The World of Gymnastics

When a gymnast is performing their level 4 gymnastics bar routine they will only use one bar, the low bar. A gymnast may use a mat or a spring board to mount the bar; this must be removed as soon as the gymnast mounts. If the gymnastics mat or spring board is not removed the gymnast will receive a deduction from her gymnastics bar routine score.

MAIN LEVEL 4 GYMNASTICS BAR SKILLS, REQUIREMENTS, AND DEDUCTIONS!

*Glide Swing- Must take off with two feet and land with two feet. Must have great body extension. Hands must remain on the bar between the glide and pullover.

*Pullover-Must pull over with two feet. Do not jump, hop, or step into the pullover. Make sure the landing is in a front support with straight arms and a tight body.

*Front Hip Circle-Maintain a straight hollow body. Must connect a small cast while coming out of the front hip circle.

*Shoot Through (Single Leg Squat Through)-Leg /foot cannot contact or touch the bar when shooting through. Show a stride support at the end of the shoot through (hands are the only thing touching the bar).

*Mill Circle (Forward Stride Circle)-Must show clear stride support at the beginning and end (only thing touching the bar is your hands). Do not hook knee on the bar when doing this skill. Be sure to  flip your hands backwards before doing this gymnastics bar skill.

*Cut Back- Be sure to change your hand position before cutting back. Keep arms straight and end in an extended front support when cutting back.

*Cast- Keep proper body alignment. Maintain a hollow, straight body from shoulders to toes.

*Back Hip Circle- Keep a straight hollow body position while maintaining hip/thigh contact on the bar the entire time. Must connect the back hip circle and underswing dismount.

*Underswing Dismount-Once again, maintain a straight hollow body with straight arms and a great body extension with flight. Stick your landing!

A gymnastics bar routine should not be choppy but should show connections and fluidity throughout the entire routine. Each gymnastics bar skill should lead to the next without any breaks in rhythm.



Gymnastic beam is one of two events in gymnastics that are timed. A level 4 gymnastics beam routine time limit is 50 seconds. If a gymnast goes over her time she will receive a 0.10 deduction from her beam score. Based on the height of the beam and gymnast, a mat or spring board may be needed to mount the gymnastics beam. This is allowed as long as the extra mounting surface is removed as soon as the gymnast mounts. If it is not removed the gymnast will receive a deduction from her beam score.

LEVEL 4 GYMNASTICS BEAM- MAIN GYMNASTICS VAULT SKILLS, REQUIREMENTS, AND DEDUCTIONS!

*Leg Swing Mount-Must turn 180 degrees in a continuous motion ending in a straddle sit with correct body position

*V-Sit to Tuck Stand-must maintain a straight and hollow body position until both feet are above the beam. Once legs are above the beam pull them in to land in a tuck stand.

*Heal Snap Turn-When stepping in coupe you must remain on toe until foot arrives next to ankle. Once the foot arrives at ankle go flat then rise in releve to perform a heal snap turn. Once the turn is finished, immediately drop to a flat foot and pause.

*Leap-leg separation on the leap must be a minimum of 60 degrees. Must maintain straight legs and pointed toes throughout the leap and land in a low, paused, arabesque position

*Handstand-Handstand must be ¾ minimum. Be sure to lever in and out of the handstand while stretching out body and closing legs at the top. Hands must be side by side while in the handstand; they cannot be staged.

*½ Turn-Must complete a 180 degree turn on toe; show control before stepping out to finish.

*Straight Jump (Stretch Jump)-Push through toes to get great height while maintain a straight body and close feet together during the jump.

*Tuck Jump-Tuck must be a minimum of 90 degrees. Tuck must be tight and quick and must open before landing back on the beam

*Arabesque- Back leg must lift behind at a minimum of 45 degrees and must be held for at least 1 second.

*Scale- Back leg must lift a minimum of 90 degrees and be held for at least 2 seconds. The Gymnast must keep both legs locked out and chest up while performing both the scale and arabesque.

*Pivot Turn-Stay in full releve while completing a sharp and tight 180 degree turn.

*Dismount- Must maintain a straight tight body while doing a cartwheel to side handstand. Once at the top legs much touch together and be held for a minimum of 1 second. After being held, do a ¼ turn dismount. Body should remain straight from start to finish.

Gymnastics beam is all about balance. Make sure your routine is not lacking in connections and/or rhythm. Each gymnastics skill needs to lead into the next with grace and aggressiveness.

The level 4 gymnastics vault is a handstand flat back. This gymnastics vault is competed on a gymnastics skills cushion that must be a minimum of 32 inches high, 5 feet wide, and 10 foot long. The gymnastics skills cushion may be a resi mat or a stack of landing mats, or an inflatable mat. You can add gymnastics skills cushions to make it higher based on your gymnast’s vault capabilities. Every vaulting mat must have a tape line that is 32 inches from the front of the vault mat (this is the landing zone). This tape line must go across and down the sides of the mat. The gymnast must have her hands contact within this landing zone. If her hands go past the tape line, she will receive a deduction from her overall gymnastics vault score.

