Practicing flips and acro outside of a gym

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Hey guys!Does anyone have any good mat-substitute ideas for practicing acro outside of a gymnastics gym? I can't afford to keep going to an open gym. My progress is slow, I just need to do them over and over on my own. Any and all ideas appreciated. :)
 
Your concern is appreciated, but tbh I know HOW to do a front and back tuck. They are just inconsistent. If I had a couple gymnastics mats I'd be doing them outside. :/ But those suckers are expensive!!
 
It doesn't matter if you can do them 100% safely and correctly, which you can't, you just said they are inconsistent. It is dangerous to do any sort of flip outside the gym. I'm a level 10, I can do a front flip on beam! So I can obviously do them. But I still acknowledge the danger and don't practice them outside the gym.
 
I agree with Flipomaniak. You should definitely not be trying these without a mat, especially if you can't do them consistently. Teaching yourself will most likely lead to you getting hurt, and it will also lead to bad habits that will be very hard to correct later.
 
I guess I shoulda said it earlier or put it in my siggy. :3 I'm a Freerunner. My training in the gym is aimed at taking the moves outside eventually.I was just wondering if anyone had ever considered a good substitute for a mat. X-x I mean, I always do NEW things on a spring floor/tramp/mat in a gym for several weeks first. But I simply can't afford to keep dipping money into an open gym just to get repetition.
 
Oh you're a free runner! You can't possibly hurt youself then! No one here is going to give you advice on how to possibly hurt/kill yourself. I am kind of shocked you haven't been able to come up with any ideas yourself.

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I've seen and had just as many injuries at open gyms as I have in outdoor training, and I've spent way more time outside than in.

I suppose the answer is no, then.
Thanks for listening, my friends.
 
Don't forget many of us are gymnastics coaches, there is only one answer that we can give.

just like an ambulance driver has to take you to the hospital even if its just a minor problem. Because if it turns into a major problem they can be sued for negligence.

The same applies to us, if we reccomend someone goes and does their inconsistent flips at home and then we can be sued too, so you won't ever get it.

Gymnastics mats are expensive because there is limited call for them. They are generally just brought by gyms so the manufacturers do need to make money, as they are not selling hundreds of mats a day. The foam is denser than normal foam so it is more expensive for that reason too. Anything of a poorer quality is not as safe and not as effective.

if your flips are inconsistent, taking them outside at this stage could result in a very serious injury or even death. We do understand that the idea of free running is to be able to do it outside but a good quality free runner would learn the tricks safely and consistently with a teacher before taking them outside.

Open gym is not designed as a chance for you to teach yourself tricks. If there are people doing this at your gym this may be the reason for the I juries. Open gym is designed to compliment a gymnastics class. So the gymnasts train in a class and then use the open gym to get more apparatus time to practice skills that they are already working on with a coach.
 
I have to disagree with you on something Aussie-coach: Where I train, open gym is basically a time for anyone to come and learn skills or practice skills on their own, regardless of gymnastics training. There are three gymnastics coaches (one of whom is also a freerunner) who work the class, and provide feedback and drills if asked, but mainly people just do their own thing. We have people with all sorts of different backgrounds (beginner level gymnasts all the way up to retired elite/national gymnasts and trampolinists, cheerleaders, freerunners, breakdancers, etc).

Runner1900: I agree with everyone else that there are not really any safe substitutes for a mat, so my advice would be to get it as consistent as possible in the gym first, even if it may be expensive. Many of my friends are freerunners who come to our Adult Rec class, and the gym is the perfect place for them to improve their skills before they take them outside. That being said, I've been told sand isn't too bad to land on (I'm constantly being asked to come freerunning with them and when I refuse cause it terrifies me, they tell me 'it's okay we'll do it on the beach first so it won't hurt' :rolleyes: )

Good luck with your tricks, but please be safe!
 
I've seen and had just as many injuries at open gyms as I have in outdoor training, and I've spent way more time outside than in.

I suppose the answer is no, then.
Thanks for listening, my friends.

time for another hobby...:)
 

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