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Gymnastics Advice Column

We will post a new question and answer each month in an effort to help gymnastics parents, gymnasts, and coaches better understand skills or issues that arise while training in gymnastics. This is one of the questions Karen has been asked recently along with her answer. If you would like to send Karen a question you can do so by using the email address at the top of this page. We can only post one question each month. All names, gym names, towns, and identifying information is removed from the question before it is posted. We will not answer any questions from those under 18 years of age. Athletes under 18 must have their parent send the question. We sincerely thank you for your interest in our products and services.
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July 08

Question
Hello, I have a 14 y o level 10 gymnast who is having the worst mental block she has ever had on bars. 6 weeks ago she had great success at a meet on bars, was state champion, and broke a state record. She has not fallen or seen anyone fall. Coaches are getting very concerned because she's never been this bad. Any suggestions on how to help her. It pains me to see her so frustrated!

Answer
I am so sorry to hear that your daughter is having a difficult time right now. Mental blocks happen for many different reasons including fatigue, dehydration, and too much pressure to perform from the coach or parents. Sometimes when gymnasts are expected to learn too many new skills at once they develop mental blocks. The best thing to do is allow your daughter to relax enough so that she can re-focus and then begin to perform well again. If there is a problem with one skill she must be able to visualize herself performing the skill over and over again. She must also perform many drills, the proper conditioning, and she must be spotted by the coach until she feels comfortable again. The worst and most dangerous thing to do is to push her more or add pressure because that is when injuries occur. Simply discussing this mental block can add pressure, depending upon the gymnast and tone of the conversation. A gymnast must be relaxed in order to focus properly and perform safely. To be sure she is getting enough of the nutrients she needs visit www.mypyramid.gov, www.eathealthy.org, and www.gssiweb.com for safe and accurate nutrition information, hydration information, nutrition tools, and sports science articles. Please make sure she is getting high quality sleep too because that greatly effects an athlete's performance too.

If you are in or near NJ I may be able to help your daughter in person. I offer private sports conditioning workouts and conditioning classes. If you think there is anything I can do to help her you can contact me directly. I hope this helps...

June 08

Question

My daughter is 11 and competed level 9 last season. She is a very talented gymnast - very strong and powerful. Our gym just began an "elite" program and she is part of that, but her coach has some concerns. Mainly, my daughter cannot press to a handstand. Not on the floor, not on the beam, not on the little parallel bars. I'm thinking it might be due to her body type - she and her muscles are long and lean instead of short and compact, and there just seems to be too much leg to raise. I know it's not her strength - she can shimmy up the rope with no legs in just seconds. Maybe this is something she will never get. But my 2-part question is this: Is there some radically alternative way to try to teach her how, and if she never learns would this alone prevent her from competing at the Elite level? Thank you.

Answer

I cannot tell you what your daughter’s coach will require for their elite program. I can tell you that climbing a rope uses different muscles than a press handstand. I personally would not allow a gymnast to compete level 6 or above without that basic strength and flexibility for safety reasons. A press handstand says a lot about a gymnast. The skill requires hip flexor, triceps, shoulder, abdominal, and chest strength. It also requires hamstring and low back flexibility.  It is often the coach’s fault if their gymnast is lacking in basic strength and flexibility because it is the coach who has written and implemented the training program. That is of course, unless all of the gymnasts except for one gymnast can perform the required skills. It is those times when it is often the gymnasts fault for not giving their best effort each and every time they perform a skill, a combination, and routine, a drill, warm-up and conditioning exercises.

I would suggest your daughter really give the idea some thought of whether she is giving her best effort all of the time. If she is, then please discuss this with the coach and ask the coach why your daughter does not have this basic skill at level nine.

You may want to purchase my drills and conditioning book or the press handstand poster so that your daughter can perform many conditioning exercises specifically for this skill. If she wants the drills to be effective she would need to perform 2-4 sets of 10 repetitions of each exercise at least 3 times each week.

Best of luck…

May 08

Question

My 10-year-old (Level 7) daughter is testing for TOPS.  What she really needs to work on is her left leg splits.  Can you recommend any exercises to help her with her flexibility in this area.
 

Answer
Your daughter must perform stretches for her hip flexors, hamstrings, hips, and buttocks.  There is a stretch that USAG requires all gymnasts to perform, the quad/psoas stretch.

