Parents Best equipment for home

[So confused]

At level 3, my kid is starting to rock the bar she has at home. Any recommendations for something sturdy? Or a double?

She also has an air track which we love.

Just purchased an 8ft, adjustable practice beam.

What do your babies use? Links please.

 

[Deleted member 26368]

Bought an adjustable beam for my kid Christmas 2021. It sits unused in the basement . Mats have been hands down our most used home equipment. Never had home bars, but I hear that can be tricky because of the safety/stability concerns. Many here (especially coaches) will 100% recommend no home equipment other than mats for stretching, so keep that in mind.

 

[Tigtimes]

Parent of a level 10 gymnast here.
we had a folding beam that she used a bit when very young. Other than that nothing.

Save your money and leave the gym in the gym - ESPECIALLY bars ! Seriously no home equipment is necessary.

 

[bookworm]

Parent of 2 level 10s ...best home equipment = none

 

[JBS]

Bars are tough... as soon as they can do anything beyond a pullover... it starts to move and rock.

Beyond that you would be going into actual gym quality single rails or full sets of unevens. A good rail alone without the uprights will cost you around $800.

Having a pull-up bar for basic strength can be really beneficial at home.

 

[JBS]

Here is a basic bar... all of the bars like this are basically the same. Notice this one looks exactly like other brand name ones and it's only $102.97 + FREE shipping...

Jr. Gymnastics Kip Bar

Titan's Jr. Gymnastics kip bar is the optimal training bar for young athletes looking to put in some extra work at home.

www.jdoqocy.com

Feel free to buy this... ChalkBucket will earn a bit of money off of it!

Again... this bar will wobble... rock... and possibly tip over with enough force. All home use bars like this will.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Yes, I would recommend no home equipment.

Injuries on home equipment are very common, at the gym when coaches supervise their kids they can see the subtle changes in technique creep in, when a gymnast is fatiguing or developing a bad habit and they stop the skills before the injury occurs. Overuse injuries are also very common, doing skills over and over at home without technique getting corrected puts a lot of strain on certain body parts and this leads to long term persistent injuries that are so hard to heal, often take years.

Home equipment also encourages gymnasts to try things they haven't learned or are only just learning. Some kids are great and never throw skills unless their coach says they are ready, but often those things change when friends are over.

Air mats are my biggest concern, they can result in catastrophic injuries. The bounce in unpredictable, how bouncy it is will change depending on the amount of air in it, and that will change depending on the weather as air expands or contracts. If they hit the wrong spot on the airmat they go flying and that can end very badly. It also really encourages kids to try things they haven't been taught or might not be ready for, and using the airmat too much promotes poor technique, as it will throw skills around for them that are not being done correctly. They will be able to land it, and think they have it, but the airmat is doing it and they are practicing bad habits.

Having said all that, regular ,mats are a good idea. Gymnasts will be upside doing skills everywhere anyway and without mats they will do it on less forgiving surfaces.

 

[Coach Kate]

As a former gymnast who did her first flyaway on a pull up bar at home, I strongly recommend very minimal home equipment. We recently had an athlete injure herself doing a skill at home on an air track, and then she refused to do it in the gym for months because she was so afraid. It was really frustrating for all of us. That being said, having a small beam at home for my full turn ended up being super helpful when I struggled with consistency on those. And during covid closures, we did provide resources on how to make floor bars for our highest levels practicing handstand positions and pirouettes at home.

 

[Gymbletot]

Mats are very handy- as mentioned by others, my little one is upside down a lot and better on mats than our wooden floors or my sofa!

 

[rd7]

Door bar for strength, mat for stretching, maybe a very low beam for basic skills but not necessary. Anything else will probably be detrimental to her progression in the long run, for all the reasons stated above.

 

[rlm's mom]

A garden playset (swings, slide, monkey bars) gives my girls plenty to work with.

 

[gymgal]

We had a floor beam that was barely used a chin up bar for strength, which she used the most, and a floor parrellette (I think that's what it is) for her to practice handstands on bars, which she never used

honestly, Best to keep the equipment out of the home. It will keep them eager to go to practice, reduce burnout, and eliminates the parents' inclination to coach from home.

 

[Tmacs]

Mine was L3 during the initial shutdown. It was super helpful having a bar and beam during that time for zoom sessions. But the coaches were watching. Hardly used it after that. At our gym, those with lots of equipment at home aren't any better than the ones who don't have anything. So glad I never got an air track for her!!

 

[Jessaellen]

Interesting about the AirTraks- I was going to buy one but think wont bother now. We’ve just got a chin up bar for door and foldy beam. Sounds like that will do!

 

[pt coach]

When my DD was maybe in pre-team a grandparent bought her equipment as Christmas presents (one piece each year). I believe she had a wedge mat, a floor beam and some sort of mat used to work on bhs. She spent very little time doing gymnastics on this equipment, but spent endless hours building forts with the equipment. It was fantastic for fort building! (now she is studying to be an architectural engineer so maybe it was a good investment...)

 

[GymMom23]

Agree with TigTimes….we had a small folding beam and a mat from our gym when they replaced some old ones. Other than that, nothing. Left the training in the gym.

 

[katrid11]

We have a height adjustable beam, 2 mats, wedge mat and a bar. The beam and bar were bought during the early pandemic and was a great add at that time. Now her bar skills are a bit too much for the home bar. Hard to practice cast to handstands on a small bar. The beam is still in good occasional use. The mats are used regularly.

generally we leave most skills to the gym. However practicing dance moves for the floor or beam are done at home when she misses a practice etc.

We have found the more you do at home, the more your risk incorrect practice and then the coaches need alot of time to undo improper form etc. Strength moves like squats, squat jumps, lunges, pushups, planks, core work, and press handstands are really good options for home workouts with just a mat or 2.

 

[MuggleMom]

Best thing I got my kid that she used from level 3 to currently Level 8 is a pull up bar. I know sounds silly but she does leg lifts and pull ups on it randomly every day. When we were in lockdown it was great for conditioning. She cant outgrow it, the rest of the family can use it. Its not the kind of equipment that will allow you to learn bad habits on form etc for skills. She was also super excited when she got it as a bday gift go figure.