Coaches Is this safe?

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

ChalkBucket may earn a commission through product links on the site.

All Chalked Up

Coach
Gymnast
Joined
Mar 15, 2010
Messages
1,307
Reaction score
370
I am having a bit of trouble with the step out of my BHS on beam- I'm worried about getting my hands on so once I do, I relax and loosen up a bit unintentionally. Still get feet on, but don't always stick and sometimes swing my back foot in front of my front upon landing.

To fix this, my coach stuck the portapit against the wall, put a beam against that, then stood a crash mat up against the beam, thus creating a narrow "tunnel".

Because of the narrowness, I wasn't able to stand up straight let alone swing my arms for the BHS. Hitting the "walls" made you land on your face(which some of my teamates did, I wouldn't go for it). It looked as if they "bounced off" the mat.

Is this drill safe? Doesn't seem to be IMO.
 
If it caused people to land on their faces, it doesn't sound safe. I don't coach WAG but if I set up a drill and someone got hurt, I would change it or make it so that I could catch/spot if needed. Having more than one person land on their face and the coach getting everyone else to carry on going for the same thing sounds pretty bad to me.
 
I don't like correcting with external aids because they change the skill unpredictably.

Maybe you can incorporate some of these thoughts into the work you do with your coach.

First I want you to understand it's my impression this is not a new skill, and the problem you've described is a chronic one rather than the usual whoops that happens while learning any skill. I also want to say these suggestions can be applied to anyone they stick to because I'm addressing common issues shared by many gymnasts..... so it's not you, it's me.

Sure, you gotta experience change to go from sorta to really good, but I want that change to come from you. Really it comes down to first changing yourself to image the correct model of what the bhs is, and then repeat the skill over and over in your imagination to the point of anticipating what you'll feel, hear, and maybe even see at key moments of the skill. Make it as real as you can, and do it all day long right up to the final moments (especially) before you fall asleep at night.

Imaging to this extent isn't some feel good comforter to build up your confidence, because that's a shallow process. Your mind and body are both made of the same stuff, and work together all day long to perform simple and complex movement, so working your mind will add to what your body has learned and make the skill easier. I guess you could say the concept is similar to using your fingers, as a child, to keep track while counting to ten.

The next step is to work on the floor line and do the skill within a very narrow description of perfection. Every attempt is going to receive your total attention and energy to allow your version of perfection to be the result. When you do these you'll learn to have such control that there's nothing but intended movement through to the finish. These will finish balanced, with square hips, and straight alignment that will allow you to land the second foot and after the briefest pause move to a skill on either your front or back foot. Repeat this entire process and make it a bit briefer on each successive increase in beam height.

That's the confidence building control you're looking for, and right now you don't got it, but you really can have it in very short order by cramming a bunch of floor line bhs into any amount of time you can sneak them in...... or let your coach know you want to turn over a new leaf and need 3 minutes each day, which is enough time for twenty on the line, or floor beam 18 on a low beam and 15 on the high beam..... just slowing enough to allow time for the occasional fall and climb back up. No, you don't do the line and the floor beam and the low beam and the high beam with those numbers in a single workout. Warm up for the beam height you want to use, and then get your numbers in.

Meanwhile consider this line of thought. You go to the gym each day to get a little better, but have struggled for too long on this skill. You may have had a genuine reason to struggle six months or a year ago, but not now because you've had time to get a little better every day. The problem isn't your lack of physical ability, but your sense of your ability to do the skill hasn't grown while your body trained and get better. Your sense of ability just stayed there, where it was the first few weeks or months you you trained them.

It's time to let your mind catch up.

Here's another something to read......

You say you get your hands on the beam, then get loose, then get your feet on, and sometimes stick and sometimes not. Getting loose is making the skill harder to do safely because, well you don't practice "loose" as if were a functioning part of a skill in the sense you strive to do it consistently and with polish it. So I'd say that "loose" is a wild card that may change your core's orientation to the beam and place your legs slightly here once time, and slightly there the next time, and some other place times 15. You'll never have a sense of security when you have 15 different versions of your body doing the second half of the skill because you can't train something that changes 5 times out of 10. Really, force your body to give your brain one predictable problem to solve.

Doing it right may seem to hard, but doing it wrong to make it easier will never work..... it'll make it harder.

Go now, and be good to yourself.
 
Is it on the high beam or low beam? When I was a gymnast my coach had drills like this for LOW BEAM but never soon the high beam. As a coach I would never have anyone do it on the high beam as any number of things could go wrong. But if it is on the low beam its not quite as bad.
 
I don't like correcting with external aids because they change the skill unpredictably.

Maybe you can incorporate some of these thoughts into the work you do with your coach.

First I want you to understand it's my impression this is not a new skill, and the problem you've described is a chronic one rather than the usual whoops that happens while learning any skill. I also want to say these suggestions can be applied to anyone they stick to because I'm addressing common issues shared by many gymnasts..... so it's not you, it's me.

Sure, you gotta experience change to go from sorta to really good, but I want that change to come from you. Really it comes down to first changing yourself to image the correct model of what the bhs is, and then repeat the skill over and over in your imagination to the point of anticipating what you'll feel, hear, and maybe even see at key moments of the skill. Make it as real as you can, and do it all day long right up to the final moments (especially) before you fall asleep at night.