The gymnast must kneel in front of a wall. She then places one foot in front as if she is about to perform a split. the foot must be further out than her knee because once she bends her knee the knee will be directly above her foot. She must shift the back leg so that her knee is on the floor against the wall and her shin is on the wall. Once in the starting position she must press her hips down and forward by bending her front leg. She will feel the stretch on the quads and hip flexor muscles of the leg that is against the wall. The illustration shown is the stretch performed without the wall.

She must also stretch the hamstrings and muscles of the buttocks. One stretch that is great for the hamstrings is the supine hamstring stretch. The gymnast lies on her back and places a towel over her foot. With the towel around her foot the gymnast straightens that leg and uses the towel to increase the stretch. The bottom leg remains on the floor.

Another great one is a split on the wall. The gymnast stands with her back to the wall, about 8-12 inches from the wall. She then places her hands on the floor and lifts one leg up behind her to literally perform a split with her legs on the wall. She remains supported by the bottom leg while the other is above her against the wall. Her hands remain on the floor. She can push on the floor to get a better stretch. This will actually press her legs against the wall and increase her split.

There are many other stretches, but space is limited here. There are stretches in a few my books including, Gymnastics Drills and Conditioning Exercises, ISBN 9781411805799 and Fitness on a Swing Set, ISBN 0615147887.

I may be able to help your daughter in person. My contact information is on the top of every page of this website.
 

April 08

Question

At what point do you know it's time to switch your child to a more serious competitive gym? Do you lose anything switching from the small gym to the "next step"?  What signs do you have that your child is talented enough to make the necessary sacrifices vs. just making sure she's having fun while competing?

Answer
That is a great question. It is always best to go to the gym that has the most knowledgeable coaches, unless the coaches are disrespectful to the children.

Your daughter's safety, health, and happiness are most important. Her gymnastics goals come after that. Talent is not the number one indicator of whether a child will reach a high level of competition. Dedication, motivation, and lifestyle are better indicators. If a gymnast is dedicated and works hard in the gym she will progress at a good rate. By lifestyle I mean the amount of sleep, good nutrition, ability to manage time, and parents that can get her to the gym for every workout. These are just as important as the time she spends training. A gymnast's rate of progress is effected by her overall health. Without the proper sleep and nutrition a gymnast could be more prone to fatigue, injury, or illness.

The best thing to do is try a class at the other gym, talk to the other parents in the lobby, meet the owners, ask your daughter if she had fun, and go with your gut feeling. Look at the whole picture. Look at the gymnasts to see if they are working hard and happy or if they are unhappy or on the sidelines icing injuries. If 3 or more gymnasts from one team have pain in the same area of their body there is something wrong with the training. Make sure you watch recreational classes and the highest level gymnasts train before you make your decision. They should be doing plenty of conditioning, drills for the skills, and stretching. 

The gym must be clean, the equipment must be well maintained, and the coaches absolutely must respect the children, even if they are demanding. Make sure you choose a place that suits your daughter's personality and goals.

Again, you must keep your daughter's safety, health, and happiness in mind every minute, every day, and each year she spends in the sport. Keep in mind that you may have to travel pretty far to a gym, but if it is the right one for your daughter it is well worth the trip. Keep in contact with the coaches and watch as much of her gym time as you can.

I sincerely wish you the best of luck with your decision...
 

March 08

Question

My daughter has tried for so long to get giants and she just cant seem to get them. Her coaches tell her all the time that she has really good tap swings and there should be no reason as to why she cant get over. If you have any advice can you please help!!!!   

Answer
She must think of it as a giant swing over the bar. In other words... A cast handstand, push through her shoulders as she falls, look at the low bar, kick her feet under the low bar, open her hips, see the wall and ceiling, kick (tap) as aggressively as she can toward towards the wall behind her. That is much different than what many gymnasts think and do. Many gymnasts think they should stop in a handstand at the top. When they attempt to stop in the handstand, which is not correct, they end up falling because they did not make it to the top.

A great way to learn and practice giants is to perform them in a tuck position as a warm up. The gymnast usually begins to understand that she must tuck her buttocks under and kick her knees and shins over the bar. Once a gymnast understands that she must kick over the bar rather than stopping at the top she can perform the skill more consistently. Once she is comfortable she can begin to open her tuck.

