Fun Workouts

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pristinechanges

I’m sure every gym goes through this,

My compulsory girls are burnt out. Practice just isnt fun any more and they have alot of trouble focusing. Their routines are suffering because of it. Now i Know that compulsory is no where near as much as fun as optional, but if I cant get them to get their skis here they can never progress.

I need some fun workouts that incorporate the compulsory level skills and routine bits while letting them have controlled fun.

Also, I need some good conditioning workouts….to where they barely know that they are conditioning.

We just need some fun in our gym.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Candace
 
How about making conditioning a competition. Divide them into teams and award points for things like how many push ups and sit ups they can do in a minute and so on. Add up all the points and have a team winner. Try to mix up the way you do conditioning say one day in a circut, one day with a partner, one day as a whole group and so on.
 
What about choreographing a dance which incorporates some of their conditioning moves but which is to really funky music (they can choose something which they all identify with and/or cant keep still to)? They can then do it all together (as a group) or can perform it individually.

I think this might bring a fun element back if you have not tried this already.
 
I like to have "speed pull over" races. Divide the group into teams and each child does 5 or ten pull overs in a row (feet touch and go right into the next pull over). The winning team gets a prize or gets to select the next conditioning drill. I have also partnered them with an optional sis... this inspires them to work toward the next level.Have their big sis choose the conditioning for the day... sometimes if it comes from someone the girls look up to, it makes them want to do it more!
As far as routines, If they are looking sloppy or like there is not much effort there, I make up "stick it" contests. The individual or group with the most stuck routines gets a prize. I don't know if you have any meets left but I give award prizes for the most improved all around and also if all of the group achieves a goal like "all 9.0's or above on vault" or something like that!
Good luck!
My level 4's are currently being rewarded by taking a limo to state. The goal was for the entire team to qualify at sectionals to go to state! They all did!
I am so proud!
Many of them had all time high scores!
 
We did this great session once: the Cha Cha slide- in a handstand. Obv you don't do all of it- the front and back walks and something else- I can't remember exactly we did it a while ago. But it was great!!!!
 
haha we did the solja boy when it was new. We have two different groups of optionals one with 8s and 9s and the other with 7s 8s and 9s so were like equal in skill level and we were talking about like having a competition against the other group in conditioning to see who would win haha
 
WOW. i wish you were my coach. My coaches are like anti fun, they wont even let us listen to the radio anymore!!!

anyways. Competitions are ALWAYS fun. so maybe if you want to do routines you could divide them into two teams. and each team has to do a ceartin number of routines in a row (as a team, so if one girl goes and makes it and then her teammate goes and falls then they have to start over). But i think they have to be mature enough to not blame the girl who falls and take the competition to far. The winner gets an treat/award like no conditioning today or 10 mins of tramp.

another good one is the "point game" so you can do it individually or as a team. And everytime a girl makes a correction or does something without deduction you give them a point. At the end of each event you write down how many points they had. then at the end you add up their points and see who got the most points throughout the day. winner gets a prize

and for conditioning you could always do those relay races and suicides and a competition. they run to one end of the floor and do 10 tuck jumps or push ups or something.
 
haha, well gymnasticsbarbie, im only 18 so ive still got a little bit of that spirit in me to try and let my girls have fun! we've AWAYS got the radio blaring.

I've done things in the past like "deck of cards", and they pull a card and have to do that many of a certain skill in their routine and if its a king, jack,or queen make it something outlandish and crazy. and we've done "roll the dice" where they ro the dice and do that many....we've had compeitions for how many pullovers in a row can you do and that sort of thing, who can hold a handstand on beam the longest...

recently we've been wearing tennis shoes and working out! haha, they seem to like that.

I tried to do a litte bit of dance with them....like different jazz warm ups instead of the usual "run, stretch, line drills...ect." but they really didnt like it!

But i think that most of them are so young they still arent fully aware of their body the way older [age 11 and up] are.

We let them warm up on beam one day with the "soulja boi" song, and that "cupids shuffle" song. but they get so bored so quickly. Its hard to keep interest! and then if i can keep them interested they wont listen so we have to go back to the yelling and strict no fun ways of working out. They've got a terribe problem with wanting to socialize more than actualy doing gymnastics. Sometimes i feel like their parents want them there more than they wanna be there. :(

Thanks for the help though folks! if you've got any more ideas, let me know! im aways open for suggestions!
 
Lately our coach has let us do mini trap for warm up if there aren't many girls there. work front stuff then run back to the line and things move pretty quickly. It's a nice change and quite a workout if there's three-four people. (wow that shows how small my gym is)

We had lots of fun with handstand contests on the beam one day.

