Every four years, the Olympics happen. Families gather around their TVs, and all of America is able to find reason for rejoicing over victories that our country shares. The Olympics are so much fun because the sports are being played at such a high level that they are all simply mesmerizing. Every four years I somehow develop a newfound love for things like beach volleyball and swimming, sports I would otherwise never care about. There is one sport, though, that I invest more time in than any other event during the Olympics: gymnastics. Maybe I'm saying this because I'm a gymnast myself, so, naturally I would love to watch the best gymnasts in the world, right? Well, no. Not at all, actually. I'm the kind of person who can barely do a cartwheel in my front yard. And attempting a front flip on a trampoline? Nope. I get too scared before I can even try.

I think that's why I love gymnastics so much, though. These people do things beyond my wildest imagination, and it blows my mind. I've stayed up way too late on multiple occasions since the Olympics began to make sure I don't miss one bit of women's gymnastics. Something happens, though, when you watch people like Simone Biles, Aly Raisman or Aliya Mustafina compete. You forget the insane difficulty level they're competing at because their pure skill and talent makes it look easy. And to increase this problem, we get so used to hearing the announcers watch a stunning routine and then make comments about how their form could've been better, or how they hopped on a landing. I appreciate that the announcers inform us of at least some of the details that the gymnasts have to think about every second they're competing, but it also makes me a critical commentator rather than an awestruck viewer. Watching gymnasts perform at this level is somewhat of a curse for a non-gymnast like me because I don't understand the amount of work that goes into their sport. I am constantly impressed by their incredible abilities, but I still can't appreciate their skill as well as I should. To try to fix this issue, I talked to a few friends of mine who have a much better understanding of the sport than I do. They told me that technique is a huge factor in the overall success of gymnasts. If you have technique and endurance, you can go far. Another factor is that of the pure control and grace they always have to have command over. Being able to sprint toward and propel off of a vault with speed, height, and power is one thing, but being able to land on with steadiness and grace immediately after flipping through the air is a different kind of challenge.

These disciplines come with talent for sure, but they also come with incredible amounts of practice. Many gymnasts chose to be home-schooled for the sake of more gym time. Most gymnasts train at least six hours a day, and weekends are often viewed not as time for relaxation, but simply as more time for practice. For some perspective into how much work the girls in Rio have put in, I learned that the average gymnast will work in the gym for about 15 hours per week. Olympic gymnasts are in the gym for an average of 40 hours per week. One element of gymnastics that doesn't get much attention is the amount of conditioning the gymnasts in Rio go through just so that their bodies can be prepared to perform incredible feats. Little girls who are only 75 pounds are capable of doing workouts that many grown men couldn't even attempt. Because these workouts and the routines are so intense, the chance of injury is incredibly high. When we see the girls wrapping their hands and feet in tape before and after every event, it's not for the sake of comfort, but it's a necessity that is literally holding their bodies together. Even the skills that are considered easy in the Olympics are things these gymnasts have been working to perfect for their entire lives.

So as we watch the remainder of the gymnastics coverage this week, let's keep in mind exactly how hard what these ladies are doing is and develop even more respect than we already had for this sport. Hats off to all the gymnasts, and cheers to team USA.