Building Stronger Gymnasts - Gymnastics Page of Stronger Performance PT

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Building Stronger Gymnasts - Gymnastics Page of Stronger Performance PT

Dr. Sarah Barbosa, PT, DPT. Performance Physical Therapist for Gymnasts. Former Gymnast for 16 years.

Offering 1:1 Gymnastics-Specific Rehab, Injury Screening, Strength & Conditioning for Gymnasts

07/21/2025

“When can gymnasts start lifting weights?”
It’s a very common question I get — and the truth is, although there’s a ballpark age, it’s actually based more on readiness.

Around age 10 is a general starting point, not because of bone growth concerns, but because kids usually develop the motor control, maturity, and coordination needed to lift safely around then.

✅ Lifting weights (done properly) does NOT harm bones. In fact, loading the bones actually helps them grow stronger — especially during development. That’s one of the best ways to reduce future risk of osteoporosis (a condition where bones become weak and brittle over time).

Think about it: gymnasts tend to have some of the strongest bones thanks to all the jumping and impact forces they train with. On the flip side, some of the highest osteoporosis rates are in people who never loaded their bones growing up.

👉 So don’t fear strength training. Just make sure it’s introduced with GRADUALLY with proper form, supervision, and progression.

👋 I’m Dr. Sarah — a former gymnast of 16 years making a comeback a decade later, and a Doctor of Physical Therapy helping gymnasts stay strong, healthy, and pain-free.

Want more guidance?
📍 If you’re in the NJ area, I offer 1:1 services to help gymnasts not only recover from injuries, but prevent them too (this includes 1:1 strength & conditioning exclusively for gymnasts)
📝 Join my newsletter — link in bio — for exclusive tips, insights, and early access to upcoming programs designed to help you become your strongest gymnast self!

07/05/2025

Here’s your reminder that it’s never too late to do what you love ✨

This is the handstand of an “old” gymnast (29)…

… of a gymnast who had 2 shoulder surgeries and was told not to do bars again… but here I am, 11 years later, doing it again and loving every second of it ❤️

I was that gymnast who was constantly injured. It sucked the time out of the sport for me and I didn’t get to achieve what I wanted.

Then I became a Doctor of Physical Therapy and realized what was missing: screening, prehab, strength training, and recovery.

So I’m giving myself a second chance… simply because the fire never went out. It only grew stronger. I want to be better than I was before.

But this time, I’m doing it smarter.

Follow along for the journey and for ALL the tips I wish I knew on staying healthy in the gym 💕

08/28/2024

I made a video about a simple test for coaches to try with their gymnasts, so here’s a checklist of things to watch for. If you notice your gymnast’s movements matching the ‘X’ or ‘not to do’ examples, they might benefit from working with a physical therapist who really gets gymnastics - like me, if you’re in the NJ area!

I offer physical therapy along with two new preventative services where I assess their movement patterns, strength and mobility from head to toe. This helps us pinpoint any areas that need improvement and create a plan to help them move better.

Injuries can really set gymnasts back. I know this firsthand, having had four surgeries from overuse injuries during my 16 years in the sport. I WISH I’d had access to the kind of preventative care I now offer.

Gymnasts: If injury prevention and becoming the best gymnast you can be is a priority, send me a message and let’s chat!

08/15/2024

🚨Attention NJ Gymnasts:

As a Doctor of Physical Therapy and former gymnast of 16 years (and current wanna-be “Adult” gymnast), I’ve learned that injury prevention is key. As much as I love helping gymnasts overcome injury, I’d love it more if I could help young girls prevent multiple surgeries, back fractures and sprains.

I’m so excited to be able to finally offer some of the preventative services I wish I’d had when I was a gymnast:

1️⃣Injury Screening: for non-injured gymnasts looking to make sure they are properly taking care of their body to do everything they can to minimize injuries.

2️⃣Strength and conditioning: for those wanting to elevate their gymnastics performance by improving body awareness for safer landings, building strength to withstand long practices, seasons and increasingly more challenging skills, and enhancing power and endurance.

Each service starts out with an assessment where we’ll discuss your skills, injury history, and goals. I’ll perform a comprehensive evaluation, including mobility, strength and gymnastics-specific movement patterns, and create a tailored plan to help you become the healthiest, strongest gymnast you can be.

