Coaches Kip training

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gymisforeveryone

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I have a 13 year old gymnast who recently started in my team. She has only done rec gymnastics until now.

She is really talented and has learned for example RO-BHS, FHS, FT etc in just a month. She learns everything I introduce her in just a few tries on every other events but bars. She has strong lower body but weak arms and upper body. She can do tap swings and just learned her BHC but that's pretty much all she can do. She has to learn kip if she ever wants to compete bars!

The other girls have their kips already and are working with more advanced skills. So I thought maybe it could work better if I made her a list about kip conditioning and drills to work by herself during bar rotation. And if she'll have time after the list is completed I'd teach her some "fun" stuff like squat on, baby giants etc.

What do you think about this list? Do you have anything to add? We usually spent 30 minutes on bars and we practice four times a week.

1. L - hang 3 x 10s
2. Pike hang 3 x 10s
3. "Kip" using a stick 10x
4. Stem rises 10x
5. Glide 10x
6. Spotted kips 3-10x (depends on how much time I have)
7. Hip rises hanging on bar upside down 10x
8. Leg lifts 10x
9. Resistance band 30x
10. Chin ups 10x

I think this kipping road is going to be long and hard but we will do our best and hope she learns it someday! Any words of wisdom?
 
If you guys have a total gym you can have her do inclined pull downs on that. I sometimes add a sit-up at the end of each pull down for my kids who train kips. I also use therabands for pull downs. Something else my kids like is a weighted body bar that I made from a 1.25" x 20" PVC pipe filled with sand. They lay on their back with the weighted bar over their head, lift their legs to mid-shin over their head and do a sit-up keeping the bar close to their body - like a kip only on the floor. (sorry, having a hard time explaining that one. We also do lots of hollow holds and hollow rocks, use balance balls for glide rocks on a really really low bar focusing on the hollow shape...

Sounds like a really hard working, and talented kid. I'm sure with time and patience and lots of encouragement she'll get her kip :)
 
AND there's an awesome video on YouTube called The Kipping Process part 1, and a video called The Kipping Process Part 2&3. Excellent, excellent drills for glides, shaping an conditioning the kip and it can all be done with a kid any age (within reason), any size and in any condition....highly recommended. I use all of those drills as well. Good luck :)
 
Double the L and V work, 25-50 reps of pullups and leglifts. At least 15. Sort of depends on the difficulty of said movement.
 
I think that that's a great starting list. I also second Link RemovedLink Removed about the need for hollow holds/rocks etc. As for other ideas/ones that have already been posted, here are some.

The first video in this post is a good drill, it builds core strength, gets kids swinging etc.

Crazy Core | Swing Big!

This two "kipping process" videos can be found here:

When Will Susie Start Kipping? | Swing Big!

If you go to 2:23 in this video Forster Bar for Uneven Bar Training - YouTube there is a great kip drill done with a forster bar. Of course it can be done without, but I like it with better.
 
all I have to say is, drop kips, drop kips, drop kips, and... more drop kips... yes strength,
 
Thanks everyone!

I have to clarify that in addition to that kip list conditioning she also does all the normal conditioning with the others at the end of the practice. And right now our conditioning program includes a lot upper body strenght because overall that's the weakest area for most of the girls.

This girl has nice hollow position and her form is always very good. She's strong on her own way. Like imagine a rhythmic gymnasts doing bars. That's what it looks like. She has done rhythmic type of gymnastics competitively until now so she has done a lot of conditioning there too but sadly they haven't done much upper body work.

She's also tall, almost as tall as me so it's very difficult to spot the drop kips. We tried yesterday and it just didn't work. But we will keep trying...

We have done those kip on floor like twisting007bigflip suggested. We just call them stick kips.

We don't have a total gym.

I have already watched the kipping process videos and I love them!

BlairBob, this kid can only do like 1-3 pull ups by herself so at this point I think even 10 reps is much for her! But we will increase the numbers when she gets stronger.
 
all I have to say is, drop kips, drop kips, drop kips, and... more drop kips... yes strength,

That, and glides, but only after she's already done glides, and make sure to have her work some glides after she works on glides, but only on the odd days of the month and any calender days divisable by two, but double up on the glide work during months that have either of these letters in their spelling.... A, E, & J.

Seriously! A properly done glide with just a bit of amplitude will cut the strength requirements in half.... probably more. Sure, tons of strength helps, as long as the kid doesn't rely on strength to compensate for poor technique, because when you get down to the bottom line a glide kip is a swing skill. It's all in the glide and the rhythm.
 
That, and glides, but only after she's already done glides, and make sure to have her work some glides after she works on glides, but only on the odd days of the month and any calender days divisable by two, but double up on the glide work during months that have either of these letters in their spelling.... A, E, & J.

Seriously! A properly done glide with just a bit of amplitude will cut the strength requirements in half.... probably more. Sure, tons of strength helps, as long as the kid doesn't rely on strength to compensate for poor technique, because when you get down to the bottom line a glide kip is a swing skill. It's all in the glide and the rhythm.
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lol, also try kips in a strap bar, set up a block for standing and have her glide off of it and try a kip with locked arms. Do this at most once a week, just to give her the feel. I don't suggest doing it more than once a week because the timing is different but the motion is the same. It will also boost her confidence if she makes one on straps, but she will then want to return day after day to get her fix, tell her NO and make her earn it on the real bar. :)
 
We always have a long hang kip station (jump from block kip...medium height bar). We also raise our low bars up high for beginners (weaker kids)...this makes the glide less extreme and less likely to have technical issues due to lack of strength.

Drop kips...yes.

Strap kips...yes.

Separate glide station...yes.

Strength stations...yes.

We use the same setup every day for compulsories that are learning kips. That way there is no time lost...they get their stations once...then they do them until they get a kip. We try to have two coaches on bars as much as possible...we spot a lot. I would say we have two coaches on bars 75% of the time.

EDIT: Total Gym is awesome! We used ours so much the cable snapped. Be careful that the girls have their hair tied up high...it will get caught in the pulleys.
 
I got my total gym off CL for 40 bucks. Gives me a good laugh when my mom bought one for $1500 and my dad bought his for $900.

BlairBob, this kid can only do like 1-3 pull ups by herself so at this point I think even 10 reps is much for her! But we will increase the numbers when she gets stronger.

Ahh, substitute horizontal body rows/pullups. Probably work 5-7 sets of 1-3 pullups beforehand.

Generally, I just hang a rope from the bar, have them sit in a straddle and they pull themselves off the floor or just their butt. At least 5 sets. They get to do 3 sets possibly if they go all the way up.
 
I got my total gym off CL for 40 bucks. Gives me a good laugh when my mom bought one for $1500 and my dad bought his for $900.

I found our gym's Total Gym at Catholic Charities and only paid 8 dollars :)

I always hit up the second hand shops looking for all things conditioning related and have had lots of good luck.
 

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