Buying equipment for home?

[q1498]

My daughter just turned 6 and is about to be moved up from level 2 to level 3. She really wants a bar to practice on at home. Does anyone have one they would recommend? (Or not recommend?) I am sure she would love a beam too, but bar is top priority!

Would love to hear what you have and why you like it (or not) and if you know the best place to buy!

Thanks!

 

[bookworm]

I would recommend the one at her gym...and to use it there.

 

[GymBee97]

Leave the gymnastics at the gym and let home be gymnastic practice free and the money in your pocket.
Just because she wants the bar doesn't mean she should get one. There is no coach at home to make sure that the way she is practicing is in correct form so she could be practicing mistakes that would need to be fixed over and over again.

the only home equipment we have ever needed was a chin up bar to do some home conditioning to do on the days she doesn't have gymnastics. Usually though all that home equipment goes the way of most home exercise equipment it is used for a short time then becomes the statue that holds the clothes.

Save your money and get her some fun leotards instead.

 

[MaryA]

There are a couple of threads on this topic (I know because I started one when there was a "Jr. Kip Bar" for sale from someone at our gym and I was debating whether or not to buy it). Try searching "home bar" or "kip bar" or something similar and you'll probably find them. You can also find threads debating the pros and cons of trampolines or just about anything else you might consider buying. Pretty much the answers come down into the "bought it and love it" camp, the "bought it and they mostly use it for making tents, if at all" camp and the "leave the gym in the gym... it could be dangerous and they'll learn bad habits" camp.

 

[GymBee97]

I'm in Camp 3 Mary. LOL So when is swimming peiriod at this camp ;-)

 

[flippysmom]

We bought my dd the jr kip bar on craigslist last summer for her birthday. We got a great deal (bar, mats and beam for $150). I can honestly say that we have gotten more than our money's worth out of it. Our gym has bar conditioning that is done at every practice and dd does it a lot at home. Her upper body strength has improved considerably.

Our rule on the bar is that you can only practice skills that your coach allows you to do without a spotter. On top of that we have excellent communication with her coach and she works with dd weekly on setting small goals and gives her drills that will help her achieve those goals, knowing that she has the bar at home. We are very careful to make sure that the bar is used as an extension of her gym training and not to attempt skills that she is not ready for.

Currently dd wants to get her kip and start working on cast handstands. Her coach has her doing drills to lead to the kip, but she never tries one without the coach spotting. The consistent message from home and gym is that proper conditioning and skill progression will lead to a clean skill, attempting to teach yourself a skill will lead to having to spend more time learning to do it right.

If your daughter is able to use the bar at home properly and in conjunction with her training at the gym, and you have a safe place to use it with the proper mats and supervision, it could be a useful tool for your dd as it has been for ours. As far as the cost goes, you can usually get most of your money back if you resell the equipment when you are done.

Good luck in your decision!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk

 

[pattymello]

Leave the gymnastics at the gym and let home be gymnastic practice free and the money in your pocket.
Just because she wants the bar doesn't mean she should get one. There is no coach at home to make sure that the way she is practicing is in correct form so she could be practicing mistakes that would need to be fixed over and over again.

the only home equipment we have ever needed was a chin up bar to do some home conditioning to do on the days she doesn't have gymnastics. Usually though all that home equipment goes the way of most home exercise equipment it is used for a short time then becomes the statue that holds the clothes.

Save your money and get her some fun leotards instead.

My chin up bar has a second function as a towel rack.

 

[pattymello]

Also get her a trampoline. i don't think a bar at home is that useful, but a trampoline is great for the development of good air sense.

 

[wallinbl]

Also get her a trampoline. i don't think a bar at home is that useful, but a trampoline is great for the development of good air sense.

When our homeowner's insurance found out we had one, we were sent a certified letter informing us that we were to confirm in writing that it had been removed within 3 days or our policy would be canceled. Yes, you can buy them everywhere, but check with your insurance company before you find yourself canceled, or worse, have an injury and find out you had voided your policy.

 

[GymBee97]

careful with tramps your homeowners Insurance could be cancelled if you have them.

