Strap Bar - Is it possible to.....

[twisting007bigflip]

Make a strap bar using the high bar of the women's uneven bars? I'm just thinking there has to be some way of doing this safely....

This probably sounds like a horrible idea to some of you...

Anyway, for those coaches without access to strap bars, how do you train giants and other stuff that straps are used for?

I am 5'4" and 135 pounds. I'm strong, but dang it, it's hard to spot a 85-125 pound gymnast thad bigger than me on giants, free hip to handstand.....

Help. Please?

 

[Esoteric]

I wish I could remember how we did it back before the days of strap bars, but I assure you I learned both of the skills you mentioned on a women's UB set. It is possible. I know we did a lot of pendulum type swings while learning giants and the freehip to hand was just a matter of strength, timing, and taking coach's corrections and direction.

 

[GymBee97]

Usually the Boys metal High bar is converted to a strap bar using a pvc pipe and some rubber band type things.

 

[twisting007bigflip]

Usually the Boys metal High bar is converted to a strap bar using a pvc pipe and some rubber band type things.

I don't have access to a men's high bar.

 

[pattymello]

You might need to buy one. A wooden strap bar sounds like a really, really bad idea.

 

[marie83]

We use a men's bar in the women's bars. I wouldn't fancy using straps on wooden bar personally - it is a lot wider and I can't imagine the straps would move around the bar particularly well.

 

[twisting007bigflip]

We use a men's bar in the women's bars. I wouldn't fancy using straps on wooden bar personally - it is a lot wider and I can't imagine the straps would move around the bar particularly well.

Wouldn't there be a way to fix a PVC pipe over the women's bar? With some kind of material under it to protect the actual bar?

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

My thought would be that the bar, after adding the pvc and material under would then be to wide to comfortably hold on, especially for the younger girls.

 

[gymdog]

Yeah, it would be too wide. Plus I do not think it would be very easy to do it in any sort of way that wouldn't damage the wood bar. In my opinion the best approach in this instance is to use a lower bar for bent knee giants (swing down extended toes down, bend knees through bottom NOT at the top or on the way down, you will have to practice this with baby giants).

Clear hips you do this set up:

[video=youtube_share;-MqAQt-3yps]http://youtu.be/-MqAQt-3yps[/video]

gymnastics - FANTASTIC set-up for Bars - YouTube

 

[Deleted member D3987]

You might need to buy one. A wooden strap bar sounds like a really, really bad idea.

that's right, pattymello. it can't be done. attempting to do so with a girls rail would snap forearms faster than you could say forearm.

 

[twisting007bigflip]

that's right, pattymello. it can't be done. attempting to do so with a girls rail would snap forearms faster than you could say forearm.

Why? How would it be different?

 

[pattymello]

the straps cant slide along the bar. this means the force of your swing will be applied to your forearms and SNAP!

 

[AmandaLynn]

yep. All it would take (even if you managed to put PVC on the bar and it wasn't too wide and didn't ruin the bar) is for the strap to slide off of the PVC and onto the wood. The strap would not slide along the bar and it would probably be a similar result to grip lock, where the hand stops moving, and the body keeps going, therefore resulting in some pretty nasty arm injuries.

What about going from baby giants to a 3/4 giant similar to in these videos?:

[video=youtube;ZFT-3-6Qnxs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFT-3-6Qnxs&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_20851&sr c_vid=O2nutIiwXVY[/video]

[video=youtube;O2nutIiwXV]http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_372911&v=O2nutIiwXV Y&src_vid=ZFT-3-6Qnxs&feature=iv[/video]

 

[pattymello]

why not just a two person spot standing on high boxes. i dont know how large the gymnasts you are coaching are but unless they are teanagers two people should be more than enough to control their giants.

 

[gympanda]

I teach giants without a strap bar...and though it is kind of a pain, I actually think it ends up producing better giants (just my completely biased opinion about my own kids!) We do exactly what the video above shows, having a major focus on baby giants. I rarely end up with banana giants because they have focused so much on the 3/4 giant. All of that being said...we double spot because we are all female and after a while your back, shoulder, elbow, wrist, etc. really starts to hurt.

But, our new thing this year is bringing in some guys who know NOTHING about gymnastics to help spot these. (Thank you to Al Fong's blog for this idea!) Giants are probably one of the easiest spots, but require a good bid of strength. We have had a ton of success with these guys spotting giants and flyaways to try and save our bodies as coaches! I'm working on teaching them Tsuks and Yurchenkos...but they keep saying they feel like they are sticking their hands in a blender...so that is taking a little longer. OK - don't want to hijack, but I'm becoming an advocate of finding some inexperienced strong guys to come in and do some of the heavy lifting.

My other caveat to teaching giants without a strap bar - teach the kids to dump BEFORE you teach the giant. Lots of cast handstands to dump, until it is drilled into their heads. It's not too hard, since dumping is essentially the L4-5 beam dismount.

 

[marie83]

OK - don't want to hijack, but I'm becoming an advocate of finding some inexperienced strong guys to come in and do some of the heavy lifting.

Blimey, Over here we'd be in all kinds of trouble if there was an accident whilst an unqualified coach was spotting!

It is a shame, as we don't have any male coaches either!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

all i will say on this subject is that you can be "in all kinds of trouble" here also if there was an accident.