Imaging to this extent isn't some feel good comforter to build up your confidence, because that's a shallow process. Your mind and body are both made of the same stuff, and work together all day long to perform simple and complex movement, so working your mind will add to what your body has learned and make the skill easier. I guess you could say the concept is similar to using your fingers, as a child, to keep track while counting to ten.

The next step is to work on the floor line and do the skill within a very narrow description of perfection. Every attempt is going to receive your total attention and energy to allow your version of perfection to be the result. When you do these you'll learn to have such control that there's nothing but intended movement through to the finish. These will finish balanced, with square hips, and straight alignment that will allow you to land the second foot and after the briefest pause move to a skill on either your front or back foot. Repeat this entire process and make it a bit briefer on each successive increase in beam height.

That's the confidence building control you're looking for, and right now you don't got it, but you really can have it in very short order by cramming a bunch of floor line bhs into any amount of time you can sneak them in...... or let your coach know you want to turn over a new leaf and need 3 minutes each day, which is enough time for twenty on the line, or floor beam 18 on a low beam and 15 on the high beam..... just slowing enough to allow time for the occasional fall and climb back up. No, you don't do the line and the floor beam and the low beam and the high beam with those numbers in a single workout. Warm up for the beam height you want to use, and then get your numbers in.

Meanwhile consider this line of thought. You go to the gym each day to get a little better, but have struggled for too long on this skill. You may have had a genuine reason to struggle six months or a year ago, but not now because you've had time to get a little better every day. The problem isn't your lack of physical ability, but your sense of your ability to do the skill hasn't grown while your body trained and get better. Your sense of ability just stayed there, where it was the first few weeks or months you you trained them.

It's time to let your mind catch up.

Here's another something to read......

You say you get your hands on the beam, then get loose, then get your feet on, and sometimes stick and sometimes not. Getting loose is making the skill harder to do safely because, well you don't practice "loose" as if were a functioning part of a skill in the sense you strive to do it consistently and with polish it. So I'd say that "loose" is a wild card that may change your core's orientation to the beam and place your legs slightly here once time, and slightly there the next time, and some other place times 15. You'll never have a sense of security when you have 15 different versions of your body doing the second half of the skill because you can't train something that changes 5 times out of 10. Really, force your body to give your brain one predictable problem to solve.

Doing it right may seem to hard, but doing it wrong to make it easier will never work..... it'll make it harder.

Go now, and be good to yourself.

@iwannacoach | WOW! Couldn't have been said better! That is some of the best advice to get. MIT (Mental Imaging Training) really does wonders. The mind and body are 100% connected! and often times the mind needs just as much training as the body for certain skills. It's helped me on multiple occasions learn new skills to the point where they don't even take much effort anymore. Great advice iwannacoach! You seem like you have a treasure trove of knowledge all based on experience.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Iwannacoach, your knowledge is amazing.

BHS is a fairly new skill, I've only been going for it on high beam by myself for a month. It's tight on low beam, medium beam and high beam with a mat underneath. When the coach I trust with spotting spots me for it on high beam (no mats) it's tight.

Confidence issue maybe???
 
Thanks for all the replies. Iwannacoach, your knowledge is amazing.

BHS is a fairly new skill, I've only been going for it on high beam by myself for a month. It's tight on low beam, medium beam and high beam with a mat underneath. When the coach I trust with spotting spots me for it on high beam (no mats) it's tight.

Confidence issue maybe???

You're doing just fine. You can build confidence over time and do it quicker with more repetitions in a shorter period of time. If your coach is up for it ask to be spotted for one minute or until you feel threatened by the thought of doing any more within that minute.

I do this with a hands on spot during the jump phase as well as the block to step out phase. Over a short period of workout, I'll gradually reduce spotting to a touch on the first few and then go to an air spot on the first phase and a brush spot on the second phase. You can probably get up and do four in a minute right now, but you could likely do six and the last two you'd be tired and feel a little rushed, and that's a good thing if you have a capable coach who's spotting you trust.

The thing with this is you'll fill your mind with only the image and cues for the bhs, because you know there's not a second to spare if you want to get past six, or seven. Any corrections you get should be brief and happen as you move to get ready for the next one. Mainly you need a cheerleader who can spot, as you already can do the skill and have done countless numbers of them on the floor and floor beam. There's nothing left to learn, except to trust yourself and focus only on the skill.... let the outcome be what it will be and it will be good. No nibbles allowed! Bite off a good chunk and you'll realize you can chew it up just fine.

You know, this is a lot like going to the dentist and having a tooth drilled and filled. You first resist, then commit and feel uncomfortable, and then tolerate it quite well. Then you get to enjoy the special feeling you have when it's done. The only caution I have to share is you have to moderate your numbers to account for possible over use. Figure that 3 one minute sets is fine and your total numbers done for the day will increase as you improve the minutes that you spend..... and be ready to accept that the third set will be harder o get through than the first set.

The mentality you'll grow into is that you can make six in a minute only because you have the skill down and it's all good. Another nice thing about the compressed time and high numbers is you'll have more time to spend working on....... a series!!!!o_O:eek::D:cool: in that order.
 

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

College Gym News

STICK IT

The Hardest Skills: McKayla Maroney

Back