WAG just started gymnastics and need advice

[estella]

Ok guys...I really need some help and advice.

I started gymnastics 10 months ago. I always kept fit at home, did some strength work and stretched.
I have all my oversplits, walkovers, tic-toc, round-off back tuck, running front tuck, standing back tuck, back handpring, front handspring, kip, back hip circle, baby free hip, straight arm back extension roll. I can do a straddle press handstand from a stand and can also press up on beam.

I can't explain how much I love this sport. I always wanted to do something, I tried ballet, soccer, basketball but never really liked anything until I found this. OMG, it is sooo amazing I am literally addicted to it!!!!!!!

Now my question:
I am 21 years old and studying, so I can spend about 2-3 hours a day on training, 6 days a week.
Gymnastics requires flexibility, strength and skills.
I definitely already have the flexibility to do higher skills. I am working on my strength as well and this is actually the easier part of the game. I just keep doing my conditioning program at the gym and I am progressing.

But now to the tricky part: skills. I made a quite quick progress although I am just in training 10 months. But I guess, although I have a strong will and work hard, as skills get harder, progress will also slow down.
I am this kind of person who always needs to set herself ambitous but realistic goals to stay motivated and keep going and really work hard. So now I am at this point.
I am thinking about some routines I could have in some years. I want to write them down and always look at it to remember what I am working for! (I always do that)

But I have absolutely no idea what is realistic! Ok, I guess it might not be a triple twist on floor but also not just a RO BH BT. Must be something in between!

I want to get to the point where I have really cool skills that challenge me which I could keep for at least the next 15 years (I want to be one of the teacher who can still do all this great stuff!).

I can work out 6 days a week 3 hours a day for the next 6 years and I could still train on afterwards if I want to.

Could you tell me your opinion what my routines on the 4 events could look like in some years?

Thank you!

 

[Lydia]

For your first goal, if you don't want something as easy as a ROBHBT, then maybe try a ROBHBL, or a running front layout. If you still think this is too easy, maybe try a ROBHBL with a half/full twist? Or a aerial round-off (not sure what it's called) hope this helped xx PS: you must be AMAZING at the sport if you have been doing it 10 months and can do all that! I've been doing it for 7 and can hardly do a proper roundoff! Xx


Lydia

 

[Aussie_coach]

Its important to have small realistic short term goals as well as bigger long term goals.

Eg set the goal to achieve round off, back handspring back tuck, kips, front handspring vaults etc in the short term. Then your triple twist in the long term.

If you just have long term goals you may find you become overwhelmed and are always a long way from what you want. If you just have short term goals you may lose motivation once you achieve them.

Are you going to compete? Its a great goal to continue in the sport for 16 years but it can help to have other outlets for your skills to work towards. Right now it is new and fresh and you are learning lots of skills. But to keep yourself motivated over the years it really helps to have a reason. To have something you plan to do with all these hard earned skills.

 

[estella]

Thanks for your reply, Aussiecoach!

Yes of course, I do have some
short term goals which I wrote down already. For example: until February I want to have RO BH BT, a straddle cast handstand, pike-on, FH FH... and then in 1 year I want to have a cast handstands, high free hips, RO BH BL etc.

I am more thinking about where I should stop. I know, there can be sooo much that comes into my way. It depends on so many things! Maybe it's an injury that unables me to train, maybe I don't want to train anymore, maybe I make such a big progress that I get to the Olympics (haha). Everything is possible.

But I suppose that I will only have minor achea and pains, I will train 15hours a week, always be motivated and make steady progress. What can I expect or what should I expect? I mean, I don't know how hard a double back or double twist really is and I don't know if it's possible for an "old" lady? At the moment, it's unbelievable for me. But once I got my RO BH Full, is it a lot harder? When I have decent cast handstands, how hard are pirouettes? Or giengers and jägers? Thats what bothers me right now...

I definitely want to get to Level 7
in about 2-3 years. But I don't know if I can expect to go further or not....

I would appreciate your opinion once again!

 

[LucyTRA]

I don't think you should be worrying about your age. You love it and you're capable right now. I really started in gymnastics (after getting kicked out of artistic at 6 or 7 and doing a few months of trampoline shortly after) when I was 18, doing trampoline. At first I thought I would never compete or really get anywhere because I was 'too old' but I turned out to be wrong. One of my friends is 64 and still competing!

