Thumbs or Not??

[gym=life]

Okay yall. i need to know who, besides me, wraps their thumbs around the bar during skills like cast handstands and stuff like that?
because when i do my coach gets really mad at me.. and claims that it messes me up on giants, even though it helps because i cant cast without them(its scary)

So. . . . thumbs or no thumbs?

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I'd love to hear an answer to this as well. Being a guy, I learned high bar with my thumbs around the bar, but I know most girls' coaches teach it with the thumbs on the same side as the fingers -- I've been teaching my girls that way as well, but I admit I don't really understand the advantage.

 

[gym=life]

yeah! my coach always says that when im coming down and i have to switch them back around(because you cant go around the bar with them) it loosens the pressure i have on the bar and it makes me belly down in giants but im stuck.

 

[CoachGoofy]

I prefer thumbs on same side as the fingers, because of the death-grip factor.

You can't swing or circle with a death grip. You get about half way and then you stop and oh the rips you can get. Right in the middle of your palms. These are...less than awesome (I may have permanant callouses in the middle of my hands from such things).

The girls' bars are so much bigger around than the high bar, the only way to use your thumb is to death grip it. But that doesn't *work*!

 

[gym=life]

I prefer thumbs on same side as the fingers, because of the death-grip factor.

You can't swing or circle with a death grip. You get about half way and then you stop and oh the rips you can get. Right in the middle of your palms. These are...less than awesome (I may have permanant callouses in the middle of my hands from such things).

The girls' bars are so much bigger around than the high bar, the only way to use your thumb is to death grip it. But that doesn't *work*!

Exactly. So when I cast I use my thumbs and right before I start going, or get to that point I switch them back over.. And that's where the problem comes in.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

no thumbs. there will come a time when to use them and what to use them on. like guiding a blind change on the post arm and subsequent swing to jaeger. so for now, develop your technique without the use of your thumbs.

 

[jitta_bug123]

i'm not really knowegable whether its a bad thing or not , but i cast with thumbs round the bar, then switch them to same side as i swing down into giant too..

 

[CoachTodd]

My daughter has very small hands. She would actually not only move the thumbs to cast then back for the giants, she also regripped often in kips and at the top of her giants many times.
Due to the diameter of the lady's bar, I'd have to go with the no thumbs on most skills but as Dunno stated, they come in for certain others.

 

[gymdog]

I'd love to hear an answer to this as well. Being a guy, I learned high bar with my thumbs around the bar, but I know most girls' coaches teach it with the thumbs on the same side as the fingers -- I've been teaching my girls that way as well, but I admit I don't really understand the advantage.

Well, you don't really need to wrap your thumbs on our rail, though it seems to be what a lot of kids want to do. I was playing on high bar once swinging and all the guys in the gym were freaking out over the idea of not wrapping thumbs. I can't even do it at this point, for something like cast into swinging for a giant or flyaway. Feels too weird. I wrap my thumbs when I turn though...that's about it. Some girls do kip, wrap, cast handstand, switch thumbs back, but I don't do that and have mixed feelings about it. It doesn't seem to hurt some...but it seems to me like that could impede some things.

I just can't get my head around the idea of doing giants on uneven rail with thumbs wrapped. It seems...insane. lol, probably about the same way not wrapping seems to you. You can't really grip the rail diameter with your upper hands as well if you try to separate the thumb. The hands need to literally slide around the rail, not just shift. I definitely wrap my thumbs when I swing on strap bar with gloves, but I'm having a hard time putting the difference in words. It's the needing to slide around the bar thing.

 

[cher062]

I believe my daughter is a no thumb. I'm told it prepares her for harder moves her coach says learn it right now so you don't have to unlearn it later It may take longer to learn by you'll be a better gymnast later.

 

[coachinkal]

Interesting topic. At our club it has always been no thumb for girls and thumb over for boys.

When the boys go to girls bar for drills then they don't have thumb over because the bar is wider.

So how about grips? Is there any difference in the way these feel/protect hands depending on whether thumb is in or out on boys h/bar? My son hates grips and prefers bare hands, even if he does get rips!

 

[flippinlolly]

Ever since I started I've been taught no thumb...It's so much easier than having to break the habit later. I do wrap for some things like blind changes and a couple of others but generally wrapping is a no go area for girls at my gym...don't know about the guys...I'll have to find out...

 

[gym=life]

Well, you don't really need to wrap your thumbs on our rail, though it seems to be what a lot of kids want to do. I was playing on high bar once swinging and all the guys in the gym were freaking out over the idea of not wrapping thumbs. I can't even do it at this point, for something like cast into swinging for a giant or flyaway. Feels too weird. I wrap my thumbs when I turn though...that's about it. Some girls do kip, wrap, cast handstand, switch thumbs back, but I don't do that and have mixed feelings about it. It doesn't seem to hurt some...but it seems to me like that could impede some things.

I just can't get my head around the idea of doing giants on uneven rail with thumbs wrapped. It seems...insane. lol, probably about the same way not wrapping seems to you. You can't really grip the rail diameter with your upper hands as well if you try to separate the thumb. The hands need to literally slide around the rail, not just shift. I definitely wrap my thumbs when I swing on strap bar with gloves, but I'm having a hard time putting the difference in words. It's the needing to slide around the bar thing.

yeahh.. thats what i do, the kip then switch them and cast and then move them back over. haha it can be tiring but i just cant get myself to do it the right way.

 

[gymbaby12]

I'm like the only one in my gym who uses thumbs. I use them for everything. Casting, giants on strap bar, clear hips, everything. The only thing I don't use them for is kips. I'm terrified of using bars without my thumbs.

 

[GetaGrip]

I use my thumbs usually when I hit my handstands on bars. I do it on the high bar usually. But I also believe that it is good when you are practicing 1/2 pirouettes, and to save casts. They help you push harder with out arching a lot, and it helps unfortunate slipping accidents.

 

[gymnastgets10]

I've always been taught no thumbs. Once I asked my mom why I was being taught that (she used to be a gymnast) because it felt so weird and she said I could break my thumbs if I wrapped them, so I got terrified and worked really hard on not wrapping my thumbs. I'm not sure if that's true or not, though.

I do sometimes wrap my thumbs as I come through handstand on my giants and then switch them back for the downswing. I haven't broken my thumb yet! My coach said not to really focus on what your thumbs do in your giant; your body just does what it feels comfortable doing.