Slacking on conditioning

[LiveLoveTumble]

Since I am currently on rec and only practice 1 day 2 hours a week, I am not used to doing a lot of hard conditioning. The other day, I went to one of the Xcel team practices to try it out, because I have been invited to join. We had to do 1/2 hour straight of hard conditioning, which again, I am not used to. I was super sore and exhausted afterwards, and I was mad because almost everyone else cheated, so there were only a few of us who actually finished, while everyone else was doing something fun. I was telling my mom how hard it was and how much it hurt. She told me that I should slack off on it, since "everyone else is doing it." I told her no way, there is a reason we do this, it makes you stronger. Plus, I have OCD, so it bugs me really bad if I don't finish. Like, one time we were supposed to do a bunch of conditioning on bars. I didn't do all of the pull-ups because I got really tired, so I just skipped to the next thing. After I finished everything else, next thing I know, I am back on the high bar finishing pull-ups, even though everyone else was done since they had all cheated, just because it drove me crazy knowing I hadn't done what I was supposed to. She said (and these are exactly her words), "You are not an Olympic gymnast! You don't have to give 120% each time. If you keep pushing yourself every time like this, you will wear out your body, and you won't be able to do gymnastics anymore." I told her that I am not, in fact, giving 120% because that would mean doing extra. I am just doing what they told me to do, which is 100%, which is what you are supposed to give. Is she right, and I should take it easy, or should I keep doing everything? I just hate it when girls cheat and don't get caught, and they get to play a game while I am still finishing everything. I don't want to be one of those girls.

 

[Esoteric]

Firstly- Great job on the work ethic! I would say to continue doing what you are doing, but to not bring it up to your mum since you obviously have differing opinions and do not want to come off as disrespectful. In this sport- like many things in life- you get out what you put in. As you recognize- this conditioning is new to you, and it is hard. It is there for a reason, though, and if you aspire to become a stronger gymnast you are on exactly the right path by stepping up to the challenge. Believe me when I say that it gets easier. And when it does, you will notice and be pleased with your increased strength. Good luck, and go easy on your mum- she just wants you to be happy and healthy.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

The newly converted are the most zealous, as always! Don't let everyone else cheating get to you. Eventually, those who do not cheat will come out ahead of those who do. You might have to spend extra time doing it, and your body will hurt, but you can always rely on feeling morally superior. Besides, working hard on conditioning actually does feel good at the end of the day.

I used to be the only one who finished all her conditioning. Nowadays, pretty much everyone finishes every day, with the exception of some of the younger kids. What's the difference? The cheaters grew up and out of it, or they dropped into a less competitive program, or they quit. The remaining gymnasts are all muscles!

 

[iwannacoach]

Ok, your mom's probably right about the olympic gymnast thing, (join the crowd) and I gotta respect her for trying to put it into perspective. A good point to remember is that you want to be as injury free as possible while learning some neat tricks. Conditioning will help make your hard work on new skills safer and allow you to produce results, and it just makes sense to do things the easy way by first doing all the hard work in conditioning. So work hard to make it easy!!

 

[LiveLoveTumble]

Ugh. Today at practice (the regular rec practice) we were doing conditioning on bars. We were supposed to do 10 pullups. Out of the 10 of us there, I was the ONLY one who did them. Everyone else went over to the low bar (which was about 0-2 inches above their heads, depending on the person), put their hands on the bar, and jumped up and down to mimic doing a pullup. And the coach never even said anything! I said out loud, "Why am I the only person who actually did the pullups?" They all said, "Well it doesn't even matter anyways!" Argh, it drove me crazy!

Well, on the plus side, I am better than everybody else on bars, because none of them are strong enough to make some of the skills!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

keep doing the work grasshopper. your mom loves you but you don't want to be put in the 'electric bill' group.

 

[pattymello]

Stop caring about what other people are doing. Them not doing the work isn't effecting your training. The best thing you can do for your coach, your team mates and yourself is continue to set a good example. The girls will eventually begin to see that your extra conditioning is making you a much better gymnast. They will also begin to feel bad to not doing the work themselves. However, this process will take a lot longer if you point out that you are doing the work, or in any way act morally superior to them. Just set the example without pointing out that that is what you are doing

Your mom is obviously coming from the right place. She is just trying to keep you from getting injured, however she doesn't realise that conditioning does not equal injuries. Infact it is quite the opposite! you can choose to educate her on this or not at your own discression (it doesn't really matter).

As for the coach not forcing the girls to complete all of the strength. I am fairly certain that your coach is well aware they are cheating. However constantly berating them for not doing their work is a losing battle. She will appreciate your hard work especially if it begins to change the work ethic of the team.

 

[Kiwi]

Your hard work will pay off. You will get stronger and it will get easier. Ignore the others, they are only cheating themselves.

 

[GetaGrip]

I admire your hard work! Just keep doing what you're doing and take pride in the fact that your good work ethic will get you far in life.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Well I have to say I would like you on my team. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing, if you are the only one doing it properly the result will really show in a few months.

You won't hurt yourself by completing the conditioning fully unless you have negligent coaches who set work that is too difficult for the group. Instead you will be less likely to hurt yourself than the others are your body will be stronger and fitter therefore safer.

Keep giving 100% and you will get the results.

 

[wallinbl]

You want to get better skills? Do the conditioning.
You want to get better at the skills you have? Do the conditioning.
You want to prevent injury? Do the conditioning.
You want to prevent regret? Do the conditioning.

