WAG Why No offseason

[tomtnt]

I'm always curious how and why gymnastics has no real off season and whether this contributes to the high injury and attrition rates. It seems every sport, even at the highest levels, has an off season for rest or conditioning but in gymnastics, the girls are either competing or uptraining.

My daughter has been relatively lucky - she just turned 10 and finishing up her level 8 season without any major injuries in her career. But she's starting to get some nagging pain/injuries involving her heel, elbow, and wrist. We plan on taking a 4-6 week break after regional followed by a 3 week break at the end of the uptraining summer session. I think the girls need time for their bodies to recover from all the stress of training. Mentally, it is also a nice break and hopefully she comes back ready to compete. We've seen so many of her friends quit from injuries and loss interest. Perhaps more time off during their career would have helped?

 

[raenndrops]

The way HC explains it is that it takes a minimum of 5-1/2 hours a week to MAINTAIN current skill level. Most gymnasts are not happy simply maintaining their skill level. They want to improve... add just another half twist or one more flip... or get a new skill. At our gym, we have breaks.
Week of Thanksgiving off.
Last 2 weeks of December into first week of January off.
Spring Break week is usually off... This year, we had to take the week before off due to renovations, so Spring Break week is optional to attend.
Last day of practice before YMCA Nationals is June 30. They have the first 3 weeks of July off (except those competing at Nationals will compete one day the first week). They CAN come to gym during the 2nd and 3rd weeks as jr. counselors for the rec camps (2 hrs a day, 5 days a week). They can pick and choose when to come in and they can workout on unused equipment OR work with campers.
2 weeks at end of July into August are for team camp. Required to attend 2 days. Based on your level... one day for floor / bars and one day for beam / vault. 4 days available over the 2 weeks... plus an additional day (first Friday) when any level can come in and work on their routines.

The only problem with all of this time off is that some girls tend to lose a little ground during the time off.

 

[Gymishome]

Gymnastics is a very complicated sport. A lot of people ask the same question. Why do they train year round? It takes a lot of time to acquire and perfect skills. Injuries are just something that come with any sport. Smart coaching can prevent major ones. There's 10 different levels-it would be hard to move up if all you had was the competition season to get ready

 

[gothgymmom]

I was also informed that one of the reasons there is no off season is that since gymnastics is such a gruelling sport, and the gymnasts bodies are forever growing, that they need to make sure they are comfortable in their new form to be able to do the stuff.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Time off actually increases the injury rate. The most common time for a gymnast to be injured is when they return to training after a break either for a holiday or a forced break due to a previous injury or illness.

The body needs to be maintained in peak strength and flexibility to undergo the types of skills the kids are doing.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Time off actually increases the injury rate. The most common time for a gymnast to be injured is when they return to training after a break either for a holiday or a forced break due to a previous injury or illness.

The body needs to be maintained in peak strength and flexibility to undergo the types of skills the kids are doing.

===
YEP, Time off also increases the risk of fear issues. Think of gymnastics as a bucket of water with a small hole. If you don't keep it filled it will empty, and once it's empty it takes 3 times as long to fill. This is why we don't allow for lengthy time off.

 

[tomtnt]

all good points, but consider this...

"Time off actually increases the injury rate" - would really love to get some sports medicine related literature on this "fact." especially as it relates to overuse injuries vs acute traumatic injury (sudden fall, achilles rupture, ACL tear).

"The body needs to be maintained in peak strength and flexibility" - this is true for many sports with offseason... that's why there's off season conditioning and strength work without overusing the same joints over and over (pitching/throwing, etc)

"The way HC explains it is that it takes a minimum of 5-1/2 hours a week to MAINTAIN current skill level." - that's what our coaches say also... but consider how many girls miss large chunks of time due to various injuries and still make it back to their current levels (including numerous elite gymnasts).

