practice beams for optionals?

[zona]

Just wondering if there are any optional gymnasts who use a beam at home. My daughter competed level 7 this year and I'm wondering if a low beam or floor beam(and mat) would be useful to practice things like back handsprings

 

[Gymdad2]

I suggest you ask her coach before you invest in home equipment. Some coaches I have known are okay with it and others think that working on skills without a coach present just encourages the development of bad habits which have to be corrected during normal practice and are a waste of time for both the coach and the gymnast.
good luck!

 

[gymdog]

No!!!! No.

 

[ZJsMom]

My dd's an optional and has had a floor beam for a while. At the beginning of this season, she was having a block on connecting her dismount and would practice cartwheel jump off. At this point she mainly uses it to play with choreography. She makes up sort of fantasy routines. She does bhs, but it's not big enough for a series, so it's kind of limited.

I would think developing bad habits would be more of a concern with compulsories than optionals. By the time they're optionals, they know what a skill is supposed to look like and what shapes feel like. They really shouldn't be working on anything on the beam that they can't already do perfectly on the floor. Right?

 

[gymdog]

I would think developing bad habits would be more of a concern with compulsories than optionals. By the time they're optionals, they know what a skill is supposed to look like and what shapes feel like. They really shouldn't be working on anything on the beam that they can't already do perfectly on the floor. Right?

You would think. But...not really. Most/many L7s can't BHS step out with ideal technique. I know what a lot of skills should look like but lack a physical property or the other to do them (two back handsprings on beam. haha, forget that...haven't done two back handsprings on beam since I got smart enough).

Although I mean, I would wonder how the kid feels about it. I used to spend my life dreading beam practices. There is no way I would have spent my excess time doing beam acro at home. I knew a couple girls who had floor beams from compulsory days but no one was doing back handspring series at home. This is just too much for me. Too much. Don't these kids have homework?

 

[zona]

Thanks and you're correct she wouldn't be learning new tricks. I just thought, if it worked for back handsprings she could practice more and have less chance of falling at a meet (we only went to 3 meets before state). A 12 foot might be big enough for a series, but may be not.

 

[gym law mom]

My gymmie is training L9 and has a practice beam at home. Rule is absolutely no acro on it. The chance of injury or developing bad habits is too great. She doesn't use it much except to work on a leap or a dance move.

 

[gymfan4ever95]

I have a low beam, but it is only maybe 6 or 7 ft long. When I was having fear issue's, I would do BHS's on it, just so I could work things out in my head without the eyes of a coach/teammate on me the whole time, telling me to hurry up. But now, I use it mainly for dance and round-offs. I also have two panel mats, so I put one on each side of the beam for round-offs and for new jumps I am working on.

 

[gymnast4life94]

I got a low beam maybe a month or two ago, i am not aloud to use it to do anything other than leaps and cartwheels, handstands, etc. My coaches at the gym frown upon using a beam outside of gym and told us if we are to get one to only use it for what i use it for.