Splits!!

[ProudMomofGymnast]

DD's gym has decided that they must have all 3 of their splits prior to competing the next level. I realize everyone has different flexibility, but they want the girls to have these splits on the boards. I think this means 2 spring boards pushed together. Is this safe? My DD has 2 of the 3 I think, but is struggling a bit on one leg, meaning she has a couple centimeters to go. It just seems strange that this is a requirement all of a sudden when it wasn't in the past. Just wondering on opinions.....

 

[gymnastbeth]

That would be an oversplit, and it is safe, but it seems like an odd requirement to have to move up a level. Do you know if this is a definite thing? In my gym, I remember the coaches saying "you won't move up unless you have a handstand hold for a minute!". When it came to move up time, most girls had it, but some didn't. And we all moved up, regardless of the handstand. I don't think they even tested us on it. It was more of a motivational tool to get us to work harder. Is that morally right? Well, probably not. But it sure worked! I don't know if that's the case for your DD's gym, but it could be. If a girl has all of her skills and 2 splits, it would seem silly to hold he back a level just for the third split.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

oh brother...what next?

 

[Aussie_coach]

It is a reasonable requirement. Depending what level she is in of course.

In Australia kids need to do a full split in their floor routine at level 3.

By level 4 they need to be able to do 180 split leaps on floor, which is much easier to attain if they have over splits.

And by level 5 they need 180 split leap and 180 split jump on beam.

So many gyms do require full splits before hitting Level 3, and over splits for level 4.

If your DD has 2 out of 3 and is only a few cms off the 3rd then I don't see that she couldn't achieve it will a little extra stretching at home.

 

[ProudMomofGymnast]

I don't think it is an unreasonable request, by any means. The majority of the girls have their splits on the floor, but in order for them to begin competing at the next level they must have them on the boards. No pun intended but this seems slightly overboard!

 

[ThreeGirlsForMe]

Well my DD would never move up then! LOL She is definately NOT the most flexible kid. She has her "good" side down but not her bad or middle. She wants to get these down and I was wondering if anyone had any good tricks or if they had tried this program which seems to deal with massage and releasing tension that could be causing erroneous nerve messages (or something like that).

Learn How To Do The Splits

Thanks!
Dawn

 

[Blazing15]

At my daughter's gym right now they are testing every month. They find out if they make level 4 team in May. It is a requirement that the girls have all of their splits mastered to move up. My daughter has the middle and right split mastered but does not have the left mastered yet but is close.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

listen folks...i can guarantee you that not 1 national team member from any country has complete and flawless flexibility/splits. the pursuit of flexibility is necessary but i can assure you that if an athlete can perform a yurchenko double full she won't be able to do all of the known splits. same for guys. flexibility is something we strive for due to the proximal cause for injury prevention but not an end all to all things gymnastics whether performed beautifully or not. there are several considerations in all 3 body types and a very complex and complicated neuro system that governs all this. it's not a simple matter.

i just don't want anyone here getting hung up on flexibility as a keynote requirement to excellent gymnastics. just look at nabieva...and if you don't have it all by 14 years of age it's all uphill afterwards. points of diminishing return is key here.

 

[NGL780309]

Definitely glad that's not a requirement at DD's gym. She is one of the more flexible girls on her team. She has her left and her middle, but her right is not there yet. It has gotten better because they actually work on it, but I figured she just may never have the right. She does her leaps with the left leg so does it even matter if her right split is not as good as her left?

 

[thefellowsmom]

Well my DD would never move up then! LOL She is definately NOT the most flexible kid. She has her "good" side down but not her bad or middle. She wants to get these down and I was wondering if anyone had any good tricks or if they had tried this program which seems to deal with massage and releasing tension that could be causing erroneous nerve messages (or something like that).

Learn How To Do The Splits

Thanks!
Dawn

My daughter was struggling with her splits and her coach told me to have her do 2 minute splits. 2 minutes in each of the three splits. She does this on non-gym days and has seen incredible improvement. It's been about a month and she is over on the right side, down on the left and about a centimeter on middles. I am not a coach or expert but from my observations of her, it seems that at about the 30 second mark her muscles start to relax and the big progress is made during the second minute.

 

[Aussie_coach]

I do agree with dunno, splits are important especially in the intermediate levels where they must perform these compulsory elements rather than ones to suit their body type. But, if you have a gymnast who has all her other skills down beautifully but is not flexible, I'm sure the coaches will still move them up.

Often the kids who are strong and have good fast muscles twitch which is ideal for gymnastics are less flexible. While the more flexible kids often do well on the lower levels, their muscles may be slower and the higher levels can be a struggle.

 

[ProudMomofGymnast]

I do agree with dunno, splits are important especially in the intermediate levels where they must perform these compulsory elements rather than ones to suit their body type. But, if you have a gymnast who has all her other skills down beautifully but is not flexible, I'm sure the coaches will still move them up.