If you're feeling daring set them an easier conditioning assignment and join in. Feel free to be vocal and whine lots and then they can laugh at you when you can't finish the list and you're sore the next practice.
Thats something my coach did but it wasn't to cheer us up. She just didn't realize how long she had been out of gymnastics
 
We used to do different warm ups on the different days of the week:
Monday: Team warm up--the warm up that we did at every meet
Tuesday: Beam warm up-running, jumping, inchworm, pushups, etc on the beam
Wednesday: Tumbletrack warm up--start with the basics and build on them (front tuck bounce front tuck bounce--then split walk on the way back to the line. then 2 front tucks, etc)
Friday: Running/group warm up
Saturday: dance warm up.

Then, we would also do different conditioning work outs on different days.

My coach used to make up different competitions and workouts for us to do during the week so that gymnastics was fun and interesting--such as dividing the team into two groups and each person had to make the first half of their bar routine in a row, then the second half of the bar routine, then a whole bar routine--winners got out of part of the end conditioning.
 
I think a really fun thing to do would be to play surviver on floor. Like when you are warming up for your floor routines, and you are telling your kids what to fix, if they don't fix it the next time you see them, they get kicked off and have to do conditioning. It might sound mean to make them do conditioning but we play that game thing at my gym and it makes our floor routines look a ton better, and everybody works alot harder, and also, ITS FUN! Its like a competition. :)
 
We play this game called Can I Stop Now? where the coach picks something to do- usually leg ups, sit ups or rope climbs, and you can do as many or as little as you want BUT when you stop you have to do twenty press ups a minute for however long everyone else keeps going. Last one wins gets to pick their groups for the next week.
 
Here is a fun one we just did with our Comp girls. They were suffering from the same thing, just totally burnt out. We did a switch day. Our boys (levels 4-6) and girls (4-7) switched. The boys did the girls routines and skills on the girls events, and the girls did the boys skills and routines. Talk about funny! They had a blast, and have already been asking about doing it again. Neither group had any idea of how hard the other events were.

Another good idea, (more for levels 6-7) is have them try the level 4-5 routines. I know my level 7's had a very difficult time with the level 4 bars. If you think about it they haven't really had to try a front hip circle in a while, and the shoot thru, mill circle on bars, was just to funny. They also love to try floor routines with the music. Again, had a lot of fun that practice.
 
haha, well gymnasticsbarbie, im only 18 so ive still got a little bit of that spirit in me to try and let my girls have fun! we've AWAYS got the radio blaring.

I've done things in the past like "deck of cards", and they pull a card and have to do that many of a certain skill in their routine and if its a king, jack,or queen make it something outlandish and crazy. and we've done "roll the dice" where they ro the dice and do that many....we've had compeitions for how many pullovers in a row can you do and that sort of thing, who can hold a handstand on beam the longest...

recently we've been wearing tennis shoes and working out! haha, they seem to like that.

I tried to do a litte bit of dance with them....like different jazz warm ups instead of the usual "run, stretch, line drills...ect." but they really didnt like it!

But i think that most of them are so young they still arent fully aware of their body the way older [age 11 and up] are.

We let them warm up on beam one day with the "soulja boi" song, and that "cupids shuffle" song. but they get so bored so quickly. Its hard to keep interest! and then if i can keep them interested they wont listen so we have to go back to the yelling and strict no fun ways of working out. They've got a terribe problem with wanting to socialize more than actualy doing gymnastics. Sometimes i feel like their parents want them there more than they wanna be there. :(

Thanks for the help though folks! if you've got any more ideas, let me know! im aways open for suggestions!


Ok - I tried to just qoute part of this and obviously it did not work LOL. I was going to comment on the handstand contest on the beam. Our gym does that once a week or every other week. Each level does it. She has Tiara's and the winner of each level is crowned "QUEEN OF THE BEAM" until the next time.
 
One day when my compulsory girls were bored, I made up a game I called "Preschool - Elite".

I asked them to do a skill from their routines as a preschooler would do it. After we all laughed at each other, I then asked them to do the skill as an Elite gymnast would do it. You wouldn't believe the amount of effort they put forth! This works especially well with floor and beam dance elements!

Another "game" we've played on the beam during competition season is "No Wobbles". Each beam was assigned a different skill from their routine (i.e. leap, snap turn, handstand, dismount, etc). The girls lined up at the first beam. They had to complete 2 or 3 of the required skill before they could clear that beam and move on to the next one. If they wobbled or fell, they had to go to the end of the line and repeat the beam. During this time I could also give corrections for helping them stay on the beams, such as hold your belly really tight before you snap turn or turn your toes out when you land your handstand or plie after your jumps. They really listened to the corrections because they didn't want to wobble. They made it their own goal to see who could clear all of the beams first. Then on their next round they got to work skills for the next level!

We've played "Follow the Leader" on beam. Where, again, all gymnasts line up at the first low beam. They do 2-3 of each prescribed skill on each beam and then continue to snake their way through all of the other beams doing the same skill. Just changes it up a bit.
 
