Parents Can other sports help gymnastics?

[Alibri]

My daughter is only 6 and I've always thought it would be obvious that if she decides later on to move to other sports, her gymnastics training would give her a great foundation for pretty much any other sport.

But on the flip side, can another sport or activity actually aid in improving gymnastics skills? I saw a thread about dance and that makes sense.

I ask partially because I saw a flier recently about a local track clinic for any athlete ages 6-18, which would make my daughter eligible to go. The flier said, "objectives are to give every youth an opportunity to develop strong bodies & minds, self discipline, self esteem, and high moral standards. Conditioning with proper form, technique, dynamic and static stretching, core work, plyometrics, explosion & speed work, fast twitch muscle training, muscle memory, body discipline, and control are essential training". It seems to me that from this description, it could definitely be beneficial to let her go. It's only a one day clinic and it seems to be a successful and reputable track club.

Do you all think other sports can be compatible with improving gymnastics? Obviously my daughter is young and who knows if gymnastics will be her thing long-term (it definitely is now!), but I'm also wondering if trying other things like workshops, classes, or sports that don't conflict with gymnastics for older gymnasts would be a good or a bad idea?

 

[JumpingBean]

My daughter (almost 9) is a sprinter (track and field) and a dancer. She just recently started pre-team at a new gym after only doing on and off rec gymnastics and the coaches told me that both her speed and her dance training and flexibility were huge plusses.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

My daughter, who is 10 and a level 8, will begin taking ballet lessons once a week in the spring. This is a new requirement from her coaches.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

Track and field will definitely help! Especially the sports that involve sprinting and jumping. Many great vaulters that I have coached or seen were also sprinters. Good running technique is essential in both.

 

[Anitrawink]

Dance is an extremely good foundation for gymnastics. My daughters dance teacher gave us a break on classes last year because of how important it is for gymnastics. With her training so much now she doesn't have time but the gym has it as part of training now. Also any sort of strength training with body weights and hand held weights even if it's a small amount

 

[emorymom]

I was just posting about swimming. My kid who quit swimming to pursue gymnastics exclusively kept hurting his joints and left the sport. My kid who swims has had much fewer problems with her joints. Lemmetellyou, the more reliable key to higher gymnastics achievement is not adding dance or more privates or being in fantastic rush. It's not getting hurt.

 

[3gymgirlsmom]

My dad does track in the summer and I really believe she that has helped

 

[3gymgirlsmom]

Ugh that is suppose to be DD again not dad , spell check is going to get the best of me

 

[GymDad9.9]

Ugh that is suppose to be DD again not dad , spell check is going to get the best of me

Mae eye sujest terning spelchek oof?

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Definitely dance, for obvious reasons.
I can only judge by one girl on our team as far as personal experience, but when she started doing track outside gym, her gymnastics did improve.
I would assume swimming would be beneficial as well as some cardio like running etc, and I know the upper level girls were encouraged to do some crossfit training during the summer.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Dance yes, track is way too much pounding on the knees and ankles when combined with gymnastics. Gymnasts are maxed on the amount of pounding already. That is my 2 cents

 

[GymDad9.9]

Dance yes, track is way too much pounding on the knees and ankles when combined with gymnastics. Gymnasts are maxed on the amount of pounding already. That is my 2 cents

So you wouldn't recommend any type of track training to help improve a gymnast's speed and power, etc. outside of the gym?

 

[Deleted member 14190]

So you wouldn't recommend any type of track training to help improve a gymnast's speed and power, etc. outside of the gym?

We already have a hard enough time balancing the amount of pounding they take. In my opinion it ups the probability of shin splints and ankle longevity. Not to mention "dear coach, DD had to run track today and her shins are killing her, please take it easy on her today, thanks"..... 5 months later "Dear coach, DD has fallen behind in her vaulting, why is this, I see the girls in the other group are progressing, and DD needs to be challenged, so I think putting her in the other group will make her vault better" response; "Dear delusional parent, you DD sucks at vault BECAUSE SHE NEVER VAULTS BECAUSE SHE IS ALWAYS IN PAIN".... Put them on a bike, or swim.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

We already have a hard enough time balancing the amount of pounding they take. In my opinion it ups the probability of shin splints and ankle longevity. Not to mention "dear coach, DD had to run track today and her shins are killing her, please take it easy on her today, thanks"..... 5 months later "Dear coach, DD has fallen behind in her vaulting, why is this, I see the girls in the other group are progressing, and DD needs to be challenged, so I think putting her in the other group will make her vault better" response; "Dear delusional parent, you DD sucks at vault BECAUSE SHE NEVER VAULTS BECAUSE SHE IS ALWAYS IN PAIN".... Put them on a bike, or swim.

This is a good point, especially if the gymnast already does high hours in the gym. If the gymnast does not have high hours and can maybe attend the track practice just once a week, I can see only benefits. But you certainly can't do high hours in both, that would kill the joints and backs.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

That is definitely a valid point. The girl I specifically saw improvement in was a L4/5, so not super high hours in the gym (12/wk).

 

[triplethreat+1]

Lol, so it's the usual answer to gymnastics questions - "It depends"

 

[JazzyMom]

I don't know if it is considered a sport but yoga helps and doesn't have the added impact to them.

 

[dbean]

My daughter struggled in xcel Gold. The following summer we put her in swim lessons...wow, she improved so much they moved her to level 6 (which was not on anyones radar). While hardwork was a factor, i think the muscle, power and strength gained from swimming helped. Unfortunately once summer ended, swimming conflicted with her gym schedule and she has since lost some of that strength and power. We plan to put her in swimming again once summer starts.

 

[Really]

I don't know if it is considered a sport but yoga helps and doesn't have the added impact to them.

I've been told the same thing about yoga for balance. And I've been told pilates is good for improving extension and line, if your gymnast needs work in those areas. Both seem pretty low-impact.