I don't like fat gymnasts

[Deleted member D3987]

^^^ shoot me now...

 

[TXmom]

I was told by my dd's coach that she should lose weight. I basically told the coach that "we will have to agree to disagree on that one." My dd is a Sophomore in HS, is 5' tall and weighs about 100-103#, she is very petite, just recently graduating to a size 0 in jeans! One thing I did agree with the coach is that dd does look puffy in the belly, but it has nothing to do with her weight or strength, but everything to do with her posture. She's banana back and she does show a little buddha belly. I did take offense to the coaches comments, no one wants to hear they're fat or should lose weight. We did discuss it more than what I am telling you, but if a coach feels a child, especially a teen, should lose weight, approach the parent, not the child!

I think the coach was trying to say the right thing (in a non-hurtful way), but it's a bad topic!

Sounds to me like the coach needs a good swift kick in the behind. To even suggest that height and weight needs weightloss is absurd.

 

[MaryA]

I think that sometimes judges judge heavier gymnasts more harshly than other gymnasts. This past weekend at a meet a friend and I were watching her daughter vault. She did a very nice level 4 vault and got a 9.15. Another gymnast, who is a bit rounder, got up and did her vault. Now I'm not a judge and the vault is a fairly illusive thing to me anyway, but I thought the second gymnast's vault looked better, but she scored below a 9. A girl on my daughter's level 6 team is a little heavier, and her scores have been very inconsistant this year. Anybody need a topic for a research project? Would love to know how much the judges perceptions of what a gymnast should look like affect the scores that they give.

And let me add that anyone who suggests that a size zero needs to lose weight, no matter how kindly it is suggested, definitely needs the swift kick that TXmom suggests. I suspect you could get any number of Chalk Bucket parents to line up to give it to him! Tell me where and when and I'll be first in line...

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

One thing I did agree with the coach is that dd does look puffy in the belly, but it has nothing to do with her weight or strength, but everything to do with her posture. She's banana back and she does show a little buddha belly.

Well that is the coaches job to correct her on her posture. They should be providing a conditioning program that will help control the banana back.

 

[wallinbl]

Well that is the coaches job to correct her on her posture. They should be providing a conditioning program that will help control the banana back.

I have one - what would that regimen be (other than to stop slouching in chairs)?

 

[CoachTodd]

Don't get me started on the height - weight ratio b.s.
My daughter was 4'7 and 92lbs. Her waist measured around 18-20" Muscle is quite heavy.
I'm only 5'4" and according to the BMI numbers, I'm Obese at 155lbs even though my waist is about 29".

Instead of telling kids they're "fat" or "need to lose weight", have them condition correctly to increase their muscle mass and get them in better "condition" I've seem folks on The Biggest Loser show that are 3 times my weight and in better cardio shape than I am.

Someone take the coach that calls kids fat outside and run him over.

 

[gymdog]

Sounds to me like the coach needs a good swift kick in the behind. To even suggest that height and weight needs weightloss is absurd.

Uh, yeah, having seen your daughter's videos and pictures I don't really think she even appears anything but small and slim. That is insane. I'm glad you addressed it in no uncertain terms.

 

[BlairBob]

Wallinbl, a lot of this needs to be addressed by corrective posture. And that needs to be 24/7, not just a few hours in the gym.

Lordotic posture will make it appear that a gymnast has a tummy as their belly is out even though they could be rail thin.

BMI is appropriate for sedentary populations and is poor for athletes. Use body fat testing instead.

However, I would not bother with body fat testing any adolescent females (under 20-25) unless you know for a fact they are not gonna go banana crazy (a lot of the collegiate girls in ball sports didn't take it well). It can be justified for someone like Shawn Johnson perhaps to figure out how much she could loose to get into optimal shape.

For coaching any children, pre-teen, tween, and teenagers just use the eyeball calculation of jiggle factor (besides obvious tween/teenager female anatomic shapery). If you're an adult, mirror and jiggle work well until there isn't much jiggle and if you want to start using calipers or hydrostatic or a BodPod.

5' 105 for a gymnasts sounds quite fine. One of my girls was a solid mass between 105-110 at 5' and 10-11. I can't remember how I knew her weight but she was about my height at the time and she probably used it to tease me as her coach.

 

[gymgurl]

I have attempted three times to respond to this post and I am just too mad to form coherent sentences so i am going to quote dunno on this one. "YIKES!"

 

[wallinbl]

Wallinbl, a lot of this needs to be addressed by corrective posture. And that needs to be 24/7, not just a few hours in the gym.

I've been trying to get myself to stop slouching in the chair at work and to start sleeping on my back. I assume those are the kinds of things you're talking about?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

well...for some reason i can't stop thinking about pizza, veal parm & rigatoni & gelato.....