If you slack on the conditioning, you'll spend a lot of time wondering why your skills aren't better and eventually, you'll start to regret that you slacked on it and wonder what would have happened if you didn't. Conditioning stops in 30 minutes. Regret doesn't.

 

[Flossyduck]

It used to bug my daughter that she was the only one not cheating and the coaches never said anything. I was surprised how much it got her down - I guess because when something is hard work, the whole fairness thing is intensified. But her attitude was the same as yours and she kept at it.

Now she is in a gym where they take the conditioning seriously and she is doing bigger skills and it really helped that she was already used to that hard work and quite strong already and didn't have much catching up to do. Her coach said that otherwise they have to assume about six months before the strength level is where it needs to be for her level.

What the others do is not really that important so I wouldn't fall out with them over it. Just get on a do it and feel good in the knowledge that it will make you a better gymnast.

 

[LiveLoveTumble]

Well, today my dad was bugging me more about it. He said he didn't want me to get injured. I told him that since conditioning makes you stronger, it actually makes you less likely to get injured. He said that you can get injured by conditioning too, not just doing a skill, so if it is too hard, I should stop, even if the coach yells at me. Is he right? I can't stand getting yelled at, and I don't want the coaches to think I can't handle it, but I also don't want to get more injured.

 

[iwannacoach]

You can end up with some "over use" problems, but these are pretty uncommon. To get them you have to have enough muscle strength to over stress tendons, cartilege, and ligaments. So you're probable pretty safe there. There's always a possibility of pulling a muscle, but warming up prior to exercise and working in a smooth rythym should prevent that from happening.

There is one condition, I don't know the name of, where a bundle of muscles can get so flooded with blood (pumped up) that the blood cannot flow out of the muscle bundle, kinda like a tourniquet. This is also a very rare condition.

My only concern is that some core strengthening exercises, done with weak abs, can cause low back strain. Any discomfort in your low back beyond the muscle work and get tired, should be brought up with your coach immediately.

I can only give you my opinion that you're probable not strong enough to injure yourself, and that as you condition all of the other connective and joint tissues will strengthen as your muscles become stronger. About the worst that will happen is fatigue (get extra sleep) and muscle soreness (a well balanced diet with a little extra protien, complex carbs, water, and potassium from bannanas).

I have overseen conditioning and skill training for well over a hundred beginning team gymnasts, and while injuries did take place, the majority, about 19 out of 20, were from skill training, not conditioning.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

are you referring to lactic acidosis? ^^^

 

[iwannacoach]

are you referring to lactic acidosis? ^^^

Nope. I wish I could remember what it's called. It's a condition that has to be quickly remedied where a muscle, like say the tricepts gets so pumped up from doing dips, that the muscle fibers expand enough to constrict blood flow out of the capillary bed, which in turn causes real problems due to lack of oxygen, cells die, and muscles fiber is permanently lost.

I've never seen it, but we had a situation here locally where a highschool football coach was having his team hit the weight pile extra hard, and 4 or 5 guys had to go to the ER for, what I believe was, a high tech blood letting. At least 1, but I think 2 of the kids had to be hospitalized for a day or two.

Have you heard of this before?


I had a hunch and looked it up....It's compartment syndrome....Kinda like what happens when my wife packs for a vacation

 

[wallinbl]

Well, today my dad was bugging me more about it. He said he didn't want me to get injured. I told him that since conditioning makes you stronger, it actually makes you less likely to get injured. He said that you can get injured by conditioning too, not just doing a skill, so if it is too hard, I should stop, even if the coach yells at me. Is he right? I can't stand getting yelled at, and I don't want the coaches to think I can't handle it, but I also don't want to get more injured.

Eat well - your body needs the nutrients and protein to recover your muscles after a conditioning workout. Rest well - your body needs time after a conditioning workout to rebuild your muscles (I don't know if your coaches do or don't). Your coaches should know enough to stagger your conditioning to have sufficient recovery. Eating is up to you.

 

[Kiwi]

There are some conditioning exercises that can cause injury if done too much or the wrong way. You need to learn to feel the difference in your body between the pain of working muscles hard and the pain that warns you there is something wrong. Also, if you reach a number of reps when your muscles become so exhausted so that you can no longer do the exercise properly then it is time to stop. Continuing the exercise incorrectly could lead to injury. So your dad does have a point, but it sounds like you are handling it all okay so far, so try not to worry. I don't believe all coaches really know what they are doing with conditioning, but hopefully yours do. If you show them you are trying your best, they can't expect more than that.

 

[coachcasie]

Keep doing what you do girl. The amount of work you do for your body will pay off in the end. You will find things come much easier and quicker later on.

I was the girl who never cheated on beam.....took 3 hrs to stick 10 routines while everyone else cheated and said they did them all in less than 30 mins. But guess who was the one who ended up state and regional champion...

I really hope you stick with it and would love to hear your story!

 

[cazoon]

The stronger you are, the better your skills will be. Keep doing the right numbers. Your teamates will start to see how much stronger and better you are getting then they are, and they will start trying harder and doing the right number. Here are some other options:

- Make a friend and ask her to condition with you. You both can go at the same pace so you are not alone.
-Tell your coaches. My coaches always randomly choose a gymnast every day and secretly count their conditioning. If the coaches find out that they are cheating, the whole ream has to do conditioning over again. I'm not sure that they actaully do this, but it definately makes everyone want to condition.
-Every few minutes, ask the people around you what number they are on. If they say a number that you know is not likely, like twenty pull ups in five minutes, then say "Really! I dont think you can do that so quickly without having good form."