Parents Catching up in strength?

[gymhorsemom]

So my DD (7) has been on pre team for almost a year (started at 3 hours per week and is now at 4h/week). When she started on pre team she couldn't do a pullover and was not strong at all but showed other "strengths" which got her on pre team such as flexibility and coordination. Since joining pre team she has gained a lot of strength -it really hit me the other day when I saw her climbing the ropes just how much she has improved. However she is still not strong compared to your average gymnastics kid. If you have or know a kid like this did they eventually catch up with strength? I can only imagine that once her hours increase to 9 and then 12, etc her strength would too. Or did the weakest kids in the bunch remain the weakest kids?

 

[3 little monkeys]

I think it depends on the child. I have one strong and one not so strong gymnast. The one that isn't so strong manages enough to get by with the moves but will never be the strongest in the group. It takes an awful lot of willpower to build up the strength if it doesn't come naturally. That said you don't need to be the strongest in the group to do well so long as you keep working and have enough strength to manage the moves for your level.

 

[B.Gold]

Strength is really determined by genetics. And I read on here once, a post by a knowledgeable coach, that a person reaches 95% of their strength potential within 9 months of strength training.(correct me if I'm wrong)

Having said that, we have a successful gymnast competing L8 this season who has been called "weak" (in strength) by more than one coach-3 I think. She is brilliant at using physics on her side and gets her body where it needs to be to complete a skill with much less effort than my muscly behemoth of a daughter....and has roughly the same success.

 

[Ex member]

I hope this isn't true, I really hope that my dd will improve her strength with conditioning and strength work otherwise what is the point in doing it? My dd still cannot do a hanging pullover and I hope that one day she will be strong enough to do it, she isn't excactly weak in my eyes when is come to her core muscles as she can do 25 leg lifts (good in my eyes as she couldn't do one a year ago). I really hope that my dd will get stronger as she is only 8.

 

[sevenatenine2]

I have an athlete that is not naturally strong. She is very flexible, SUPER determined, and a beautiful dancer, but even when dancing, her leaps lack some dynamics that would come with additional strength. Her strength to weight ratio is also low, and she's just "softer" that your typical muscle-laden gymnast.

She's a Level 3 now. Bars is a struggle. She has all her skills but they're labored. I've often wondered if she would do better in a more intensive program (we're 8 hours a week) or if it would burn her out. She's easily injured, as well. I'm sure these weaknesses will keep her from elite gymnastics and maybe even optionals, but she's a great kid and I'm glad she's experiencing gymnastics and in our program.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

The important thing for gymnastics is their strength to weight ratio - that why girls suffer post puberty. Strength is one of the things that can be safely worked on at home - push ups, chins, squats, handstand push ups

 

[CanAmGymMum]

Your daughter will continue to get stronger. She may never catch up to the strongest kid in the group, but, if she's willing to work harder during conditioning than the other kids, she may not always be the weakest. Everyone has a different combination of strengths and weaknesses (no pun intended). Nastia and Khorkina were not naturally strong or powerful gymnasts and they did ok for themselves

 

[Committed]

I don't think that your DD has necessarily met her strength potential. I thought my DD was really strong when she was going 4 hours/week on a pre team. Then, she joined the L4 TOPs team. She 'only' goes 10.5 hours a week, but the change in her body was dramatic. Adults are often remarking on the definition in her abs or her shoulders/back.
Also, strength shows in different skills. My DD still struggles getting 15+ legs lifts (horizontal to vertical) and cast HS. However, she is the best rope climber.

 

[JBS]

So my DD (7) has been on pre team for almost a year (started at 3 hours per week and is now at 4h/week). When she started on pre team she couldn't do a pullover and was not strong at all but showed other "strengths" which got her on pre team such as flexibility and coordination. Since joining pre team she has gained a lot of strength -it really hit me the other day when I saw her climbing the ropes just how much she has improved. However she is still not strong compared to your average gymnastics kid. If you have or know a kid like this did they eventually catch up with strength? I can only imagine that once her hours increase to 9 and then 12, etc her strength would too. Or did the weakest kids in the bunch remain the weakest kids?

We have had athletes that were on the weaker side blow right past some of the strong kids...work ethic. It all depends on how they grow also.

 

[Mom2Chickadee]

My DD is exactly the same, she's very flexible and works really hard, but her upper body strength is a struggle. For her, I can attest to increased strength with the increased hours in the gym. She may not be where the other girls are in her group when it comes to their upper body strength but she has improved immensely in her own strength over the year and as long as she sees improvement in her abilities she's willing to work as hard as she can to get stronger. She's now up to at least 4 full chin ups over the bar when this time last year I don't think she would have been able to get her forehead to the top of the bar even once, lol.

 

[Ex member]

My DD is exactly the same, she's very flexible and works really hard, but her upper body strength is a struggle.She may not be where the other girls are in her group when it comes to their upper body strength but she has improved immensely in her own strength over the year.She's now up to at least 4 full chin ups over the bar when this time last year I don't think she would have been able to get her forehead to the top of the bar even once, lol.

Sounds like you are describing my youngest dd, she is quite short, skin and muscle (skinny) with very little body fat, she seems to me like she has poor upper body strength, like your dd she has improved in the year she has been on team and beats her our score when they do physical abilities testing. Just recently my dd has started using the pull-up bar again, she can do 25 leg lifts (not sure if they are true leg lifts and she doesn't do it from hanging, she starts with her tip toes on the floor, lifts her legs to the bar and return to the floor again on tiptoes, she keeps going until she is tired), dd does chin ups on the pull-up bar but has a light spot as she finds it hard to grip the metal pull up bar, she can do several pull-ups on the a bars at gym from hanging (dd has to hang as she is short).

 

[Shooosh]

A lot of things will come to gymnasts with knowledge and muscle memory and that can make up for strength sometimes. For example, I have (several) extra pounds and am now middle aged (wah!) but can still easily do a pullover. Because I have done SO many in my life. You could find many a stronger football player, swimmer, average teenager, etc...who is younger and with less body weight who could not.
Don't get me wrong, strength is VERY important, but there are other factors that play into it.

 

[Deleted member 17723]

I honestly wouldn't worry to much-just make sure she is putting in the effort and not cheating. She will catch up, and, eventually probably fly past the strong girls because of her attitude. As long as shes working hard, has a positive attitude, and giving 100%, she should be ok.
Just have her work on some basic conditioning at home-pushups, planks, situps, and lots of handstands/shapes!

 

[refugee]

Part of it is hours of effort...you wouldn't think my daughter is genetically inclined toward high strength (looking at her parents but she embraces conditioning--as a 4 yr old, she would self-condition with chin-ups and leg lifts on days she wasn't in the gym. While that did her well for years, we were amazed at what happened when, at age 12, she moved from a 20 hr/wk program to a 28 hr/wk program. Even more muscle development and definition. No, she did not go thru a growth spurt.