Parents Balance Beam for home use

[Ex member]

Save your money. Most kids that get the practice beam or bars may use it few months then forget about it. Also really at home the only thing they really should practice might be dance moves on beam and even then they need the guidance of the coach to make sure they are learning it correctly. For us we leave the gymnastics at the gym under the supervision of the coaches so DD doesn't develop any bad habits on her own. There is nothing harder to do then unlearn bad habits learned by practicing at home.

I got the folding one that sits on the floor my DD used it for about a month and it has been sitting in the corner folded in her closet for a good 7 years now not used.

if you want your child to do something at home that would help work on the stretching and conditioning instead. That might require a mat for the floor and maybe a chinup bar.

For us time away from the gym is just that time to be a kid and not even think about practice.

My youngest dd is only in the gym once a week at them moment and they have been advised to practice at home, my dd has a mat and a chin up bar and they get a lot of use and have helped dd gain strength and flexibility - she works on splits and over splits at home, chin ups and pullups and hangs on the bar doing skin the cats and doing what she calls monkey hangs where she is sideways on the bar and lifts her legs in a straddle with her legs under the bar but not touching the bar.

 

[GymBee97]

My youngest dd is only in the gym once a week at them moment and they have been advised to practice at home, my dd has a mat and a chin up bar and they get a lot of use and have helped dd gain strength and flexibility - she works on splits and over splits at home, chin ups and pullups and hangs on the bar doing skin the cats and doing what she calls monkey hangs where she is sideways on the bar and lifts her legs in a straddle with her legs under the bar but not touching the bar.

yes this type of conditioning is good.

 

[Ex member]

yes this type of conditioning is good.

The stuff she does on the chin up bar is self initiated and a lot of the stuff she does is play - just hanging and small swings, she has to ask to go on the chin up bar as I don't leave it up, that way I can supervise what she is doing. The splits are sometimes encouraged if she hasn't done any for a few days (her coach has recommended that her group practice these at home), dd comes up with her own idea's for oversplits.

The best thing that I have brought is the chin up bar as it has helped her a lot in gaining strength.

I have mixed feelings about doing other stuff at home, just recently my oldest dd's coach said that they recorded the floor routine that they have to do for upcoming NDP grades and is panning on emailing it to parents so they can practice at home (no flips etc involved) as well as practicing their range and conditioning at home. I don't mind her practicing but I am uncomfortable with it incase she is doing it wrong, I would be more happy for an extra session with a coach if they needed to practice then doing it at home.

 

[GymBee97]

It really doesn't matter if they are at the gym one day or 5 days a week. They get the practice that that level and age require to be successful at gym. Remember its not a sprint but a marathon and it takes time to improve and move on. I don't think any gym should be asking parent to supervise practicing a floor routine at home ever.

I believe if you have a great program you really shouldn't need "extra practice" at home beyond maybe some conditioning and stretching no matter what level no matter how many days a week. I also don't think that again if you have a good program privates should almost never be needed either.

We have a chin up bar and panel mat that is made out of the stuff those pool noodles are made from. DD only uses it for times when gym is closed for vacation and they give a conditioning sheet.

At the beginning I too purchased one of those folding beams - she used it first for about a month or so to practice dance moves then it was moved to the closet never to be seen again.

I've never seen kids who "practice" at home without the coach have any advantage over the kids who just went to the classes. What I have seen is kids who practiced at home learn bad habits that comes with no coach or with parents who don't know the right way to do a move that had to be unlearned (very hard to do) and ended up holding many back. Usually because that move needed to be done right before they could learn the next move.

If you want your kids to get extra time and practice then do an open gym or private AT the gym with the coaches around. Save your money you would have spent on home equipment and get a new leo or go to the amusement park for a fun family weekend instead.

 

[Kathie]

My niece got hers from Nimble Sports. They're an American company and they manufacture EVERYTHING in the us (including mats!)

http://www.nimblesports.com/balance-beams.html

Lots of different styles. Their folding beams even come with carrying totes.

 

[Seagull00]

I put a line of tape down on the floor as a practice beam, I let her practice walking forwards, backwards and sideways. She does cartwheels on it just as a way to straighten out her form. Total cost...$3.37

 

[Ex member]

I put a line of tape down on the floor as a practice beam, I let her practice walking forwards, backwards and sideways. She does cartwheels on it just as a way to straighten out her form. Total cost...$3.37

Now my dd has got more hours in the gym (2 x 2 1/2 hours) I will make do with the line of tape down her mat if she wants to practice her cartwheels etc. Thanks for all the suggestions though.

