WAG help for legs on bars?

[2G1B]

My 7 year old DD is trying to learn her mill circle. Her legs are a mess, she has taken the skin off in several spots. Her gym doesn't allow the kids to wear shorts for practice. I suggested that she maybe put some chalk on her legs; but I really don't know what I'm talking about since I have never been a gymnast.

Do any of you have suggestions?

 

[fuzi]

How is she taking the skin off her legs in mill circles? Where is she beat up?

 

[2G1B]

her upper thighs, mostly up near her leo. I guess that she is rubbing against the bar, kind of getting rug burn; but from the bar.

 

[fuzi]

It seems really strange to tear up your legs on mill circles, though it is certainly common when a gymnast is learning front hip circles and back hip circles. That said, I imagine if she is rubbing her legs against the bar in a mill circle, it is because she is not pushing away from the bar with her legs in a split position, but rather, squeezing her legs around the bar or hooking her knee. You want her to imagine pushing up and away with her legs open like a split (which I am sure her coaches are telling her).

If she is really bruises/scrapped up, you might want to ask her coaches about letting her wear shorts for bars only for a week to give her skin some time to heal. A lot of young gymnast go through phases of tearing their hips or legs (and of course, hands) up on bars, and they all turn out okay in the long run.

If the shorts are an absolute no go- a little chalk on the "ouchy" areas can help reduce friction.

 

[2G1B]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm assuming it is the mill circle that is doing it to her since she has had her BHC for a while and I don't think that they are working on the FHC (though I could be wrong on that). I think I might ask about the shorts for just a week if she is still complaining tomorrow. I'll also double check with her on what she is doing when she is beating her legs up.

 

[iwannacoach]

Tell her to hurry up and learn the darn skill before she runs out of spare skin.......

Really, it's not too hard to imagine some pretty severe chafing. That won't happen once she decides to do it the right way.... with a pronounced fall into the beginning of the circle and a straight lead leg that presses over the bar to finish the last 1/4 of the circle.

 

[Gymsanity]

I have thin foam pads on all my bars (wood and metal) for that very reason. The girls can slide them over and use them any time they need them. Can't imagine teaching bars without them. Does your gym have any?

 

[sglemon]

My dd always chalked the front of her thighs for her level 4 routines, especially when practicing FHC. It was funy when she competed, she would walk away from the chalk bucket to salute the judges and the front of her thighs would be white.

 

[GabbyNastiaShawn00]

Once she is in a shoot-thru position, she should push up and lift herself up off the bar. She shouldn't be hitting her thighs if she pushes up.

 

[BlairBob]

The rear leg's thigh will still push against the bar.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I have thin foam pads on all my bars (wood and metal) for that very reason. The girls can slide them over and use them any time they need them. Can't imagine teaching bars without them. Does your gym have any?

probably not...they're trying to make them tough you know...

 

[2G1B]

probably not...they're trying to make them tough you know...

Yeah, I looked at the bars the other day and didn't see anything like that on them. I have noticed that there is something on the bar that they put on for the kids when first learning giants so that it kind of spins around as the kid goes around without their hands having that friction; but I have only seen that when learning giants. The normal bars don't have anything on there.

She seemed to do better at practice on Wednesday - no new burns. She said it didn't even hurt after practice, so maybe she is starting to do it correctly.

 

[Hayleigh]

I'm in the uk so we don't compete the mill circles but we learn them for fun so I've never had this exact problem. But in my upstarts (kips) and over shoots I have a tendency to bash my shins up. I find the chalking works but have a friend who tapes her shins to prevent this so you could try something like that