just wondering

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gracefulone

Does anyone on here hate grips? I had them for almost a year, mostly because my parents wanted me to use them my first time at camp, but now I just prefer not to use them. Just wondering if anybody else feels the same way.
 
Grips as in meaning hand guards? I'm from england! I love using hand guards before my hands used to get so badly blistered. for ages they wouldn't let rec use them but thankfully they can now.
 
What level are you? What types of tricks are you doing?

Many gymnasts from other countries don't wear grips. In the US almost all high level gymnasts wear grips. Grips are not a necessary part of gymnastics as long as you can hang on.
 
I'm a level six. I tried using grips in level five and used them for almost a year, but I didn't really like it. My hands don't get blistered up too bad, and I'm actually good at bars, so my coach said it was ok. I do clearhips and even make it up to handstand now and flyaways as my main skills.
 
I never used grips until i was a level 6. I learned back giants and stuff when i was young and didn't wear them. I hated them at first but the more i used them the better they felt--nowadays I wouldn't do bars without them. Eventually I highly recommend getting used to them, but then again you don't NEED to...
 
Where my daughter trains, they don't get grips until after their Level 6 meet season. So now, all the girls are getting used to them. My daughter really tore her hands up doing the Level 6 bar routine, so she likes that she doesn't rip every practice. Getting used to the grips and trusting herself to do all the bar skills has taken about a month. She didn't feel comfortable at all doing giants(done with a spot on trench bar), but has worked her way back to doing those now.
 
Getting grips for the first time can be a huge adjustment, especially for gymnasts with small hands. Coaches all have their own way of introducing grips. There really is no right or wrong.

I started with grips as soon as I made team, so there was no learning curve. I learned tricks for the first time with grips and never had to relearn them. In my opinion, many tricks wouldn't exist without grips.

Grip theory varies widely from country to country, however, we are seeing a trend that most high level gymnasts use grips. As far as men go, I haven't seen any high level men without grips.
 
My gym lets you get grips when you want for rec, but they're required on team. I got them somewhere a while back(I'm in rec), and hated them at first, but now that I'm used to them I wouldn't go a day without them.
 
Before I got grips, my hands ripped everyday. Then I got grips and they still ripped everyday. Now I wear tape grips under my real grips and my hands don't rip anymore. When my hands ripped all the time, it was really annoying because I had to put vitamin E on my hands all the time and it's really awkward to do everything with your fingertips. My hands are really crazy, they almost ripped when I was doing leg lifts and chin ups without grips.
 
At my gym we have two level seven's and three prep optional 4's. One level 7 uses grips but the others don't. They tried using grips last summer but really hated it. A couple were in tears when they did bars with grips! But my coach just recently announced that all level 5 and up are going to start using grips this summer. But I don't have a opinion about grips cuz I've never tried them yet, but I'll be starting them this summer. So this summer there's gonna be a lot of complaining in the gym when we go to bars!
 
My niece's gym doesn't use grips until Level 5 I think. I've always thought it would have been easier to let them use them from the start.. so there was no re-learning of skills once they have them. But I'm not the coach, and I suppose there's some reason for it.? Ash's hands have ripped several times and it always seems to happen just before a meet. :( Poor girl. She's always training so hard as the meet approaches, then she gets a rip and has to slow back down.
 
I love grips! :) I especially like the double buckle ones...lol. My aunt got me a pair from Nastia Liukin's line (I know...) so I wear those and love them. :) Hate to admit it but i do. :D
 
Our gym doesn't have the girls use the grips until they can do the first part of the level 5 bar routine cleanly and with no stops. I was excited to start using them, but when I first put them on after I broke them in I did not like them at all. I started out with routines on the pit bar, and then I gradually started liking them. Now, I don't know how I didn't use the grips before. With grips its a lot easier not to split, and it's easier to rotate your hands more smoothly. I would recommend trying to do some routines on the low bar, and pit bar. But if you decide to use grips, I would keep that decision. If you tried to get used to grips while switching back in forth, it would be really hard to get used to grips. Good luck!
 
at our gym we didn't start using grips until level 6/7. other gyms we competed against had level 5 girls with them. i didn't use them in level 6, but i used them in level 7 up through level 10. the routines i did/do from level 8-10, i wouldn't do w/o grips. but it's totally up to you! i remember using them in level 7, at first i hated them but then got used to them. good luck!
 
My daughter's gym had them get "pup grips" when they started level 4. She was fine with them. Since then she has outgrown them, so her coach said she should just get dowel grips, since she will need them soon enough. She had no problem adjusting.
 
I had to start wearing dowel grips in level 6. At the time I hated them. Four levels later they are my best friends :)
 
I think all the comp girls at my gym wear grips, and you're allowed to use them in the advanced rec classes, though very few people do. I started using them in rec level 5(CANGYM system) a couple years back, after I started ripping at almost every practice.

I kinda have a love/hate relationship with them. My hands are pretty calloused, so some days I use them, some days I don't. Just depends on how they're behaving that day;).
 
i only ever used them when i have ripped hands and i hate them. they make me slip of really easy and i cant dismount.

in nz at my club i coach at, they arent aloud them till they do certain skills on bar which is level 6 or bonus level 5.
 

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