Should I buy a beam?

[mustlovejumping]

Beam is what I struggle with the most and I don't get very much time on beam at the gym because the team girls are almost always using them. I think it would help me a lot to be able to work on simple things at home (leaps, jumps, turns, handstands, etc.). I can easily afford a floor beam for my house and I have room to store it, but I'm just wondering if it will end up being a waste of money.

Do any of you have a beam at home, and how much do you use it?

 

[Optionals United]

I wouldnt buy one. We all think we could use them but never end up using them. unless you have a bunch of extra time on your hands it is probably never going to get used. most likely it will just be in the way because of your busy life you wont have time to use it. also you really could only do really basic stuff on it leps jumps turns and dance.

 

[gymnastjess]

Hey, I have a low beam as you know haha and I use it ALOT like all the time, I have pretty much learnt all my skills on it, I love it

 

[GymSurvivor]

I actually use mine a lot!!!

Although I would suggest not getting one of the flat, fold up beams. Get one that is the full 'beam' but sits on the floor, if that makes sense.
It's difficult to do things like handstands and such on the flat beam because it throws you off balance when your fingers hit the floor.
I have the flat one and i wish I had gotten a bigger one.

Just my opinion though.

 

[mustlovejumping]

Okay! Thanks so much for all the opinions so far :] I do work on skills at home a lot so I think I probably would actually use it. And thanks for the tip about the fold up beam! I'll definitely get one of the other kinds if I do decide to buy one.

 

[Optionals United]

i was just saying that if you dont have a lot of time on your hands dont use it. but i guess at the lower levels you might be able to use it more than the higher levels because you cant do all the hard tricks on those beams. if you plan on using it and getting your moneys worth out of it then i say do whatever you want. just make sure not to try anything out of your skill level and hurt yourself.

 

[mustlovejumping]

I didn't mean to sound like I didn't appreciate your opinion too and I'm really sorry if it sounded that way! I wanted to hear both sides :] And I'm 20 so I really don't need to be told what I should and shouldn't be doing without a coach ;]

 

[GetaGrip]

I have a floor beam, but its one of the beams that is just a long wooden thing covered in cloth. In my opinion, I wouldn't get one unless its a real floor beam thats made out of the same materials as real beams are. Otherwise, they will shake terribly and you won't get past a handstand (personal experience, lol)
Also, I wouldn't keep it in your room, if possible. I can't even tell you how many times I've almost killed myself tripping on my beam at night.

 

[mustlovejumping]

Haha thanks for the tips! Although I guess I'm already used to tripping over things in my room, so why not add a beam to the mess?

 

[gymfille]

I have a beam and I don't use it too much.
But when I have a skill I want to work on I do use it.
I definitely think it would be worth buying even if you don't use it all the time

 

[gymnastjaiderz1106]

YES! Buy a beam!! I cant even tell you how much mine has helped me! My dad built a medium sized beam, about 3 ft. off the ground, and we found some stuff called, "Stick It" to cover it with...which i would not recommend! When you do turns, it shreads up and makes you falls off...Haha! Oh, and if you buy one get a low one! That way you can work extra things (Standing tucks, Back handsprings, etc.) that you wouldnt dare do one a high beam!

 

[mustlovejumping]

Alright I finally decided to just get one! Haha now hopefully I'll use it enough to at least get my money's worth :]

 

[mustlovejumping]

Well my beam got here about an hour ago! I'm very glad my mom wasn't home for its arrival She gets kind of stressed out about large boxes and large items that require assembly (just had to put on the legs). Haha but I had it all put together and had already shredded and thrown away the box before she got home about 15 minutes ago. I even have it tucked away in my closet right now, even though I really want to play with it, so she can see that she won't even know it exists most of the time :]

It has already had some positive side effects! I had to clean my room and my closet to make room for it

 

[Optionals United]

Does she know that you got the beam?

 

[mustlovejumping]

Haha of course!

 

[mustlovejumping]

Optionals United~ I think you missed one of my previous posts in this thread where I said that I'm 20

I would obviously never buy something this large without my parents' permission because I do still live in their house right now!

 

[Optionals United]

ok thats what i thought, but when you were talking about you had put it in your closet and thrown away the box sort of made it sound like you were trying to hide it or something.

 

[mustlovejumping]

Ok well I meant it to sound like I was trying to prove to her that it wasn't crazy to buy something like that. I just wanted to revisit this thread because it's really exciting that I'm finally getting to do things I always wanted to do as a kid.

 

[d0nut_l0ver]

Wow, that's exactly describing me! I wanted a floor beam because the people on team were ALWAYS on beam so my group (pre-team) almost never got to use them, and beam was my weakest (and still is!) and so I asked my parents for one for Christmas. And I got it!

It's really helpful for cartwheels, handstands, and jumps... turns don't work so well. But I practice gymnastics EVERY DAY in my house (that's how I got my front and back walkover!) and the beam is really helpful!

I would get one, it's not a waste of your money and it really helped me so it should help you too.

Oh wait... you already got it!!! Oh well... now you know that I totally agree with your decision!

 

[livelifetumble8dx]

my mom bought me a beam and at first i was like haha i'll use it all the time! i haven't touched it since last year lol. i played on it a little awhile but then it got old. don't waste your money! if you really want something then you can just get some duck tape and tape it one ground and practice on that.