Women Working out with other gyms while traveling

[Along4theRide]

Curious: What is the protocol for working out with other gyms while traveling? Any advice to share? Words of wisdom? Stories?

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I would first consult with your home gym to get the OK and ask for possible recommendations.

We personally don't. Our girl is not an all gym all the time kid. She conditions as per gyms recommendation when we are away. But vacation is vacation. If your kid wants toI would get buy in from her home gym.

 

[cadybearsmommy]

DD has once last year and she loved it! As a matter of fact she said it was her favorite part of vacation (crazy kid lol). I simply emailed a couple of different gyms in the area. One of them said they didn't take visiting gymnasts but one of them said they would love to have her. They were super welcoming of her and wouldn't even let us pay. Our gym at the time didn't have a pit, pit bar, etc so since this gym had all of that she was in love. They gave her some tips that helped her get some of her bar skills more consistent too.
This year we went to Puerto Rico so I didn't even look into it as there aren't a ton of gyms there much less near our resort. Her hours have increased a lot since last year so she's starting to get out of the whole wanting to live in the gym thing and I think she was thankful for the break. She was gone about a week and it didn't really affect her skills or anything.

 

[gymboymom]

We do this while visiting my Inlaws. It gives ds the exercise he needs while there. It has been a gym home away from home. It helps the gym is in our region and we see the boys and coach at meets. It is ds's 2nd favorite part of our yearly visit, after seeing his cousins.
My advice is to just call and ask. I tried a gym that didn't call me back after multiple messages I found this other newer gym. I wouldn't do it on a regular vacation. But since I knew we wouldn't be really busy on these visits and would be back yearly, it has worked really well.

 

[thefellowsmom]

When dd was younger we did this. She loved it. She worked out at a gym when we visited my parents and even once on a trip to Hawaii. Like the previous poster said, now that she basically lives at the gym she relishes the break for her body and mind. She does do some basic conditioning and usually goes for a run with her dad a few times while we are away. Her body gets really antsy about the end of day two out of the gym so we encourage her to be active.

You will get mixed recommendations here for sure. My daughter loved it and found it a rewarding experience, but she was an all gym all the time kid, still is really. A lot of kids don't need or want that so just keep that in mind and follow her lead. I would only do it if she views it as adding to the fun.

She is also always the first one to welcome someone who visits our gym as well, I think because she knows what it is like to walk into a strange gym. I view that as a valuable life skill

 

[LLmom]

We like to switch it up a bit and have a fun "work out." We usually find a trampoline gym or something similar. The kids still get some gym things but they think it's a blast and more like vacation.

 

[vbdb]

If it's during your regular gym's holidays I wouldn't bother. They need the rest and time off. If you're travelling while she'd normally be training you can ask your gym for some recommendations or call around to local gyms to see if they'll let her come train with them or do a couple of privates.
Most kids are so active during vacation they'll get their conditioning in through regular stuff like bike riding, swimming, running around.

 

[bookworm]

We were in the sport for 17 years and never worked out in another gym when we were on vacation...their bodies need the rest and a break.

 

[Gymmamabear]

We have done it before! We used to go away for an entire month at once and you all know how they don't like them to miss a whole month. My girls LOVED it. We don't do it often now but we probably should because we take way more vacation than the average gym family (at least 4 weeks a year she misses, just not in a row)

 

[Seeker]

Sometimes, being out of town isn't actually for vacation and in order to keep up, the gymnast does likely need to train in a gym. We had several extended unexpected jaunts out of town (4-7 days) when my father was ill and then again when he passed away. The gym that "adopted" my daughter during that time and allowed her to practice with their team was a godsend. I just sent them a message explaining the situation and they graciously allowed her to join them several times. It was so kind of them and meant so much to us. She was able to keep up with her skills, have a physical outlet during a very stressful time and she made some new friends. I will remain forever grateful to them.

 

[Ali'sMom]

My DD has done it. Hawaii, New Orleans and two gyms in Ireland
Hawaii was a private - we were gone 10 days right before her last meet, and she had some lofty goals for that meet. So we got her a private and tweeked a couple of things.
New Orleans was a group practice that was beneficial because she was just starting to get her kip, and she didn't want to lose the little bit she had while we were away. She had a great time, and still remembers a few of the girls.
Ireland - we were gone for almost 3 weeks, and just like the kip, she was starting L6 skills, and didn't want to lose the little bit she had. And because she thought it would be cool to train with girls who sounded different than her. (Her social takeaway: "those girls say the F word an AWFUL lot!" )

It's not for everyone, and everyone who does it has their own reasons, whether gymmie wants to do it for fun, or wants extra practice, or wants exercise that she doesn't have to drive herself. And truth be told, sometimes if a skill is close but not quite there, sometimes fresh eyes can help, but it's not like you can just go down the street at home and have someone else coach your kid.

Funny thing about my gym - never once did we ask if it was okay - we told them she was going to do it (first time was old level 3, so not a huge deal), and they thought it was cool. We consistently have a couple of girls from Puerto Rico train in our gym each summer for a little bit, and also a couple of college girls who have come in during summer.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

My dd has never done it, but a girl from out of state just joined her group for a month so I guess our gym does it. We don't live in a tourist destination so I am guessing that she is visiting family/grandparents or something like that.

 

[rbearclaw]

We went to Hawaii in November before season last year. We asked coach if he wanted DD to work out at a gym while gone, and he said since she is young (9), she would have no trouble bouncing back from being out 11 days. He said typically for teenagers, it's bit harder, so on a case by case basis, he sets up a workout with other gyms for his older gymnasts.

 

[M2Abi]

We have a gymnast that has trained at our gym for a couple of summers and trains elsewhere the rest of the year.