It's called a fun week! It may seem hard to do, but if you plan one every once in a while they would feel like they wanted to come to practice! (I'm just going to base it on a four-day week)
BASICS: This is day one of the fun week. Have the girls pick about 3-4 teams depending on the amount of girls from a grip bag. Saying team 1, 2...There should be 4 or more girls per team, you can do 3 if you only have 2 teams with four girls. Have the girls come up with a team name!!! Pick a theme for every day, like Hawaiian Day and everyone wears flower leos, or Gymnasts on the Prowl, where everyone wears an animal print leo and draws an animal paw on their cheek, you can even go psychadelic! Have the girls on the teams try to plan something special for their team-a cheetah hair ribbon, etc. On the last day, though, have them wear your gyms colors. It seems difficult, but if you plan it out on a piece of paper, it MONDAY-
Warm-up: Play storm watchers. When you say tornado, have them get under a mat, when you say hurricane, have them get on top of the mat, when you say flood, have them on some type of equipment other than a mat, when you say earthquake, have them lie down, when you say avalanche, have them run to a certain color mat. However, its a time limit, and when you say time, and someone isn't there, they get to run for the rest of the game around the floor. So, by the end, everyone has warmed up and ran, but after you get eliminated and have run for 5 min, you sit down and stretch. The people stretching get to call out the disasteer now.
Routines: Have points for routines...1 point for hit routine, 2 points straight legs, 3 points stuck dismount, etc. Whoever has the most points at the end, wins that day, and they get a prize. This way they are working on technique, form, and making the routines.
Conditioning: Relay races!!! Cardio and muscles are working. Have them jump over beams, ten push-ups, crawl thru the pit, etc. The winning team doesn't have to do the second set and gets to stretch.
Fun: End with a handstand contest and a back tuck sticking contest. Whoever wins is the back tuck champion or handstand champion and wins a prize, like a pick one conditioning tom that you don't want to do.
TUESDAY-
Warm-up: Have the groups get together and lead their own stretching/warm-ups. Blast some really funky music and the girls will be pumped.
Routines: Today, it's all about sticking your routines with your team. Each team has to stick a certain number in a row (one girl goes, then the next, if they fall start the counting over) and whichever team wins gets to do one less routine tomorrow than everyone else.
Conditioning: It's a contest again!!! Whichever team member gets the most numbers on their conditioning, goes in the battle against team winners. They battle it out, and whoever wins gets a fake medal.
Fun: If you have an moon walk, use it, the team winners from routines get to go in the longest. If you don't use a parachute or something else. After that, play gym ball. You set up bases in the corners of the floor, and someone throws a piece of pit foam, and the person at "bat" must hit it something. The people in field can't use their hands to pick it up and the person running to the base must do a handstand walk. Tons of fun!!!
WEDNESDAY-
Warm up: Have fun on tramp! Have the girls do jumps, flips, and try to stick off the end. For stretching, have them work their jumps.
Routines: Pick one skill from each event. Have all of the girls do it. Have the girls rotate with their teams. Watch each of the skills and say who's was the best (except don't say it like that! say that their's had the least deductions) this person is crowned the queen. Make sure they get little tiaras!!!
Conditioning: Do some easy conditioning today! It's a race to see which team can finish it in the least amount of time. After that (like 7 minutes) take the rest of the time to really do some stretching. Have them stretch in circles with their teams. Let them chat, but work!
Fun:Tell them that tom is the last day, and that it will be about them! Tell them to bring in any music they want. Have them play chicken on the roof with a partner, but make sure it doesn't get out of hand.
LAST DAY-
Warm-up:Have the girls make up routines with the rest of their team. Let them use whatever they want, like ribbons, hula hoops, etc. Have them try to teach everyone else for about 3-5 min each.
Routines: Have the girls make up routines on all events with new skills or whatever they want. After some time of this, have them make up crazy group routines. For the last 5 minutes of each event, let them do whatever they want.
Conditioning: Only do this if you have a good pit. Have the girls climb to the top. Have them climb halfway down and then drop. This is station one. Do the stations with your team. The second station should be a work-out video. The third station should be a video with cool skills. Hae the girls try to make up some of their own. The fourth station is called roll the die. have them draw a card on what the conditioning is. Do the conditioning and the number.
Fun: Have them come up with a team cheer. Have them play volleyball with a workout ball. And leave the gym open for fun and games!!! At the end, have the girls sit down and talk about the week. Have an ice cream party after, and take silly team pictures. Put these on the bulletin board.
AND YOUR DONE...HOPE IT WAS FUN!
 
OH! And i forgot about the last day. Have them make team t-shirts, flip-flops, and a picture frame to put the silly pictures in. Have them eat their ice-cream at the same time. Order pizza and put on a movie. Make sure the parents know to pick them up later.
 
Also, if you have younger girls, you can pair them up with an older girl for the day. Possibly do a big sister/little sister type of thing. You can also hold a crazy day where nobody matches, their leos are funky, and their hair is really messed up!!! You'll get some great laughs!!! If it's the summer time, have a water balloon throwing contest outside. (Start at 50, each time the girls successfully pass it, subtract one number, when it is dropped know the final number...this is the amount of push-ups that they have to do)
 

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