Is gymnastics harder than football?!?!?

Without a doubt.

At gymnastics competitions, when someone sprains their ankle they proceed through pain and finish the routine. In a football match the player will roll around on the grass for 10mins.

-ps for pedantic annoying people I know there are on here, I'm being general based on what I've seen...

Without a doubt.

At gymnastics competitions, when someone sprains their ankle they proceed through pain and finish the routine. In a football match the player will roll around on the grass for 10mins.

-ps for pedantic annoying people I know there are on here, I'm being general based on what I've seen...

footballers are given too much money to be the best at their sport(not all but quite a few dive around are arrogant and a bit pathetic really) people who do gymnastics do it purely for the love of it- because as you said you have to give up everything and might not even make the last few who make it to the top. then even if your elite enough to be at the top you still cannot really earn normal income every month (unless your top 10 in the world and being sponsored).

I think its hard to compare a big team sport with gymnastics- which i know is team too- but after being in the sport i feel it is more individual. psychologically (mentally) in football you can let your whole team down within just a few mistakes, whereas in gymnastics the pressure you put on yourself is hard to cope with- the need to perform perfectly and do the best routine just to have a chance of maybe getting a medal. football you have more to fall back on if you make a mistake (team mates scoring goals- support of money coming in and coaches) gymnastics one mistake can ultimately lead to never being in the sport again (either from injury or just because there are always others who happen to perform their best routine for everything on that day- so you could miss your chance being chosen for GB team etc...)

I'm probably bias towards gymnastics tho because i did it competitavely and had to give up at the age 12 because of the competition pressure- but mainly the 22hours a week training was too much and took over all my academic work and i knew that there were slim chances to getting to the top!

Wow dang 22 hours at 12 thats insane

I am a gymnast and some people say football is harder and some say gymnastics is harder. Both are my favourite sports.

I think if you compare a professional football player against a professional gymnast......that gymnastics is harder.

Gymnastics combines flexibility, muscle, perfection, balance, toughness, etc. They are doing all these things on a 4inch beam or flying high on those bars....it's crazy! I think gymnasts have to give up a lot more to go further in the sport because it is so select. Also, many people don't realize how professional gymnast are up at 4 in the morning and stay at the gym till late at night....it's a tough sport. And after all is said and done....very few gymnasts ever make it to the top.

It's also hard to compare because gymnastics is really more of an individual sport. I know they compete as a team in worlds and the Olympics....but success is really dependent upon you. Football is much more team-oriented...of course there are some stand out players....but no matter how good the players are if there isn't chemistry they are not always great!

haha yer it was quite extreme! my coach was Russian which probably explains a lot. i found gymnastics fun but it did interfere with alot, having to train all the time! :P

Without a doubt.

At gymnastics competitions, when someone sprains their ankle they proceed through pain and finish the routine. In a football match the player will roll around on the grass for 10mins.

-ps for pedantic annoying people I know there are on here, I'm being general based on what I've seen...

Based on what I have seen, you know nothing about either sport.

You can't compare them, how can people even justify this?

[video="youtube;dT8iSfmigoI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT8iSfmigoI&feature=related[/video]

[video="youtube;Swc6p9X5f_M"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swc6p9X5f_M&feature=related[/video]

you should watch this.

I think they're so different and require such a different skill sets it really is impossible to compare the two. Anyone who reaches the top in either is a special athlete in some sense. Physically I don't think there is any doubt gymnastics is harder but I'd argue the mental ability top footballers have to process so much information and act accordingly with perfect technique in a split second is a rarer and more impressive feat, that's purely opinion though.

Your ability as a footballer is determined by physical ability, but also on your mental ability to outsmart and/or out-react various opponents. You also get many chances at doing this, and have team-mates to back you up should you fail, but also the opposition being a team means you need a string of mini-victories to succeed over all.

Gymnastics is purely physical ability, so I don't think you can really compare them. There is also less demand for gymnasts, and football is definitely easier to get into (no fancy equipment), so there's why it's tougher to get to the top as a gymnast (though you could argue that even being the best footballer in the world might not be able to win trophies if they are in a weak club/national team).