Finding the perfect-size grips

Photo Source

When in doubt, it's safer to go smaller.  A good thread for grip sizing.

What is your gym's philosophy on when to introduce grips to gymnasts? And what is the rationale.

-Right off the bat?
-Grips without dowel?
-Wait until they are seriously training tap swings (level 4)?
-Wait until level 5 or 2nd year level 4?
-Wait until their hands are a certain size?

Generally, I believe in delaying it for as long as possible (especially if they are small- it's challenging enough for small hands to grip the bar without a piece of leather also getting in the way; and the real point of dowel grips is to make it easier to hang onto the bar and swing). And I feel grips without dowels are wasted money.

It's funny how younger gymnasts yearn to reach the age and level where they are allowed to get grips; and how some of them are instantly cured of the desire to wear them after the first day!

Want to move a 428 lb vault table and feel like you just gained superhuman strength?

Currently,

We have only one vault table, which we usually put on a roller to move from one end of the runway to the opposite end (plus crossing over the tumbletrak) in order to put it on another runway with the foam pit behind it.

A few weeks ago coach David and I carried it the whole distance (including over the tumbletrak which might not be too safe and not recommended), using two forearm forklifts for their intended purpose (I've had them for the last 2-3 years thanks to seeing a video by Mel Eades, improvising them for gymnastics drills and conditioning exercises).

These things really work! I can feel the weight of the table and how heavy it is (about 428 lbs); yet lifting it up is not difficult at all! Amazing invention!

Apparently there are fakes out there. Please don't go for cheaper, knock-off imitations; and with poor quality material and stitching. I saw a video of the inventor explaining the harm it's done to his business. Buy the real deal!

Watch two guys (one being the inventor) carry a fridge with another dude sitting on top.

Modifying a staple exercise for the little ones

Slider drills across the floor is part of the regular warm-up that many of the boys team, lvl3s, and preteam kids do.

With a new crop of preteam kids, I figured out a way to modify one of the harder exercises for them:

Sound Buttons for Gymnastics Conditioning, Contests, Games

I wanted to find recordable sound buttons, but from what I had read, the volume on the speakers weren't that great.  Similarly, the Staples Easy Button also was low volume and would be all but inaudible in a noisy gym.

I acquired these buttons at Lakeshore Learning Center and they are pretty fun. Here are just a few uses I played around with.

You can definitely make it into a conditioning game. For example: Timed push-ups (say, 30 seconds).

- 1 point for touching the button at the bottom
- 1 point for touching the button at the top of the push-up
- Minus 2 points for any wriggling of the body

For the planching push-up challenge, award progressively higher points for each button, with the one furthest out (forcing a stronger lean) being valued with the most points.

Pac-man hollow arches

There are some other ideas for this I hadn't filmed, yet.

I wish my current gym had rainbows (half doughnuts).  I had filmed a couple of creative drills at my old gym using these; but I no longer have those vids.

Chin Pillows

Some brilliant ideas work better than others.  This was not one of them:

This is related to the "sticky toes".

Oh, well.  I think the concept is still good- just not the execution of it   I've also thought of experimenting with some sort of modified neck brace.





How about a strip of velcro attached from a mouthpiece to the front top of a leotard?  I kid.  (Actually, as I type this, I think I have a clip somewhere of kids putting the front of their leotard in their mouths to back extension roll and feel their head position).

MAG Among the Ruins

Nick Blanton posted this up yestereday; and I've been waiting for him to respond to find out the origin/source/backstory of this photo.

Syria?  Iraq?  In a war-torn country?  Natural disaster?  Where?  What?

"The Miracle Device the Cure"

Check this out:

Improvising Wrist Supports

Circling and Kipping Trainers

Of course, hand-spotting for shape-corrections and manipulating positioning is often desirable.  But trainer/spotting devices also have their uses.


Primitive method of a front and back circle trainer:

Another variation by Peter Soul of Integrity Gymnastics in Ohio.

I filmed this one at Aerials Gymnastics during the Bar Boot Camp clinic.  This was welded together by Tom Forster:

The divider placement between the legs is a great idea.


Some clips of the last year taken at my current gym of various aids:

Now here's what I'm excited about that inspired me to piece together this blogpost:

Credit is given to Alison Fowler of Wildcard Gymnastics for the idea of replacing the old school rope method with the ever-versatile theraband.

A couple of things I am liking about this:

1)  The theraband is probably less abrasive on the skin than unpadded rope

2)  Being elastic, the beginning gymnast cannot totally slack off, but must still work her muscles to hold her body to the bar, or she will fall away from it.

3) Even if the beginning gymnast completely lacks in physical strength- or especially if she does- she must exercise her arm strength to get back into front support; those more advanced can work on shape and technique.

I haven't tested it out yet, but I'll do so tomorrow:  Seeing whether or not having the level 3s cast into hollow shape with the theraband wrapped on helps to condition them  with proper resistance (the restriction the theraband places  on cast height isn't that critical since there isn't a cast height requirement at level 3- just shape).

