Parents Home Conditioning

[Ex member]

My dd is required to do daily conditioning and has been given a book with a chart of conditioning exercies and a list of days that need to be checked off with space underneath for comments.

My dd has been given the following -

Splits - Right 90 secs
Splits - Left 90 secs
Box Splist 90 secs
Bridge 10 secs x3
Sit ups x35
Squat Jumps x35
Ankle raisers x35
Press ups 15 x2
Plank Hold 60 secs x2
Dish Hold 60 secs x2 (dd cannot do 60 secs so broke it down to sets of 30secs)
Arch Hold 60 secs x2 (as above)

Dd is fine with all the exercises except the dish and arch holds, she ends up crying and getting fraustrated as she finds it hard to hold, I have told her that she can stop if it hurts or is too much and that just makes her cry even more as she wants to get through them. We have done them for 2 days now but not without drama, for me I would rather she just stops as I don't want to see her get worked up but she keeps saying she wants to do them. It is making me feel horrible when she gets upset. We have a plan for her dish and arch holds tomorrow, we are going to use her folded up panel mat to do the dish and arch holds and see if that is more confortable for her.

Does this get any easier? we have have to do this everyday if possible and I don't know if I can go through all the crying, it is hard to see, especially when she won't stop. I am going to see how it goes tomorrow and if it is still too much for her them maybe see the coach and see what she suggests.

 

[Frase]

Not many kids I know like conditioning when they first start but it is a huge hurdle that has to be overcome by both the gymmie and the parents if they are to progress. In my experience most kids do come to accept it. Try and find some skills that will benefit from the conditioning she is doing - it helps them put two and two together. For example watch some grade 14 bars routine on your tube - she'll see some dish/arches in action!

 

[Rapunzel]

Can she have a self challenge on the ones she finds harder? Say do 20 seconds today, tomorrow 25 seconds, the next day 30 etc? Rather than going from nothing to 60seconds?

 

[Ex member]

Can she have a self challenge on the ones she finds harder? Say do 20 seconds today, tomorrow 25 seconds, the next day 30 etc? Rather than going from nothing to 60seconds?

Thanks for the tip, will try that if tomorrow's conditioning doesn't go to well, I have seen dd do conditioning in the gym (last night for the first time as it is viewing week) and she was fine at gym, she said she felt like crying when she was pushed down in the box splits but that is understandable, it is just at home that she cries and make me feel awful for asking her to do it, but as have been said it is early days and this is her first structured (coach led and not things she choses to do) conditioning homework.

 

[xrachx]

My DD used to moan on about conditioning, but after about a month or so of me reminding her, she started to see the benefits as things got easier for her at training and since then she has done it of her own accord.

We have an agreement that she can watch a dvd while she works through her list, and I will leave her to get on with it and not say a word, as she knows if she tries to cheat, she's only cheating herself

 

[gymdog]

Do 6 sets of 10 with a second to rest in between. Do it together - you'll be able to start there. Then she can "coach" you to 3 sets of 20, 2 sets of 30, and so on. It can also be modified by bending knees and putting feet on the floor.

Arch hold 60 seconds is too long in my opinion, so I think that's flawed. It's hard for them at the level and age your daughter is to hold it and be able to breathe. I do sets of 10 seconds for that age. That is the hardest one for them and they often can barely achieve the correct head and neck position.

 

[pullover]

I am probably in the minority but I would say to let her skip the ones that make her that upset -gymnastics is supposed to be fun. Perhaps after doing the other conditioning exercises for some time the ones that she finds difficult will become easier and she can then add them to her daily routine.

 

[Ex member]

Arch hold 60 seconds is too long in my opinion, so I think that's flawed. It's hard for them at the level and age your daughter is to hold it and be able to breathe. I do sets of 10 seconds for that age. That is the hardest one for them and they often can barely achieve the correct head and neck position.

Dd is struggling with these two and says it makes her neck uncomfortable, as the required total amount is 120 secs hold with breaks then I will break it down into a more hold managable time for her, I will ask her to hold it as long as it is comfortable (no more then 30 secs) and then go from there, wether it will be in sets of 10 secs, 15 secs, 20 secs or 30 secs to get to the total required.