LEVEL 4 GYMNASTICS VAULT- MAIN GYMNASTICS VAULT SKILLS, REQUIREMENTS, AND DEDUCTIONS!

*Run must show accelerate

*Must not slow down when contacting the spring board

*When punching  the board, feet should be in front of body

*In the pre-flight, shoulders need to me open, head in a neutral position, with a straight extended body (no arch or pike)

*Keep straight legs and pointed toes throughout

*Contact mat with both hands, straight arms, in an inverted vertical position.

*Hands must be within the landing zones

*Do not take steps or hops with hands

*Be sure to land in a straight, stretched out lying position on the mat. Do not arch or bent legs. Keep toes pointed the entire time.

Each gymnast gets two chances to perform a gymnastics vault. The judge will award the gymnast the best score out of the two. A gymnast may have three running approaches without any penalty if they do not touch the springboard or vaulting mat. A level 4 gymnastics vault will be voided if the gymnast does the wrong vault, does a handstand and returns back to the springboard, is assisted by a coach between the time of leaving the board to touching the mat stack, or touches the mat stack or springboard without doing the vault.

USA Gymnastics has specific required routines for compulsory levels (gymnastics level 1 through level 6). USAG has precise guidelines, rules, time limits, and a code of points for each event. USA gymnastics level 4 floor routine has specific gymnastics skills that have required guidelines one must meet. If these guidelines are not met, the gymnast will receive deductions from their overall score.

LEVEL 4 GYMNASTICS FLOOR ROUTINE- MAIN GYMNASTICS FLOOR SKILLS, REQUIREMENTS, AND DEDUCTIONS!

*Split Jump- Leg separation in the split jump must have a minimum of 90 degrees.

*Handstand Straight Arm Forward Roll- when performing a handstand forward roll the gymnast must hit vertical with legs together and hold for a minimum of 1 second.

*Handstand Bridge Kick-Over- While doing a handstand bridge kick over, arms must remain straight and up at ears the entire time. When the gymnast hits the top of the handstand legs must me together before continuing into the bridge. When in the bridge you must shift shoulders over hands before kicking over. Make sure a minimum leg split of 120 degrees is achieved when kicking over. Show a levering action and obtain control throughout this gymnastics skill.

*Leap Step Hop- Push off with front leg when taking off for leap. Leap must have a minimum of a 90 degree split. Make sure legs swings forward to a minimum of horizontal on the hop.

*Split- Must be all the way down with straight legs.

*Straight Arm Backward Roll into Pushup- Hands must touch the ground before rolling backwards. While rolling, maintain straight arms and land in a push-up position.

*Coupe Half Turn- When turning one must complete 180 degrees turn while in releve (on toe) and coupe (your foot at your ankle). Show control throughout the entire turn.

*Round-off Back Handspring Rebound- When performing a round-off back handspring rebound the gymnast must show acceleration. Be sure the round-off passes through vertical and both feet land at the same time. Legs must stay together throughout the back handspring and it must be landed with two feet. As soon as the back handspring is landed, immediately rebound , stick and control the landing.

Make sure you keep good fluidity and rhythm throughout the entire level 4 gymnastics floor routine.

In womens artistic gymnastics there are four apparatuses: gymnastics floor exercise, uneven bars, vault table, and balance beam.

Gymnastics floor exercise is one out of two events that are competed by both men and women. Out of all the events, floor exercise is favored by most. Floor takes a vast amount of strength, power, endurance, flexibility, grace, and gymnastics dance.

The floor exercise has springs underneath, for this reason many people refer to them as spring floors. The standard size for a spring floor is 12 meters by 12 meters. This size makes it a perfect square.

A spring floor is made out of tons of small springs that are covered by plywood, the plywood is covered by thick foam padding, and the foam padding is covered by carpet. The carpet has four taped lined along the outside, these are called the boundary lines. A gymnast must stay inside these lines when performing his/her routine. If a gymnast steps outside these lines they will receive a deduction.

Levels one through six all have the exact same choreographed gymnastics floor routine. Once a gymnast becomes a level seven they get to pick their very own floor music and have a gymnastics floor routine choreographed to fit her skills and style.

Floor Exercise is where the gymnasts get to express who they are as a gymnast. A gymnast expresses her character and ability through the tumbling, leaps, jumps, skill, turns, etc. she puts into her routine. Her personality also gets expressed though the music she chooses, and the type of gymnastics dance she selects and puts in her routine.

Have you listened to an endless amount of gymnastics floor music demos just trying to find the perfect piece for you floor exercise routine? Are you looking for the perfect song that will display your personality, tumbling, gymnastics dance, and character to its fullest potential? If you have listened to song after song and have not found one you can connect with emotionally and physically or have not found gymnastics floor music that will accentuate your routine and make it stand out from others, don’t give up hope! If you have a great idea for a one of a kind gymnastics floor routine, then you should have your gymnastics music customized. Customized floor music is choreographed and designed just for you and is intended to fit your floor routine perfectly!

