Should we get a beam at home?

[my4buffaloes]

Both my dd's are in gymnastics (level 6 and a developmental group). We have contemplated getting a low or floor beam at home for a few years and now that they are both really into gymnastics I guess I was thinking about it more. I have some questions though. If you have one, why do you like it? If you don't have one, what not? Do you find after the newness of it wears off that they don't really use it? Do you think it helps their gymnastics in the gym or do you think they just play around on it OR work on things they maybe shouldn't with possibly bad form?

I try very hard to not pressure my girls to work on gymnastics at home. (confession, except for last year when my older dd lost all of her splits I would try to get her to work on her flexibility some at home - and it helped, she has them all back). Normally I don't ever tell them to work on stuff. I don't want them to do gymnastics stuff that is dangerous. I don't want them to feel pressured to work on stuff at home if they don't want to. I don't want them to get sick of gymnastics because they feel pressure from us. But I do see some benefit in learning skills. But then really as they progress to doing more difficult stuff I don't think I want them working on it at home.

So, in thinking about a possible Christmas gift - would you or wouldn't you? And if so - a true low beam (designed for at home use) or one of those floor mats that folds in half (but is still almost $200!). Thanks!!!

 

[vagymmomma]

I got DD a low beam a couple Christmas's ago. She definitely used it when she was working on her back walkover on beam last year, but it's been spotty since got that skill. She does some work on back handsprings, but honestly she's at the gym so much any more there isn't much time for practice at home.

 

[B&M's mom]

I just moved ours into the basement as my girls haven't used it for at least a year. DD1 (level 8/9) complains that it doesn't feel like her beam at the gym so she doesn't like it. Plus, the skills that she's working on really shouldn't be done at home. DD2 (level 4) would rather do back walkovers and handstands on the floor. Unless your girls want it to play with, I probably wouldn't bother.

 

[AlwaysCuriousMom]

Okaaaay... I admit that we have one. When my daughter was lvl 2, she said she wanted a beam for christmas. So we made one... and it's only a 4x4 wrapped in furniture foam and faux leather. It is nailed to a wooden base (also wrapped in foam & cloth) on each end. Overall, the bottom sits 2 inches above the ground. My daughter doesn't feel comfortable doing anything more than cartwheels on it. She likes to experiment with leaps, jumps and turns. IMO, the best use of the beam has been when DD practices making her presentation (flicks and positioning) look pretty. I agree with everyone who will say that doing skills at home is dangerous. If my DD's coach told me not to buy it, I wouldn't have bothered. But the confidence and presentation that my daughter shows on beam is worth it. In the end, it's mostly a toy and isn't used for any kind of training.

 

[GymSurvivor]

I have a beam and am now considering selling it on craigslist if that tells you anything.
I have one of the ones that sits on the floor and folds up (except my doesn't fold up...but it's the same thing, the nastia liukin brand one.)
I would love to practice the dance of my routines or turns and leaps on it but it isn't long enough for a routine and the leather isn't tight enough for turns, my toe just gets stuck in the leather wrapped up.
I did find it helpful for back walkovers though.
So if you do get a beam it would be better to get one that is an actual beam that sits on the floor...not a flatter beam. Not sure how to describe it but I hope you get the point. That way the leather is as tight as it should be.

 

[gymnast695]

I had one when I was younger but all I did was walk and turn and pose on it. Once I got learning backhandsprings on them at the gym I stopped using it because even I knew at like 12 years old it wasnt safe to do them on a home beam. And I also never used it if I was alone (basement fears lol) so it honestly didn't get used much. If your DDs have an interest and would use it then go for it, just don't let them do unsafe skills. But all in all, don't bother. My dad ended up selling mine a few years ago. It seems so fun to have and you think you'll use it all the time but once you have it you realize its unnecessary and you don't want to use it.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

We have one, too. A friend of ours with a dd that is now in her late teens sold it to us (really cheap) when my dd had just started in gymnastics. She used to like to practice leaps and turns on it-scales, handstands, but she also says it is nothing like the beam at the gym. (It's covered with carpet)

It's great, though. My kids use it to sit on and play video games- or lean against it to watch tv. the bottom of the beam is about 3 inches off the ground and it's 12 feet long. I trip over it almost everytime I walk across our loft. It also complements our decor so well...

okay, all kidding aside. The truth is, I'd love to get rid of it. My dd almost never uses it since she is at the gym so much anyway, but she can't bear to sell it, either.

...I'm still hoping for Christmas that Santa will come and magically make it disappear

 

[cher062]

we have one that my DD practices her "dance moves" on but no real tumbling or leaps. she might use it 3 or 4 times a month if we are lucky. When she first got it at L5 she used it alot but once she hit L7 hardly at all. Really the kids should be getting enough time at the gym to master what ever they do so I would say save your money and if you really think your DD will do something at home get a chin up bar that would be a better item to help with strenght training.

 

[Kiwi]

We have a floor beam, it is full length and solid wood, very heavy. It doesn't fit in our house so is kept in the garage below our house. Because it is too big for our house, it can only be used on fine days on the back deck, so my husband and I have to lug it up from the garage. DD doesn't use it all that often, but it has been quite useful for her to practice on at times. She is only at a low level in gym with fairly basic skills and only trains 3 times per week.

