How to Help Prevent and Take Care of Rips in Gymnastics

My coach used to try to make us think rips were cool. He would say, "Getting rips means you're a hard worker and a great gymnast." Maybe that's true, but nobody likes to get rips, so here are a couple of tips to help prevent them and to take care of them when they happen. There's not a whole lot that you can do about rips, unfortunately, but I'll tell you everything I know.

1) Use tape. If you feel like you're getting a blister or if you already have a rip, use a little bit of pre-wrap and then wrap your hand in athletic tape. It doesn't necessarily take away the pain, but it does help to prevent the blister from ripping further. (Ew, I hate the word blister. I bet you do, too. I don't blame you. Bear with me.)

2) If you are getting to the level where you're starting to learn things like clear hip handstands and giants, now is the time to get grips. They do NOT prevent rips like some people say they do, but when you are performing skills that require so much hand-to-bar time, they do reduce the friction a little bit. Of course you'll also need them to help you grip the bar, which is clearly their intended purpose.

3) If you get a callus on your hand, you can use a pumice stone or some other sort of file on it to reduce it a little bit. You don't want to go overboard with this, obviously, because if your hands are completely callus-free, they'll get sore pretty quickly on bars.

4) This one is a little controversial, but some girls like the "sock method." Put some lotion on your hand and then put a sock over it while you sleep. Take it off in the morning. Supposedly it has healing powers, though I've never tried it myself.

5) Try some Neosporin and a band-aid if all else fails.

6) If you're really in a lot of pain, ask your coach if you can work on low-friction skills for a while. Examples of that would be casts, cast handstands, squat ons, jump to high bar, pirouette drills, release moves, transitions, etc. depending on your skill level.

Happy bars. :)

Meet Tips for Gymnasts and Gym Parents

With the competitive season coming up, I thought it might be helpful to give first-time competitors and first-time gym parents a general overview of your basic gymnastics meet, along with some tips and tricks to make everything run as smoothly as possible. This might be a little lengthy, so bear with me! I'll try to make it as precise as I can, though there's quite a bit to say. (Girls, tell your parents to read, too, if they're interested!)

Basic Meet Schedule:
Your average USAG meet will last about four hours and will follow a standard schedule. There might be a few exceptions to this rule (ex: Capital Cup or Chicago-style meet), but most meets will follow the exact same format, and you will soon know it by heart. It usually goes like this...

Check in (get your designated number)
Warm up/stretch
Timed warm ups
March in
Competition
Awards ceremony

You'll want to arrive about twenty minutes before the scheduled warm up time so the gymnasts can get situated with their teammates and consult with their coach.

Random Things You Should Know (gymnasts):

1) When you have downtime at a meet, it might help you to visualize your routines. See yourself acing the move that you're getting a little nervous about. Watch yourself sticking the landing. Thinking positively is enormously beneficial. If you think you can, you can. The Olympians will tell you that.

2) Prepare your gym bag the night before. It's nice to know that you're all ready to go and you have nothing to worry about except your routines. Throw some things in your gym bag ahead of time. Your bag should be labeled with your name on it. Items you might want to bring include your leos (warm-up and competitive) and warm ups, a hairbrush, hairspray, extra hair ties, a water bottle, your grips, icy hot for sore muscles, ibuprofen, healthy snacks to eat between events (such as a few granola bars, trail mix, etc.), wrist/ankle/knee braces if you need them, athletic tape, and, if you're like me, a good luck charm. I brought my green teddy bear to every meet, even when I was a teenager :P

3) You are not allowed to wear nail polish to a meet. You should remove it the night before. Take off all your jewelry before the meet as well.

4) Get enough to eat! Stomach aches at meets are no good. The night before a meet, carbs are always a good dinner option for a boost of energy. In the morning, have a bowl of cereal, a waffle (whole wheat would be best), toast, a banana, a bagel, or something similar. Make sure you're staying hydrated.

5) Go out to eat or do something fun with your teammates after the meet!! After all that, you deserve it. At travel meets, especially, you'll want to have some fun with your friends.

Random Things You Should Know (parents):

1) Get ready early. Obviously you'll want your daughter to get all the sleep she can get, but sleeping in and then rushing to get to a meet adds unnecessary nerves and pressure. Plan ahead for the time it will take to fix up your daughter's hair on the morning of a meet. Sometimes it takes longer than you think it will, especially if you're planning on an intricate braid. Allow extra time in case you get a little lost on the way, and of course take note of the weather (I can't even count the number of times my parents and I got lost, or got stuck behind a snow plow the whole way there, etc. etc.) Unforeseen problems do tend to arise, and it's best to just be prepared no matter what.

2) If you are at a travel meet, you may find it helpful to make a test drive from the hotel to the site of the meet the night before. That way you can watch out for unexpected road closings and detours, and it will just takes a lot of stress off your shoulders.

