MAG Too many hours?

[Deleted member 10727]

How many is too many hours for training? I am not complaining, because the option is wonderful, but my son is 8. He is bumping up to 21-24 hours per week. He is a level 6 plus future stars. I do not want him to burn out nor do I want too much strain on his body. I have, so far, let him tell me when he needs breaks from the gym. So far he has said he will skip an open gym (which I do not count in the above hours). I am thinking every 2-3 weeks I will enforce a day off. Thoughts?

 

[skschlag]

That seems like A LOT!! Our optionals (level 10) work out less than that per week. Like 18ish...+ some as needed. Just seems like many hours on a little boy...it seems like it would be a high rate of overuse injuries/burnout potential to me.

 

[Quadqueen]

Our L10 and JE boys don't work out that many hours, I'm pretty sure.....that seems extreme at that age and level.

 

[J&A's mom]

My L6 son practices ten hours a week. The L10 boys practice 18 hours a week.

 

[Seeker]

I think that is way too much for a child of that age, especially considering the longer careers/progression of male gymnasts versus female. Since boys continue to compete elite post-college, longevity should be a concern early on. It just seems like too much.

Is that just for the summer or is that the standard hours for that level?

 

[Moxiegrl83]

I don't know how boys levels compare to girls, but my new L3 practices 14 or so hours a week. Our optionals go 17-20.

 

[Quadqueen]

I don't know how boys levels compare to girls, but my new L3 practices 14 or so hours a week. Our optionals go 17-20.

Boys generally practice fewer hours when comparing with girls in the same level.

By the way, 14 hours for your L3 girl is quite high too!

 

[Natasha]

That really seems like a lot for an 8 year old (boy or girl) but especially for a boy…I know very little about MAG, but I have read numerous times that they can't even really do a lot of the stuff until puberty hits. I would be concerned about that many hours and burnout.

 

[profmom]

What are they doing with all that time? He's really not old/big enough to be spending a good chunk of it on strength and conditioning. And you don't want to overdo event training, especially circles, because of the possibility of degrading the wrists.

DS will be 16 hours a week over the summer training L6. He'd take more if he could get it but his coach says ABSOLUTELY NOT. We have had the conversation off and on this year, and he believes that the risk of injury grows if little guys overtrain and believes it is better to use these early years wisely to build a solid foundation and then jump the hours up later. The kid is only 24, but more and more I am coming to trust his judgment and think that his long-term vision is a smart one.

 

[samuel310]

My 10 yo ds is on two different teams and does 16 hours a week normally but as this is baseball season he gets in 7-10 depending on games.

 

[Moxiegrl83]

Boys generally practice fewer hours when comparing with girls in the same level.

By the way, 14 hours for your L3 girl is quite high too!

I know. Some of the L3's go less, she's at the high end. I work in the gym so there are times she would be there anyway, she practices so I can work.

 

[curlymop]

That seems like a lot for an 8 year old! Aside from the concerns I'd have about burnout and overuse injuries, I don't know how we'd fit those hours into our schedule. Do you homeschool? My kids don't get out of school until 3:15, so to fit in 24 hours a week they wouldn't be able to to do anything else, and they'd still not be getting enough sleep. And I'd never see them. Our L10s max out at 16 hours, and I think our L6s only train 9 hours in the school year, 12 hours in the summer.

I only know my own kid, though. You'd know better whether he can handle those hours. He must really love gymnastics to even be considering it. Good luck!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Our L10 and JE boys don't work out that many hours, I'm pretty sure.....that seems extreme at that age and level.

that ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[profmom]

Our L8+ guys are in the gym 20-24 hours a week, but 12 of those hours are spent lolling on equipment and flexing their muscles at themselves in the mirrors.

 

[emorymom]

Our L6 group is only 9 hours a week this summer, 12 in the school year, and FS adds another 3 I think. And the coaches are in it to win it.

No, I wouldn't want those kind of hours at that age. And our L6's are all 9yos and one 10.

 

[gracyomalley]

Our L6s train 9-12 hours max (those doing 12 are playing catchup). Even our L10 (who, by the way did future stars all the way until he aged out and placed well frequently) doesn't do more than about 16-18 hours at MOST....we have several 9YO L6s, no 8s, and they sometimes miss a day due to burn out.

DS 14 yo is doing the max our gym offers (16 hours) to make L8 (from L5) - he's hit puberty and can really benefit from more hours with conditioning and work ethic. but even with that he's had times he had forearm splints from too much mushroom, his hands are chopped meat right now from working all week to get both front and back giants last week, and he's eating like a horse...the coach says jump and he says "how high and can I try again"....younger kiddo (one of the 9 yo training L6) is working hard but peters out at about 12 hours a week and has more "are my hands too sore to go on?do I need another drink?is it really my turn again? moments...

From everything I know about MAG and about boys physical maturation (I'm an MD) your kiddos hours sound way out of the norm even for kids on an elite path - and possibly dangerous....likely unnecessary....even with the girls that would be on the high end, and their maturation path and skill set are very different....with lots more stuff that can be perfected in a pre-pubescent kiddo...still many burn out in those intense programs...

Why would a boys program do this? (As in perhaps there's a reason I am unaware of?)

 

[munchkin3]

It is too many hours BUT if he is not intensely training the whole time, and having breaks (and this substitutes for camp 9-5) then try it....You will know if it is too much.
The flip side is he will gain a ton of skills.....

One more negative, once he goes back to regular hours, then he will loose some stuff and get weaker.
I assume this is for SUMMER ONLY??

 

[Deleted member 10727]

He has rarely done mushroom in the last month, actually. A lot of stretching and Pbars strength stuff. Tumbl trak. There is a fair bit of sitting and watching and listening. For some reason my son rarely gets rips.

 

[paige]

I was about to ask the same question..

My 8 year old, 3rd grader, will be competing Xcel this upcoming season, and practicing 12 hours.

She has the option for 6, but that is 14 hours. It's nice to think that she could compete at a high level at such a young age, but 14 hours in 3rd grade, how many hours by 5th grade??

 

[paige]

How very rude of you.
It was a discussion about how many hours is too many for an 8 year old.

boy or girl does it matter??