 

[mayestra12]

Save your money. Don't buy one. We did. Yes, it gets used but not a lot. Every time it does it turns into an argument because dd doesn't necessarily want to use good technique while "playing" at home. I don't want to yell or coach her but I don't want her to learn bad habits as others have mentioned. She "taught" herself her mill circle by reversing her grip and pulling herself around before I knew she wasn't supposed to do it that way. Ugh. That took some time to fix! My little guy (age 4) likes to swing on it.

 

[pattymello]

Wow I had no idea owning one affected insurance. Is this in America because I have owned one all my life and never heard a whisper from my parents about insurance.

 

[emorymom]

My insurance has never said anything about the tramp.

IMO -- chin bar for doorway, folding panel mat, folding floor beam, painter's tape to put on the floor if she wants to cartwheel on a line.

 

[wallinbl]

My insurance has never said anything about the tramp.

Do they know you have it? Mine didn't until someone was out here for something and then they freaked out about it. Had it for years prior to that.

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

Also get her a trampoline. i don't think a bar at home is that useful, but a trampoline is great for the development of good air sense.

Our coaches at this and our previous gym have told us that home trampolines are an absolute NO. Not even allowed to play on friends' trampolines.

The biggest reason given by both is that the round backyard tramps cause so many injuries (even among competitive gymnasts) because gymnasts are used to the size of the rectangular trampolines and don't get the differences in size and shape.

Just a mom and just throwing my 2 cents in about what I've been told.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

in america, backyard trampolines are not covered under homeowners policies. if you tell them, they will charge you more than most can afford. and some will not provide coverage at all. unfortunately, most people do not know there is no coverage until someone gets injured and a claim/lawsuit is filed.

gym equipment is for the gym and to be used with experienced and trained coaches. home is for home. that's all.

 

[pattymello]

Our coaches at this and our previous gym have told us that home trampolines are an absolute NO. Not even allowed to play on friends' trampolines.

The biggest reason given by both is that the round backyard tramps cause so many injuries (even among competitive gymnasts) because gymnasts are used to the size of the rectangular trampolines and don't get the differences in size and shape.

Just a mom and just throwing my 2 cents in about what I've been told.

I grew up on a trampoline. i used to play around on it for about 2 hours every day for years. I didn't do gymnastics when i was younger but when i was 16 i had taught myself many of the basics including 1 1/2 twisting forwards and backwards with pretty good technique. I now have really good air sense for someone not trained in gymnastics. I tell my gymnasts to live on their trampoline... just don't do moves i haven't approved.

 

[Faith]

Also get her a trampoline. i don't think a bar at home is that useful, but a trampoline is great for the development of good air sense.

Do you think? The home trampolines you can buy here have very little bounce compared to a proper tramp- There is no way you could get enough height do a back tuck, for example, with proper form. Most kids I see do the head back whip round land on hands and knees thing. They are pretty much for jumping up and down on, not any sort of skill. Plus they're not strung to throw you back to the middle- over here injuries from home trampoline (adults and children) have increased ER admissions significantly.

 

[pattymello]

Do you think? The home trampolines you can buy here have very little bounce compared to a proper tramp- There is no way you could get enough height do a back tuck, for example, with proper form. Most kids I see do the head back whip round land on hands and knees thing. They are pretty much for jumping up and down on, not any sort of skill. Plus they're not strung to throw you back to the middle- over here injuries from home trampoline (adults and children) have increased ER admissions significantly.

I don't know what trampolines you have seen but i have seen people do doubles on backyard trampoline.

Edit: Also if standing backsaults are possible with good form even minimal bounce still allows for proper backsaults.

Also Emerymom: You are very wise.

 

[emorymom]

We have a tramp. It's not for gym but they get a lot of good exercise on it. It's a most-used toy situation. I've had one since before they were born.

Of course they could get hurt. Also my son could get hurt skateboarding or climbing a tree and one time my daughter took a turn too fast on her bike and got some serious road rash. Michael Phelps' coach flipped a lid once because he went bowling. OK, Phelp's coach was entitled. But most gymnastics coaches should only state their opinions on free-time passtimes ... beyond saying, stop trying skills because you've got bad form. But "absolute no" because of injuries is not the coach's domain. Kids should be out developing physical interests and learning to play, beyond gymnastics, because the vast majority of them will quit gym. And quite a few possible interests are going to pose potential injury. But you don't want to be training them to be sedentary if they're not going to be future elite.