3) Focus on your daughter making her best effort and having a good time, rather than on winning. My father used to grill me in the car on the way to meets about pointing my toes in my beam routine and getting a higher cast on bars, and, though I know now that it was coming from a place of concern and wanting me to be happy with my own performance, it made me very nervous then. I felt pressured, and I also felt a little annoyed, because I knew he had no idea about the mechanics behind the moves I would be performing. I felt like, "Hey, I already have a coach. I don't need another one." Trust me, the coaches put enough pressure on as it is. Your job is simply to be supportive. :)

4) Bring cash with you to meets. There are entrance fees, and there will typically be concessions as well as other merchandise related to the meet (like cool t-shirts, grip bags, leotards, stuff like that). Some meets also provide a professional photographer, and you will have the option of purchasing photos of your daughter after the meet. Also, bring a book or an ipod or something else to entertain yourself or your other kids. Your daughter will actually only compete for a total of about four minutes, so there will be a lot of idle time in between.

5) I said this in the section for gymnasts, but staying hydrated and eating enough is obviously important for your daughter. Carbs are recommended for the night before, and non-acidic foods (cereal or bagels are always good) in the morning.

6) As you probably know, flash photography will not be allowed for safety reasons, so if you're planning on taking photos, turn your flash off right away.

Good luck to everybody and enjoy your season! Again, if you have questions pertaining to this particular post, please feel free to comment and I'll get your question answered as soon as possible. If you have a question that does NOT relate to this post, please ask it in the post below this one, until I can get a "Questions and Comments" post up for the month. Thanks!

Gymnastics Camps

The following is a list of some of the best-know and most reputable summer gymnastics camps in the US. I've compiled some of the basic information by looking at the camps' respective websites. Seek out those sites for more information.

International Gymnastics Camp (IGC) -
Location: Pennsylvania
Ages: 7-17 (co-ed)
This camp offers week-long sessions throughout the summer for gymnasts beginner to advanced. They, like most camps, offer other general camp activities like a climbing wall. They've got a great staff of elite coaches, National champs, and Olympic gymnasts. This summer they've had a lot of Olympian visitors, including Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, Chellsie Memmel, Paul Hamm, etc. The facilities are very conducive to learning; they have five different gyms - an Olympic gym, a beam gym, an uneven bars gym, a vault gym, and a dance gym. As far as training facility goes, I think ICG wins.

Lake Owen Camp -
Location: Wisconsin
Levels: Boys and girls, levels 1-10 and elite.
Lake Owen is a fun place with a lot of great coaches. They have clinicians who are All Americans, National Champions, International Competitors, Judges and Olympians, and they have a lot of college coaches there as well. Like IGC, Lake Owen has Olympian visitors, and in the past have had Carly Patterson, Dominique Moceanu, Shannon Miller, and Kim Zmeskal. They have a floor gym which includes beams, pits, and vault tables, and they also have a separate bar gym. All their facilities have the best equipment available. At the end of the week, this camp has an exhibition where parents and friends can watch what the gymnasts have learned over the course of the camp session. One of the unique things about this camp is that they have really fun recreational activities. They have one of those giant blob that you can bounce on into the lake, as well as tubing, skiing, and a ropes course.

Camp Woodward -
Location: Pennsylvania
Co-ed. Gymnasts are grouped by age and ability.
This camp has special guests each summer, including US Olympians, International Olympic medalists, National teams from many countries, and coaches from the US National team and many Universities. This summer they've been visited by Bridget Sloan, Sam Peszek, Svetlana Boguinskia, Courtney Kupets, Courtney McCool, and tons more. The facility includes a beam gym, a pit gym, and a fully-equipped open gym that's available for 4.5 extra hours of practice for kids who want a little extra gym time. They also have a separate men's gym. There is also a Woodward West located in California that opened in 2003. It also has a gymnastics camp for kids 7-17.

Karolyi Camp -
Location: Texas
Ages: 7+
This camp was established by and is directed by Bela and Marta Karolyi. This camp actually offers some of the most reasonable rates, as far as gymnastics camps go - about half the cost of the others, which is a definite plus. They have a 25,000 sq. ft. gymnastics complex. Not much information is available online about the equipment but I would assume that the Karolyis provide nothing but the best, especially considering this is the USA National team's training center. Other than gymnastics, a bunch of other activities are available. They have an Olympic sized swimming pool, a petting zoo, and a lake for boating, as well as horseback riding, basketball, tennis, and other activities.

There are, of course, many smaller camps in different states like YMCA camps, so if none of these camps are in your area or if you're not willing to travel, a Google search should be good to help you find something that's more convenient for you. These are just some of the most notable camps in the country. I hope you find the right summer camp for you or your kids!

The Road to Elite Gymnastics

There are a lot of questions about the path to becoming an elite, and that's probably due to the fact that that path changes all the time; just about every time the Elite Committees meet, something is changed. It keeps us on our toes, as gymnasts or gym parents, that's for sure. So as of July 2010, I'd like to give you a brief overview of the progression of a gymnast to elite status.