DM or email me ( Sarah@StrongerPerformancePT.com ) for more details and to get started. Spots are limited.

To all my lifters out there, the same great PT services have not changed. Just expanding 😊

07/05/2024

This was my first handstand after I had been through surgery on both of my shoulders.

Hearing the words “you’re cleared” after nearly 1.5 years away from the sport was just about the best day ever.

I couldn’t wait to get back to gymnastics. Excitement takes over and you want to try everything. It’s so easy to just jump right in…...

But you have to ask yourself... how much of your rehab truly prepared you for the intense demands of gymnastics?

Do you have the strength, mobility, and conditioning that gymnasts need? Have you prepared your body to handle the positions/forces needed in your skills? ..

Gymnasts can’t get the same rehab that everyone else gets.

They generally need greater mobility than most people. They need a solid strength and conditioning level. They need to do exercises that mimic their skills so their body is prepared to deal with those same forces. They need a plan of what skills to do when they do go back to practice, including what surfaces or drills to do as regressions, as well as ensuring the workload is controlled and gradual.

If their rehab doesn’t achieve all of this, they may be setting themselves up for rebound injuries when they return to practice.

As a former gymnast of 16 years, and now Doctor of Physical Therapy, I get what gymnasts need. I’m now here to help provide that.

Gymnasts with injuries... send me a DM and let's chat about how I can help.

More info on my website www.StrongerPerformancePT.com

06/25/2024

I was that gymnast who basically lived in a knee brace. Now I’m a Doctor of Physical Therapy helping gymnasts become injury-free.

I can’t give a general statement with advice as to whether you should or should not be wearing a brace without evaluating you. Be aware of any general advice like that, please.

Wearing a brace depends on a lot of factors. What stage of your injury are you in? Are you in-season? What type of injury do you have? etc…

Most often, where you have pain isn’t actually where the injury is stemming from. Therefore, putting a brace on a joint and not actually fixing the source of the pain may only prolong your recovery time.

Pain is the body’s way to alert you of something wrong. Don’t ignore it by just slapping a brace on. Get it checked out.

If you're in the NJ area, I’d love to help. DM me for details 📩

05/02/2024

When I was a gymnast, these are myths that I believed.

❌ I didn't always speak up about my injuries because I thought gymnasts had to be tough and work through it.
❌ I assumed gymnasts should stick to bodyweight conditioning and shouldn't touch weights because it would make them "heavier"
❌ And... More practice makes perfect right?

While I think the sport of gymnastics has come a long way and things are changing, these are still some things that exist.

This post is to just get some thoughts cranking, but my hope with this page is to dispel these myths with specific things to do instead so that gymnasts aren't held back by injuries 💪

04/22/2024

Hi everyone! My name is Sarah and I am a gym-based physical therapist who helps lifters & gymnasts get out of pain and return with a Stronger Performance.

A little over a year ago, I created my own physical therapy business focusing on providing 1:1 quality of care for lifters.

I was a gymnast for 16 years and had my fair share of injuries that took a lot of time away from me in the sport. This makes me wonder how good I could have been had I not lost that time.

Combining all of my passions/experiences (gymnast for 16 years, strength training for 10, and physical therapist for 4), I see things differently now.

I see how a lot of my injuries could have been prevented if I had a medical provider who understood gymnastics to screen me and teach me what I needed to work on.

I see how incredibly valuable it is to work with a physical therapist who speaks “gymnastics” and who can talk about different skills in terms of what to avoid and what specific exercises will get you back, as well as provide a specific return to sport program to ease the transition back to gymnastics after injury.

I also know how strength training builds muscle, tendon and bone strength. This is so important for gymnasts because it not only minimizes injury risk by helping the body be able to better absorb the high forces associated with gymnastics, but it also helps to increase performance by increasing power, endurance and body awareness/control.

I created this page because I have so much that I want to share to the gymnastics community, such as correct ways to stretch, how to land properly, and exercises that can help gymnasts.

I offer in-person 1:1 gymnastics physical therapy in Central NJ.

Injury Screening and Strength & Conditioning services are coming soon.

My main business page:

Address

Hillsborough, NJ

Website

http://www.strongerperformancept.com/

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