Coaches Level 8 Bars

[flippinam]

So the general consensus is that giants are a necessity at level 8. However, giants are a skill that I don't think will ever happen for me. I have a shoulder injury that prevents me from being able to fully open them, & taps have always been a weakness for me. I will be competing level 7 this year with clear hip handstands connected. Is it possible to have a level 8 bar routine that scores well without giants? The routine I had in mind was kip, cast handstand 1/2 pirouette, kip, cast handstand, clear hip handstand, toe shoot to hight bar, kip, cast handstand clear hip handstand, layout flyaway. I think this routine meets the SR & has a 10.0 SV. Would it receive a lot of composition deductions for lack of giants or would all the other handstands/difficulty in the routine "make up" for it?

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Simple, just work the late toe shoot to H stand. 1/2 to stoop, freehip, toe shoot flyaway (or double). That will score just as high as a giant routine and set you up for easy bonus in level 9/10. Then just add a bail and a double in level 9. In the mean time, keep working those giants!

 

[gymdog]

What do you mean by fully opening them? (Not trying to be snarky, just don't understand). I understand that a giant puts more pressure on your shoulder under the bar, but it's harder/more work on the shoulder to open a clear hip handstand on top of the bar.

If you use other circling skills to handstand, you can do well, sure. But moving forward giants are used for variety, to conserve energy in a way, and dismounts that require more power. If you have a shoulder injury bad enough to make giants impossible, then doing bars at a higher level at all might not be the best idea

 

[flippinam]

What do you mean by fully opening them? (Not trying to be snarky, just don't understand). I understand that a giant puts more pressure on your shoulder under the bar, but it's harder/more work on the shoulder to open a clear hip handstand on top of the bar.

If you use other circling skills to handstand, you can do well, sure. But moving forward giants are used for variety, to conserve energy in a way, and dismounts that require more power. If you have a shoulder injury bad enough to make giants impossible, then doing bars at a higher level at all might not be the best idea

Thank you coachp & gymdog! By opening I mean lack of range of motion. It's been an ongoing problem for me for quite some time. I've done countless exercise/stretching/therapy programs but the range of motion never improves. It usually gets worse for several weeks after. I've figured out how to compensate fairly well on everything else. I'll most likely be capping off at level 8 for USAG since I'll be going to college, where I plan to compete NAIGC & not do bars.

 

[gymdog]

Thank you coachp & gymdog! By opening I mean lack of range of motion. It's been an ongoing problem for me for quite some time. I've done countless exercise/stretching/therapy programs but the range of motion never improves. It usually gets worse for several weeks after. I've figured out how to compensate fairly well on everything else. I'll most likely be capping off at level 8 for USAG since I'll be going to college, where I plan to compete NAIGC & not do bars.

What was the original injury? You probably have scar tissue limiting the range of motion. Sometimes surgery is done to remove it but I believe physical therapists can also do massage techniques (not stretching).

 

[flippinam]

What was the original injury? You probably have scar tissue limiting the range of motion. Sometimes surgery is done to remove it but I believe physical therapists can also do massage techniques (not stretching).

I was doing a handstand back handspring series on beam & I missed my right hand. My left arm landed on the beam locked out & turned at a funny angle. It was a partial rotator cuff tear. I'll definitely look into the massaging techniques. That's one thing we haven't tried.

 

[gymdog]

I was doing a handstand back handspring series on beam & I missed my right hand. My left arm landed on the beam locked out & turned at a funny angle. It was a partial rotator cuff tear. I'll definitely look into the massaging techniques. That's one thing we haven't tried.

A member here's daughter had it and that was how I heard about it. It was done by a physical therapist and called active release technique. I read about it and it seemed pretty neat, physical therapists also have other massage protocols for breaking up scar tissue. http://www.activerelease.com/what_patients.asp

 

[CanAmGymMum]

Try looking into a therapist or chiropractor that does active release and/or graston technique. Both are great for breaking up scar tissue

 

[flippinam]

Thank you all! I have an appointment scheduled for next week with a chiropractor who does both the active release & graston

 

[gymdog]

Awesome, keep us updated! I will cross my fingers that it can help!

 

[flippinam]

I have an update on the shoulder! Long story short, I ended up at the orthopedic & it turns out the rotator cuff was a misdiagnosis. The pain & impingement never really subsided from the original injury & was getting worse lately. So we decided to get it looked at again & I currently have a stretched capsule & a potentially torn labrum. They gave me PT type exercises to do for the next two weeks at home & if there's no improvement, they'll do an MRI to ascertain whether or not it's torn. So fingers crossed that this will help & there is no tear! In the meantime, I have to stay off of it for two weeks, and my first level 7 meet is in 4 weeks. So I'm praying for a speedy recovery! Does anybody have any conditioning for arms that isn't too strenuous on shoulders? I've been doing a lot of bicep band pulls, but that's obviously not enough. I'm losing strength & my bars are going downhill I'm worried that being off of bars for two weeks is going to do me in for the first meet

 

[Deleted member D3987]

listen, if you have a small tear in the labrum there is a chance it might heal enough for you to go on. if the tear is big, it will not heal on its own and will require surgery.

so then, stop thinking about the competition and focus on sitting still for at least 4 weeks.

you can pay now...or pay later in not being able to do college gymnastics. the recovery for labrum repair is 12 months solid.

 

[flippinam]

listen, if you have a small tear in the labrum there is a chance it might heal enough for you to go on. if the tear is big, it will not heal on its own and will require surgery.

so then, stop thinking about the competition and focus on sitting still for at least 4 weeks.

you can pay now...or pay later in not being able to do college gymnastics. the recovery for labrum repair is 12 months solid.

Thanks dunno! I don't want to jeopardize my ability to do gymnastics long term for sure. I am definitely giving it a rest, as the doctor said. He told me to avoid anything that causes any pain, but if it doesn't hurt, he said I can do it. So that eliminates vault & bars completely & limits me to dance throughs on floor & beam. I was just wondering if there was anything that I could do in the interim to help keep up my arm strength while I take time off. Of course if it causes any pain, I will stop doing it. Dr. doesn't seem to think it's a large tear, if any. In two weeks of rest, if it's not better they'll do an MRI. Personally I'd rather know what I'm working with now but I'm not the dr I know now that I'm most likely going to be scratching the meet. I guess I just needed to rant

 

[Deleted member D3987]

do nothing in the interim. you want to completely rest it and have it calmed down when they do the MRI.