Strength and Conditioning at home

virgogal1979 · 11-07-2006, 08:32 AM

I am interested in knowing what kind of strength and conditioning your gymnasts do at home? I am wanting my daughter to get into a good habit to do her s&c at home. How much is too much or too little for an 8 year old who is only a few steps away from getting on team. We have a mat and balance beam... I remember there was a drill&practice forum or page, does anyone have that link.. I should of bookmarked it..

Thanks

**JBS** · 11-07-2006, 12:16 PM

Check out our links under the "Gymnastics Skills & Tips" category.

midwestgymmom · 11-08-2006, 03:06 PM

My dds coach sent home a conditioning program that to be done 3x's a wk. It has splits (3mins each all three ways),100 pushups, 50 curls,30 candlesticks,30 arch rocks, 30 hollow rocks, and 3 sets of pike stretches (45 minutes each). It has to be signed and sent back. They get a prize for completing it. She hates doing it even though she knows it works.

All the level 4 's and up have to do it.

virgogal1979 · 11-09-2006, 07:36 AM

Can you explain in a little more details how to do these?
30 candlesticks,30 arch rocks, 30 hollow rocks

Thanks.. I am going to type it up and explain it to my dd

**JBS** · 10:58 AM

Be careful how much you push your daughter to do things at home. For some kids it works really well...for some it backfires. If she is not wanting to do strength and conditioning at home, it may turn into a chore. Gymnastics must be fun. Many everyday activities can benefit gymnastics. For expample, riding your bike is great leg exercise and playing on the monkey bars is great for arm strength. Encourage everyday activities such as these.

Conditioning at home is usually something for team kids, this is for the reasons above. A home conditioning program should come from the coach...sometimes it is helpful if the coach is the coach and the parent is the parent. Talk to your child's coach and get some help writing the program and motivating your child to do it. A home conditioning program should not take more than 15 minutes at the begining stages. It must be closely monitored. A great way to do this is to set aside a special time when you and your daughter workout together (no you don't have to do the same exercises she is).

Megley · 11-10-2006, 07:41 AM

Virgogal, take a look at the drills and skills website for a definition of how hollow rocks, arch rocks and candlesticks are done. I think the website is www.drillsandskills.com. I have two children in preteam and, while they do a lot of conditioning in class, there is no formal at home conditioning. My son's coaches have just asked that he work on abdominal strength at home, as well as splits, but they haven't given us any kind of formal routine. We just ask him to spend about 5-10 minutes on days he isn't in the gym doing splits, crunches, L-seats and v-ups. We don't remember to do it all the time and so I'd say he probably only does these a couple of times a week. I am supposing it gets more formalized once they are on team. Anyway, hopefully the drills and skills website will help you. Good luck!

gymmom · 11-11-2006, 08:05 PM

I dont know how much your daughter is in the gym but I dont allow my daughter to condition at home. She is 8(level 4) also. She works out 4 days a week/ 3-5 hours at a time. You can over condition and that can lead to injuries and pulled muscles. Just evaluate her situation and make sure that its not to much.

Gymmom

midwestgymmom · 11-11-2006, 08:46 PM

I should clarify that the reason that my dds coach added at home conditioning was because a lot of the girls lost some strength and stamina from taking time off this summer for vacations and other activites. She also knows that since the girls practice 4-5 hrs a wk the parents would rather have them doing conditioning at home so they can have more time to work routines and skills at practice. She realizes that a lot of parents cant afford more time in the gym.