Parents Bars just not happening for my pre team DD

[gymdog]

Well I wouldn't make her do endless repetitions of pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups. A playground with monkey bars is perfect. Or have her "teach" you a conditioning class.

But again it's all strength. Very little technique. The difference between tight pullovers and ones with a jump before and bent knees is all core and upper body strength.

 

[emorymom]

At this level, a lot of what looks like "natural strength" is either the kids conditioning at home that you don't know about (or in another sport) or they are very light kids so they don't have to be as strong to move around their body weight.

I would say the kids willing to condition at home are the ones who want to be on / stay on team.

Lower level bar conditioning at home for the young athlete takes about sixty seconds a day or less, maybe just alternating days. Pull ups and leg lefts.

I have seen one girl on team who was moved through as far as L4 without even a pullover because she was handicapped by strength to weight issues but was otherwise quite talented. I don't know if she continued. Generally holding a kid back does not help strength to weight unless they can't attempt safely.

Being on team will probably give her more in-practice conditioning and hopefully motivate her.

 

[MAcastsalot]

My daughter has no interest in conditioning at home. Ironically when she was in rec she felt a lot of pressure to get a pullover b/c she needed it to move from level 1 to level 2. Then she switched to pre team and since then it seems to matter less -of course the type of pullover that they work on in pre team is different -in rec they just let them sort of kick over sloppily.

It's funny but the kids who are willing to condition at home tend to be the "naturally" strong ones. I'm guessing part of the reason they are strong is that they gravitate to activities that build muscles -even just climbing in the playground, etc. My not naturally strong daughter HATES conditioning.

This does seem to be true. DD has always loved the climbing/swinging activities at parks, so the chin-up bar is fun for her. Tell her to practice her splits, though, and she runs the other way!

 

[JazzyMom]

We have a pull up bar at home and that has helped both my kids. The strength will come. The important thing is that she doesn't give up.

 

[z2akids]

My daughter has no interest in conditioning at home. Ironically when she was in rec she felt a lot of pressure to get a pullover b/c she needed it to move from level 1 to level 2. Then she switched to pre team and since then it seems to matter less -of course the type of pullover that they work on in pre team is different -in rec they just let them sort of kick over sloppily.

It's funny but the kids who are willing to condition at home tend to be the "naturally" strong ones. I'm guessing part of the reason they are strong is that they gravitate to activities that build muscles -even just climbing in the playground, etc. My not naturally strong daughter HATES conditioning.

My dd week trek you she hates conditioning, but she is s conditioning junkie. Note, at age 9 she does intentional conditioning, but when she was younger, it was just fun activities. She loved the monkey bars even as a toddler, years before starting at the gym. That helped build strength without even realizing it. Definitely have her have fun with conditioning and dont even tell her that's what she is doing.

 

[emorymom]

Oh, I probably did. DD's preteam coach when she was 5 used to say it constantly. It's really all you need to know about pullovers. Knees to nose, round she goes.

 

[profmom]

She's six. She's on preteam. She does not need to condition at home at her age and stage, and I think it will not encourage long-term love of the sport if Mom/Dad start encouraging gymnastics "homework" at this point. A good preteam program will get her there, all in good time. Over the years, you'll have many moments of wondering about her progress compared to other kids, but eventually it just comes down to how your child is progressing and if her progress is satisfying to her.

It's fine if they want to do stuff at home, whether they are six or sixteen, but the motivation should be coming from them. I think it may be appropriate to encourage older children to work on stuff at home if they open the door (i.e., "I really want to move up to level 5!" "Well, you know that you won't unless you get your mushroom circles, and there's a mushroom in the basement.") but it should be done with a VERY light hand.

 

[purpleleomom]

I heard it usually takes a kid about a year to get their pullover. Mine got it in a couple of months. Since then her progress has been much slower. I just attribute the pullover to hours of gracefully swinging monkey bars. Oh, and she won't "condition" on her own, but take her to the park and she is training for American Ninja Warrior.

 

[rjb123]

Swing set. Monkey bars. Tree climbing. Bike Riding. Jumping Rope. IMO all of these things are fabulous for littles who want to get stronger. When DD was five and training for old 4 a coach told me that the best things that she could do to improve her skills in the gym were the above items, aka just being a kid. When DD comes home frustrated about not being able to do her CH to HS yet, I send her outside to the swing set and tell her to do the monkey bars with her little sister- they will help her get stronger, which in turn will help her in the gym. Burns off all the extra energy and frustration and it is a win win. Good luck- DD has never been one of those kids who "got" bars easily but it comes, promise.

 

[jessmomto2]

My daughter plays ninja warrior at the playground too lol.

 

[gymdog]

Yes, playground is perfect. Many kids don't get the opportunity to use those muscles. Schools are removing items like monkey bars and even swings from playground due to fear of liability from broken arms. So just because your kid has recess, they may not be able to play on those kinds of items. It is sad to think about the physical ramifications for kids who don't participate in activities like gymnastics that emphasize upper body strength. Especially for girls who often have an easier time developing it as kids than after puberty.

By the way, swimming is a GREAT way to improve upper body and core strength as well. I had a little kid who made huge strides after a summer of trying to keep up with two older siblings who joined a swim team.