For the general public, women's gymnastics may seem like an event only scheduled every four years during the coveted Olympics.

But as fans of the sport know, the race to the Olympics begins much sooner than the year it's held in.

This weekend, three members of the gold medal winning Fierce Five gymnastics team will return to major competition. Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, and Kyla Ross will compete in the 2015 Secret Classic, one of several precursor events to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

While some sports like track and field, water sports, and even men's gymnastics allow for multiple Olympic appearances, women's gymnastics in the USA is often unforgiving to athletes as they age. It is this reason that Aly Raisman feels that first and foremost she must take care of her body.

"As a gymnast you use every single part of your body. Everything from your wrist, your shoulders, your abs, I mean, even your pinky toe is important," said Raisman.

"Every part of your body has to be really strong."

She and Gabby Douglas, the current reigning Olympic all-around champion, did not return to major competition until after completing almost a full year of training. The reason mainly being the need to get back into shape after taking a year off.

However, in their absence, the U.S. women's gymnastics team has become extremely competitive. Lead by current the current reigning All-around world champion Simone Biles, the U.S. women's team has every major world competition, including the most recent 2015 Pan American games. 

One of the gymnasts contributing to those wins is Kyla Ross, who continued to compete after her success in London. She has earned several individual medals, including the all-around silver medal at the 2013 World Championships, and the bronze at the 2014 World Championships.

It's of note that there's at least 15 interchangeable members of the U.S. national team - meaning that in Rio, the U.S. women's team may have too many eligible gymnasts and not enough spots. This adds to the already increased pressure on the aging Fierce Five members, in a sport that does not favor older gymnasts.

Nevertheless, fans can get a glimpse of the brand new routines from Gabby, Aly, and Kyla by watching the 2015 U.S. Secret Classic competition, which will be streamed on the USA Gymnastics channel.