Practice and Conditioning

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Catya

I thought it would be a good idea to post up some practice and conditioning routines we've done or are doing. I think sharing training how-tos will help since most of us adults are in open workouts or don't get coached as much as we like. And it'll help new gymnasts get an idea of what to do. I know there are some gyms who let adults in but don't coach them and that can suck; especially if you're new to the sport.

Plyometrics (at the park)
5 uphill sprints
30 bunny hops forward (uphill)
30 bunny hops backward (uphill)
20 tuck jumps
20 block jumps
30 squat jumps (up a flight of stairs)
20 single leg block jumps (up a flight of stairs or up and down a low step)
20 jumps off a step with a full turn
At the gym I do split and switch leg leaps in place of the sprinting

Conditioning Exercises (at home)
15 v-ups
15 push-ups
15 dips
20 hollow rocks
20 arch rocks
20 pike-ups
20 hip raises (butt-ups)
20 squats in releve
20 releves
20 back extensions
handstand hold against a wall as long as I can
At the gym I add:
12 pull-ups
12 leg raises at the stahl bars
20 hug-a-twinkies

I do 2-3 sets for the exercises I'm strong enough to do, and 1 set for the ones I'm weaker at. Some days, when I'm really tired I do less of everything but I try to condition every day.

*may not apply to your training capacity. adjust to your own levels*
 
Thank you so much for the conditioning exercises. I've been thinking about having a Thread like this for a while. I think it will really help. Last night at gymnastics I was working on beam and floor and the one coach told me it was looking pretty good but I just needed more conditioning for the legs and ankles. Since I work out all the time I thought I was pretty strong but once I tried some of the conditioning he gave I realized how weak my ankles were and that I certainly do not block off my legs like I need to when I tumble. Well since this thread is to list conditioning:

(this is at the gym):
  • 20-50 block jumps
  • jump rope for 1 minute keeping knees pretty much straight, just use feet
  • handstand block off springboard trying to land with feet in front of you
  • powerhurdle roundoffs over a thin matt about chest high (hands in front, feet landing on other side again feet in front)
  • using a bar on the floor kick to handstand & hold 30-50 sec.
  • Releve walk on beam holding dowel stick over head, feet turned out, get to the end of the beam & pivot turn walk back the same hold & lower & lift heels 10x & then pivot turn 2 times back & forth hold each side for 2 sec.
 
This is a conditioning exercise I use with my high school team girls. It is challenging, works all the muscles, and you can do everything at home.



BAKERS DOZEN


12 LUNGES EACH LEG
12 CRUNCHES
12 REGULAR PUSH-UPS
12 ANKLE TOUCHES (PUSH DOWNS W/O A PARTNER)

11 SQUAT JUMPS
11 CRUNCHES
11 WIDE PUSH-UPS
11 V-UPS

10 TOE RAISES EACH LEG
10 CRUNCHES
10 TRIANGLE PUSH-UPS
10 BICYCLES

9 LUNGES EACH LEG
9 CRUNCHES
9 REGULAR PUSH-UPS
9 ANKLE TOUCHES

8 SQUAT JUMPS
8 CRUNCHES
8 WIDE PUSH-UPS
8 V-UPS

…7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1



~START AT 12 AND GO DOWN TO 1, THEN START AT 1 AND GO BACK UP TO 12~



HOLD FOR A MINUTE EACH…
  • SPLITS (LEFT, RIGHT, MIDDLE)
  • WALL SIT
  • HANDSTAND HOLD
  • ELBOWS & TOES
 
lol...

You lie on your back in a hollow position and slowly bring your legs up to horizontal then bring them back down again, w/o letting your legs touch the floor.
 
lol...

You lie on your back in a hollow position and slowly bring your legs up to horizontal then bring them back down again, w/o letting your legs touch the floor.


ohh i see... so it's like a v-up, but you don't bring your hands to your toes?
 
If you guys have extra money, for $29.95 you can get this awesome video that has helped me on beam SO much..its about an hour worth of drills that I do on my low beam at home. You need a resistance band for your legs, and a low beam is ideal, but they would help if done on a line as well. I can't speak highly enough of it. Beam probably went to my worst event to my best because of this video.

It's the one called 'its all about stability.'

Gym Smarts

I mention this because, as kylie reminded me, I am very strong, but my ankles and legs especially in regards to beam not so much.
 
Some of my favorites:

Legs

hamstring push-ups, hook toes under sofa, kneel on a pillow, keeping your body straight from knee to head, lower yourself down to the floor and catch yourself w/ your arms, then push yourself up only as little as you need to be able to come up the rest of the way w/ your legs.
YouTube - HAMSTRING PUSH UPS

Great for preventing hamstring pulls and for heel drive on vault, casts, and front tumbling.


Abs

Hands behind head (harder) or under hips (easier) straight leg leg lifts right into reverse crunch w/ straight legs. This is good for kips on bars. Then go right back into the next leg lift, etc. Do not leg your feet drift over your belly; keep them over hips.


Arms

Clapping pushups, on knees (easier) or feet (harder). One clap between each.


Handstands

Handstand shoulder taps, try to do as many as you can in a row. Make sure you shift your weight from hand to hand. Also, one arm handstands against the wall--if you're new to this, just 'shift' your weight without actually lifting other hand, then go to fingertips, etc.

You can get lots of great ideas from here: (college gymnasts conditioning)
Workouts on Gymnastike
 
Yes, they are jus like V-Ups, but you don't lift your back off the ground, instead you stay in a hollow position
OK, I get it now! lol! I do pike-ups sitting up an L position.

These are some "cheater" v-ups I did to work up to the full exercise.

Modified V-Up 1
Start lying on your back in a hollow position and do an N-up (a.k.a tuck-up). Extend your legs to the v-up position. To make it harder, raise your arms until they're parallel to your extended legs.

Modified V-Up 2
Start lying on your back and raise your legs, feet pointing to the ceiling. Try not to drop the legs to much as you raise your arms and torso to the v-up position.

Modified V-Up 3 (Half V-Ups)
Start lying on your back with your knees up. Raise your arms over your head and lift your body up trying to keep straight rather than curling like a sit-up. Lower your body but don't touch the floor. Straighten your legs to the ceiling. Lower your legs. Relax
 
I ordered "A Day In The Gym Video Series Level 8 Workout" from USA Gymnastics many years ago. It showed the kids conditioning "warm-up" exercises before they split up to work all 4 events. After watching just their conditioning warm-up, I was so exhausted I wanted to sleep for two days! Unreal! It's no wonder growing gymnasts have so many overuse injuries. Anyways, it's great to see what everyone does for conditioning. On top of the usual gymnastics conditioning, there are a few things I would do at home to work at being stronger than my younger competitors.
1) Ballet leg lifts, front, back, side, with ankle weights (when regular lifts got too easy)
2) Aerobics with ankle weights attached under my knees for 20 minutes
3) Hanging on a bar straight arm pulls with ankle weights around my waist made my straddle cut catches super high and strong
4) Rebound tuck jumps with ankle weights
5) Needle scale lifts with ankle weights
6) Pulling a sled with wood in it uphill in the snow (in winter, of course)
7) Stadium stair running
 
Some of my favorite motion stretches...

Front split with back bending
Sit in the splits and bend backwards and forwards, keeping the torso straight as possible when bending forward. I usually do 20-50 of these. Bend same arm to same leg and opposite arm to opposite leg.

Center split with side bending
Same as above but bending side to side.

Scale stretch
Reach behind your head and grab your ankle in a scale. Rock back and forth while holding onto a beam or stahl bars with the other hand. Do these with same arm to same leg and opposite arm to apposite leg.
 

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