WAG Uptraining. What is it ?

[samadams]

Can anyone tell me exactly what up training is ? There are some gyms in my area who just always finish on top. I asked one of the other parents on my Dd's team why their better and she says they train more hours. My thing is maybe it's not the time spent but how it is spent. The coaching methods of years ago might not be the way to do it now.

 

[gymmomtoo]

Uptraining is working on skills that gymnast will need for the next level up, not the current level.
And while more hours can help, I agree with you--it's how those hours are used that is more important.

 

[sglemon]

At our gym, if you compete level 4, you will be training level 5 skills, my level 5 has been training level 6 skills all year. When a child moves up a level, like we do in June, they will already have all the skills needed to compete the new level. All they need to do is learn the routine and polish everything, by November when competition starts. So at the start of competition season, our girls who have had the skills for at least 6 months to years in advance, are competing with girls who just got the skills in the last few months, there is a big difference. Training time can be spent on form, instead of skills. It also takes the stress off of the girls, because they are confident in their skills and don't have to spend their time worrying, if they will make their kips, etc.. But like anything, there are always exceptions, but that isn't the norm.

 

[iwannacoach]

Nutshell definition....... Sacrificing a some time this year for next year's and following years successes. It's not just a matter of having next years's skills, it's an affirmation that you will be moving on to levels beyond what you would otherwise imagine.

 

[leotardmakermum]

It's not just for next year's skills. I know of an eight year old working on her Olympic beam mount, seven years ahead of time. In that case it's all to do with the favourable weight to strength ratio that she has at the moment. Now is apparently the time to get it working, then she only has to maintain it.

 

[Aussie_coach]

If your gym is not uptraining then I would be very concerned. I am always surprised when I see posts on here about kids going to meets without all their level skills. That just doesn't happen around here. This is how we work.

your current level skills - mastered and pperfecting

skills for the next level up - learned and now mamastering

skills for 2 levels up - lelearning

skills for 3 levels up - starting to do drills and training for

 

[Clover]

If your gym is not uptraining then I would be very concerned.

Our gym is one that does not uptrain (at least at the compulsory levels, I suspect they do for optionals) yet we are pretty successful - maybe because we do a lot of conditioning instead. You begin to learn your skills for a level right after you move to that level. If you don't have your skills by the time of the first meet you don't get to compete those events. So, for instance a girl moving from Level 4 to Level 5 will start working on Level 5 skills in June when move ups are announced and have about 6 months to get them competition ready for the first meet.

I do wish my gym uptrained, but that just isn't the way they operate.

 

[Aussie_coach]

This sounds like your gym is more interested in competition results than in teaching gymnastics.

 

[Clover]

This sounds like your gym is more interested in competition results than in teaching gymnastics.

You may be right. I don't want to hijack the thread, but I would love to hear if other gyms operate this way.

 

[GymBeeMom]

Our gym focuses enough on the current level to get the job done. Some groups spend more time on current level skills and others spend more time uptraining. However, all groups uptrain to some extent. My DD is always uptraining and perhaps sacrifices some tweaking in her current routines for it, but I just go with the flow and assume there is a final plan So far she scores just fine but has some pretty high level skills, so I trust the coaches when they say that scores don't mean much right now.

 

[mumoftwogymnasts]

your current level skills - mastered and perfecting

skills for the next level up - learned and now mastering

skills for 2 levels up - learning

skills for 3 levels up - starting to do drills and training for

This is pretty much the way both my gymmies train. Obviously less uptraining occurs in the competition season, but it still does occur e.g. when you have done your current beam routine perfectly x number of times then you can practice the skills for your next level or practice a drill etc for 10 mins
The aim is to have them polished for competition but still engaged and looking to the future.

 

[Gymmommy71]

DDs gym probably uptrains 10-20%% but focuses on current level for the most part. For instance, my DD, a L6, had all her L6 skills before the end of the summer (bars was the last to come as always for her), but probably spends the last 10-15 minutes of each rotation working on next level stuff like layouts and twisting on floor, fwos and bhs on beam, half on half off vaults...it is the "fun" reward for doing well and hitting all her skills in the "current level" portion of practice. It just wasn't possible for her to uptrain most of the time on bars cause she was still getting her current level bars stuff, but once she had everything, she started working on cast handstands, giant drills w/ a spot, etc. at the end...(but if she has a "bad bars day", which still happens from time to time, she won't get to do the next level stuff...and that can happen on any event for any gymnast at any practice actually)...

I feel a gym that competes a team of girls who can do *all* the skills of the next level, or even two levels above, in a lower level is very focused on winning. That would be like competing my DD as a L5, or gosh, a L4... Even my DD, not the best L6 bar worker, would score VERY well on bars in the lower levels...however, she wouldn't find too much satisfaction in those medals and meets would be pretty boring to her even if she had excellent scores. KWIM?