Often the kids who are strong and have good fast muscles twitch which is ideal for gymnastics are less flexible. While the more flexible kids often do well on the lower levels, their muscles may be slower and the higher levels can be a struggle.

Unfortunately no one will be permitted to compete until they have all 3 splits on the boards.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

then there will be a whole lot of kids not competing over time at this place...^^^

 

[ProudMomofGymnast]

then there will be a whole lot of kids not competing over time at this place...^^^

Yes, I believe that is going to be the situation!

 

[MaryA]

listen folks...i can guarantee you that not 1 national team member from any country has complete and flawless flexibility/splits. the pursuit of flexibility is necessary but i can assure you that if an athlete can perform a yurchenko double full she won't be able to do all of the known splits. same for guys. flexibility is something we strive for due to the proximal cause for injury prevention but not an end all to all things gymnastics whether performed beautifully or not. there are several considerations in all 3 body types and a very complex and complicated neuro system that governs all this. it's not a simple matter.

i just don't want anyone here getting hung up on flexibility as a keynote requirement to excellent gymnastics. just look at nabieva...and if you don't have it all by 14 years of age it's all uphill afterwards. points of diminishing return is key here.

Dunno... I'm curious about the 3 body types. What are they and how do they affect things like strength, flexibility, etc? Thanks in advance...

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Ectomorph - thin, linear appearance- great bar workers-not as strong/power as the 2 below. great flexibility.
Endomorph - big bones, round face, large trunk and thighs-great all-arounders-good strength and power-less flexibility than ectomorph.
Mesomorph - broad shoulders, narrow waist, naturally large muscles and fast metabolism-great tumblers and vaulters. awesome power & strength. even less flexibility.

and keep in mind that all things being equal, either fast or slow muscle twitch can affect the physical performance outcome within all 3 groups. and for gymnasts the code of points finds the athletes excelling in all 3 groups due to the wide variety of skills that can be performed that have equal difficulty values. but as i've posted before, the ability to do certain skills because of the body type is where the elite/olympic level will find certain skills absent in some and present in others and overall becomes more daunting and challenging at the same time.

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[Deleted member D3987]

Ectomorph - thin, linear appearance- great bar workers-not as strong/power as the 2 below. great flexibility.
Endomorph - big bones, round face, large trunk and thighs-great all-arounders-good strength and power-less flexibility than ectomorph.
Mesomorph - broad shoulders, narrow waist, naturally large muscles and fast metabolism-great tumblers and vaulters. awesome power & strength. even less flexibility.

and keep in mind that all things being equal, either fast or slow muscle twitch can affect the physical performance outcome within all 3 groups. and for gymnasts the code of points finds the athletes excelling in all 3 groups due to the wide variety of skills that can be performed that have equal difficulty values. but as i've posted before, the ability to do certain skills because of the body type is where the elite/olympic level will find certain skills absent in some and present in others and overall becomes more daunting and challenging at the same time.

ooops. i can't edit. lost track of my order. another case of my fingers moving faster than my brain. change that to:

mesomorph- great all-arounders-good strength and power-less flexibility than ectomorph & more than endomorph.

endomorph- great tumblers and vaulters. awesome power & strength. even less flexibility than ecto's & meso's.

sorry about that. maybe 1 of the moderators can put these in there place above?

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[gymgurl]

if you don't have it all by 14 years of age it's all uphill afterwards. points of diminishing return is key here.

Although, for the general population this would be true but i am one of the more flexible members of the team and was one of the most recent additions to the team and am the oldest on the team.

We have this rule as well, but you don't have to have middle splits flat. I think she will make exceptions for some people though

 

[Jasmynn]

What levels are we talking about here? I mean at what level are you expected to have all three splits normally? My daughter only has ONE split completely! On the first vid below (in my signature) you'll see her in a split in practice and it's ugly. Even with the lack in flexibility, she is the highest scoring at her gym, and typically wins 1st or 2nd all around. So, I really wouldn't stress too much about it. We are working on the splits at home now and it's improving. I really do think a lot of it is in the mind. I say this because when they are stretching at the gym, she doesn't go all the way down to the floor on ANY of her splits and she says she's really trying, In competition she goes down and it looks effortless. (At least it looks that way). That's really odd.

 

[Kiwi]

Ectomorph - thin, linear appearance- great bar workers-not as strong/power as the 2 below. great flexibility.
Endomorph - big bones, round face, large trunk and thighs-great all-arounders-good strength and power-less flexibility than ectomorph.
Mesomorph - broad shoulders, narrow waist, naturally large muscles and fast metabolism-great tumblers and vaulters. awesome power & strength. even less flexibility.

Hmmm, I don't fit any of these descriptions. And the endomorph guy doesn't look like he'd be much good at gymnastics, with his big belly...