Parents Mushroom For Home

[SunshineDay]

Hi!

First post so please be gentle

My nephew is turning 5 and is super into gymnastics. I don't know too much about it, but it seems like he's pretty good already. I guess that doesn't matter, what DOES matter is that he loves it and all he wants to do is practice...

Well, with the quarantine and his gym being closed, I want to get him something for home. (I thought of a bar but a quick search here showed that was a big no no!) It seems like people generally did recommended getting a mushroom. He uses that in his class already, and it's one of his favorites. So I think he'd like it.

My questions... Am I stupid for buying a 5 year old a mushroom? And are they really ALL that expensive? Or is there some super secret site where people sell gymnastics equipment they don't need anymore? (I saw the tutorials to make one at home but I lack any sort of DIY ability in general...)

Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

[txgymfan]

Lots of young gymnast boys get mushrooms to practice at home. It seems to be one of the safest apparatus to use, especially since circles are so hard the young ones spend most of their time falling off it anyway.

How do his parents feel about it? Do they have the space for it? Thanks for joining us. We’re a little quiet right now but it’s nice to see new friend at the Chalk Bucket.

 

[SunshineDay]

Lots of young gymnast boys get mushrooms to practice at home. It seems to be one of the safest apparatus to use, especially since circles are so hard the young ones spend most of their time falling off it anyway.

How do his parents feel about it? Do they have the space for it? Thanks for joining us. We’re a little quiet right now but it’s nice to see new fr at the Chalk Bucket.

My sister is on board with anything that will help him burn energy at this point... She said they'll make room

Thanks for the warm welcome!

 

[Madden3]

I think mushrooms at home in general can be helpful. We never had one, because there was not enough room in our house for my fairly tall gymnasts to use one safely. And also because yes, as far as I know, they really are that expensive unless you can find someone willing to unload their used one for a good price. But my older son's friend had one back when they were Level 5s or so, and that kid used it a lot and my son liked using it when he went over there.

What I would be concerned about with a young kid having a mushroom at home is whether or not he is already doing circles on the mushroom at the gym and how well? Safety is not much of a concern with a mushroom (assuming there is plenty of room) but I wonder if adopting poor technique and then needing to unlearn that later might be? Also, overuse of the mushroom can be hell on the wrists.

Generally, I think the best bang for your buck is a good, decent sized folding gym mat, if he does not already have one of those. These are great for working on hand stands and cartwheels and round-offs, and can be used in multiple ways for multiple things including just being a nice comfortable spot to do strength building exercises when he gets older. Also expensive, and not as exciting, but imo more likely to be helpful for a long time.

 

[SunshineDay]

I think mushrooms at home in general can be helpful. We never had one, because there was not enough room in our house for my fairly tall gymnasts to use one safely. And also because yes, as far as I know, they really are that expensive unless you can find someone willing to unload their used one for a good price. But my older son's friend had one back when they were Level 5s or so, and that kid used it a lot and my son liked using it when he went over there.

What I would be concerned about with a young kid having a mushroom at home is whether or not he is already doing circles on the mushroom at the gym and how well? Safety is not much of a concern with a mushroom (assuming there is plenty of room) but I wonder if adopting poor technique and then needing to unlearn that later might be? Also, overuse of the mushroom can be hell on the wrists.

Generally, I think the best bang for your buck is a good, decent sized folding gym mat, if he does not already have one of those. These are great for working on hand stands and cartwheels and round-offs, and can be used in multiple ways for multiple things including just being a nice comfortable spot to do strength building exercises when he gets older. Also expensive, and not as exciting, but imo more likely to be helpful for a long time.

Great point... Maybe I'll email his coach to see if he things it would be beneficial or potentially detrimental. A mat is a great idea too! Thanks!

 

[Cheryl]

We still have our mushroom, and I think it still gets used sometimes although just for fun. We bought it slightly used for 150 about 5 years ago and certainly got our money’s use out of it. It definitely benefitted my son, from his worst event in Level 4 he placed 2nd at regionals in Level 5. He would just be bored and so he’d do mushroom.

 

[txgymfan]

Pull-up bars are the other piece of equipment that coaches oft recommend on CB.

 

[OwlGalLiz]

The mushroom has been a great investment. We found ours on Craigslist for less than $100. You might see if any of the older boys at the gym are selling theirs. Mushrooms have traded hands a lot at our gym.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Circles are one of the hardest things for the boys to learn, having a play at home can help their pommel work a lot. But mushroom/pommel work does put a lot of pressure on young wrists. Some older gymnasts end up with wrist problems from doing a lot of support work at a young age. So I would put a limit on his use of it.

 

[SunshineDay]

Thanks everyone for your responses! You've been super helpful!

 

[okgymmom]

You could also build some homemade paralette bars out of PVC. He could work on things like Ls, Vs and presses with lots of supervision. Here's a YouTube link that shows how to make them for reference: