Weighing your gymnasts?

[gymgurl]

I was wondering how common this is, it is not done at our gym but my coach said that where she used to train they were weighed in once a month and had a certain percentage they were supposed to lose each month (this was only about 4/5 years ago). Is this a common practice? do you think that there is any benefit to doing this? whats your opinion?

 

[sally]

Hell no unless you want to promote eating disorders

 

[Northstar2400]

I have also heard about gyms doing this. Our gym never ewighs us but if our coach notices that we are gaining like a lot of weight shell ask us what we are eating latley. But she only tells us that we need to watch what we eat a little closer. But if she sees that youve lost a lot of weight you wont be able to practice. I myself weigh myself at home everday to see where I am and if I need to watch what I eat a little more. We have never had a girl with an eating order at our gym so I feellike how we do it is going pretty good for us. She also never says anything to a girl under 12.

 

[gymnastbeth]

no no no no no.

 

[Optionals United]

no no no heck no. My coach is sort of a health freak though. well.. actually she is a health freak so she always reminds us to eat healthy and not just junk food, but it is ok to have it once in a while. she keeps tabs on what we eat at our 5 minute break to make sure its not candy,chocolate,and stuff like that. stuff that is going to help us for the rest of practice like a power bar. but no never would she weigh us,

 

[gymjoy]

Nope. And if they started I would pull my dd.
The gaining weight thing is not so cut and dry.
I know the coaches at dd's gym have had discussions with older, optional gymnast who they felt where getting a little big or out of shape. It can make their tricks more dangerous, and they are more difficult to spot which could injure the coach. This seldom happens, and the case is usually obvious to all. Mostly dd's coaches are much like Optionals United's coaches - healthy eating with some fun stuff thrown in.

 

[gym law mom]

Absolutely it should not be done at all. Is it still done at some gyms? Yes.

 

[mustlovejumping]

Time to add my dancer's perspective again Dance studios are notorious for having problems with eating disorders. I've been with my dance studio since right after it opened in '96, and the artistic director has had the same policy from then until now; she talks about eating healthy but she will never talk about weight. She also makes it very clear that you will be asked to leave if she finds out you are starving yourself or anything like that, and she has kept her word on that. For her it is much more important to build good character than to make sure everyone has a "dancer's body". The same thing should apply to gymnastics. I'm very lucky to be at a studio like this, and I should also add that we're the best in our area :]

 

[MaryA]

I would pull my daughter in a red hot second. However, last summer she went to a week-long day camp at a different gym with a teammate (they were ages 8 and 9 at the time) and both came home talking about (nonexitant) fat on their thighs, etc. They both swear that weight/fat was never mentioned during the camp, but I had to wonder...

 

[CoachGoofy]

No. No. No. No. No.

And No.

The athlete, her doctor, and her family are the ones who determine a kid's healthy weight. I don't. I don't WANT to know what they weigh. I want to know that they can safely get through all of their skills and practice with enough energy and without looking like they are going to crash.

We talk about nutrition a bit, b/c your food is your fuel, but banning junk food or something just wouldn't HAPPEN here.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

WOW... this really happens in this day and age?? Are these coaches/owners unfamiliar with eating disorders and how easily they can be influenced? I would definitely pull my DD in a heartbeat if this was done at her gym. One of my DD's teammates' has a sister who has been battling anorexia for several years now. It is soooo scary. And it was set off by a few comments by her coach (different sport) talking about how "fat girls" can't do any of the skills required of her sport. Now, keep in mind, this girls was thin to begin with!

I would advise running as far away as you can from ANY gym (or other sports activitiy) where coaches are focusing on weight!!!

 

[GetaGrip]

My coaches talk about how they used to have BMI tests and had to stay in shape a ton. Actually, at my old gym my coach used to weigh us!

Now at my current gym we don't do that stuff, but our coach does talk about how important nutrition is (eating enough protein, filling your body w/ useful stuff and not chips and ice cream 24/7)

 

[Bella's Mom]

Our gym does not do this. We have gymnasts of all body types. We have the long and lankies, the short and muscular, and the stockier, heavier girls. Our HC does stress having a healthy diet and they have some food restrictions during break time. But they are what you would expect: no cake, cookies, candy, etc at the gym.

