Flips, Twists, and Supercomputer Brains: How Gymnasts Process the Impossible
Imagine the most difficult physical tricks you've ever seen – and then multiply that by a hundred. That's what the world's best gymnasts will be doing in the gymnastics hall at the Olympic Games. They'll be competing to be crowned the best all-around gymnast on the planet.
These gymnasts will be doing things that seem almost impossible for a human body to do. They'll be flipping, twisting, and soaring through the air, landing with barely a wobble. They’ll almost seem to defy gravity!
The Brain Gym
But here's the really cool part - it's not just their bodies doing amazing things. Their brains are working like supercomputers too!
Did you know that our brains get bombarded with millions of bits of information every second? That's more info than what's needed to play a song or even stream a movie on your computer.
But our conscious mind (the part that we are aware of, which we use for thinking, talking, and listening) can only handle about 120 bits every second. That's about the amount of information we need to listen to two people talking at once, but we definitely couldn’t listen to three.
So how do gymnasts manage to process all the information from their eyes, ears, and body to do these incredible tricks?
They train their subconscious mind to do most of the work! Because our brain literally can’t handle all the information coming to it during these gymnastics tricks, it has to do most of the work in the subconscious part that we don’t control – we only control the ‘conscious’ part.
It takes years and years of practice at the skills to make what seems impossible to us – and which should take a huge amount of brain processing power – relatively simple for them. Their brains get an easier ride, even during the hardest flips and spins.
Superhero Focus
Gymnasts also have to have superhero focus. They've trained for years to block out distractions and concentrate on their routines. Even with crowds cheering and other gymnasts performing nearby, they stay laser-focused on their task.
That way, their brains don’t take in any information that’s not absolutely necessary for the tricks they’re performing. The more focus they have, the less information their brains have to deal with.
Gymnasts often have to perform while other gymnasts also do their routines (and the crowd roars). Credit: simonebiles.com.
But sometimes, things don't go exactly as planned. If a gymnast lands a bit off-balance from one move, their brain has to make super-fast calculations to fix it for the next move. It's like playing a video game where the controls keep changing, but you still have to win!
Having such a flexible brain takes years of practice. They literally build their brains to handle the problems.
Gymnasts falling…or nearly falling…and their great recoveries (click to play video)
The Winning Edge
In the end, the gymnasts who take home the gold medals won't just be the strongest or the most flexible. They'll be the ones who can keep their cool under pressure and use their subconscious minds to perform almost impossible feats.
So, as you cheer on your favourite gymnasts, think about the amazing science happening inside their heads. They're not just athletes - they're like human supercomputers performing incredible calculations in split seconds!
Who knows? Maybe watching these gymnastics superheroes will inspire you to train your own body and mind to do amazing things.
After all, every Olympic champion started out as a kid with a big dream, just like you!
Simone Biles flies.