im so stressed

[gymnast24]

okay well i am in 8th grade and i am a cheerleader at my junior high plus i have gymnastics practice 4 days a week. and to add to all of that i am in honors english and reading and skipped pre algebra and doing algebra 1. i have cheer practice almost every morning before school and gym after and i usually dont get home til 8 30 or 9 and then i have to do homework until around 12 oclock and then get up at 6 to get ready for school and cheer. my grades are still straigh A's but it is hard to stay up so late every night with homework and with my first meet of the season coming up i am falling behind in my skills and it is frustrating me extremly bad. does anybody have any ideas on how i can just relax and get away from the stress for alittle while without missing out on anything??? if so please tell me i could use as much advice as i could get thanks

 

[Wally]

I guess the first thing most people would ask, why do so much? How long can it last before your health suffers (or is it already as you say you are already stressed!) Once your body/mind goes past the point of quick recovery the road back is very long, though and extremely lonely .. so please e careful.

The second thing I would ask you is are you sure your skills are falling behind. Is that self perception or the opinion of your coach. Over achievers often never reach a level of self satisfaction / appreciation. Seek others' opinions so you can get a balanced view.

Take it easy. Your life style seems to be a bit too full on. Do you really need it to be?

 

[Bobby]

... and isn't there any way you can fit in more sleep?? Sleep is essential for learning, and your school work and gym are both going to suffer if you don't get enough on a regular basis. What does your mum thjink?

 

[gymnastralo]

Life is hard you just have to get over the fact and do what you have to do. I do competative gymnastics for 5 to 6 hours 6 days a week and sometimes even on Sundays. My practice ends at around 9:30 and I don't get home till 10 or later then I usually have 3 hours of homework. I wake up at 5:30 in the morning to go to Pysical Therpy and then school starts at 7: 15. Im in 9th grade and take some honors and AP courses, so i have a ton of work. If your getting at least 5 hours of sleep thats pretty good trust me most nights im up till 1 am then up again at 5:30, thats 4 1/2 hours and Im always tired you just have to push through it and work hard. Good Luck

 

[bogwoppit]

Talk to your parents. That is a heavy laod for any kid your age. Cutting back somewhere is clearly the way to reduce stress ans get more sleep. What are you prepared to give up?

I always make sure my kids have the right amount of sleep, that is about 10 hours a night at your age. Then I always make sure they are well nourished. After that comes school and homework. When those things are well taken care off we look and see what else they can fit in.

Mayb you just have more stuff to do than really fits in a 24 hour day!

 

[tumblerK]

I was just like you, so I'm not going to tell you to cut something out because I'm sure you love everything. I had gymnastics 2/3x per week and cheerleading practice 2x per week and I kept a 4.0 GPA with as many honors classes as I could manage. It's very tiring and very stressful at times but I wouldn't have done it any other way.

I managed to make it all the way though high school with both gymnastics and cheerleading, but I only had cheerleading after school and I didn't add a second cheerleading squad until after I had my own car and saved time by not having to be picked up by my parents all the time. I don't know if I would have made it all the way through high school with cheerleading practice everyday though.

My advice- homework it up every chance you get so that you have less to do at night. I would go right to the gym after school and use that time to start on some homework, and when we had snack time at practice I would get half a worksheet done. Get as much as you can done during the day. Good luck! The stress is temporary, it will get better. I promise. You can do it!!

 

[gymnast24]

I was just like you, so I'm not going to tell you to cut something out because I'm sure you love everything. I had gymnastics 2/3x per week and cheerleading practice 2x per week and I kept a 4.0 GPA with as many honors classes as I could manage. It's very tiring and very stressful at times but I wouldn't have done it any other way.

I managed to make it all the way though high school with both gymnastics and cheerleading, but I only had cheerleading after school and I didn't add a second cheerleading squad until after I had my own car and saved time by not having to be picked up by my parents all the time. I don't know if I would have made it all the way through high school with cheerleading practice everyday though.

My advice- homework it up every chance you get so that you have less to do at night. I would go right to the gym after school and use that time to start on some homework, and when we had snack time at practice I would get half a worksheet done. Get as much as you can done during the day. Good luck! The stress is temporary, it will get better. I promise. You can do it!!

thanks everyone. you all made some really good points but the thing is that i do love it all and thats why i cant just give it up. i know it would be a million times easier if i did but its hard.

and also wally, i guess you are probably right. my coaches havent said my skills were falling behind but i feel like they are because there is only one other gilr in my level and the more i get stressed i feel like she is slowly getting more skills than me. im afraid i wil never get to place at the meets because she is the same age so we would be in the same age group.

 

[Bobby]

You girls have some amazingly good time management skills and commitment for your age - I really admire you and your families must be bursting with pride.
I do hope you keep in mind though that you might have to keep thinking regularly about your workloads and be ready if the time comes you really need to make a change (even if it's only a temporary one). You don't want to end up run down and getting sick all the time or injured through lack of sleep!! Those aren't fun ways to get a rest, and your body might rebel if it's not feeling looked after.
I hope you get all the success you deserve in your many endeavours.

 

[Wally]

I guess my advice was aimed at getting you to think about setting up ways of keeping a check on yourself because we aren't always the best at looking at ourselves until something pings & then its a big task. Talk to coach & parents, friendsetc to help keep track on yourself.

Oh about your training partner being better than you. You can only control what you do. If you are doing the best you can and she beats you be proud of your journey. Who knows what will happen. Just keep loving what you are doing.

 

[fishchimes]

I know what it's like to have a training partner who outshines you (fortunately this girl left over the summer). Don't give up!!

Maybe you could speak to your cheerleading coaches about not coming to practice for quite as long; like only come while they're practicing cheer-specific tricks (stunts and routines). I don't know much about cheer but if part of the practice is only to practice individual tumbling skills, you won't really need that part since you do it at gym. I know it's important to practice as a team (soccer coach drilled it into our heads like crazy last year lol) but it seems like the easiest way to free up some time. 6 hours of sleep is just not enough