I really want to try and help her do what she wants (she wants to do this despite her tears) in a way that helps her get through these without tears and without coming across as pushy, with the tears the other day it felt like I was crossing a line I did not want to cross. I will have a chat with her coach about breaking them down, I am pretty sure that dd will not be the only one doing and that the coach will be ok with it, dd on the other hand is not keen on me talking to the coach as she thinks she has done something wrong and that she is a failure for not doing it, any tips on helping her see it from a different way will be greatly recieved (she is 7 and the youngest in her group and she can have melt downs at home pretty quickly if things are not going her way, at school and gym she is fine).

To the poster who said to skip the exercise, that was my gut reaction but dd does not want to skip them.

Thank you for all your advice so far, you have given me some great ideas.

 

[Ex member]

We got through today's conditioning without any tears or drama, and it only took 30 mins.

Dd managed to hold her dish and arch in sets of 20 secs each and managed her press ups in sets of 15 (the required amount) without stopping. Dd did say that she finds the bridge hold too easy, would it be worth asking to increase it from 10 secs to 20 secs (dd's request) or would it be bad for her spine to do that (age 7).

 

[cbifoja]

I am probably in the minority but I would say to let her skip the ones that make her that upset -gymnastics is supposed to be fun. Perhaps after doing the other conditioning exercises for some time the ones that she finds difficult will become easier and she can then add them to her daily routine.

So now we only let kids do the things that don't upset them? It doesn't hurt kids to not be 100% happy all the time. If the coach asks the gymnast to do something, it is because the kid needs to do that. Yes, gym is supposed to be fun, but that doesn't mean the kids should only get to do the fun stuff without putting in the work. The kids need the conditioning to have the strength to do the fun stuff!

 

[gymdog]

So now we only let kids do the things that don't upset them? It doesn't hurt kids to not be 100% happy all the time. If the coach asks the gymnast to do something, it is because the kid needs to do that. Yes, gym is supposed to be fun, but that doesn't mean the kids should only get to do the fun stuff without putting in the work. The kids need the conditioning to have the strength to do the fun stuff!

It definitely should not upset them. If it upsets them it needs to be modified. I am not talking about grumbling a bit, if the child is crying then it is going to lead to negative associations. If their body is telling them to stop they have to stop.

And again 60 second continuous arch hold is very difficult. At the level of being able to hold that long, it wouldn't even be beneficial and more dynamic exercises would be used, so I would recommend no more than 10-20 seconds. Once that is easy then that level of proficiency is ready for more advanced exercises incorporating dynamic movement. The reason to do the static hold is to get to that point, not to just keep static holding.

And yes I know some national programs like the Chinese program have the kids holding handstand and hanging from the bar for minutes at a time. But whether that's really the best and most efficient way, I don't know. I would imagine they're moving away from that more and more. In the west, where kids can quit at any time, holding 5 minute wall handstands doesn't happen. Anywhere, any level. Doesn't happen. The kids might walk on their hands for almost that time, etc, but they won't just stay there on the wall.

 

[cbifoja]

I read upset as being a little whiny and not wanting to do it....not physical torture (being purposely dramatic here, not for real torture) and fits of crying! LOL

Yes, if your child is THAT miserable then probably gymnastics isn't going to be their thing. But if it's just not their favorite thing, then to quote someone from I think another thread (maybe this one) "suck it up, buttercup".

 

[gymdog]

She said her daughter was crying. But again the amount seems inappropriate. Asking a child to do something developmentally inappropriate and then they get upset doesn't mean gymnastics isn't their sport and I don't like that attitude. It takes time and exposure even for kids to acclimate to anything. I've seriously had so many kids switch into my class who were on the verge of quitting, had left in tears, and gone on to become great gymnasts for me.

It's about incremental increases in the difficulty and pushing you provide. You should never push a child past their limits because they will feel afraid and insecure and the lack of confidence shows all over their gymnastics. When they feel confidence, confidence shows in their gymnastics.

Each child's limit varies on personality and how long they've been in my class. If they have worked with me a long time they will get much more pushing and correcting. A short time and I just let them do more observation and acclimation to the class. Gymnastics is very difficult and any exposure to correct progression helps.

 

[Ex member]

I really didn't intend to start a thread that would get so heated over a simple question, sorry..

