Parents At home tools

[GherkinMama]

Hello ladies and gents! I want to get my little one (almost 6 yo and on pre team), some tools for at home practicing. We are very tight on space so I want to choose the right stuff to make it worth the trouble. Hubby and I were thinking of a doorway chin up bar she can work on and were unsure of any good brands or styles. Right now we have a thick mat she can use, but mostly she works on stretches, core strength and (forgive me for using a possibly incorrect phrase) practicing poses and holds. She want one of those soft beams to practice on too. My point is this....what are the better choices for at home practicing and are there better styles or brands? Thanks!

 

[MAcastsalot]

We have a folding beam, due to lack of space, and it has worked well for DD. I'm not sure how it will hold up to higher level skills, but it works just fine for her level 2 skills.

 

[Haismom]

I made a regulation beam out of duct tape, it is not raised but when placed on the floor as long as she is on the tape the skill will translate to beam... She got her cartwheel this way, it's about hand placement

 

[mobeans]

My DD got this for Christmas when she was 6 and it's still used daily!

http://www.thebeamstore.com/catalog/8pink-thumb.jpg

Her coach said a beam is one of the best home gym pieces of equipment to have. She practices handstands, turns, and leaps on it. She also has a chin-up bar that she uses for leg lifts (keeping her core straight and lifting her legs together to to touch the bar), chin holds, and pull ups. When she wants to "work on gymnastic" I encourage stretching, push ups, and the above mentioned things on the chin-up bar.

I have been refusing to get her a bar, though. She has asked for years, I had my reservations, and they were confirmed by her coach.

 

[tooootsie]

My husband made beam for them.. they love it!

 

[munchkin3]

I made a beam out of a 4 x 4 x 8 and covered it with carpet. It cost $18.
When putting it on an 8 ft mat, it was a bit wobbly from the mat but it actually made her better at staying on.
She graduated to a regular floor beam....same issue though, feet are on the mat.
At practice she rarely falls off....

 

[Becauseisaid]

I made a regulation beam out of duct tape, it is not raised but when placed on the floor as long as she is on the tape the skill will translate to beam

How does one make a beam out of duct tape? I would love to see a picture.

 

[Haismom]

It didn't make the move this time, it has been lost but It was basically a line, measured for length and width the size of the beam, I used pretty tape, in neon colors that made seeing your landing easier, we put it on our mat that we had here at home.

Basic directions
Get the exact beam measurements
Cut strips of tape and lay out tape side up, I tend to not like to work with strips longer than about 18 inches so they don't get stuck together.
Lay the first 2pieces to obtain the proper width ( I marked a guide in chalk on my mat) then from the end begin placing additional pieces of tape (tape side down) over the tape side up pieces leaving 6+\- inches of tape side up exposed.

Now cut more strips to be placed tape side up, overlapping the existing tape side up to increase the length.

Repeat this until you are at the end

Oh I left a small 1inch section of tape side up on both ends which I folded over to make a nice clean end.
If you wanted to clean up the edges and you aren't a single mom, with a limited income, saving every last penny for gymnastics, you could place pieces around the narrow sides to clean up those edges too, but I didn't have the tape to waste...

 

[Haismom]

Will look through old pics but I'm not sure I have one they would be on my old laptop...

 

[BlairBob]

Pullup bar, parallettes, floor beam, jump rope, rope attached to pullup bar 1-1.5" thick.

No need for a home bar. Panel mat, etc eh.

 

[paige]

We have a bar but now that my daughter is an optional I feel like it was a waste of $300...