I would expect that higher level gymnasts would be doing more dangerous skills that shouldn't be practiced at home, plus they would be at the gym a lot more hours, so wouldn't have much time to use a home beam anyway.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

My DD got one when she was a Level 4. She used it for about 5 months to practice turns, leaps, etc. And it has since sat in the basement for the last 5 years. I had forgotten all about it. I like someone's suggestion to put it on Craigs list. In all honesty, after the newness wears off, it really is pretty useless. Any true skills the girls should practice should be done in the gym, and once they get to the level where they NEED to practice such skills, they're usually in the gym a lot anyway!

 

[bogwoppit]

We had one for a while, they both used it a little, but to be honest it got used less than most toys in our house. I gave it away last year after it sat unused for two years.

 

[Krystan]

We've had one for about a year that gets used pretty frequently. It's an 8' super-low one, but real beam material. It's in our living room and we homeschool, so it is used here and there for a few minutes at a time throughout the day. She does turns, jumps, leaps, and handstands for the most part, and I think it does make her more comfortable on the beam. She knows not to practice anything more difficult than a cartwheel on it. Beam is her favorite, so I would never have to encourage her to practice!

 

[marie83]

Quite a few of my gymnasts have beams at home. They practice their cartwheels, handstands, bwo, spins, and jumps on them but nothing more - I know one or two have done bhs on them, but I've tried to discourage that!. I'd assume your older DD is past that stage, but it might be nice for little DD to practice and get some confidence. I think it is nice for them to 'play' gymnastics too - making up routines etc.
Could you maybe get a good quality 2nd hand one - perhaps an older girl at gym has one for sale? I know they get passed around at our gym, once the girls stop using them!

 

[gymgal]

Okaaaay... I admit that we have one. When my daughter was lvl 2, she said she wanted a beam for christmas. So we made one... and it's only a 4x4 wrapped in furniture foam and faux leather. It is nailed to a wooden base (also wrapped in foam & cloth) on each end. Overall, the bottom sits 2 inches above the ground.

we made one similar to this - only a 6ft beam. It was perfect for her at 5yrs old, when she was practicing handstands, poses, turns, etc. She never felt comfortable using it for cartwheels because of the short length. For a few years, she used it alot but as she got older and was on the real beams more, she didn't like the change in the feel from ours to the real beams. And as the other posters said, it got to the point where she was in the gym so much, it didn't matter anymore.

I doubt the L6 dd will use it much but the developmental gymnast might

 

[MaryA]

DD has one. Funny story. I saw on Craigslist that one was going to be for sale at a yardsale. I set my alarm to get up early on Saturday morning because I knew it would go fast. When the alarm went off, I just couldn't get up. Instead I dozed and had bizarre dreams about yard sales and balance beams. When I finally got up I had to go run some errands and decided to swing by the yard sale, just to see. It was still there! The woman selling it said that she was sure it would be the first thing to go. It's one of the ones that folds in half and I'm sure it was over $100 and I got it for $15 in perfect condition. Kathy used it a fair amount when she was doing gym at the Y... I never told her to practice at home, but she just had more free time. Now that she's in the gym 15 hours a week, I'm not sure if I've seen her use it. She still does her share of random pull-ups, handstands, and cartwheels around the house (I call it "gymnastics tourette's") but she's not so likely to get out her mat or her beam. Which I think is just as well.

 

[Trixiebelle]

Trixie has one and she uses it a fair amount. Right now she practices her full turns, press handstands and lots of flicks and poses! She's had it for a little over a year and for us it was a good gift... I bought it from amazon and it is very sturdy. I think it was used a lot more last year when she was only at the gym 3 days a week but now she is at the gym as much as she is, I don't know if I would buy one today.

 

[Gymmonkeymomma]

We have had one of the fold up ones for almost 8 years, since big DD was level 4. For the most part, it lives under our couch...probably has not seen the light of day in over a year. It slides/shifts so DD's never even liked it for practicing turns or leaps, and i would not encourage any harder skills on it.

 

[my4buffaloes]

Thank you so much for the input everyone! Lots of great things to think about. Y'all have pretty much confirmed that it isn't worth the money. I will keep my eyes open at garage sales and craigslist, but to pay hundreds of dollars doesn't seem like it would be worth it. Beam terrifies my dd, so it might make her more comfortable, but really I think my younger dd would use it more. Thanks again!

 

[flippin out]

I will keep my eyes open at garage sales and craigslist, but to pay hundreds of dollars doesn't seem like it would be worth it.

That's a great idea. I'm not saying Don't buy one...but don't spend a ton of money on one. They are useful for only a limited amount of time (as they outgrow them and really should only do Low level skills at home). But they are fun for a short time and can make a kid more at ease with the beam in general. My dd really only uses hers to play with and make up new choreography. It came in useful when she was trying to come up with a new beam mount....that was over a year ago, lol.

Too bad you're not my next door neighbor....you could have the one that has been sitting untouched here lol

 

[d0nut_l0ver]

I got a floor beam (and a gymnastics mat) for Christmas last year and I used it all day. I also used it all day the next day... and the next... and the next... until holiday break was over and I had to go to school. It was really helpful for cartwheels, handstands, and back walkovers, but ever since I got all those on high beam, I haven't really used it much.