The World of Gymnastics

Archive for the ‘OPTIONAL GYMNASTICS’ Category

 

 

In gymnastics, hand rips from gripping bars are common and repairable. Did you know they are, in many cases avoidable? I will give you tips on how to avoid grip rips. I will also explain how to repair and treat them if you do get these hand rips.

Grip rips are part of being a gymnast, but it is important to keep them minimal. Tender loving care will help or possibly prevent these painful hand rips. I want to help you avoid ripping those callused hands. It not only causes pain, but can hinder a performance.

Calluses are the hardened or thickened parts of the skin. They are to help protect the area where there is a lot of friction. Calluses are located at the top of the palms and sometimes in the middle of the inside of the hand. The more friction that occurs, the deeper the calluses. If the calluses get too thick, then rips can occur. It is important to avoid hand rips by maintaining proper care.

In gymnastics before you see a gymnast start her bar routine, she will rub chalk on her hands. This helps decrease the friction, but it also dries out the hands.

The best way to a gymnast can care for her calluses is by shaving them down. Many stores sell callus razors.  Pumice stones may also be used. I have even heard of people using podiatric sanders as well. Anything that helps grind down or shave the unwanted layers of the calluses. Do not shave the calluses down too far. In gymnastics, these calluses are a must have, just don’t let them get too thick. Groom them every week to avoid hand rips. Shaving the layers of a callus will keep excess skin from growing. Also, use a good skin moisturizer. Before bed is a must, Bag Balm is my favorite. Although it moisturizes, it also seems to heal the skin. It is usually found at your local hardware, farm, or drug store.

In gymnastics it is important to take care of a hand rip properly and as soon as possible. It must first be cleaned out with an antibacterial type product to keep the wound from getting infected. I recommend using an antibiotic suave just before covering up the wound. There are H shaped bandages that may be used if your gymnastics facility has them in their first aid box. If not, I recommend  wrapping gauze and tape around the hand. This is a sure way to keep the wound protected. Wrapping the hand will also help the gymnast to go on with her bar workout. Also, be sure to cut a couple pieces of tape and adhere them from the bandage inside of hand, through the fingers, and attach it to the  back of the bandage. Keep the wound covered for 4-5 days. If it is not healed, repeat this process and try to avoid too much friction until it heals.

 

I have wrote many articles explaining how gymnastics pits are very helpful and a great training tool for all gymnasts. This is very true but like always, with every good thing comes a negative aspect or a downfall.

The benefits of a gymnastics foam pit greatly outweigh the downfalls, but as a coach I must warn people about each and every downfall.

First, the gymnastics foam pit is very forgiving and may teach kids to use bad form and technique. When gymnasts do skills in the foam pit they usually forget all about straight legs, pointed toes and correct form. They get so caught up in doing the skill into the pit that they forget about all the technique required to do it on the ground.

Second, it can give a gymnast a false sense of accomplishment. Time after time I have asked my gymnast if they can to do a specific skill and they say yes. But they leave out that they have only done it into the pit! Many gymnast think if they can do a skill into pit than they have that skill. This is not true!! This thought can be very dangerous. I cannot stress enough, just because you can do a skill into a gymnastics foam pit does not mean you can do it on the spring floor.

Third, the foam pit can cause many injuries. Every gymnast should watch how they land in the pit. Landing feet first can cause an ankle to roll or knee to buckle. Landing headfirst can cause neck and back injuries. Landing on your belly can also cause back and neck injuries. When tumbling into the pit make sure you don’t land short or undercut, this could make you land on the pit edge. If you tumble to far you could also land on the pit edge. I have seen several gymnasts knee themselves in their face when landing in the pit, so be careful.

Last but not least, foam pit dust may get in the gymnasts eyes. This can cause a great amount of irritation.

• Gymnastics level 1, 2 and 3 balance beam routine has a time limit of 30 seconds
• Gymnastics level 4 balance beam routine has a time limit of 50 seconds
• Gymnastics level 5 balance beam routine has a time limit of 1 minute and 5 seconds
• Gymnastics  level 6 balance beam routine has a time limit of 1 minute and 10 seconds
• Gymnastics level seven balance beam routine must be a minimum of 30 seconds and a maximum of  1 minute 20 (80 seconds)
• Gymnastics level 8, 9 and 10 minimum of 30 seconds maximum of 1 minute and 30 seconds (90 seconds)

