warming up?? (team)

[CoachCatt27]

For team gymnasts and coaches:

Just thought it'd be interesting to see what warm ups are like at your gym?? How long do you warm up for? Is it the same everyday? Does the coach lead warm up or do the gymnasts rotate the role? How long do you run for? What stretches do you do? Are lines a part of warm-up (ex: handstand walks, backwalkovers, standing bhs, cartwheel bhs, etc etc etc)?

Also, do y'all have a set warm-up on beam (like releve kicks, and such?) before starting the bigger skills?

I'm a new team coach trying to get some new ideas for warming up the girls. Thanks!!

[Aussie_coach]

We try to keep it different everyday. Team girls train on average 4-5 days a week and to be doing the same warm up everyday will cause them to get a bit bored and become lazy with what they are doing.

The coaches lead warm up because it is probably one of the most important parts of class and it is essential to ensure every gymnast is warmed up properly before moving onto serious training.

Be creative when it comes to warm up, games, group activities, music, stations, circuts and so on are all great class starters. Warm up is more than just a way to warm the team up, it also sets the tone for your whole class. If the class starts on a positive, high energy level then it should continue on that level.

Avoid overdoing the running, the girls do need to be warm and lightly sweating but some coaches get the idea that they have to be totally exhausted to warm up properly but this is a safety issue for a kid who is about to do a 3-4 hours training session.

[hammy]

I like to mix up the warm ups to keep the kids invovled and encouraged about doing the warm up--if they do the same warm up everyday then they tend to get bored and what not. I do different warm up routines so to say...one of them might include running and conditioning skills, another might be a 'dance' warm up, and another might include animal crawls/walks (bear crawl, crap walk, etc). Some days I will include lines in the warm up.

As far as beam warm up--it usually depends on the level. With the "younger guys" I'll do every type of walking and what not. Then, when the "older girls" I'll do a "basics day" one day a week where they go through and do the basics.

[CoachCatt27]

thanks for the ideas :]

[BlairBob]

I like having the girl's do a short complex before really starting on beam, but sometimes this is longer if it's more about " Blair's boring basics " as the girl's like to call them.

No more than 5 minutes of jogging as a warmup. We'll vary warmup for girls, but honestly I haven't seen the same is done for boys nearly as much. Sometimes the older girls will lead a choreographed dance warmup, which I think is pretty neat and good stuff.

I vary the stuff for the boys, but it's pretty much alternative drills working the same motions. Broad jumps instead of squats, split leg squats [ Lunge with foot on something hip height ] instead of lunges, etc. Generally a bunch of rolling in there to get the blood pumping and get used to the inversion all over again.

I also like to use the tumbl-trak warmup because it's just fun. Tumbl-trak, hop over some beams on the way back or do a pit crawl.

Occasionally I would let a team captain lead the groups in a gym jog which boys tend to love, ducking under bars, swinging across bars, through the pit, bouncing across the tumbl-trak, etc. Good for camaraderie.

[gymmomntc2e6]

The team girls at my DD gym generally do some type of aerobic warm up first. Usually either jogging ( they change it up a bit - normal jog, sideway's jog, backwards jog..) or everyone's favorite 'elimination' which is generally a modified dodge ball game. No teams, every man for himself (or I guess girl for herself !!) but same general rules - you get hit you are out, someone catches a ball you threw you are out.

Then they stretch for about 15 min. (ankle rolls, wrist stretching, splits - all 3, bridges, bridge kick-over's & tick-tock's, jumps (tuck, split etc).

Then they do lanes: Handstand forward rolls, back extension rolls, handstand walks, BHS, robhs, FHS, etc...

All in all warm up lasts about 45 -50 min

[gym law mom]

Our optional girls do alot of different warm ups. They usually stretch 1st and then some type of cardio. In the spring/summer they jog to a local park(about 1/2 mile from the gym) at least 2x/week and then may do some other stuff there or come back to the gym. It is different each day---some days are more cardio, others they may work with therabands etc. During the summer, the warm up in 30-45 min with some additional conditioning the last 15 min of practice. During the school year, they do stretching/warm up for the 1st 30 minutes. The coaches also incorporate some strength work in when they are working bars, vault etc.---never a dull moment.

[gymgymgymnast08]

We have done the soulja boi before or the cotton eyed joe or the cha cha slide.

[gymnasticcoach]

My competitive gymnasts do a good 30 minute warmup, running, stretching, flexibility, etc. Then they do a specific apparatus complex, work on skills and then do specific event conditioning...they do this on each event.

Don

[eeyoretumbles]

Usually we do an hour warmup. We combine this with conditioning. We do a diagnol [spelling] warmup on the floor, so we run down the middle doing like skips or something, then run around the corners and start all over. This is nice, because the conditioning is a good amount down the diagnol and the running around the corners is nice for stamina. Everyonce in a while to reward all of our hard work, our coaches allow us to do a game, like chicken in the hen house, or linked arm tag. Which is fun, and good excercise.