Women How to stay on the beam

[Isla_gymnast37]

I can never stay on the beam and as a result i score very low on beam. Can anyone help?

 

[Carabistouille]

Can you stay on beam in practice or do you also fall during training ? Is there a specific skill you fall on a lot ?

 

[Isla_gymnast37]

I can sometimes stay on the beam during practice but it's mainly while competing. The skill i fall a lot on is my turns. Thank you.

 

[Aussie_coach]

A video would really help for us to see what might be causing the problem.

 

[Cmumgym]

Ankle strength if it is falling from turns. Lots of ankle rises. And even put someone on your shoulders and do them. We have ankle raises as part of our strength testing as it is super important for control

 

[Carabistouille]

A video would really help for us to see what might be causing the problem.

I agree.

If your technique on the skills you fall on is sound (it's pretty obvious that if you have bad technique on a skill, you are likely to fall. For instance if you don't keep your hips straight on a jump, you are more likely to fall. Same thing if your back tuck is low, if you are not pushing through your shoulders in BWO, etc.), then a fall is often caused by a lack of body tension while landing / finishing the skill. After landing, you should stand tall, head up, abs and butt muscles squeezed.
If you fall on your turn a lot (I agree it's a hard skill), maybe check your turn technique ? Very common mistake on beam are : not staying tight during the turn, not keeping upper body straight (mainly leaning forward because of looking down), trying to put your foot on the beam before the turn is completed.

Buuut, if you do this in training and you mainly fall during competition, it might just be a nerve issue ? Do you do a lot of "pressure" routines before a meet ? For instance routines with your whole team watching you ?
I know I sometimes try to imagine that I am at a meet and that I absolutely have to make this routine. And believe it or not, it does stress me out and helps me recreate the feelings of being on beam at a meet. My coach also have us do some running / light cardio exercices to get our heart rate up to replicate meet feelings (I personnaly don't find it very efficient but I know some people like it).

 

[Dylan Bob]

I think stay on the Link Removed it's very though because I will try it last 10 day's but am not done it...

 

[mls529]

If it is truly just competition, have you tried visualizing? That helps my daughter quite a bit - the whole team does it before competing beam. But if you are also falling at practice on the same skill, I recommend working on technique as the posters above have mentioned (but add in visualizing too!)

 

[Gym Geek]

There are two reasons you might be falling off the beam:
1). Nerves. If you stay on in practice but fall off in meets, it may be because you are so worked up about NOT falling off the beam that you can’t focus and end up falling off. At my state meet last season, I was so nervous before my beam routine that I was visibly shaking when I saluted the judge. All of my skills were worse than they usually were at practice, and I fell on my jump series after attempting to save it. I am usually one of the best girls at beam in my practice, but this was the first event at State and I didn’t feel confident. My coach talked to me, and I gave myself a mental talk before each event after that, which helped a lot! Try taking deep breaths and visualizing your routine beforehand.

2). Technique. Are you on high releve throughout your turn? Do you have your ribs in and your head in a neutral position? ARMS can make a huge difference, too. Make sure they are tight and stay in one spot. If they drop or flail around you can lose your balance and fall off. Also, remember to not fall out of your turn when you finish, but that you stay upright and wait a second before stepping out of it.

As @Cmumgym said, weak ankles may be another problem. Toe raises and releve walks will strengthen this.

 

[Isla_gymnast37]

Thank you everyone for the replies, i will start working on my technique in my turns.

 

[Muddlethru]

Spot the end of the beam. Start your turn by finding a fixed focal point in front of you, say the end of the beam. End your turn by looking for that same fixed focal point. Your body goes where your eyes go. If you look down, you will go down. So make sure you only see that fixed focal point for the duration of your turn. Does that make sense? Keep your body in one straight line from head to toe; suck in your tummy, strong tight Passé and arms. Relax and drop your shoulders. To make a turn technically correct, a lot goes into play.

 

[Dylan Bob]

Thanks... for giving me suggestion I'm implement it in my daily exercising daily... And that give me good response

 

[Muddlethru]

You can also just practice holding your Relevé for 5 counts. Remember to pull up, strong tight passe and arms, shoulders down. You’ve got to hold this without wobbling.

When you attempt the turn, determine if you are putting too much force into turning or too little.

 

[Dylan Bob]

@4theloveofsports... Its very tough.

 

[Isla_gymnast37]

I have tried all these methods and they have worked very well i now have a much better turn, thank you everyone.

 

[Muddlethru]

@4theloveofsports... Its very tough.

What is very tough?

It is often times hard to implement a technique or correction sight unseen. A single turn on beam is required all through level 10 because it is not easy. Sometimes someone needs to be watching you to see what you are doing wrong.

Perhaps you should just start on releves. Hold it for a couple seconds without wobbling. Then do quarter turns and then half turns. Progress only once you are able to do them without wobbles. If you can’t make a quarter turn without going off balance, then you know you are either not centered correctly, not pulling up, pushing too much or too little.

While doing releves, correct your posture. Perhaps do your releves in front of the mirror. Shoulders down, stomach tight, passe and arms strong and ankles strong and not wobbling on high releve.

You can also post or message me a video of your turn. I am or was a dance (ballet, contemporary, lyrical and ballroom) instructor for decades. I’d be happy to help.