New here. Need professional opinions..Please help!!!!

[SweetJuliette]

Okay so I'm 16, never done gymnastics, but i reallyyyyyy want to. I know most gymnasts start out really young, and well I'm not really young. So what i want to know is, is it possible for me to just start now and get good enough to compete? I know i can't be an Elite one, I know its just not possible, but I'd like to just compete, maybe even be able to join my school team?

Please, i want your honest, professional opinions. I really want to know if its possible for me to be good enough to compete and even learn everything.
So, do you think its possible for me to just start at 16, or not?
If so, what could i do to train myself before i go to an actual gym so i don't look TOO horrible next to everyone else.

Notes: I'm not flexible, I can barely touch my toes; I'm not a good runner; I don't have much muscle; I'm a little out of shape right now too. I know I'll need to work on all these too, i just want to know if its possible first.

Also, I'm about 5'3'' and about 116-120 pounds. If that matters

 

[bookworm]

Do you do any type of athletics at this point, even dance or cheerleading? From your own description of "not able to touch toes, not a good runner" of yourself and your age of 16 (are you a Junior in HS?) , the path to competitive gymnastics (even at the HS level) will be a steep uphill climb , which I'm not sure will be doable in the time you have left in high school. I would pursue a YMCA program as an entry into the sport (and they're not usually too expensive) and see how it goes from there...

 

[SweetJuliette]

I'm a sophomore. I used to play soccer when i was younger from age 4 until 7th grade. And i played volleyball on my school team all three years in Middle School, and on a J.O. team in 8th grade. I've played beach volleyball every summer since i think the summer after i was in 6th grade. I haven't been able to play volleyball anymore cause my mom can't afford it. I workout sometimes in my room, and we run in P.E. every so often. I mean i can touch my toes, but it hurts the back of my knees if i do it for too long.

I don't know if any of that matters, but i just know i want to do this. I really want to learn tumbling the most, I've always wanted to. I used to be reallyyyy flexible when i was younger, I don't know if there's like some way to bring that back...

 

[bpatient]

Although most USAG gymnasts are younger than you are, and certainly most gymnast begin gymnastics training at a much younger age, what you are considering certainly isn't impossible. I happen to know a women in her thirties who competes at Level 7; she started gym when she was perhaps ten years older than you. Another local woman started training as a college student; she, too, now competes at Level 7 at an age when almost all female gymnasts have long since left the sport. My niece started training with the college gymnastics club (not the NCAA team) when her collegiate soccer career ended; she loves it, and she's still an active athlete (back to soccer) a decade later. For that matter, I was bicycle racing when I was twice your age, and I still love rock climbing now that I'm over three times your age. If you enjoy the sport, you can do it--for years. Of course, it's likely that you won't reach the highest competitive levels, but that's quite another issue. (Note, though, that Oksana Chusovitina won the silver medal on vault in Beijing at the age of 33!)

 

[SweetJuliette]

Awee thank you. That helped me a lot actually.

Do you know any things i can do before i actually start? Like what to do in a workout so i can get in shape before i start?

 

[bookworm]

When do you want to "start"? Are you referring to the start of next year's High School season because if not, you could start training right away...I would basically start with some stretching exercises and like i said before, if you could get into a YMCA program to start with the basics...some towns even have recreational gymnastics programs at little to no cost...like another poster said, it's not impossible to do.

 

[ryantroop]

Never too late

I would stretch - a lot. Not being flexible is a choice. You can stretch for 20 minutes a day, 3 times a day, and be fine. I used to do homework and watch tv and try to pancake or right/left split. Its a slow progression, but it works. You need to work through the "pain" and just let your body work.

You can do bridges and back bend work with a wall (walk your hands down and up facing away from the wall), and strength work for abs, back, arms, and legs will help tons. If a bridge is super hard, you can do it with your feet elevated, just do it in a safe environment.

Good luck! And I hope you persue your dream

Ryan