To clear things up, gymdog has summed up my dd perfectly, she has only been doing competitive gymnastics for a few months and has only just recently had her hours doubled from 2 1/2 hours a week to 5 hours a week (3 weeks ago ). The homework got given tuesday for the first time and dd was perfectly fine with 80% of it including split holds, it was just the dish and arch hold that was giving her trouble as 60 secs was too much. I spoke to a parent who has a daughter (nearly 11) in dd's group and asked how she got on with the conditioning and she said she struggled with dish and arch hold despite being in the group for nearly 2 years. My dd is not a whinny kid and can endure pushing in conditioning at gym, I witnessed it tonight for the first time (we had viewing week that takes place every 4-6 months), dd was pushed in ber box splits for a good minuet or so (not too hard) and was fine.

My dd understands that she needs to condtition to get stronger and more flexible and is more than happy to do so and asks to do it, dd can see what can be achieved by doing this as she has got her left and right splits near enough flat to the ground.

I am going to let dd continue doing her dish and arch holds in 20 secs sets until she has to hand her homework diary in next tuesday (her next session), I have put a message in the comments section for the coach to see what we have done and why.

Gymdog, my dd can be a bit timid in the gym when it comes to the beam and most of it is a confidence issue as she had a nasty fall a month ago and grazed all her back, she has been working on the floor beam ever since, this week her coach got her back on the high beam and you can see she wasn't secure or too comfortable but she tried and got lots of encouragement and high fives from her coach, she was back working forward rolls on high beam but her jumps were low.

 

[Galadriel]

Dont know if this is helpful?
But we (dd NOT me!) at this stage got asked to do 20 dish rocks x 3 times and 20 arch rocks x 3 times not holds. Was achievable and I know holds wouldn't have been. (Actually think it may have ALSO had arch and dish 'lifts'? Don't know terminology but think equivalent of series of v ups but it's a series of arch ups etc)
How is the coach opinion on this?

 

[Ex member]

Dont know if this is helpful?
But we (dd NOT me!) at this stage got asked to do 20 dish rocks x 3 times and 20 arch rocks x 3 times not holds. Was achievable and I know holds wouldn't have been. (Actually think it may have ALSO had arch and dish 'lifts'? Don't know terminology but think equivalent of series of v ups but it's a series of arch ups etc)
How is the coach opinion on this?

Dd does these exercises in conditioning :

Lie flat on back and lift upper body in dish shape but with hands grasped in front of them with straight arms and lower in sets of 20
Same as above but lift legs instead of upperbody, the flip over onto tummy and do the same as above in arch position.

I didn't speak to the coach, just wrote a message in dd's book for her to read, they have to hand the book in next tuesday after completing a week of conditioning.

 

[Committed]

This is kind of an odd thing for me. My DD loves to condition at home. However, she doesn't have conditioning "homework". I think it would take the fun out of it and she would probably want to quit doing it or at least do it as quickly as possible.

Do you have a reward structure in place? Even though my DD is pretty intrinsically motivated, she really likes to have goals to attain. For instance, when she was smaller, her rec gym gave out coupons for a Baskin Robbin banana split for each split a gymnast got. My little girl stretched and stretched and stretched until she got all her splits.
This past December, she decided she wanted to be able to do a press handstand. She practiced for awhile, but then asked me if she could get a banana split when she got her press handstand. Let's just say.... I owe her a banana split!

 

[Amusibus]

Is it common for kids to get conditioning homework? Mine never has. They are at gym so long it seems like it should all get done there. What happened to keeping gym at the gym?

 

[pullover]

So now we only let kids do the things that don't upset them? It doesn't hurt kids to not be 100% happy all the time. If the coach asks the gymnast to do something, it is because the kid needs to do that. Yes, gym is supposed to be fun, but that doesn't mean the kids should only get to do the fun stuff without putting in the work. The kids need the conditioning to have the strength to do the fun stuff!

I don't think that kids should be upset doing gymnastics. But of course it depends on what your goal is with gymnastics and your philosophy on sports in general.

 

[Jenny]

Is it common for kids to get conditioning homework? Mine never has. They are at gym so long it seems like it should all get done there. What happened to keeping gym at the gym?

Generally the UK doesn't do as many hours as the US and this little one has only just started doing twice a week. Conditioning homework is fairly common here but whether it helps or actually gets done for more than the first couple of weeks I don't know.

I wouldn't want a kid to cry during conditioning at gym let alone at home. I wouldn't allow them not to do it but I would stop and talk to them and come back to it when they had stopped. Conditioning exercises need to be built up just like anything else. I also agree that a 60 sec dish and arch hold is too long for a beginner and that something dynamic would be better for a more advanced gymnast.