Parents Equipment needed at home for beginners in gymnastics?

[Erbshea4]

I’m trying to figure out what I should invest in for beginners basic gymnastics. She’s only 3. Any suggestions?

 

[Coach Kate]

None unless your home is all hardwood, then a mat for stretching. As a former coach, too much equipment at home is a huge no from me. When she's older,maybe a pull up bar. But splits and strength are my only official work on at home recommendations. And again, eventually press handstands and handstand holds but I wouldn't tell a three year old to practice handstands at home.

 

[bookworm]

Nothing… signed mom of 2 multi year level 10s who never had any home equipment

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

None whatsoever. Leave gymnastics in the gym.

For an older and more advanced gymnast (like, at least 12 years old and at least level 7), MAYBE a small panel mat and a bare stretch of wall with nothing hard or breakable around it, for handstand work and shaping drills, and MAYBE a pull-up bar (but only if you can set it up in a way that ensures there's not enough space to swing on it). But even those are not necessary.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, BUDDHA, CTHULHU, SIMONE BILES, THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER, OR WHOMEVER ELSE YOU MAY WORSHIP, DO NOT GET A BACKYARD TRAMPOLINE NOW OR AT ANY TIME IN THE FUTURE.
As a 20-year coach whose strongest focus is trampoline and tumbling, if I could outlaw backyard trampolines I would do so with zero hesitation. They are liability nightmares, they are technique nightmares, they are safety nightmares. They are right up there with nuclear weapons and automated phone trees as one of the worst things ever invented.

 

[Gymgirl84]

You don't need anything.
But can you really stop the gymnastics outside the gym? I was a gymnast with no equipment at home and I was doing gymnastics non stop everywhere, on the floor, on the sofa, putting mats and towels on the floor, on any bar I could find in the parks,... My daughter is pretty much the same but she has a trampoline (that's from way before she was a gymnast) and a floor beam. She doesn't have a bar but she pretends our sofa is a bar, lol.

 

[HurricaneLR]

Like everyone else said, you don't need anything. But let's be honest, if she likes gymnastics, she will be doing it everywhere. So I think a panel mat is a good idea so she has something a little softer to practice on, even for stretching and conditioning. As she gets older, a pull-up bar can be really helpful. That shoulder/back/core strength makes learning bar skills so much easier. But for now, at the age of 3, she doesn't need to do anything specific to gymnastics at home - she should be running around the park and the playground, which gives her all the jumping, swinging, rolling and body control that she will need for gymnastics.