College gymnastics mandates an offseason: " NCAA sanctions say that there can only be official team practices/meetings 20 hours of the week during competition season and 8 hours a week out of season. "

While it is true that training less hours may mean slower progress- I'm in no rush. My daughter is 10 finishing up level 8 and has no aspiration for elite gymnastics. I'd much rather her have longevity in the sport than early success and burnout. She used to love going to gym, always asking for extra hours. Now, it feels like a job - one that she has to do for another 8 years!

 

[BachFlyer]

I've wondered the same thing but after this summer I get it. Last July, she missed 18 practices in July between their break and our (first) family vacation. It was the first time since she had started the sport 6 years prior that she's ever missed more than 4 practices in a row, and it really made a difference. I'd have said that it took her a good 2 weeks to get back into the swing of things and wasn't sore every day, but her coach said it was a more like a month and a half because her body just got "slow and disconnected from her head". It seems like gymnastics is all about the precision, and she was training level 10, so the skills just aren't very forgiving.

 

[Gymishome]

"The body needs to be maintained in peak strength and flexibility" - this is true for many sports with offseason... that's why there's off season conditioning and strength work without overusing the same joints over and over (pitching/throwing, etc

But if gymnastics had an off season and you did conditioning and strength during it, it would still not pay off. Think of all the muscles you use to do certain skills. Not all of them can be made stronger or maintain flexibility. For example, the IT band or psoas get VERY tight if you don't use them and that can cause problems that aren't a quick fix...you can't just stretch and condition every muscle and expect everything to be as it was. And although people DO come back after injury and have their skills, not everyone is always the same. There's girls I've seen who left for a few months and couldn't do a kip and others could still do a double back. And like someone else mentioned, after a little bit of time off there's usually always fear. It can take a long time to get over a mental block and an offseason would not be beneficial. Your daughter may not be in a hurry, but you will find that taking a long break at a higher level will not be the greatest thing to do...

Also...aren't you worried she would miss it? Gymnastics is one of those things that often becomes part of your blood..

 

[Gymishome]

And by the way...it shouldn't feel like a job. If she is unhappy why not take her out for good?

 

[gymgymgymnast08]

Once I stopped gymnastics, I still kept lifting weights and doing pullups and pushups, so by no means was I weak. However, when I decided to play around on bars after 6 months of not doing gymnastics, I struggled to do cast handstands, free hip handstands, and giants and I was unbelievably sore the next day!

 

[exgymnastmomx3]

I don't know about scientific studies, but I've been in the sport my entire life and had 3 daughters in the upper levels. Sometimes experience tells you things and I didn't need any science to "prove" it! My dd's could take a certain amount of time off ( a week or two-illness/injury) and come right back at a certain age and level. However, the older they got and higher level they became the less they could afford to be out of the gym. THEY didn't want to be out because they knew that they would have issues (mental blocks, soreness, lack of flexibility, conditioning, etc.) if they took time off. They didn't want time off, though, it was my dh and I who thought an occasional family event was a necessity and that a few days off would be okay.

 

[NewtoGym]

What does your dd's coach say about taking 6 weeks off? I would be curious to hear what they say...

 

[MaryA]

If you asked my husband this question, he would launch into his theory that gymnastics is a cult...

 

[iwannacoach]

Sure there's an off season. It starts with a 1-2 week's rest at the end of the season, and continues for the next 4-6 weeks doing conditioning, flexibility, fundamentals, learning new drills, and maintaining certain skills in ways that don't pound on the joints and connective tissues.

It's a normal phase of the yearly training cycle.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I'm always curious how and why gymnastics has no real off season and whether this contributes to the high injury and attrition rates. It seems every sport, even at the highest levels, has an off season for rest or conditioning but in gymnastics, the girls are either competing or uptraining.

My daughter has been relatively lucky - she just turned 10 and finishing up her level 8 season without any major injuries in her career. But she's starting to get some nagging pain/injuries involving her heel, elbow, and wrist. We plan on taking a 4-6 week break after regional followed by a 3 week break at the end of the uptraining summer session. I think the girls need time for their bodies to recover from all the stress of training. Mentally, it is also a nice break and hopefully she comes back ready to compete. We've seen so many of her friends quit from injuries and loss interest. Perhaps more time off during their career would have helped?

you can get away with this at 10. but not after 12.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Time off actually increases the injury rate. The most common time for a gymnast to be injured is when they return to training after a break either for a holiday or a forced break due to a previous injury or illness.

