

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5. It will help you overcome fear.

That first time you go to do a handstand into a roll, or a back bend all the way to the floor, or a back flip, front flip, or even a cartwheel, there’s no way around it—it’s going to be terrifying. Even if there’s an experienced teacher nearby, unless you’re crazy and completely devoid of fear, you’re going to be nervous, even scared.  But when you do it—when you actually do what you’d previously thought to be impossible—it opens up a whole new world. Not only does it make you become less fearful and more confident in athletics, it can also translate to other areas of your life, even positively impacting your career, your relationships, and your dreams.

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6. It helps you learn to fall without hurting yourself.

Have you ever seen someone fall gracefully—whether in sports, life, or a movie—and wondered how they didn’t get hurt? The secret is that they’ve practiced falling—many times. In gymnastics, you’ll fall over and over, and you’ll start to realize there’s an art to falling without hurting yourself.

As a bonus, gymnastics will boost your balance and both skills will help keep you from falling and shattering your hip bone when you’re older.

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7. You’ll learn to laugh at yourself.

There’s nothing better than making mistakes over and over again to make you get over needing to be good at everything and just learn to laugh when you screw up. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen, done something completely wrong, or failed time and time again to get something right while learning gymnastics.  Sure, it’s frustrating at times, but if I hadn’t learned early on to laugh at myself when I messed up, I’d have quit after the first lesson.

And in case, if you hadn’t guessed, this can also be a valuable lesson that can assist you in your future life as well.

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8. It brings out your inner kid.

What’s more kid-like than bounding around, jumping, flipping, and swinging from things? Yeah, you probably can’t name anything either.

No matter your age, gymnastics will bring you back to the days when childlike wonder filled every moment.

And what could be better than that?

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