WAG Practice bar at home. ...????

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OK so my DD asked santa for mat, bars and beam to practice at home.:confused: She is the new level 4. However, I have major questions and doubt about the bar aspect. She definitely needs the bar time to work her kip and cast. This is her weekest event. However, my concerns come from 1. The Cost (is this worth the investment for a 9 yrs. level 4. will she out grow it fast?) 2. Is it safe? and How do I keep her safe.. Yes she does the bars at gym with no one there to spot/catch her but will it be safe in the house? 3. Where in the heck do you put bars? How much clearance does she need above the 60" bar? I welcome any input here as well as if you know how to build a bar cheapo_O ??
thanks a bunch... BTW Merry Christmas and Happy Hanuka
 
From my experience
1. The Cost (is this worth the investment for a 9 yrs. level 4 No. will she out grow it fast?Yes)
2. Is it safe? No and How do I keep her safe You can't. Yes she does the bars at gym with no one there to spot/catch her but will it be safe in the house? No
3. Where in the heck do you put bars? How much clearance does she need above the 60" bar? I welcome any input here as well as if you know how to build a bar cheapo_O ??

hth
 
A beam and mat is a great gift. The bar not so much. just no way to ensure safety. There are lots of things she can do to help her kip that does not even involve a bar, she can work on those things. Ask her coach for the drills.
 
My ds' Christmas list has read like this for years:
1. pommel horse
2. high bar
3. rings
4. pbars
5. vault
6. springboard
7. trampoline

He has the mushroom and trampoline and we are done. Oh and paralletes. Gym is for gym, and that is what we tell him. Still this year, the top item on his list is pommel horse. sigh.
 
I would recommend a low beam and mat, but not the bars. The home bar sets aren't useful for much except the new Level 3 skills (pullover, hip circles, cast, shoot-thru, mill circle, etc....). I think they are helpful for very little ones for a few months, but most families I know sell them around new Level 4. A pull-up bar would help her with strength, which would in turn help with the kip.

My dd used to love her bars, but even though it's a sturdy set, you just can't replicate the gym's bars at home. Unless we had high ceilings, lots of space, multiple mats, springboards, blocks, chalk, grips, etc.... I think it would do more harm than good for her kips anyway!
 
A floor beam would be okay, but ours has hardly been used, it just takes up space in the garage these days. As their training hours go up, they just want a break from gym at home.
 
I have bar, beam, mats, incline mat. My dd is 7 but weighs 45 pounds( she is tiny). She can only get in the bar when someone is there with her. She will outgrow it but I have a 4 yr old who loves it as well.
 
We were (all but) handed down a mushroom over the summer. DS is getting parallelettes from Santa Grandparents and a bar from Santa. All he has asked for from Santa and for his birthday (also Christmas Day) is a bar and Lego Coast a Guard sets. We have three boy team gymnasts and several recreational ones on our street and are I the process of turning one of the garages into a mini gym for all the boys.
 
We have a floor beam, training bar, mats, parallettes(sp). Dd is 13, lev 9/10. Small girl. Won't let me pack up the bar, says her and friends still use it. They use the other items too. She's had all this stuff since preteam, before level 4. Says she's keeping it all for her kids someday. So it has been worth it for us.
 
My DD has a low beam and mats. I got really lucky with the beam and bought it off of Craigslist for $90, first day the family posted it, i bought it. It was a big hit for the first couple of months. She's starting to use it again now. It doesn't take up too much room, I just shove it up against the balcony behind 1 of the couches where no one can see it, or sometimes it just stays in our living room in front of the tv stand, fab decor! It really did help with the cartwheels, now full turns, etc. So i'd say it's a good investment.
 
Let gymnastics stay in the gym and let home be a gym free zone. There is no experienced coach at home to make sure form and execution are done correctly so all that "at home practice" usually will develop bad habits the coach has to undo and your child will have to relearn the right way.

The bars - everyone I know of that purchased these now has a very expensive clothes line or decorative art piece in the corner that gets covered with dust.

If your child is doing conditioning at home then go for the mat and chin up bar at the most but those too become dust collectors when the newness wears off.

The beam - really only the dance moves should be practices (if at all) at home. for the same reasons as why you shouldn't get a bar set.

The at home equipment doesn't give them any type of leg up or advance them faster. Look on their lists and see what else will fulfill their Christmas dreams. Maybe some new leos and Gymnastic apparel and jewelry?
 
If she is lvl 4 then she has already outgrown a practice bar. We have one and it's good for really low level skills. My daughter likes to practice her fc and kips on it but those are about the highest levels skills you can practice on it. I wouldn't trust it for any skill beyond a kip.
 
We have a floor beam and a floor bar to work on blind changes and pirouettes that's it! She just turned 11 and still uses them all of the time
 
If anything, you should invest the money into privates at that level. The bars sold for home use aren't adequate for a 9 year old to practice a technically correct kip in my opinion.
 
I apologize for being controversial but I actually learned my kip on my bar at home. I know trying to teach yourself skills is really bad because it leads to bad form and injury but I lucked out. My parents limited what I was allowed to do on the bar and I always had an adult in the room with me and my mat was under the bar.
 
I have a bar at home that my dad made. It is just a weightlifting bar (one that you have at the gym that you put the weights on the ends) welded onto the legs of my old swing set. It is safe and we anchor it down so it doesn't move. I have a mt to put under it but I don't because there is no point. Part of gymnastics as you progress through the levels is knowing what you can and can't do safely. There are som many skills I have perfected/gained by having my bar that I can't recommend it more. By the way I have the legs cut to the hight of the low bar. Xx
 

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