WAG BT height-nurture or nature?

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Mrs. Puma

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I believe the fast twitch muscles are involved in getting good height on BT (and other skills)? Clearly some people are more naturally talented in this department, but can anyone train these muscles and become just as good? I don't believe Puma nor I (both quasi-athletes lol) have naturally good fast twitch muscle. Puma Jr. has been able to "do" a BT for over 2 years now, and it is getting better, but some of her teammates (especially the higher levels) seem to just float...I feel like they look on floor how she looks on tumble track. I cannot fathom this kid ever doing a double back! I'm not worried about it, just curious :) (yes I trust in the coaches, I promise! Lol)
 
I'm not sure but I would think any kind of leg conditioning or cardio would help. Cardio for that endurance to get a really fast run.

Be careful what you wish for though. DD's back tuck has a lot of power, too much lol, she sometimes takes 2-3 steps out of it And she tends to go really high with it and lands short (right where she started it) instead of pushing out. I'm sure that's some kind of deduction. Isn't everything? ROFL. But she can't harness any of that power to get her leaps up to 180 lol.
 
No matter how many hours most gymnasts train, they won't be as powerful as Simone Biles. So yes, some of it is genetic. However, good technique can often times make up for lack of power. So, even if Puma Jr. isn't super powerful, she should be able to learn a nice high back tuck if the roundoff back handspring and the take off position are correct.
 
No matter how many hours most gymnasts train, they won't be as powerful as Simone Biles. So yes, some of it is genetic. However, good technique can often times make up for lack of power. So, even if Puma Jr. isn't super powerful, she should be able to learn a nice high back tuck if the roundoff back handspring and the take off position are correct.
Thanks! Yes, I have a feeling she shan't be Simone Biles...lol! Her BT has gotten a lot better now that she's learning how to set. Hopefully more improvment to come! :)
 
For many reasons, umm mostly having a blended family. I ponder nature vs nuture, a lot.

The reality is it is a bit of both, some can be mitigated. And it all comes down to doing your personal best.

Because there is plenty of nature talent not realized. And a ton of not so genetic talent that has kicked umm whatever because they did the work and parents nutured that.
 
Thanks! Yes, I have a feeling she shan't be Simone Biles...lol! Her BT has gotten a lot better now that she's learning how to set. Hopefully more improvment to come! :)
And she can train to develop more power as well. And to learn to use what she has.
 
Our coach says yes. You can train more explosive moves and over time the muscles will develop more fast twitch fibers.....but only up to a certain point. IOW, they will only be explosive to a point......the naturally explosive kids don't have to think about it.
I betcha Puma stays on beam though!!!

I have a slow kid. She has to REALLY work for the explosion. Vault, well......meh........... But she hardly ever falls off beam. Gotta take the good with the bad.
 
basically every person can get much more explosive by training accordingly (which means mostly max strength work including weights and this can be done without gaining too much unwanted mass). but there is a big but: really explosive people are born like that. even if they do not train a day in their live they will always and again beat a very well trained slow kid in explosive events like 40y dash or standing long jump, throwing a heavy ball over <our head for distance and the like. so yes, speed kills, and sprinters (and jumpers) are born, not made, as the track people say. you can not get really fast if you are not very fast to start with, but you can get much faster given you work hard.
 
One thing working in favor of the kids who are not quite as naturally explosive is that because of having less power, they need to rely a bit more on solid technique. So I've found it's not uncommon for a "slower" kid to actually grasp the mechanics of a power skill, or even learn the skill correctly much quicker than their much more explosive teammates. I've had 2 kids lately- one is an exceptionally gifted quick twitch kid who will undoubtedly be spectacular at her sport of choice and another who is not quite as incredible, but quicker than average- both have struggled with learning a technically correct back tuck (standing and ro-bhs-back tuck) because they are so powerful they can just throw themselves any which way and still manage to land on their feet. I am constantly taking them back to drills to help them get the feel for the skill.
At the other end, I have a girl who is a very slow runner/tumbler who was the first to get her ro-bhs-back tuck (correctly) because she had to be much more conscious of what her body was doing.
 
How much of it has to do with their size? Will the tumbling get bigger once they get taller/heavier?
 
My kid has never been explosive. She relies on good technique for tumbling. Like when you hit the ground out of your roundoff/bhs or fhs at just the right time and body position, while setting up for the next skill in the exact way/body position the coaches' corrections tell you to, it is possible to generate the power needed for the skills. Kids w/ a lot of power just have the luxury of not having to do everything precisely correct to initially "get" those type of skills cause they can compensate for any early technique issues w/ their power, but w/ practice and good coorections less powerful kids can catch up reasonably soon.

Kind of like those kids who have amazing upper body strength who are able to get their kips sooner because they can muscle them up and compensate for technique issues.
 
My gymmie is not very fast twitched, but she was a decent tumbler. Had nice high floaty BLO's. Could easily do a 3/2 twist, was landing double twists onto a mat, etc. when she retired. I'm pretty sure she never would have done double layouts, but it looked like double tucks were coming along nicely before she retired. I do think proper technique helped her tremendously. She wasn't nearly as good of a tumbler until she went to a gym that spent time on basic tumbling (round-offs and BHS especially) even with the highest level girls. Once she had a nice powerful RO and BHS the rest was much easier even being slower twitched. Don't give up on Puma Jr yet. :)
 
My gymmie is not very fast twitched, but she was a decent tumbler. Had nice high floaty BLO's. Could easily do a 3/2 twist, was landing double twists onto a mat, etc. when she retired. I'm pretty sure she never would have done double layouts, but it looked like double tucks were coming along nicely before she retired. I do think proper technique helped her tremendously. She wasn't nearly as good of a tumbler until she went to a gym that spent time on basic tumbling (round-offs and BHS especially) even with the highest level girls. Once she had a nice powerful RO and BHS the rest was much easier even being slower twitched. Don't give up on Puma Jr yet. :)
Thank you! Definitely not giving up. I have to remember there was a day I thought a kip would never come...strangely enough she's a decent twister, at least on tumbletrack, so far. I've been told she has good body awareness? We'll see. I also have to remember we are still only 18 months into the new gym. I guess I thought she'd be further along by now, but I'm trying to celebrate all the little victories. I feel like there's something that need to "click" soon. Maybe it's a maturity thing. Thanks everyone!
 

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