With regards to my oldest dd practing at home it turns out she only needs to practice her range and conditioning at home (conditioning moves linked together - for dd she has to do a forward roll and lie flat, tuck her kness to chest and rock back to shoulder stand and hold, tuck kness back to chest and rock back up and do a straddle sit, do a pancake stretch hold, turn to splits hold, sweep leg round to pike sit, lie back into a dish shape and hold, roll to arch shap and hold, push to front support, jump to crouch, from crouch do a immediate stretch jump immediate star jump)

 

[tooootsie]

My husband made one for my girls.. works great and very affordable!

 

[JessLW]

I follow someone on Instagram who has an actual real life full balance beam (AAI, if I remember correctly ... it boggles my mind every time I see it because those things are NOT cheap) set up in their living room. Everytime she posts a video of the kid, a 6 year old, doing backwalkovers and such on it I keep expecting someone from CB to pipe up and say "keep the gymnastics at the gym!" CB is fairly predictable on the subject of home equipment!

I think a low beam is fine for practicing balance and running through the dance part of a routine, and for building beam confidence in general, but if your child picks up skills quickly you'll have to outlaw most of the skills she'll want to practice soon enough. Even jumps and leaps -- they seem harmless enough but you can easily twist an ankle or a foot coming down wrong after a leap, even on a low beam. If you think it will be hard to stop her from trying out new skills or practicing harder elements that she's learning in gym, I'd skip the home beam.

Most coaches will discourage home gymnastics aside from stretching and conditioning because it is very easy for kids to pick up bad habits or try skills they aren't ready for and learn things that they will have to unlearn later. When kids first start out they are very enthusiastic and want all gym all the time and parents get excited because their kid is excited and no, 2 hours a week doesn't really seem like enough, but if your child wants to practice at home, stretching and conditioning will go way farther than anything she'd learn on home equipment.

 

[gymbeam]

i was afraid to tell HC i had purchased a beam and kip bar for my daughter because of reading the opinions here. but, to my surprise he was supportive. in fact, he said there was one team member who had actual unevens at her house!

 

[xpink-princessx]

We have an 8ft floor beam which I put on dining chairs to make higher, it was worth the money as she uses it quite a lot

We bought it from just4gym

http://just4gym.co.uk/buy-now/

 

[raenndrops]

I put a line of tape down on the floor as a practice beam, I let her practice walking forwards, backwards and sideways. She does cartwheels on it just as a way to straighten out her form. Total cost...$3.37

Lol... The girls wanted a beam back when OG was old L4. Their dad had a 4x4 laying around... I had a carpet remnant laying around. Paid $1.50 for the necessary 2x4s (cut to the correct lengths at the hardware store) to make the feet so it would be sturdy. The girls are now Xcel Gold and New L3. They still use it occasionally, 6+ years later. Much better than the beam their grandfather built at his house... outside in the yard... fixed height... full length... not quite 4 inches wide. Used once... sat in the yard for over a year... then taken down so they could get a pool and a trampoline .

 

[raenndrops]

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Don't know if this pic will work lol

People are probably going to hate on you for allowing that, but we did something similar - we just had an adult one each end (one on each side) just in case.
Good luck.

 

[xpink-princessx]

Lol she's very good and very rarely falls off I never let her do the more difficult moves on it unless it's on the floor and it's moves she can actually do, she just practices her routine and cartwheels on it (which she can do fine)

Under the blanket is a huge 3inch thick crash mat and sometimes I put a double mattress under it x

 

[raenndrops]

View attachment 4493heres one with the mattress under it

I like the mattress... ours always had 2 twin mattresses under it and a foam (former pull out couch mattress) mattress over them (to cover the seam) and we had 7 feet of fall space on each side clear of obstructions (covered with: couch and chair cushions, pillows, a "flippy" chair thing that unfolds into a bed or chaise... whatever they chose to use that day. We are lucky enough that the house is HUGE and the living room is wide open (and so is the basement for when it is dry and mold free so it is usable).
Elevated, the hardest skill OG was allowed to do was her cartwheel. on the ground, she was allowed to work her BWO til she injured her back at school during recess She still occasionally runs her routines on it (floor setting because she is too tall to have it elevated - She is 5'1" and we have standard ceilings... she can't even practice her vault blocking on the chaise end of the couch anymore unless we move it to the left or she will hit the ceiling fan). Luckily, her little sister isn't THAT tall yet, so she can use it elevated for HS and dismount and on the floor for everything else... and she can do her Flatback on the chaise, lol.

 

[bogwoppit]

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Don't know if this pic will work lol

That is just such a bad idea. Not hating at all.

 

[bogwoppit]

Removed two photo posts at members request.