MAG Number of hours for boys per age

[rajbala12]

Hi All - Wanted some input on how many hours the boys are doing and how long the sessions are.
My 10 year old was level 5 last year and did 3 hours 4x per week = 12 hours which worked out pretty well. He also did 2 hours 2x per week of TnT.
We moved and looking at the new Gyms, the options don't look too great. This is what we were offered:
option 1 -> 2.5 hrs 2x per week = 5 hrs. This means he will get to practice each event only once a week. Would he be able to progress with such a drastic reduction in hours ? The coach here says he can progress fast if the env is right.
option 2 -> 4 hrs 3x per week = 12 hours. Even though the number of hours are same in this option, I'm worried about the extra long 4 hour sessions, and wondering if that might be counter productive. The coach at this gym says he needs to work hard to be able to get the skills he needs to compete.
DS would also like to add 4hrs of TnT if the schedules work out.
Any thought or experiences with super short training or with long sessions ?

 

[skschlag]

I *think* at that age, my son did 5 days of 3 hours. I think the 4 hour would be ok. He really would adjust quickly, and would have more days off to do other things.

 

[Cheryl]

I think at L5 we did 12. - 4 hours 3x a week. At L6 it bumped to 16 - 4 hours 4x a week at the next year he did JD, which was 20 hours - 4 hours 5x a week, which is standard for optionals around here. He’s always tired the first week back of school and practice, but then adjusts. Since he’s in HS, there are also days he just can’t make it to practice because of school work. We used to have a 3 hour optional clinic on Sat, where you could come and pretty much practice certain skills if you wanted. A great alternative to privates, but it doesnt seem to have run since we got back to gym.

 

[rajbala12]

Sounds similar to what they are offering us. I don't think we should go for the 5 hour option at all!

 

[DTAG]

Hi All - Wanted some input on how many hours the boys are doing and how long the sessions are.
My 10 year old was level 5 last year and did 3 hours 4x per week = 12 hours which worked out pretty well. He also did 2 hours 2x per week of TnT.
We moved and looking at the new Gyms, the options don't look too great. This is what we were offered:
option 1 -> 2.5 hrs 2x per week = 5 hrs. This means he will get to practice each event only once a week. Would he be able to progress with such a drastic reduction in hours ? The coach here says he can progress fast if the env is right.
option 2 -> 4 hrs 3x per week = 12 hours. Even though the number of hours are same in this option, I'm worried about the extra long 4 hour sessions, and wondering if that might be counter productive. The coach at this gym says he needs to work hard to be able to get the skills he needs to compete.
DS would also like to add 4hrs of TnT if the schedules work out.
Any thought or experiences with super short training or with long sessions ?

My son just switched gyms. He is 9yrs old, but will compete as an 11yr old this season, and he is a "new" level 5. At his old gym he was training 12 hrs/week, plus an additional 2 hours of Future Stars. At the gym he just started at, he will be practicing 20 hrs/wee. 5 days/week, 4 hrs each time. It's a lot! If he did Future Stars on top of that, it would add an additional 4 hours as well. We are holding off, and according to the new gym, he is pretty far behind the rest of his level. At such high hours for a 9 year old, I'm hoping he catches up quickly.

 

[skschlag]

My son just switched gyms. He is 9yrs old, but will compete as an 11yr old this season, and he is a "new" level 5. At his old gym he was training 12 hrs/week, plus an additional 2 hours of Future Stars. At the gym he just started at, he will be practicing 20 hrs/wee. 5 days/week, 4 hrs each time. It's a lot! If he did Future Stars on top of that, it would add an additional 4 hours as well. We are holding off, and according to the new gym, he is pretty far behind the rest of his level. At such high hours for a 9 year old, I'm hoping he catches up quickly.

That is a lot of hours! I don't think my son did those hours until he was about 13, and even then, it was not always that many. Be sure to keep an eye out for overuse injuries.

 

[DTAG]

That is a lot of hours! I don't think my son did those hours until he was about 13, and even then, it was not always that many. Be sure to keep an eye out for overuse injuries.

I was gobsmacked when I saw the schedule. Our last gym, our Optionals guys didn't even train 20. I think they topped at 17 and privates aren't allowed. This gym does have a phenomenal record, I would say in the same bracket as gyms like 5280. And you can tell the boys love it there. My son's health is number 1, so I will be keeping a close eye on him for sure.

 

[skschlag]

I was gobsmacked when I saw the schedule. Our last gym, our Optionals guys didn't even train 20. I think they topped at 17 and privates aren't allowed. This gym does have a phenomenal record, I would say in the same bracket as gyms like 5280. And you can tell the boys love it there. My son's health is number 1, so I will be keeping a close eye on him for sure.

That's good. I hope it all goes well for him.

 

[rajbala12]

Thanks for all the input. We are also worried about overuse injuries - DS started going to the longer classes and started loving them - but he gets very slight stomach pain while doing a sit up - This happened to him once before and it got worse to a sharp pain on situp type exercises, and he had to take 2-3 weeks off. Because of this, we switched to the low hours gym. We did try to ramp it up with break days etc. and took 4 days off as soon as he felt the slight pain, and it went away. Not sure how to avoid this in future when hours increase again.

 

[TomCarson]

Hi All - Wanted some input on how many hours the boys are doing and how long the sessions are.
My 10 year old was level 5 last year and did 3 hours 4x per week = 12 hours which worked out pretty well. He also did 2 hours 2x per week of TnT.
We moved and looking at the new Gyms, the options don't look too great. This is what we were offered:
option 1 -> 2.5 hrs 2x per week = 5 hrs. This means he will get to practice each event only once a week. Would he be able to progress with such a drastic reduction in hours ? The coach here says he can progress fast if the env is right.
option 2 -> 4 hrs 3x per week = 12 hours. Even though the number of hours are same in this option, I'm worried about the extra long 4 hour sessions, and wondering if that might be counter productive. The coach at this gym says he needs to work hard to be able to get the skills he needs to compete.
DS would also like to add 4hrs of TnT if the schedules work out.
Any thought or experiences with super short training or with long sessions ?

I doubt 1-hour practices are very beneficial, considering it takes the average gymnast about 30-60 minutes to fully warm up for practice... 3-4 hour practices have always worked wonders for me and the many gymnasts I've known

 

[rajbala12]

I doubt 1-hour practices are very beneficial, considering it takes the average gymnast about 30-60 minutes to fully warm up for practice... 3-4 hour practices have always worked wonders for me and the many gymnasts I've known

Thanks for your response. There are no 1 hour practices - the low hour practices are 2.5 hours each time for artistic gymnastics. Tnt practices are 2 hours long. I feel 3 hours is ideal, which is what we had in the previous gym