floored... haha, literally.

[dancesterx3]

ok So i didn't know after a certain age you could still do gymnastics? I asked all the gyms around my area if they had adult classes and they all said no cause of their insurance policies or something. I really want to get back into the sport, I did it as a kid/teen I was a junior elite when I quit (and then continued till I was 16 rec.) and I really want to do cheerleading, but I'm 23 and I've had this whole impression that after 18 you're S.O.L. cause most competitions have that 18 yr old age limit. I knew that some cheer gyms have international open teams that is 18 + but I didn't know you could continue gymnastics after 18. I mean unless you're Svetlana Khorkina who's been in it since she was 2. Well this is a very refreshing find.

I want to get back into tumbling but I'm way too scared to just throw a BHS since I haven't done one since I was 16. I don't know how strong my arms are to hold me up, and I don't have a trampoline or access to one unless I joined some kind of gym, that had adult level classes.

 

[dannolynn]

Hey, I hope you're able to find something. What area are you located in? You certainly can do gymnastics at any age. I used to have the misconception that you couldn't do it once you hit 18, too. But then I found an adult gymnastics website and started calling some gyms. I started going to an adult class when I was 23, and hadn't really done gymnastics before (except for cartwheels and handstands). I've competed in Prep Op a couple of times but have been out a lot with injuries. USAG has no age limit. USAIG and AAU both don't have age limits either. It's just a matter of finding a gym to train at, unfortunately. Good luck!

 

[dancesterx3]

That has brightened my hope flame a lot. I'm in Orlando so you'd think there'd be somewhere that has an adult class and it may be that most adult/young adults asse the same thing I did, and the gyms can't afford to have a class for two or three people. But last time I asked Orlando metro gymnastics they said they didn't have them because of insurance reasons. I don't anything about insurance policies so I don't know how age plays into it except that maybe we adults have our own insurance and that's not acceptable? I'm going to go look into it now. How often do you practice?

 

[katy]

welcome to the adult chalk bucket,
aausports.org is really big in florida. i don't think you should have any problems finding a gym. you might have to drive further.
the women at my gym, we all started coming to open gym. and then when the coaches saw that we knew what we were doing, the let us practice whenever we wanted.
i wouldn't worry about the bhs too much, the muscle memory is fascinating. i still amaze myself what my body can still do!
good luck finding a gym.

 

[dancesterx3]

Ok see, apparently I don't do my homework as well as I should have. I know that AAU is big here they have a headquarters over by Disney. I didn't know that you could just go to open gym and just start training. I mean if thats true, I know Metro by my house has open gym. I didn't know you could just go in there pay the cover fee and just hop on the beam or whatever. Interesting. Are there coaches there to help you or are you just on your own? I'm really shy when it comes to asking for help but I know in my case, I'm going to have to, just cause it's been so long since I've done anything and I'm REALLY scared of doing it without the knowledge of knowing what is going to happen. I want to be very safe when i go back into it. Heck, even when I was a kid, I was scared of starting new elements. So how exactly does open gym work?

 

[dancesterx3]

Ok so I looked up on my old gyms site and they didn't say anything about open gym on their site so I'll call them, but if I remember correctly they didn't do open gym when I was there so they may not have jumped on that band wagon. And Orlando Metro has open gym but it's only for current students 3 to 18. I'm also looking at cheer gyms too. I want to get into cheerleading. It was something I wanted to do as a kid but Elite gymnastics took up all my free time, so I couldn't do both.

 

[dannolynn]

The open gym I go to you just pay and then you can do whatever you want. The coach who runs the one I go to happens to be really nice (and started gym as an adult, too) so she will help me sometimes, but generally, you're just on your own. Some places even have a no spotting rule.

Because I'm injured right now, and have been for a year (with 2 different injuries) I haven't been practicing that much. When I was on the Prep Op team I practiced 4 hours a week, plus I would do extra open gyms or private lessons sometimes on top of that. Right now I only do an hour or so a week.

 

[dancesterx3]

as far as I can tell, the two gyms I know of don't have open gyms thats open to the public of all ages, I don't know of any other major gyms in and around Orlando, I don't wanna go to some random dance studio that teaches gymnastics because they just teach cartwheels and things I already know how to do. I want to advance in my tumbling.

 

[dannolynn]

I would look online, or look in the phone book and ask all the gyms if they have any adult classes. Most gyms don't advertise online that they offer adult classes. Like Katy said above, you may have to look at gyms that are farther away from you. Also, if you literally can't find anything anywhere, see if you can get a bunch of friends together that are also interested in tumbling or cheer and ask them if they would start a class for you. It can't hurt to ask. If they see enough interest, they might be willing to start one.

 

[nicci1999]

You're definatley going to need to call around to find a gym. As everyone else previously posted, it most likely won't be advertised, and there is a chance you will have to drive a bit further. I travel .5 hour to get to my gym for four hours of practice, and about .5 hour to open gym at a different gym as well. I actually go to three different gyms just so I can get in the time to practice, and it averages out to about 6 hours a week right now. Good luck with your search!!!

 

[dancesterx3]

its probably true, I did find one gym that has an open gym to the public but it's almost an hour out of my way. But it's kinda close to where my bff trains for figure skating so we may investigate on Wednesday after her practice.

