"Weird" Gymnast Habits

[grizzoline]

Small Muesli for breakfast before a meet, muesli with joghurt as a snack at the meet (though I do better if I don't eat at all, I need to have it with me). Vault only works if I look at the table only and NOT on the springboard. Need a spot for hard landings unless it's a meet. Do best on bars without warm ups. For Beam I have this whole mental choreography, which is absolutely great. If I chalk up too early, I will need to chalk up again. "Old Chalk" is slippery. I also wipe my feet before vault, afraid I'm gonna slip (which I have done at a meet so it's for a reason). I hate when the light's not proper bright in the gym. People watching or taping will always get me to do stuff. If I don't go for my cast flyaway I will go for a clear hip flyaway.After that I will also do it from a cast. I do better on beam when I'm going towards the direction where I dismount. We are in a highschool gym so there's no mats on the other side after the end of the beam.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

I used to do this more often, but when I learned my handspring vault and when I did the L4 vault, I always had to "un-pop my ears", even if they hadn't popped. I did this by holding my nose and trying to breath in hard through my nose - it's a trick I was obsessed with during my very boring third grade year. I also pick at my eyebrows and eyelashes when I'm nervous - before a big test at school or before a meet or a skating competition, so if I've been nervous I'll show up at the meet with much sparser eyebrows than the day before. I do this with my fingers but if I'm in front of a mirror and I've got tweezers I'll pluck them to death. Also my eyelashes - once after a skating competition I barely had any left.

Before starting a full beam routine at a meet or in practice, I wipe my feet on the mat (sorry, next person who goes!), twice each foot, make sure I haven't got a wedgie, and slick my hair back with my hands. I do this standing next to the beam while waiting for the judges to salute me. When I chalk, it goes like this:
1. Adjust grips so they're tight and centered.
2. Rub loose chalk on grips.
3. Brush loose chalk off grips with one brushing movement.
4. Brush chalky grips on hips with two brushing movements.
This year our leos are black so I'm always super chalky when I compete (I seem to attract chalk magnetically), but I'm also the best girl on bars so no one yells at me.

 

[All Chalked Up]

Wow, I do a lot of those! Especially on beam- I wipe my hands, swing/wipe my feet and then I go or I never go. If I get a rip, I put a line of chalk under each eye for my "battle scars" LOL. i ALWAYS PPOINT MY TOES AND i'M ALWAYS CRACKING SOMETHING.

 

[nicci1999]

I have a very specific order to the way I put on grips and chalk up And this isn't a constant thing, but when I took a motorcycle course a few weeks back, when we had our exam for riding, when the instructor flagged me to go for my turn, it took everything in me not to salute before starting and after I finished

 

[flips123]

The left grip ALWAYS goes on first.

Haha,I'm the exact oppisite!My right one always has to go on first!

 

[Alyssa983]

Crack

I guess this isn't only a gymnastics thing but if I am nervous, I crack my fingers, my toes, wrists, and ankles. The nervous thing started after I started gymnastics, but that was when my friend showed me an easier way to do it!

 

[gymgymgymnast08]

I need lots of chalk on my hands and feet no matter what event it is. I always make piles of chalk all over the gym.

 

[B Gymnast]

Wow, I have a lot of these...
Right grip always goes on first.
When I chalk up I spray my grips, rub them with a block of chalk, spray them again, then get loose chalk. Then I rub my grips togther (I almost rub all of the chalk off!)
Before me BHS on beam I always do the same thing. It's hard to explain, but I like do my hand placement for my BHS out in front of me, then I have to swing my arms like three times
I'm ALWAYS cracking my toes!
I always read before a meet (Winning Every Day by Shannon Miller )
Last year, me and one of my gym friends shared a scrunchie and we wore it at every meet (but we can't do it this year because we are the same level now so we compete together)
If my meet is in the evening, I always eat spaghetti before.
I'm always doing parts of my floor and beam routines
I'm sure there are more but cant remember..

 

[All Chalked Up]

I also have this "nervous tic" which I always do, even if I'm not nervous:
1. Fix/slick back hair
2. Pick existing or non-existing wedgie
3. Fix/slick back hair
It only "works" if I do my tic

 

[Lovepandas]

On vault, at practice and at meets, after I salute before I start, I always nod my head at the springboard. I don't know why, I just always do. I think I do it because when I go and my coach is standing there, I always nod to say I'm ready.

I always salute at the bars before I go, lol.
I'm ALWAYS popping or cracking my neck, fingers, toes, ankles, and wrists when I get nervous at meets.
I also can't put chalk on until the person right before me is going. If I do it earlier, it usually comes off. Lol.

Those are just a few I can think of at the moment.

 

[fliptwisttwirl]

I always point my toes even when I'm not at gym..all my friends bug me about it an say it must not be comfortable
I take two deep breaths everytime before I do a backhandspring on beam. Even in competition..it makes me run outta time sometimes :/
I pray everytime before a vault. Just in case
I walk on my toes and do handstands everywhere!
For practice I always have to have "gymnast hair"--every piece has to be pinned or hairsprayed back

 

[gymgurl]

oh boy do I have a lot!

When on vault I must adjust my feet twice in a particular spot then i take a step back so the adjusting feet is essentially pointless, will only vault properly on top vault

when on beam I must do full turns first, it doesn't matter what comes after but full turns must be first.

i must do 1 back walkover on the floor before on the beam

must do every skill on the same part of the beam as i do in competition (this is frustrating when we need to share a beam) in that case i must face the same direction at the very least

when dismounting from beam I must adjust footing twice and then take a deep breath. always

when we use mats for tumbling they must be in the right order with the 'bouncier mat' first and the less bouncy mat after

right first, always (except in synchronised warm up when we must go left because our coach is left handed)

When I did bars I would chalk up as follows rub loose chalk onto grips and clap in the bucket, repeat once more and brush grips together twice

Start in same corner for the floor routine, always.

Always back tumble on the same diagonal and front tumble on the other

At comps to ease our nerves we rate floor music (as we have optional floor music)

In general, I must fidget all the time, normally by cracking my knuckles

Gym habits out of the gym

walk on tip toes all the time

floor routines/beam routines anywhere I can

 

[Lovepandas]

Erin, I always pray before I do vault, too! I also pray before I compete on every event at a meet, especially on beam and vault.

I forgot, I also make weird faces if I mess up, or if I do a skill and I think it was sloppy. One time, at a meet, they had a photographer at each event taking action shots, and they had them online, I looked at them, and the better part of the pictures of me, I had a weird face. I don't do it on purpose, it's just a habit, lol.

GymGurl, I do the same thing with my grips!

 

[breathegymnastics]

well i noticed a lot of people do this one too, but on beam before i go for my backwalkover, i start with my foot in the air then i tap it on the beam like 2 times lol. and for vault i always have to wipe my hands on my leo because they get sweaty and sometimes they slide on the vault. also i always start running for vault with my left leg or it messes me up. for bars i always chalk up in a certain order too. i put my wristbands on first, rub the chalk bar on my bare hands and fingers, then put my grips on and rub the bar on my grips, then rub them in the crushed chalk, then rub my grips together lol.