Why do bars seem to be hardest event?

[vagymmomma]

There have been a number of posts over the past couple years on needing help on bars. I also notice at DD's gym that bars seem to be the lowest scoring apparatus and the one to hold girls back. What is it about bars that makes it more of a struggle than the other events? Bars is actually my DDs best event (she just learned cast to handstand in a matter of hours), but I wouldn't say she has a typical gymnast body (she's got so-so shoulder flexibility but great strength). It just seems strange when I see girls where floor and beam seems to come so easily, yet they struggle on bars. Is there a general pattern for most girls on best/worst apparatus as they progress through the levels (e.g. if you do well on floor at L4/5 does that continue)? I know there's no right answer -- just curious.

 

[ejgymmom]

My daughter has always done pretty well on bars. She got her pullover and back hip circle pretty early and has been working on the mill circle and dismount for the Level 3 routine. She's got average strength I guess, not the best in her group and not the worst either. I have no idea whether she has good shoulder flexibility or not. What determines that?? She's always liked bars the best of everything I think. Bars and floor are the two she does the best on. Beam and Vault...not so much. She's still got some fear on beam that keeps her from really doing much and vault...well she just can't run. LOL...she likes vaulting, but the girl can't run. My husband keeps trying to take her out to "teach" her to run, but she runs like she has all the time in the world to get from point A to point B. It's kind of funny.

Anyway, it would seem to me that bars and beam would be the two events that would give the most trouble, at least at an early age. I think as they progress all 4 events have different difficulties that some girls will find easy and others will not.

 

[Bella's Mom]

Bella's best apparatus is bars too. She has pretty good shoulder flexibility and incredible strength. She worked for almost 8 months on her mill circle but got her FHC in just a few classes. She is usually one of the first in her group to get a new skill. On floor, she is a good tumbler but isn't "graceful" at all. Doesn't have the pretty gymnast hands or the natural grace. Her coach has to show her how to place every single part of her body, nothing innate for her in this department. But she has been the first in her age group for back handspring and taught herself a back walkover in about 15 minutes after watching the L6s work them.

So for my daughter, the pattern has been strength over artistry. Beneficial in some areas, detrimental in others.

 

[Sparky]

It's not the lower levels that are an issue - it's the higher level skills that become problematic for a lot of gymmies . My dd is also very strong with adequate shoulder flexibility and has always done well on bars - she is now at an equivalent to L9/L10 and is learning release moves - things seem to be moving a lot more slowly now, LOL - all in good time, I am sure, but bars definitely are a bug-a-boo for lots of them!

 

[vagymmomma]

Bella's Mom -- DD definitely fits the strength over artistry pattern, but she's somehow managed to far exceed all her coaches expectations through sheer determination and a pure passion for the sport. I'm truly in awe of all DD has accomplished.

Sparky -- since you have more years of experience in the sport, do you see another apparatus as causing more struggle at the optional levels than bars? (DD's a new L6 so I haven't got to experience that yet).

There's no arguing that the lower level bar requirements can't compare to optionals, but I've seen the mighty kip destroy the dream of many a gymnast. I haven't seen any other skill/apparatus that seems to be such a barrier. Fear and injuries are probably greater challenges than the skills themselves though.

 

[NGL780309]

I think bars is the hardest for most girls because well, it's the hardest. It's the least like the other 3 events. It requires more strength, especially core strength. It also takes longer in general to learn skills on bars. I know a lot of girls that could be a few levels ahead of where they are on floor and beam, but on bars forget it.

I don't think being good at L3 or L4 bars means that a child will necessarily excel on that event. That being said, bars was one of my DD's stronger events in L4 too and I think once she's had a bit longer working the Level 5 skills, it will end up being a strong event for her. Vault is her worst at the moment and I don't see that changing. She was starting to vault pretty well in L4, but the L5 vault is hard for her, especially being so tiny. She could compete L5 right now on beam and floor and score pretty well, but when it comes to bars and vault I'm happy she has a lot more time. I think that's normal because looking around our gym it's the same for almost every girl.

 

[Gymnasticgrandkids]

Bars used to be a struggle for my younger DGD...but then she broke her foot and therefore could only work on the bars. I would not recommend this method of getting better, lol, but for my DGD this has now become her best event...

 

[gymdog]

Almost everyone will have trouble on bars in L9 and 10. The release skills just don't come easily and can be scary. Many girls also deal with dismount fears that can be really difficult to work around. I was a natural on bars in L8 and scored 9.6s, won states, etc. L9 was still HARD (and this was when you could do Cs in L8 and I was already competing the double back dismount). I do not have any flyaway fears myself nor do I ever pull in so it wasn't an issue. But correctly catching and kipping out of a pak is going to be difficult whether or not you find it that scary. And there is a struggle for endurance on this event as many girls will do a combination well but struggle at the end of a routine to do the same combination. It takes a lot of work and there is no "rest period" to catch your breath in a bar routine. It is the most unlike the other three events which share a fair amount in common and skills can transfer. Also, bars is a long time in development and I have seen girls who switched into better programs late struggle for the rest of their career playing catch up because they never properly developed swing basics and confidence because they did not spend enough time on the proper timing of things before being pushed to "try" harder skills.

