Gymnastics

Here you get a little insight into the long-standing tradition of the gymnastics group from our instructor Mrs. Weiße:

When the gymnastics department of the BSG “Einheit–Mitte” Karl-Marx-Stadt with 46 sports friends moved to the USG Chemnitz eV in 1990, the department could already rely on a long tradition.

68 years ago, the first training evening of the newly founded men's gymnastics section within the BSG "HSV" later "Einheit Mitte" took place in the gymnastics room of the Chemnitz public swimming pool. 13 old gymnastic friends from the former free exercise department of the TVC (Chemnitz gymnastics club) agreed to resume training at a founding meeting in February of the same year. Although the average age of our forefathers was already 65.3 years, they were enthusiastic about reviving gymnastics. They were not only interested in sporting activities, but also in hiking together and social gatherings. Simply put, they wanted to be physically and mentally active and have fun together. This is also expressed in the motto of our first gymnastics supervisor of the department, Prof. Max Dutschke:

“Come to gymnastics! Come to hiking! Cultivate the gymnastic camaraderie!”

We still feel committed to this motto today. In addition to actively participating in our practice evenings, we go on hikes and tours with our wives every spring and autumn and we foster camaraderie among our gymnasts not only at our regular get-togethers, but also at our annual end-of-year party and when we go bowling together. Long-term membership or members' milestone birthdays are particularly appreciated in our community.

Over the past few years, not only have the number of members and the average age of our members changed, but also the sports facilities. Despite this, we have always managed to ensure that between 20 and 30 sports enthusiasts take part in our practice evenings. However, the new sports enthusiasts who join us are not 25 years or older, as was the case in the past; instead, most have already reached retirement age. We currently have 26 members with an average age of 76.4 years. Only four sports enthusiasts are under 70. But our oldest active sports enthusiast is 90 years old and has been a member for 39 years. Five sports enthusiasts have been members of our community for 48 years or more. Since August 2017, we have been holding our practice evenings on Mondays from 6:30 p.m. in the gymnasium of the Rosa Luxemburg Elementary School. Due to the increased average age, the demands on the exercises to be carried out have also changed. In the first years of gymnastics classes, running exercises, gymnastics, gymnastics with equipment such as clubs and medicine balls, bench exercises or exercises on the wall bars were carried out.

Today we divide the exercise sessions into 30 minutes of running exercises and 30 minutes of gymnastics on the spot, with the gymnastics being broken up with a seat cushion and exercise band. All the instructors try to make the gymnastics evening interesting and varied by using exercises that are sometimes new but in any case age-appropriate. Particular attention is paid to ensuring that the exercises are not too easy, but also not too difficult, that they are not repeated too quickly or too often, and that everyone can do them. All participants carry out the exercises according to their state of health and strive to achieve a sense of achievement for themselves - according to the motto "I can still do it!".

By participating regularly and actively, we maintain our health and can also repeat the exercises we have done together in our free time. During the summer holidays, when the gym cannot be used, we meet regularly on Mondays to explore the "unknown" parts of Chemnitz together. Be it something special in a district, an exhibition or a museum. There is still a lot for us to discover. Each time, a different sports fan is responsible for such excursions. We cannot show any particular sporting successes that could be documented by taking part in competitions and championships with good placings. Instead, our maxim is to maintain our health and mental freshness through appropriate sporting activity appropriate to our age. Anyone who feels addressed by this can easily contact us via the USG office.