 

[gurlgymnast]

I would ask the gym if they would consider allowing adults in their open gym if it says "ages __- 18" A lot of gyms just haven't thought of the possibility of adults at all. I've been to a lot of open gyms that said til age 18...and even after I had been going for a while, some of them didn't get around to changing the wording.

You could also check up on private/semi-private lessons. I can/do work out at the gym I coach for whenever I want, but that is completely by myself. I use my cell phone to video tape my routines to see what I need to work on, but even a 30 min private lesson once in a while is very helpful.

 

[katy]

i would go into your old gym, ask to talk to the owner (who i'm sure still remembers you!) tell them that your new goal is to compete aau gymnastics. remind him/her that aau's moto is sports for life, and that you are covered by aau's insurance at meets. tell them you'll sign any release forms that the gym requires. if this doesn't work, ask for a job coaching one class once per week. that is what i did at the gym before agt flip city. their loop hole for insurance is that coaches can show tricks and therefore the owner let us work out.
i think that it helps if they see that you are still pretty fit. you can work on your stretching and conditioning at home.
keep us posted...

 

[dancesterx3]

I don't wanna promote lying or anything, But I really don't look older than 18 and frequently get the "You look 15" comment. I mean unless they got a bouncer checking ID's are they really going to know how old I am? UNLESS, they make outsiders sign a waiver which I would assume they would for liability and then it ask for your age. But everytime I've ever signed a waiver for stuff like that they never ask for personal info, it's just a long paragraph on how you can't hold them responsible for injuries and whatnot and all you have to do is sign it and date it. So They probably wouldn't even know how old i was unless they asked me, right?

 

[dancesterx3]

i would go into your old gym, ask to talk to the owner (who i'm sure still remembers you!) tell them that your new goal is to compete aau gymnastics. remind him/her that aau's moto is sports for life, and that you are covered by aau's insurance at meets. tell them you'll sign any release forms that the gym requires. if this doesn't work, ask for a job coaching one class once per week. that is what i did at the gym before agt flip city. their loop hole for insurance is that coaches can show tricks and therefore the owner let us work out.
i think that it helps if they see that you are still pretty fit. you can work on your stretching and conditioning at home.
keep us posted...

Hmm, I didn't think about that, thanks, I'll have to go back to them and ask them, I'll probably call them. I called the other one I was supposed to stop by this afternoon, and they said they do allow outsiders but it's until age 18. I hate being over 18! lol

 

[kyliesmith1]

Hey. I was just reading all the posts and everyone has good ideas. I'm actually 29. It took awhile for the gym to come around to completely accepting me but now we've developed a little adult gymnastics team planning on competing in the aau nationals in disney this summer. Like everyone says go talk to your gym and see if they have private lessons and have them give you a number for the coach. Its true, its a lot easier for us older gymnasts to get injured but as long as the coach is a good coach you shouldn't have a problem. The coach could start you small and just see where you stand right now so he/she knows where you need to start and the safest way to progress. Usually once the gym sees that you are just as capable as the little kids to continue to do gymnastics they will slowly warm up to you. I think they are just nervous at first if they have never had someone over 18 do gymnastics in their gym before. I say it took the gym a couple of years to really believe I was capable of progressing and competing as an adult and now we're trying to attract even more adult gymnasts. I know it might be expensive to take a private lesson but it might be your only way in at the beginning. I hope it works for you .

 

[kgymn]

Of course you can do gymnastics when you are over 18! I'm 27 and starting to get new skills I didn't have in highschool (granted I was only working on level 5 but still)

Heck a good half or so of our silver medal winning olympic team in 2004 was 18 or over!! I so wish this had stuck in more peoples minds... Mohini Bhardwaj and Annia Hatch were in their 20s, and Terin Humphrey was just either about to turn 18 or just had. Also, you cannot forget Oksana Chusovitina who earned the silver on vault and placed 9th in the all around in the 2008 Olympics- at age 33 (and she's a mom, too!)

Annia Hatch had actually retired, and then started training again as an adult. Tore her ACL in 2003 and STILL came back the next year to grab a spot on the Olympic team and won the silver on vault in 2004. That would be a career ending injury for almost any gymnast, and even as an adult she overcame it and became an Olympic medalist. (She is my hero.)

Never too old!!

~Katy

 

[dancesterx3]

yeah but the olympian gymnasts had been training in their gyms since they were 2. SO everyone knew them. I'm just random 23 year old walking in and asking if I can take classes.

 

[katy]

how is the gym search going?

 

[dancesterx3]

I went and talked to the gym I went too, they remembered me! Shocker! They said they'd need at least a group of 5 or more girls willing to do it, otherwise they won't open the class, I don't know 4 people who'd be willing to pay $$$ to do gymnastics, so I don't know what I'll do there, I'm still searching for a team around here who has an international open squad for cheerleading, I'd like to do both if I could, but right now it looks like I won't be doing either. Who'd have thought of all places Orlando wouldn't have those types of things, especially if gyms in smaller less well known towns have them, I think we should. Maybe I should just move to Kernersville, NC and join Cheer Extreme's international team. LOL!