Also, while, say, beam can be very scary, peeling off bars is just as scary. And the risk goes up when the proper instruction and progressions isn't there. But at the low levels also there are bar problems and this is due to the general strength level required and also the timing which is not very forgiving. There are tons of people who can do back handsprings and back tucks who will never do a giant, in other words, and a giant is considered a very basic skill on bars for a L8, 9, 10 gymnast.

 

[Sparky]

Gymdog, I agree completely, at the end of the day I believe (generally speaking of course) that the gymnast who is given proper instruction along with very detailed progressions will be the stronger bar worker. It pains me to see (at our gym, too) some coaches "rushing" the athletes along and cranking out gymnasts who can do, for example, a double back dismount and free hip to handstand, but their form isn't great (peeling like a banana up to handstand, I hate that!, LOL). I can't help but wonder how far they will manage to get when they have to progress beyond this point since it would appear that strong basics aren't there.

vagymmomma, in my limited experience I do believe that for most bars is most problematic - the sheer strength and timing required is difficult for a lot of girls. As gymdog said, many gymnasts master the back tuck on beam, but those release moves/pirouettes, etc. are skills that some of them never master to the point of being able to perform them in a routine.

 

[Aussie_coach]

For many gymnasts bars are the easiest.

I think for women bars is a unique event. Vault is basically running and tumbling over an object. Floor is tumbling and dance, beam is tumbling and dance. But bars is totally different, you don't run or tumble or dance, it relies heavily on upper body strength, core strength and body rhythm.

Some body types find bars easier, some find bars harder. Also bars needs to be trained differently to other apparatus and some gyms and coaches will do it better than others.

 

[Kiwi]

From what I'm seeing in my DD's class, there are kind of two groups. Big generalisation here, but there are those who tend to be more muscular-looking, who are better at keeping a tight body, but struggle with flexibility skills such as walkovers, they do well on bars and vault. Then there are those girls who are slender and very flexible, who do well on beam and floor, but tend to struggle on bar and vault. It can't be just about strength, because some of these girls test stronger than my DD, it seems to be more about being able to stay tight. I love the bars, and so does my DD, however we are only doing beginner skills.

 

[iluvgym]

I think bars at the upper levels is harder because of poor basics. Many, many, gymnasts in the US at least don't spend enough time on conditioning and body shaping at the lower levels due to time constraints in the gym (meaning we don't bring our little kids into the gym 25-30 hours per week due to things like real life and going to school, etc). Many gyms make the mistake of "it's not in the level 3 or 4 or 5 routines, so we don't work it".

Like someone said upthread, you can kind of fake it and be a good vault and tumbling gym (no offense to the great vaulters and tumblers here!) but to be great at UB/BB as well you need to have good basics and technique and can't just sneak by on power and poor basics as easily as you can on FX/V.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

For me, bars is simpler since I am not a very good tumbler. Vault is OK since I'm just doing a front handspring, but floor has always been hard and beam is getting harder now that I have to do flight skills consistently. I am very artistic and I am one of the best dancers in the gym, so it's a shame I can't back it up with good tumbling. But on bars, I don't have to worry about tumbling. I have a lot of trouble with my cast handstand (mechanics, not strength) but circling skills and straddle backs come very naturally to me. I joke that I'll have my straddle back to handstand before my cast!

 

[mustlovejumping]

I'm still only working on level 5 skills, but bars comes easiest to me. I've always had really good core and upper body strength. I've had a lot of quality time with bars because of my ankle injury, but I was better at bars even before that.

 

[vagymmomma]

Regarding the comment above about not enough focus on body shaping, are the current and planned compulsory routines designed to allow gyms focus on key body shaping requirements? In particular, it seems like including skills like the mill circle in the level 4 bar routine is distracting gyms from focusing on what is likely needed for higher level advancement.

 

[B Gymnast]

Nicki: Around here it seems that the girls who are lean annd flexible are better at bars and beam, and the girls who are more muscular are better at vault and floor.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

bars is to girls as pommels is to boys...

 

[mustlovejumping]

B Gymnast~ Haha I'm lean but muscular and I'm good at bars and vault...so maybe there really is no major pattern

 

[gymdog]

bars is to girls as pommels is to boys...

Yes!!!

I'm sure bars might be easy at the lower levels for some due to sheer strength, but I can't think of many people (actually, I can't think of any, but I'm sure there are some out there...law of large numbers and all that) who thought bars was the easiest event after about level 8. Just like with circles, at some point strength is sufficient but it is technique and mechanics that are so important. It takes many, many years of practice to achieve proficiency even on the basic swinging skills.

 

[Granny Smith]

As my dd's HC always says, "Bars is it's own animal, it's own sport!"

I will always remember that my dd was the last to get her kip going into Level 5. I remember see quite a few 6.8s on bars in Level 6. But then something happened, bars just seemed to click, it became her thing at Level 7 and has been ever since. It really does come down to basics and shapes. A properly done giant always stands out to me, that hollow shape. I just came home from Easterns and I still saw some sway back giants and this is at L9. I also saw quite a few double back that the 1st flip was either equal to or just below the high bar, I wondered how they actually were able to land it. So often it is bars that brings the girls scores down at L9 and L10, but thankfully my dd looks to bars to bring her score up.

To excel at the higher levels you also have to have bonus too and that is a struggle going from L8 to L9 now, besides needing a release move. At Level 9, the girls have to be able to connect skills and have them hit HS to get the credit. Very, very different from every other event.