I see no value in weighing gymnasts. I think gymnastics and weight ends up taking care of itself. If a gymnast's weight (on either end of the "scale") begins to interfere with their performance, they will either fix it or be unable to continue advancing and quit. It's a self-regulating system. If you are a heavy gymnast, don't feel self-conscious, and can do tricks you are happy with then what the heck does it matter what a scale says. On the other hand, if you develop an ED, you will lack the energy to adequately and safely train and HOPEFULLY your coach will bid you adieu.

 

[gymgurl]

Something brought this topic up at gym and my coach said that when they got a knew coach who was from russia (not sure if this had anything to do with it) he would weigh them once a month and each month they had to lose a certain percentage of their weight. He also would tell them muscle weighed no more than fat. I personally believe that it should not be done because it can be very upsetting for somepeople,

 

[coachmolly]

No to weighing, no to commenting on an athletes weight. EVER! I never went to a gym that weighed, but I heard plenty of comments from coaches about how fat I was and the emotional damage remains. I have a ridiculously bad body image and blame most of it on those coaches. Weight should be monitored between the athlete, her parents, and her doctor. That's it. No coach input at all. I'm okay with talking about nutrition to provide adequate fuel for your body, but the minute it crosses over to weight it's dangerous territory.
At one particular gym I had a coach ask, "What, are you looking at how fat you are?", comment that specific girls (myself included) needed extra conditioning, that I was too large to spot (I switched to another gym that did not see that as a problem), hit my stomach, the list probably goes on. After I left they commented to the coaches, one of which was my age and a friend/former-teammate that "Going to a better gym won't help her, she's too fat for anyone to spot." It made me feel like the fattest, most worthless person and I'm not sure that damage will ever go away. I just wish I had known enough to get out of there before things went as far as they did.

 

[MissBear]

I've seen it when visiting a gym and it frightened me. Once a week weigh ins that were recorded on a sheet/chart. The whole culture of this gym was abusive and I do know of one high-level gymnast from there who did develop an eating disorder. Not fun, educational, enjoyable, or any of the other things that gymnastics should be at all levels. If as a coach and adult I was intimidated I can only imagine what it was like for the gymnasts. Another reason why parents must be educated - so they know things like this don't have to come with gymnastics and should not have any part in the sport.

 

[sally]

Something brought this topic up at gym and my coach said that when they got a knew coach who was from russia (not sure if this had anything to do with it) he would weigh them once a month and each month they had to lose a certain percentage of their weight. He also would tell them muscle weighed no more than fat. I personally believe that it should not be done because it can be very upsetting for somepeople,

Actually muscle does weigh more then fat.

 

[fishchimes]

How do they expect gymnasts to lose weight every month? Most gymnasts aren't overweight, and even if they were, they could not continue to lose indefinitely. I have heard of gyms requiring athletes to stay within a certain range (which is not okay either). Bizarre...

 

[Bella's Mom]

One only has to look at college gymnastics to see what kind effect weight has on a gymnast. Most college gymnasts are not what I would call "skinny". Most aren't little girlish, underdeveloped, etc. like you see at the Olympics. They have breasts, waists, hips, some body fat, and lots of muscle. They are able to effectively compete at that level without being stick thin. So you could make an argument that a little extra padding doesn't hurt.

And just to play devil's advocate, I do think there is a reason most Olympic gymnasts are so thin. In order to perform at that level, they simply have to be. Just for the physics of it. You couldn't transport a college gymnast who is more womanly and expect her to effectively compete against the skinny ones. She is at a disadvantage because she has more mass to rotate. The little ones are going to be able to compete those amazing twists and turns in the air more quickly than a college gymnast.

So I guess if you were a gym that really pushed the Olympics and you trained gymnasts specifically for that, then yeah, you might be able to justify a weekly weigh in or whatever. Weight by itself is not evil. It's just a number. But when that number is used to tear down girls and teenagers, then it becomes a weapon and that isn't okay...olympics or not.

 

[Bella's Mom]

How do they expect gymnasts to lose weight every month? Most gymnasts aren't overweight, and even if they were, they could not continue to lose indefinitely. I have heard of gyms requiring athletes to stay within a certain range (which is not okay either). Bizarre...

Yeah. LOL....kinda sucks if you come weighing 105.