It might sound crazy...

[lilgymnast7]

So a couple of days ago at gymnastics we had about 4 new girls in our class. They all came from a different gym and wanted to try a class that was less intense. They wore these head bands that they said were called "belly bands" around their stomach. They had told me that their coach (who happens to come from a foreign country and is known to be quite amazing) said that if you wear this head band around your stomach it keeps your stomach in and makes you stretch your back out more. This sounds a little crazy to me but it seems to work for them. The headband is black and on the label it says gymnastics. They are on the stretchy side but look slightly tight when you but them on. Just curious if any of you out there heard of this or know if it works?

 

[gymnasticslvr21]

We have to wear these at my gym. We use them to keep our stomach in too. We also sometimes twist them on our hands so our arms stay together and don't leave our ears. Though, I have never heard about them helping you stretch your back.

 

[ZJsMom]

Dancers often use them too. I thought the idea was that it reminds you to keep your belly in.

 

[lilgymnast7]

Do you find that they are actually effective? Also where in the world do you buy these things? My gym does not sell them I tried looking online but I do not know what to search under...

 

[ZJsMom]

When I was in ballet as a kid, we just made them by sewing together a piece of elastic. You could ask the girls from the other gym where they got theirs.

 

[lilgymnast7]

I would like to see the label again maybe it has a website or something. The gym they went to had bought a supply of them for the team girls where they were given one. I would guess it came from a catalog selling leotards or something similar to that. I am going to also ask my coach what he thinks and if it really would help me.

 

[flexiballetgirl]

I use them for ballet. They remind you to "pull up" and you can see when your lifting your hip

If the girl in the picture was hearing a belt it would be slanted. The belt makes theses mistakes more visible

You can make them with a head band, cutting a band off thights or ordering them from Discount Dance Suppyl

 

[lilgymnast7]

Thanks they kind of look simlilar to that but more like just a basic head band. If it is a reasonable price I might consider it. Thanks for all of your help!!

 

[Billy]

DD's old gym required the girls to wear belly bands, usually when they were on beam and sometimes on floor. The idea was to remind them to keep their bellies in and tight. One of the moms just sewed them from wide elastic and then stitched the girls' names on them.

 

[flexiballetgirl]

Their easy to make or Discount Dance Supply - Dancewear at discount prices including pointe shoes, leotards, ballet slippers and much more. search #605 and they are 4.50. they come in 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch

 

[gymfan4ever95]

Yes, we wear them at our gym. It does make you more aware of your stomach, and so my coaches made it especially for those who have "watermelon belly's" but then decided to give one to everyone. My coach made them herself, she bought this white elastic and measured us and then sewed (sp?) them for us. They work pretty well! I don't really notice mine very much, but my "watermelon belly'd" teammates say that it works for them.

 

[gymch34]

you can order @ 10.0 gym supply. make sure your cach wants you to wear one 1st tho.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

oh brother.....seems some people think that girls just can't do anything right. now it's holding in their stomachs. or probably just another marketing scheme to take your money. it's as insulting as all the other crap that makes young girls feel bad and neurotic about themselves.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

oh brother.....seems some people think that girls just can't do anything right. now it's holding in their stomachs. or probably just another marketing scheme to take your money. it's as insulting as all the other crap that makes young girls feel bad and neurotic about themselves.

Concurred.

Before you read any further, please take the nearest pen/pencil and put it behind your ear.

Don't wait and see where I'm going with this, just do it.

.....

You're still hesitating. Do it. Come on, you'll see why in a minute.

....

There we go.

Anyway, I don't like this simply because I think it's completely ineffective. It's basically a coaching superstition. Wearing a belly band will not help you any more than picking up a four-leaf-clover on the way to gym.

Why? Because it's a continuing, unchanging stimulus, and as such the brain tunes it out after a minute or so. After the first minute or so, the gymnast literally cannot even feel the band unless 1) something reminds them it's there or 2) it's painfully tight. The brain simply tunes things like these out.

Some examples: the slight whistling coming from your monitor (assuming you're using an older monitor, as opposed to an LCD one). The subtle hum of your refrigerator. The heating or air conditioning. The cooling fans and spinning drives in your computer. Do you normally notice any of these noises? No; you tune them out. If you listen for them, you can hear them, but unless you're specifically listening for them, you don't notice them at all after the first couple minutes.

Those are all auditory, but the same is true of tactile stimuli. The clothes your wearing. Can you feel the fabric on your body? Well, of course, when you're thinking about it, but you completely tune out that sensation if you aren't being reminded of it.

Want another tactile example? Remember that pencil I told you to put behind your ear? Did you feel it at all before I reminded you of it again?

The belly bands are no different.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

what an excellent example. there is hope for the future in our young coaches!!

 

[123gymstar123]

heyy
i have heard of these things before and they are supposed to remind you to suck in when training!! i dont no if they work though =[
tell me what they are like please xx

 

[lilgymnast7]

I actually didn't notice the pencil when I finished reading your post! I asked a teacher at my school that did gymnastics and he said it is just a waste of your money. He thought you should learn to just keep your stomach in on your own because when competition time comes you won't have your little belly band to help you. I agree and think it is honestly one of those worthless things to have. I did experiment by putting a similar headband around my stomach. I completely forgot all about it and barely felt it! Thanks everyone for all of the help!

 

[flexiballetgirl]

I agree about not remembering your wearing it. It does help if you have "dance" as a station during training at the gym or if you are surrounded by mirrors on floor or in a dance studio. It probaly won't be as big a help for gymnasts because there isn't as much turning out involved

 

[flippinlolly]

I used to do a lot of ballet alongside my gymnastics and we often wore them in that, not to make us remember to hold our bellies in but so that we could see if we were turned out and if we were pulling up out of our hips. It wasnt done by the feeling of the band but by the fact that they were a different colour to our leotards so we could see them in the mirrors and it made it clearer when our posture was wrong. I agree with what the others have said on here. After a while you do not feel that you are wearing it. As a guide in ballet I found it very helpful but I cant really see the uses of it in gymnastics.

 

[Rainee100]

We use the jelly belly belts for 10.0. They come with jelly beans too!

jbk2-s jelly belly band and jelly belly beans