There are a few different ways gymnasts can go with this. One is with the J.O. (Junior Olympic) program. This is the level 4 - 10 program that a lot of you are probably familiar with. For gymnasts who have their sights set on the world stage from the beginning, this is not a popular option, but it is the option that your average USAG competitive gymnast takes. It is the path I took, along with the TOPs program which we'll get to later. The purpose of the J.O. program is to give the gymnasts experience in meets and to move forward in the sport at a steady pace (this is what I was talking about earlier, when I said most gymnasts take one year per competitive level).

A separate program is the TOPs program. TOPs is a program for young gymnasts, ages 7-11, who have the strength, agility, and flexibility it takes to potentially learn elite-level skills. They are tested less on actual gymnastics moves (such as back handsprings, vaults, etc.) and more on their strength and other attributes that are important in high-level gymnastics. While TOPs is not required of gymnasts who want to test into elite, it does emphasize the abilities elite gymnasts need to have and can be play important role in training for the elite level.

Finally, you have the Elite programs. Gymnasts have to test into the elite program by their scores in an elite qualifier meet. You've probably heard of the two classifications of elite gymnasts: Juniors and Seniors. This has nothing to do with skill, but with age. Junior Elites are between 11 and 15, and Senior Elites are 16 and up. When gymnasts first test into the elite level, they are classified as National Elites, and then have the opportunity at various Elite meets to qualify as International Elites. As you guys know, there are age restrictions at the Olympics, so only Senior Elites can compete at Worlds and in the Olympic Games.

Something relatively new in gymnastics is the Hopes program, for 10- to 12-year-old pre-elite gymnasts. Gymnasts must test into this division at a Hopes qualifier.

So there you go, gymnastics lovers. These are just a few of the ways that gymnasts can reach their elite dreams. However, there's a lot more to this stuff than I can't begin to understand. I've given you a brief (well, somewhat brief) overview of the information I gathered from gymnasticszone.com. If you would like to read the full answer that includes all this information and more, check out http://gymnasticszone.com/EliteProgression.htm

Conditioning You Can Do at Home

Okay, a lot of people ask about what sort of conditioning routine they can do at home. I'm just going to give a few examples of the different things you can do for strength training on your own time with little equipment.

-Push ups. There are a lot of different kinds of push ups and they work different parts of your arms. The first is the standard push up, maintaining a tight hollow body position. The second is the wide-arm push up with your hands farther out to the sides; this one works your pecs, shoulders, and your underarm area. The third is triangle push ups, where you make your hands into the shape of a triangle (thumbs touching and pointer fingers touching); this will work the outsides of your arms. The fourth is handstand push ups which you can do against the wall. If handstand push ups are too difficult, another great exercise is putting your feet up on a couch or bed and placing your hands on the floor, creating as close to a 90 degree angle as you can between your upper body and your lower body, bending at the hips, and then lowering yourself down until your head almost touches the floor before coming back up. You can do 15 of each or so, or just figure out what amount of conditioning works best for you.

-Sit ups. You guys know all these... there's the regular sit-up, the "crunchie", the sit-ups where you raise both your torso and your legs (bending your knees), and of course the dreaded V-up. I find V-ups to be the most beneficial for muscle building. My coach used to say, "Do 30 in 30 seconds." This is a challenge at first but becomes easier, like anything else, the more you practice it. Other stomach exercises include the hollow hold as well as hollow rockers. Those are both great - you should definitely feel it the next day.

-Squats, leg swings, lunges, and calf raisers. Take these and get creative with them. If you have latex bands at your house, use them for leg swings. For the calf raisers, stand on your stairs with your heels hanging off the edge to get more out of the exercise than if you were just to do it on the flat ground. With the lunges, hold weights in each hand or jump in and out of the lunge position rather than stepping out. For squats, look to ballet - they do a lot of that fancy plie stuff. Don't just DO the squats, but hold the squat position as well. If you like wall sits, those are great for the thighs. Or you can always just stand on one leg and hold the other at a 90 degree angle for as long as you can, then switch. If you've got a practice beam to do that on, even better. I've always found leg exercises to be more difficult at home than in the gym, but there really is a lot you can do.

I hope these exercises help. I've tried to break them up into arms, abs, and legs, which are the main areas to focus on. Find a conditioning routine that works for you. Consult with your coaches, if you want, and get their recommendations on how many repetitions you should be doing on your own time. Have fun, drink water, don't over-do it, and build muscle! Ready... GO! :)

So you think you're too old to start gymnastics?

Q: Am I too old to start gymnastics now?

So maybe it wouldn't be the best idea for my 80-year-old grandmother to get involved in gymnastics... But too many of you out there worry about being "too old." If you are 13, 14, 15, or even 20, you are NOT too old to get into recreational gymnastics classes. I REPEAT: You are NOT too old! You may be older than the other kids in your class, but don't let that hold you back. The gym I used to go to held adult (18+) recreational gymnastics classes once or twice a week for people who decided a little later on that they wanted to try out the sport, and they all had a great time. Just because you're a little older doesn't mean that you can't be successful and enjoy the sport. Sure, you probably won't be an Olympian or even a level 7, but who cares! Do what you love, no matter what. I strongly encourage anyone and everyone to get involved in this sport. If nothing else, it will earn you a great work ethic, a new leotard, and some wonderful friends.