Gymnast Training Structure:
Efficacy and Recovery

The best motor learning happens after the first hour of practice (warm-up): between hour 1 and 2. The brain is fresh and can tell the body to work with good technique.
After this, the athlete starts to fatigue and they start to compensate, which means learning bad habits or poor technique as “compensation.” (Do NOT want to teach/learn bad technique or positions or habits).
If the practice is intense with a lot of routine repetition, 3 hours is long enough. Most injuries occur when athlete is fatigued, typically after the 3rd hour.
A 4th hour is OK if it's low intensity with several rest breaks
Older athletes may not need as many hours in the gym, but their practice should be very efficient

There should be at least 2.5 hours between practices; 3 hours is better
In a 7 day cycle, there should be at least one full day off
Consider one full day off and one half day if training twice per day
After 3 days of two practices (6 practices), there should be a day off
Consider giving an afternoon off and then the next morning off. There will be 24 hours of rest but still some training each day
Taper training leading up to competition so that the athlete is fresh and ready to compete. Tired athletes the push hard for competition are at a higher risk of injury
There should be a full day off after competition for mental and physical recovery<

After 3-4 hour practice, the athlete should eat right after and it is important to have protein after a hard practice
Athletes should eat 1 hour before competition but should have a snack (protein bar, yogurt) during. An athlete cannot perform optimally for 4-5 hours without nutrition, especially in a high stress situation where they will burn a lot of energy (will do better with a small snack). Example: runners doing a 2 hour race have a banana during the race; volleyball athletes had yogurt packs during the gold medal match in the World Championships

Gymnast Training Structure:Efficacy and Recovery