Another great way for gymnasts to become more comfortable and efficient with the skill is to perform more than 5 each time they are on the bars rather than the 1 or 2 at a time. A coach should spot your daughter for the long sets of giants. She should try to see if she can add one more giant to the long set each week. By the time a gymnast can perform 10-12 giants with spot she should be able to compete 1-3 in a routine.

Best of luck...
 

Feb 08

Question

Many of my level 5 and 6 gymnasts are complaining of back pain during back walkovers. As you know they must be able to repeat them many times during a practice. What do you advise to minimize the pain?

Answer
It is sad to hear that such a high number of gymnasts have pain in the same area of their body. A good rule of thumb is that when 3 or more gymnasts have pain or chronic injury to the same area of their body there is something wrong with the training. It could be that the gymnasts are performing too many repetitions of the same motion or it could be technique.

I would strongly advise every single gymnast that is in pain be seen by a sports doctor immediately. The coach may be assigning too many back bending skills, may not be stretching the girls efficiently, or is not teaching the skill correctly. I know it sounds crazy for me to say that, but I owned a gym for 10 years and never had a gymnast with back pain. And in all the time I have coached I have only come across a handful of gymnasts with back pain, mostly in one gym. There are thousands of gymnastics facilities without any gymnasts who have pain in their back. It is very possible to train and compete several years without pain or injury to the back.

The gymnasts in your daughter's gym may not be learning basic skills with the correct technique and/or may not be warming up properly. With the walkovers, much of the work in the skill should be performed through the shoulders, not the lower back as many people think. If a gymnast's shoulders are tight or just not stretched enough, their low back will take the pressure.

For the back walkover the gymnast must stand as tall as possible with her body weight on one foot to start, squeeze her buttocks, pull her abdominal area in, keep the supporting leg straight until it is impossible, place the hands on the floor or beam with an open shoulder angle, push through the shoulders, then pull in the armpits to bring the first foot to the step down position. Many children droop in the low back pressing their hips forward. That puts an enormous amount of pressure on the low back in the beginning of the skill.

Please take your daughter to a doctor as soon as possible for the back pain and please relay this message to the parents of other girls with back pain. All gymnasts must be seen by a doctor when they feel pain. I do not want to scare you, but these girls need their backs for the rest of their lives. I was in one gym where an optional gymnast was given her new floor routine. I took one look at the beautiful routine and told the gym owner this gymnast would have stress fractures in her back within a few weeks if she performed the routine during every practice. They only trained 4 times each week. This gymnast did have pain, went to a doctor and found out that she had stress fractures. That was the end of this gymnast's gymnastics career, all because the choreographer and gym owner did not think of this gymnast's health. They would not listen to me.

So again, take your daughter to a doctor for her back pain. Instruct your daughter to stop performing anything that hurts her back as soon as she feels pain. If the coach gives your daughter a hard time please find another coach immediately. I do not want you or the other parents to think this back pain is the nature of the sport because it is not. There is something wrong with the training in the gym your daughter attends if so many girls have pain the the same area of their body.

There are many useful drills in my walkover-back handspring book.
 

You may also enjoy Karen Goeller's gymnastics articles and books.

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Jan 08

Question

My daughter struggles with wobbling on this turn move.  What can she do to improve that specific element?

Answer
Many gymnasts wobble on turns because they are not tight. Gymnasts must think of squeezing their thighs together even though one foot is at the ankle or knee. If a gymnast squeezes the top of her thighs together it will help keep the foot attached to the other leg which will help with stability.

A gymnast must also squeeze her buttocks while turning. This again will help with stability and will prevent her from bending in the hip area.

Another important technique with turns is that the gymnast must be very high on her foot. There will be less friction between the foot and the floor making it easier to move.

And finally, the turn must be initiated with the shoulder, no matter where the arms are positioned. If the gymnast does a very quick small motion of moving the shoulder and elbow back the rest of the body will follow, as long as the gymnast is tight. When done correctly, the shoulder motion it is not noticeable.
 

You may also enjoy Karen Goeller's gymnastics articles and books.

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July 08 Mental Block-Fears / June 08 Elite-Press Handstand / May 08 Splits / Apr 08 Switching Gyms / Mar 08 Giants / Feb 08 Walkover Back Pain / Jan 08 Turns and Tightness / Dec 07 Level 4 Beam Dismount

You may also enjoy Karen Goeller's gymnastics articles and books.

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