If there are skills you want to master, then set that as a goal. I don't think that you should limit those goals because you are 21 (me too, by the way). If you don't quite get there, you will still have fun trying! And if you don't shoot for those skills, you will never get them.

 

[estella]

I don't think you should be worrying about your age. You love it and you're capable right now. I really started in gymnastics (after getting kicked out of artistic at 6 or 7 and doing a few months of trampoline shortly after) when I was 18, doing trampoline. At first I thought I would never compete or really get anywhere because I was 'too old' but I turned out to be wrong. One of my friends is 64 and still competing!

If there are skills you want to master, then set that as a goal. I don't think that you should limit those goals because you are 21 (me too, by the way). If you don't quite get there, you will still have fun trying! And if you don't shoot for those skills, you will never get them.

Thank you for your answer!


Yes I guess you are right. I just looked at all the different skills and I think I have come to a conclusion.

After I successfully mastered RO BH Full and FH FL FT I can work on double backs, double twists and front twists. I think I will only be doing them into pit out of fun, because I guess the sticking is definitely the hardest part of it and I kind of have the feeling that this is out of my reach, I mean, there are girls doing it for yeeeaaars since they were little kiddies and still don't get it - why should I? I would be satisfied with doing them into pit.

I guess the same counts for tsukahara. I read a lot about it and many people say it's super hard and you have to be very powerful. So I think doing a piked one into pit would be great already, and of course, a nice front handspring and 1/2 on 1/2 off!

For bars (my favourite!!!) I may go for more. So once I have good free hips and cast handstands, I might try doing half pirouettes, paks and stalders but I think I will never get to a katchev, a jaeger or a full pirouette and front giants.

And on beam I would go for a back handspring, maybe two in a row and a back tuck. Also aerial and RO Pike Dismount.

What do you think about that?

I want to stay realistic so I am not disappointed afterwards. Why should >I< get that far, when there are kids who train for their entire life, have the best coaches and still not get there?! I mean, I have a strong will, I am ambitous in everything I do and I work hard. But I doubt that double piked, katchevs or tsuks are possible!

On this, and on other forums, I read that many kids are stuck at Level 8 for years, whereas progression to L7/8 usually happens gradually with good coaches and hard working athletes.
Maybe I should orientate on this and L8 should be my goal? I think that L8 are also skills that are not so extremely hard on the body and I have a good chance of keeping them until I am 40 or so?

I would appreciate your opinion once again!

 

[Aussie_coach]

Age is irrelevant. It is your level of strength, fitness and flexibility that is important.

Why would you want to put a limit on what you should do? Just keep progressing.

 

[Gymkateer]

Age is irrelevant. It is your level of strength, fitness and flexibility that is important.

Why would you want to put a limit on what you should do? Just keep progressing.

This is very true.

The gymnast in the video is in her 50s and learned these skills as an adult. So I'd have to say go ahead and aim high. Decide which skills you want to learn and find out what drills you need to do in order to learn them. You might not get them all but I bet you get some.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

 

[Gymkateer]

Trying to figure out if this is encouragement or a discouragement. To me, that song is kind of cryptic. The actually lyrics seem dreamy so you could be saying something positive like "hold on to your dreams!" or something negative like "keep dreaming!" Lots of people think the song is about drugs. So, you could also be saying something really nasty like "you are totally on drugs if you think that's gonna happen!"

 

[Deleted member D3987]

humor...NOT drugs.

 

[estella]

humor...NOT drugs.

hey dunno, I always love your comments and take your opinion very seriously!

I would love to hear your real opinion, because I also don't know what you want to say with that?!

I want to set myself real goals, thats why I am posting here. I don't think I will ever throw a double back or full on floor, but it would be really cool into pit and just a full on floor. Same for bars and beam. I might not do jägers, katchevs or front giants, but free hips to handstad, giants and some pirouettes would be cool. I might not do a tsuk or yuri, but a good FH over vault and maybe tsuk into a soft mat...

I would really appreciate your reply!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

work your butt off! some, not all, things are possible in gymnastics. the song reminded me of how the enthusiasm of a kid doing gymnastics is sometimes like looking thru "kaleidoscope eyes".

 

[estella]

work your butt off! some, not all, things are possible in gymnastics. the song reminded me of how the enthusiasm of a kid doing gymnastics is sometimes like looking thru "kaleidoscope eyes".

Thanks for your comment. Yes, I think double backs, yuris and front giants are things that are not possible for me so thats why I am asking here!