Customized gymnastics floor routine music can consist of any type of music as long as there are no words or lyrics. Gymnastics floor music consists of all genres, such as: hip-hop, techno, folk, classical, rap, country, India rock, R and B, etc. that come from from around the world from great places like England, Europe, Germany, Italy, china, Greece, etc. You can also pick your favorite songs, have them strip of all their lyrics, and add extra instrumental parts making it into a remix. They can also cut and splice many different songs and combine them together to make one exclusive gymnastics floor routine music piece!

You don’t have to be an Olympic gymnast to get customized music for gymnastics. Customized gymnastics floor music is available to gymnasts of all ages and levels. All you need is a great idea to start with! One of the great things about customized music is you can have it designed just for your likes, needs, and wants. Plus you will be the only gymnast in the whole world to have this unique, one of a kind piece.

Choosing the right gymnastics floor music is a critical component for a great routine. For this reason, picking out gymnastics floor music is not something that should be done in a hurry or overnight. It should take a lot of thought and consideration. This is the music you will be practicing and performing to for quite awhile. It is essential that you as a gymnast personally enjoys and connects to the music you are going to perform to. The routine needs to stand out from all others; uniqueness and quality are key when it comes to picking gymnastics floor music.

When choosing gymnastics floor music, make sure you select something you really enjoy. You also want to make certain the music you choose displays your personality and talents. If you pick gymnastics music that is inspiring to you, you will have an emotional connection to it, giving you everything you need to get the judges and crowd involved.

Okay, so pick gymnastics music you like, not too hard, right? Well there is more; not only do you have to like it but you also have to be able to perform to it. What I mean by this is don’t pick a hip hop song if you can pop, lock, and drop it. Don’t pick a classical song if you aren’t graceful or don’t have elegant and fluid gymnastics dance with flawless leaps and turns. Make sure your gymnastics floor music matches your style of skills and gymnastics dance. If you are energetic and a powerful tumbler make sure your music accentuates that by having a good beat and fast tempo that sets the tone of your routine.

When people think of gymnastics floor they think about how unique, well choreographed, powerful and graceful the routine is. They definitely don’t think about music, but hey should. Gymnastics floor routine music plays an important and crucial part in having floor exercise success.

Gymnastics floor music is exclusive; it is made specifically with floor routines in mind. You cannot choose a random song you like and make up a routine to it; music for gymnastics floor has precise guidelines.

First, the music cannot contain any vocals whatsoever! If they do, you will receive a HUGE deduction. I don’t care how great the words in the song are, don’t use it, it isn’t worth dropping your floor exercise score. You also want to make sure the gymnastics floor music is1 minute and 30 seconds long (90 seconds from start to finish). Make sure the gymnastics floor routine music has a variety of rhythm and pace. It needs to contain parts that are fast action and piece that are slower for you can catch your breath. Your gymnastics music needs to include three segments of music that standout from the rest; this is where you should put your three tumbling passes. You need to have your first tumbling pass start 10-20 seconds after your gymnastics floor music starts. This will start your routine off with a bang and set the tone for the rest of it. You also want to put a tumbling pass in your floor routine at the end; this will be your grand finally! The other tumbling pass you can insert anywhere between the first and the last.

If your gymnastics floor routine music is set up using these guidelines your routine and gymnastics floor music should fit together flawlessly!

Gymnastics and dance are completely different sports, but a working knowledge and ability to perform each of thesedisciplines are a must to be a great gymnast and dancer. Every gymnastics floor and beam routine includes a vast amount of dance to connect gymnastics skills.

Serious and competitive gymnasts should take dance lessons along side with working out in the gym. Dance is an extremely important part of gymnastics. Gymnastics and dance go hand in hand, for this reason I refer to it as gymnastics dance. Gymnastics dance is crucial to a gymnasts’ success. In every beam and floor routine ever performed, gymnastics dance is weaved throughout the entire piece. You may be a gymnast, not a dancer, but you are going to get judged on the dance you put into your routines. The neatest thing about gymnastics dance is it makes your routine unique and helps it stand out from all other gymnastics routines. Through gymnastics dance you are able to express your personality as an individual and a gymnast. This has a huge weight in your overall score, so make sure you go all out and make every move count. Amazing leaps, high flexible jumps, and perfect turns are a necessity for a high scouring beam and floor routine. Gymnastics dance is used in-between tumbling passes and skills it is the fluidity that ties each part of your routine together making it whole.

Dance lessons will help you master these skills. I cannot express enough how beneficial dance is for gymnastics floor and beam success. It teaches great form, technique, grace, flexibility, fluidity, balance, and posture. Make sure your beam and floor gymnastics routines are choreographed specifically for you and no one else. By incorporating dance, skills, and tumbling passes that show your strengths.