How to Choose a Gymnastics Leotard

Sparkles, foils, metallics, prints, diamantes… how do you even begin to choose a gymnastics leotard? This guide will help you choose a girls’ gym leotard for any stage of their gym training, from beginner to teen pro. If you’re looking for adults’ gymnastics leotards, we can outline some styles you’ll love also!

When choosing a girls’ gymnastics leotard, you’ll firstly need to know when it’s going to be worn, and at what level the gymnast currently is. If the gymnast is just starting out, you might not want to buy too fancy a leotard to start with - we’re talking jewelled and sparkly. This is because their style taste will change as they form an identity with the club. The club may even set their own gymnastics leotard colour for you to buy, so be sure to check with them first. This goes the same for choosing an adults’ gymnastics leotard. By this stage in a gymnast’s career, an adult gymnast will be associated with a club and wear a very particular style of leotard - think of the Team GB gymnastics athletes!

What Style Gymnastics Leotard Should I Buy?

Training Gymnastics Leotards vs Competition Gymnastics Leotards

Sleeveless/tank leotards are typically preferred by our gymnasts who shop with us, as they like to be freer and cooler during practice. In competitions though, the girls’ gymnastics norm is to wear a long sleeved leotard. Boys will usually wear a unitard, which has thigh-length shorts. For girls, the sparklier the leotard the better during competition. It’s important to stand out! Our Alegra gymnastics collection launch new and exciting styles throughout the year, including some special limited edition collections that really help a gymnast’s look to be bold on the mats!

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How Should a Gymnastics Leotard Fit?

Any gymnastics leotard should allow for comfortable cartwheels and strong salutes that are uninterrupted by leotards being too tight! This is why it’s important to know when your gymnast will be wearing the leotard, because if it’s just for training, they may want something a little more comfortable than what they’d wear to compete in. By this we mean a gym leotard that’s still well-fitting, but not as tight as is needed in a competition to show off those hard-earned muscles. Any gymnast's competition leotard must have a sleek fit to allow easy demonstration of precision, the sleeves should fit well and the seat should be covered well. Choosing performance fabric that's stretchy like our shiny Nylon Alegra leotards will help with this.

Don’t forget to buy some gymnastics shorts to wear over or under your gym leo during training.

How to Measure for a Gymnastics Leotard?

For children, take a total height measurement (head to toe), chest circumference, hip circumference and weight. When you’ve got your measurements, take a look at the available size guides on our website to find out which size leotard would best suit the gymnast. It’s important to remember that when a gymnast raises their arms, the girth of the leotard has to allow for full upstretched movements without any restriction or comfort reduction.

What Is a Foil Panelled Gymnastics Leotard?

Foil panelled leotards are made out of a combination of sectioned fabrics with striking metallic panels at the design's forefront. Foil panels stand out on a leotard, making these style of leotards ideal competition leos. You'll be looking for something with a lot of glitz for a competition to stand out on the gym mat. Foil-paneled leotards featuring bold colours or prints are popular with gymnasts who shop with us. Metallic and foil-printed leotards can be a little bit tighter than normal gymnastics leotards, so bear this in mind when shopping.

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What is an All-Over Printed Gymnastics Leotard?

This all-over printed Geo gym leotard by Alegra is our current fave!

Possibly the most popular choice by our gymnasts here at Move Dance, all-over printed (AOP) leotards feature printed patterns and colours over the whole of the leotard. All-over printed leotards are popular for training because they come mostly in tank sleeve styles. Training is the place that gymnasts can really display their gymnastics fashion and go as wild as they like on the print and colour spectrum! You can find all-over printed leotards by top gymnastics brands like The Zone, GK Elite, Quatro and Alegra when shopping with us.

Choose a matching scrunchie by Alegra in metallic fabric, shiny nylon or prints for a coordinated outfit that the judges are sure to love!

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