Ten seconds before your time is up the person timing will either ring a bell or say “warning.” Once your time is up you will either hear a bell ring again or the person timing say “time.” If you go over time you will receive a 0.10 deduction from your average score. If you are a level  7-10 and your routine is shorter than 30 seconds you will receive a 2.00 point deduction from your final score plus a deduction for whatever is missing in your routine. The time for a beam routine will began as soon as the gymnast takes off from the mat or springboard.  And the time ends as soon as the gymnast lands on the mat after her dismount. If the gymnast falls during her beam routine the person timing will stop the time once the gymnast makes contact with the floor.  The time will restart as soon as the gymnast makes her first move to continue her beam routine. The gymnast only has 30 seconds to remount the balance beam after she falls off. This time will be timed separately; this means there must be two stop watches. The person timing  will notify the gymnast when she has 20 seconds and also 10 seconds remaining  to remount the beam. If she doesn’t remount the beam within the  time limit the balance beam routine will be terminated. Within the 30 second fall time a gymnastics coach is allowed to coach and talk to the gymnast without receiving any deduction.  During the fall time the gymnast may perform a skill on the mat but will receive a 0.20 deduction.

Every gymnast gets nervous no matter how old, talented or experienced they may be. Nervousness is completely normal, especially before a big gymnastics meet. Many people see being nervous as a negative thing, but it isn’t as long as you know how to control it. Here are a few tips that will help eliminate unnecessary nervousness before a gymnastics meet.

• Make sure you know your routine. You should have practiced your routine so many times that you know it inside and out. You should be able to perform it mentally and physically without having to think or try to remember what comes next. If you know your routine by heart you will be so much calmer and can focus on form and precision instead of memorization!

• Be prepared. One of the worst things is when you get to a meet and go to warm up your bar routine and realize you don’t have your gymnastics hand grips. Or you are ready to compete floor and don’t have your music. You must be prepared! You should pack your gymnastics bag the night before the meet. Make a list of things you need for a gymnastics meet and keep it in your bag at all times. Before every meet get the list out and go over it. This will cut down on a trip back home, to the gym or to a pro shop to get what you need. It will also eliminate stress and panic.

• Know your destination. Make sure you know exactly where the gymnastics meet is located. MapQuest or GPS it before you leave your house. Make sure there are no roads closed or detours. Showing up late to your gymnastics meet is a very stressful way to start and could negatively affect the rest of your competition

• Find out where everything is. Once you get to your destination scope it out some. Make sure you locate the bathroom, water fountain, athletic trainer, pro shop, concession, etc. Knowing where things are ahead of time will give you one less thing to worry about later.

You will always be nervous to degree no matter what you do. But these are a few important tips that will eliminate unnecessary nervousness and will allow you to feel more comfortable and be able to relax to some degree. The more you prepare ahead of time the less you have to worry about and can focus on your gymnastics meet!

Hope this helpsJ

Nervousness and anxiety are extremely normal in artistic gymnastics. Especially when it comes to the balance beam. By far, balance beam is the event that almost every gymnasts get the most nervous about. The thought of tumbling 4 feet over the ground on a 4 inch beam can be very scary. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have, you will still get nervous when it’s your turn to compete your balance beam routine. There are a few things you can do as a gymnast to eliminate anxiety and nervousness.

Cutting down you anxiety before you compete balance beam at a gymnastics meet is not something that comes easy. It takes a lot of practice! But in the end it is worth it.

Competing a balance beam routine is way different than being at practice and performing it. You could do your balance beam routine in practice a thousand times and never get nervous and then go to a gymnastics meet and fall apart once you mount the beam. The question is, how can you eliminate your anxiety and nervousness at a gymnastics meet?

You can eliminate nervousness by competing! But the problem is there is not enough meets in a season to get a lot of experience from. This means you need to create situations that will help you train and prepare for a gymnastics meet other than practice and competition.

You can start by performing your balance beam routine while there are loud progressive/cheerleading classes in the gym, or when a birthday party is going on. You can also try turning up music really loud while practicing your gymnastics beam routine. Invite friends and family to watch and encourage them to talk and cheer while you are on the beam. While all this is going on you need to try to focus and tune everything out. Another good way to practice is to go to as many small/fun gymnastics meets as possible.

Just remember if you fall off beam your anxiety level will rise, this is not a good thing. So don’t rush it, take a deep breath and even a short pause if needed. It is better to get a small deduction for going over time or for pausing in your routine than to receive a deduction for a fall. Plus once you fall it is much harder to get back up and finish without letting your anxiety get the best of you.

The hardest thing about beam isn’t the gymnastics dance, skills, turns, jumps, or leaps that are in the routine, it is the mental inclinations the gymnast’s have. The main reason girls shake on beam and get so nervous is because they are head cases. This is by far the hardest thing to get over! The only things that can help with mental inclinations is practice, practice, practice.