The body needs to be maintained in peak strength and flexibility to undergo the types of skills the kids are doing.

this is precisely correct.

 

[tomtnt]

What does your dd's coach say about taking 6 weeks off? I would be curious to hear what they say...

I'm also a physician (radiologist) and have access to a number of orthopedics surgeons and sports medicine colleagues - she has a stress reaction involving one of the bones of her elbow and their recommendations was to take 4-6 weeks off or risk an impending stress fracture... She will probably still be at gym stretching, dancing, leaping, running- just laying off the elbow for awhile... The coaches weren't thrilled with the plan but understand that we are in it for the long run and would rather her take the time off to heal then to suffer a more serious injury and quit.

I'm still curious how college gymnasts are able to maintain skills with the limited training hours and off-season (compared to elite and level 10 gymnasts)

 

[Deleted member 14190]

all good points, but consider this...

"Time off actually increases the injury rate" - would really love to get some sports medicine related literature on this "fact." especially as it relates to overuse injuries vs acute traumatic injury (sudden fall, achilles rupture, ACL tear).

"The body needs to be maintained in peak strength and flexibility" - this is true for many sports with offseason... that's why there's off season conditioning and strength work without overusing the same joints over and over (pitching/throwing, etc)

"The way HC explains it is that it takes a minimum of 5-1/2 hours a week to MAINTAIN current skill level." - that's what our coaches say also... but consider how many girls miss large chunks of time due to various injuries and still make it back to their current levels (including numerous elite gymnasts).

College gymnastics mandates an offseason: " NCAA sanctions say that there can only be official team practices/meetings 20 hours of the week during competition season and 8 hours a week out of season. "

While it is true that training less hours may mean slower progress- I'm in no rush. My daughter is 10 finishing up level 8 and has no aspiration for elite gymnastics. I'd much rather her have longevity in the sport than early success and burnout. She used to love going to gym, always asking for extra hours. Now, it feels like a job - one that she has to do for another 8 years!

==
You are here online because you want to know what everyone thinks of your plan. so here we are.

It sounds like she is already burned out, so a little time off would be good, 2 weeks, but anything longer than that could completely backfire on you.
If you stop flipping, you lose your spacial awareness. This equals the potential for catastrophic injuries.
It also does not take proof (just ask any coach) that a long time off equals a loss of strength, which equals the potential for all types of injuries.
Not to mention the absolute frustration an athlete goes through when they try to return, (then pull something, miss a few more weeks).. Then they get really depressed and are often lost to the sport. Also fear issues could arise during layoffs. Kids grow and have vestibular issues etc... VERY COMMON

Yes many gymnasts and athletes make comebacks after injuries. And any gymnast will tell you how physically and mentally hard it really was. And many will tell you that they didn't ever make it fully back or sadly at all.

Colleges have a mandate for all sports. And I can tell you with 100 percent prof positive that these gymnasts work out all summer back at the gym they came from. I can also tell you that they coaches want them to workout. Not to mention the injury rate in college gymnastics is very high. hmmm.... And it is an issue...

 

[Deleted member 14190]

I'm still curious how college gymnasts are able to maintain skills with the limited training hours and off-season (compared to elite and level 10 gymnasts)[/QUOTE]

they workout all summer, winter break at home gym. Those that don't get fat and injured and don't make line ups.
Now the comment about her still being in the gym and now she is out because of an injury, was not included on your original post. She will still be able to spend hours a day, on the beam, front tumbling on floor, and vault drills into the pit. So the major problem for her will be returning to bars. But just being in the gym and watching helps a great deal. But the additional 3 weeks after the release date is not going to help her at all... Just don't approach the coaches in september saying "but she use to be so good at that, what's the problem"... seriously nothing irritates a coach more....