 

[kimskids]

You are making me hungry!! LOL! I am not sure what to think of this whole post. I personally think it is great that there are so many different sizes and shapes in gymnastics. My daughter just turned 10 and happens to be very tiny but that is not always a great thing either. She definitely has trouble with power events especially vault. My daughter gets told she needs to gain weight and as tiny as she is the other day she told me if her belly gets any bigger she is going on a diet! She weighs 52 lbs at 10 and her BMI is in like the 2nd percent! She has a total 6 pack and I don't think there is any fat anywhere on her! When she told me that we had a talk about how much her body needs food with all the working out she does and how if she were to ever start "dieting" at her age and size it would be the end of gymnastics for her!

 

[Danica76]

I have been following this post and I am not even sure what I have to add is relevant or hasn't been said before, but oh well

My 8 y.o. DD is 4'2 and weighs 65 lbs. She has some seriously muscular legs & bottom - a very solid build. I think she looks amazing. She is in great shape. I got the yearly report from her school about her height and weight/BMI. It states that she is in the 85 percentile and at risk for being obese! You know what I did with that paper? I crumpled it up and threw it in the trash, because it's true - the standard BMI chart is just not accurate for kids that do a high level of strength based activity. She is healthy, incredibly fit and I would wager that she could kick some serious butt if need be. I love how she looks. Now, if judges don't score her higher because she doesn't have lines that are aesthetically pleasing, then so be it. I wouldn't change her or want her to change for any score, placement, coach or spectator. She loves gymnastics, I love watching her and that's all that matters

 

[BlairBob]

Again, BMI is not for athletes. It was designed for sedentary individuals in the mid 19th century. That means regular people who did jack diddly. So long as your kids have enough energy in the gym, they're eating enough though if they aren't growing they might not have energy intakes to allow for it. If they are 6 pack lean and mean gymnastic machines, let them eat what they want in reason. I'd watch excess sugar unless you feel like dealing with a sugar laced child bouncing around everywhere.

 

[Danica76]

Again, BMI is not for athletes. It was designed for sedentary individuals in the mid 19th century. That means regular people who did jack diddly. So long as your kids have enough energy in the gym, they're eating enough though if they aren't growing they might not have energy intakes to allow for it. If they are 6 pack lean and mean gymnastic machines, let them eat what they want in reason. I'd watch excess sugar unless you feel like dealing with a sugar laced child bouncing around everywhere.

My DD is one of those bouncy gymnasts - with no sugar added! In fact, at her last meet, one of the other Moms nicknamed her Tigger, because she literally bounces up and down the entire time, while listening intently to her coach give instructions and corrections

 

[momofthreegirls]

I have to add to this...

At our home meet this year, another mom from our gym was sitting at the judges table entering scores. Apparently one of the judges called a girl a "cow" and joked to the other judges that they should give her a 5. This mom has a DD who is overweight (she is the same height as my DD but weighs 30 lbs more -but is still a good gymnast), and it really hurt the mom's feelings. I told her she should tell the meet director in private what was said, because that was disrespectful to that girl. I don't think the mom ever said anything...

 

[wandrewsjr]

I don't think one should ever talk to a child about weight. I can't believe we are now doing it in schools. Do we have an obesity problem in this country? Absotlutely. Should we be telling kids to get their butts of the couch, stop watching TV and playing video games and go outsite and run around? Absolutely. Should we be telling kids that they should choose lean proteins, fruits, vegtables and healthy carbs over cookies/candy/cake/french fries? Yes! Because you can control their activity level and control what they choose to put in their mouth. But weight is something that is not ompletely within a child's, or anyone's, control.

And once you plant that seed in those precious developing brains that they can and should control their weight, it can't be unplanted. And, for some, it can grow into a dangerous obsession with devastating consequences.

 

[BlairBob]

^^^^^

That was an extremely excellent post. A "like" doesn't go really satiate my thoughts on how swell it was.

Once they start judging themselves in the mirror, they are basically screwed for life.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I have to add to this...

At our home meet this year, another mom from our gym was sitting at the judges table entering scores. Apparently one of the judges called a girl a "cow" and joked to the other judges that they should give her a 5. This mom has a DD who is overweight (she is the same height as my DD but weighs 30 lbs more -but is still a good gymnast), and it really hurt the mom's feelings. I told her she should tell the meet director in private what was said, because that was disrespectful to that girl. I don't think the mom ever said anything...

Wow.

The sort of person who makes comments like this should not in any way be involved in youth sport. And, while I'm at it, should never be allowed to have kids.

 

[wandrewsjr]

I have to add to this...

At our home meet this year, another mom from our gym was sitting at the judges table entering scores. Apparently one of the judges called a girl a "cow" and joked to the other judges that they should give her a 5. This mom has a DD who is overweight (she is the same height as my DD but weighs 30 lbs more -but is still a good gymnast), and it really hurt the mom's feelings. I told her she should tell the meet director in private what was said, because that was disrespectful to that girl. I don't think the mom ever said anything...

This kind of talk is so completely unacceptable, I am hoping it isn't true. If I heard a comment like this from a judge at a meet, I would be on the phone to the state judging director the next day. I would not enter my gymnasts in any invitational competitions at which she/he was a judge. That kind of talk should not be tolerated, and in my book should disqualify someone from being in the position to judge children.