MAG Training hours and days

[alymg224]

My son is 7 and is currently competing level 3. His coach wants to move him to level 4 at the end of the season, but that requires 4.5 hour practices 5 days a week. The gym has a smaller program, so there are only two training schedules. Is this pretty normal in terms of number of hours and days to train level 4?

 

[Katie]

I don’t know much about boys gymnastics but at my gym the girls don’t start training that much until level 7. I think that sounds like a lot for a kid that age and level

 

[JBS]

I think my son did 12.5 hours or so at that level.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

I’m not familiar with boys gymnastics, but that seems like way too many days/hours for that age and level. For reference, my daughter is 16 and level 10 and has about the same schedule. She didn’t start 5 days a week until 13/level 9. At 7, she was going 3 days/10.5 hours a week. And that still felt like a lot!

 

[Becca.j]

I think my son did 12.5 hours or so at that level.

My daughter is level 4 and does 4 hours two days a week and a three one day.

 

[Magdad]

I'm British, but Josh is at Level 4 equivalent and does 4 x 3.5 hrs and 1 x 6 (or sometimes 7) on Sunday

So that's not dissimilar at 20 hours a week.

Don't forget that MAG have 50% more pieces to learn than WAG (Although they're usually way behind similarly aged girls on comparable skills tbf)

 

[Winterbuzz]

In my humble opinion that number of training hours per week is inappropriate for a ten year old, much less a seven year old. It's too demanding on a developing young body and mind. The financial hit for that much training and his constant absence can be a stress on the whole family as well. I'd hold back if you don't want him to burn out fast and hard.

 

[skschlag]

my son is a college gymnast and they only practice 20 hours a week. HIs whole career he did 18-20 hours a week, with some strength training added in at the end of high school.

This number of hours is a recipe for burnout and overuse injuries. Really 22.5 hours a week at his age is too many. I

 

[CreateMagic]

My son is 7 and is currently competing level 3. His coach wants to move him to level 4 at the end of the season, but that requires 4.5 hour practices 5 days a week. The gym has a smaller program, so there are only two training schedules. Is this pretty normal in terms of number of hours and days to train level 4?

Holy moly batman! That's um, a lot. Our level 4s train 9 hours per week (3hrs x 3 days). And they are GOOD. My son's biggest competition is his own teammates. Our gym's philosophy is to keep boys in the sport long-term, and it works. We have a large group of level 9s and 10s, and many of our boys go on to be successful in NCAA programs (plus that world champion that also came from our little gym town). Our 9s and 10s practice 16 hrs/week, iirc. I think they do 3hrs x 4days a week, plus 4 hours on Saturdays. Our level 4s go 9 hrs a week, our 5s go 12 hours, and then levels 7 and up do 16 hours. I think they may be able to add an optional practice on Friday nights too. We sometimes see a few of the older boys then.

 

[GymAir]

My opinion is that’s crazy, but we are a low hours gym that competes well. Our philosophy is that boys peak at a later age than girls, and there is no rush to get through the levels; it’s a marathon, not a sprint. I would definitely worry about burnout with that kind of pace. They are encouraged to do other sports while they are young. It will become all about gymnastics soon enough. I would think 6-12 hours a week would be all that’s necessary.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

I’m not familiar with boys gymnastics, but that seems like way too many days/hours for that age and level. For reference, my daughter is 16 and level 10 and has about the same schedule. She didn’t start 5 days a week until 13/level 9. At 7, she was going 3 days/10.5 hours a week. And that still felt like a lot!

I just want to say I’m sorry for responding to a post in the men’s group. I didn’t notice what group it was in as I was in the new posts view. I should have checked that first.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

That amount of hours sounds like the same unnecessary overload/rush that is still sadly prevalent in WAG - I always found the MAG side of the sport to be much more logical, evidence/science based and progressive with a long term athlete development mindset.

 

[Magdad]

I just want to say I’m sorry for responding to a post in the men’s group. I didn’t notice what group it was in as I was in the new posts view. I should have checked that first.

Please don't apologise (at least I don't think you need to) - you made a perfectly reasonable contribution to a question that's valid for both MAG and WAG parents

We probably can't help with beam tips though....

 

[Dahlialover]

22.5 hours per week is really excessive for a 7 or 8-year-old. Kids that age need time to rest and time with their family. They are kids first and gymnasts second.

Our 4s generally train 12hours (4hours x3) with a 16hour option. We tried the 16 hour group with my 7-year-old for a month in the summer and it was obviously starting to burn him out, so we switched back to 12. Interestingly, the kids in the 12-hour group are outperforming the kids in the 16 hour group at meets. That extra day appears to be unnecessary.

The last few years our 5-10s have trained together 20hours per week. We’ve had a 7 and an 8-year-old in that group and it has not gone well. The coach is used to coaching teens who can practice on their own without a lot of direction. The two littles spend most of their time fooling around without much guidance or supervision. They are Improving much more slowly than the 12-hour kids and they always look miserable. I recommend watching the older group’s practices closely to decide if the coaching style will work for your kid.

If it were me, I’d try to at least negotiate Wednesdays off as an accommodation. Alternatively, You might be able to have your kid train with the older group in the summer then switch back to the level 3 group once school starts. Level 3 and level 4 are 90% the same and it is very easy and common to coach them together.

Don’t be afraid to advocate for your child. The worst that can happen is that they say no. Good luck!

 

[CeeJay]

Our practice hours are as follows:

Level 3 - 9 hours/week
Level 4 - 12 hours/week
Level 5 - 16 hours/week
No Level 6's
Level 7 - 16 hours/week
Level 8 through Level 10 - 22.5 hours/week

I would not be okay with my son doing 22.5 hours/week at Level 4.