 

[Gymmommy71]

It's not just for next year's skills. I know of an eight year old working on her Olympic beam mount, seven years ahead of time. In that case it's all to do with the favourable weight to strength ratio that she has at the moment. Now is apparently the time to get it working, then she only has to maintain it.

Oh, and I'd love to know what this mount is? ...

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

^^^^^^ LMAO- this is SURE to incite panic in CGMs all over this board. How many moms will ask coaches tonight to begin working their 8 y/o child's Olympic beam mount- hahahahaha

 

[LizzieLac]

I feel a gym that competes a team of girls who can do *all* the skills of the next level, or even two levels above, in a lower level is very focused on winning. That would be like competing my DD as a L5, or gosh, a L4... Even my DD, not the best L6 bar worker, would score VERY well on bars in the lower levels...however, she wouldn't find too much satisfaction in those medals and meets would be pretty boring to her even if she had excellent scores. KWIM?

I think this is a grey area. From what I see at our gym and read here, and frankly see at meets, "having a skill" can be very loosely defined. Our gym feels that having a skill really means that there is little doubt of the athlete hitting it/making it in competition, but there is also a subjective view of what that skill will look like and how it will be judged. Moving up in our gym simply is not taken lightly, but it is for the benefit of the gymnast, so she can have success at the level she competes.

That approach allows her to uptrain more becuase she is not focusing her workout on sticking that cartwheel on beam in level 5 or the clearhip on level 6 bars. In order to really be able to take advantage of uptraining the skills of the next level or two, the coaches can't be spending the majority of time training the skills of the level the athlete is competing. So the question is how you define "having a skill" and what you want the child to accomplish in the competition environment vs what they accomplish in the training environment.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Can you imagine the crazy mothers in eight years time, when they realise the code has changes and rendered their dd's 'elite' mount worthless in the eyes of the judges....


That said I am sure the benefits of any flexibility/strength/progressions will cross over into the learning of other skills

 

[cbifoja]

I think our gym is much like GymBee's.

You have to have solid skills on the level you are currently competing. Not perfect and certainly room to improve. But for L5 that means no weak second BHS, no spot on vault, hitting cartwheel at least 50% of time, hitting kip abut 75% of time. For L6, you have to have your tuck, fly away, BWO consistently. And so forth.....

But the girls uptrain all year round. Our L5s have been working BWOs, flyaways ROBHSBTs, full turns, L6 beam dismount all year. A few of them (we have a LOT of fear issues on our L5 team right now) are also working BHS on beam, ROBHSBLO, and giants. They've even started doing some basic timer drills for yurchenkos and working half ons for tsuks.

But the level you compete must be solid and the coaches will still find things to improve. Are your legs perfectly tight and straight during your BWO? No? Work it. Are your legs tight and together for your BHS? They better be. What do you mean your tap swings aren't hitting above the bar? Get to work, little gymnast! And point those toes!

But as far as uptraining, our coach will let girls uptrain all year long and keeps them at a safe progression. No one is allowed to throw skills they haven't been spotted on about a hundred times! Usually the girls are ready way before the coach decides they're ready! LOL

 

[CoachGoofy]

We uptrain like mad. Otherwise practices would be a snorefest for everyone. I want to see clean basics, then I want to see clenan skills in the context of their routines, then I want to work on stuff for the next level, then I want to see that connected to said clean basics.

There are days that I'll work a deduction free backhandspring or a deduction free shape jump until we're all bored to tears, because you need those forever (seriously don't give away anything on bhs or tuck jumps in level 8 what is this garbage) but I want them stretching their air awareness all the time or they get floppy.

 

[leotardmakermum]

Oh, and I'd love to know what this mount is? ...

Something that's normally found in men's gymnastics, but she has the strength to do it. Apart from that as a very vague description, it's not my place to say any more. ;-)

 

[Kiwi]

Our gym is one that does not uptrain (at least at the compulsory levels, I suspect they do for optionals) yet we are pretty successful - maybe because we do a lot of conditioning instead. You begin to learn your skills for a level right after you move to that level. If you don't have your skills by the time of the first meet you don't get to compete those events. So, for instance a girl moving from Level 4 to Level 5 will start working on Level 5 skills in June when move ups are announced and have about 6 months to get them competition ready for the first meet.

I do wish my gym uptrained, but that just isn't the way they operate.

This is how it is at my gym, too, for our STEPs program (not our IDP program, they uptrain a lot). I kind of wish they uptrained, or competed down a level from where they are training, as it seems like it is always a struggle each year to get their skills competition-ready by the start of the season (we only do one season per year here). They start training skills for the next level towards the end of the comp season. I think some other clubs here do compete down from where they are training and it shows in the scores.