H
htaqua
The gym that my dd goes to does not seem to do much conditioning. They do maybe 30 minutes at the beginning of the workout, and about 15 minutes stretch at the end. The girls so not generally walk the floor on their hands or do handstand pressups.
I asked the coach why they don't condition more (it is an issue parents seem to talk about in the hallway), and specifically, why they don't do TOPS. He told me that he prefers that they strenghten on the apparatus so that they have full range of motion. He says he has a couple of gymnsasts that came from other gyms all hunched over.
I, however, worry about injury. I have heard that TOPS was started so that girls had lots of strength before learning harder skills. I have also noticed lots of injuries and braces. Most of the older girls (except the two that came to the gym "hunched over") have experienced some sort of injury. Even two of the three level fives are effected - one has achilles problems, and one has a stress fracture. My daughter (competed level 4 last season) has been complaining about her achilles, also, and I am really starting to worry.
Also, is it normal to have a coach stick two girls in the cornor to practice nothing but glide kips for 45 minutes, with maybe 5-10 minutes of instruction. I know absolutely nothing about gymnastics, so I have no idea if this is standard practice.
I asked the coach why they don't condition more (it is an issue parents seem to talk about in the hallway), and specifically, why they don't do TOPS. He told me that he prefers that they strenghten on the apparatus so that they have full range of motion. He says he has a couple of gymnsasts that came from other gyms all hunched over.
I, however, worry about injury. I have heard that TOPS was started so that girls had lots of strength before learning harder skills. I have also noticed lots of injuries and braces. Most of the older girls (except the two that came to the gym "hunched over") have experienced some sort of injury. Even two of the three level fives are effected - one has achilles problems, and one has a stress fracture. My daughter (competed level 4 last season) has been complaining about her achilles, also, and I am really starting to worry.
Also, is it normal to have a coach stick two girls in the cornor to practice nothing but glide kips for 45 minutes, with maybe 5-10 minutes of instruction. I know absolutely nothing about gymnastics, so I have no idea if this is standard practice.