I have one pre-team kid who is just so physically weak but who so wants to become a gymnast- I think the theraband circle trainer was a great aid to her.  She was kept on the bar for a longer spell than she's used to, got to experience some circling, and had a great upper-body workout just to stay on or get back on.  Meanwhile, my arms were not killing me.  For those like her, I'm not worried about bad shaping and muscle-memory habits by allowing them to play with this.  She needs the general fitness, first and foremost; and the sense of fun and accomplishment.


Some example of kip trainers on the market:
Hip Kip Trainer
The New Kip Trainer Video

Gymnova Equipment

Source

Get a Grip!

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) University of Utah gymnast Georgia Dabritz doesn't wear grips, resulting in large callouses on her hands. Thursday February 6, 2014 in Salt Lake City.

 Dabritz:

Gymnasts typically use grips on the bars to protect their hands and improve their hold. But Dabritz, who is just 5-foot-1, couldn’t fit her hands into the grips when she was first learning her gymnastics skills.

She tried them again a few years ago and it was a disaster.

"I peeled right off the bar," she said. "After that, I wasn’t dying to try and use them again. I didn’t want to have to relearn all my skills."

Instead, she took the unconventional route and built up callouses on her hands through hours of practicing. There have been plenty of rips and tears through skin, but neither she nor her coaches would have it any other way.

"I don’t know of anyone else who does it," Utah coach Greg Marsden said. "It works for her, so we aren’t going to mess with a good thing."

 Of course, "traditionally", Romanian, Russian, and Chinese gymnasts at varying points have been reputed to not wear grips.  The explanation that seems to be commonly told is that when they are young, they cannot afford the grips; and as they get older and make it onto the international scene by which time you'd think their federation could get them grips, the gymnasts simply aren't used to them and decide to do without.

Video description, posted February 2009:

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The Sweet Taste of Gripping the Bars

Gymnasts' hands sweat as they swing. A mixture of chalk and a drop of honey, syrup or molasses helps some maintain their grip. Geoffrey A. Fowler/The Wall Street Journal

Everyone seems to have their own favorite recipe/mixture/ingredients:

There's a recipe to winning an Olympic medal on the parallel bars, and the key ingredient is sticky fingers.

Gymnasts' hands sweat as they swing, putting them in danger of losing grip of the bar. They dust their hands with gym chalk to abate moisture. But as gymnasts attempt ever-larger swings, they are on the constant hunt for a little extra help holding on to those slippery wooden bars.

That is how the gymnast's arsenal has come to include honey, molasses, Lyle's Golden Syrup or pretty much any other substance one might serve over pancakes.

~~~

most male Americans in the gymnastic competition, which begins Saturday in London, say they are honey men. Competitors from other countries favor sticky stuff ranging from Karo syrup to Coca-Cola.

U.S. gymnast Danell Leyva recalls a competition in France in which a gymnast used a beer-and-sugar concoction. "I smelled it and said, 'Dude what is that'?" says Mr. Leyva. "All right, whatever works for you."

Japanese gymnasts mix sweet and savory. Takehiro Kashima, a member of Japan's men's gymnastics teams in the 2004 and 2008 Games, says he experimented with his personal brew by adjusting proportions of sugar and water, then moved on to saltwater. He settled on a smear of honey spritzed with saltwater topped with chalk.

"It's odd, right?" he says. "But as you perform, you get this feeling of 'gu gu gu' like something is tugging on your hands," he says, using a Japanese onomatopoeia that denotes a sticking sensation.

Former U.S. national-team member Trent Wells melted gummy bears for competition in the mid-'90s. He says the idea came to a teammate who noticed the candies would stick to things if moistened and then shot out of a slingshot.

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Progression for Building a Strong Back Handspring

I like that Travis Rainer uses the octagon in such a way as to not allow the gymnast to simply be draped over it, in an arch.  One reason why I used to prefer the pac-man over the octagon was because it forced the gymnast to squeeze the butt and have an active shape change and active muscles in order to get it to move- not just sagging like a limp rag, coasting along like a passenger for the ride rather than being the driver.

My current preference these days, as far as unassisted, spotting devices is to use a simple spotting block to slide off of.  I might post a clip to better illustrate what I mean.  I'm probably the only one in the world who is doing it (and I swear, it's not because I'm crazy.  I only came up with it recently and think the results will validate and lend credibility, although it's only a drill with a specific purpose; and it alone isn't enough to acquire a backhandspring.  It is also technique-specific).

I also like Rainer's emphasis on the snap off the hands happening through the chest and shoulders and not piking in the hips.

Revolution of Slider Evolution and Innovation

Very creative, improvised use of the parachute to use for a Takamoto drill:

I assume Rebecca Sykes made this to share with Tony Retrosi's Gym Momentum.

I remember using the parachute at the end of obstacle courses for the purposes of sliding.

Just a week ago, I had an idea for Tumble Trak, who sell slider products:  Why not make them bigger?   They're fine for drills like this or this; or these. 

But why keep them at one size?  They were sized to move furniture, placed under furniture legs in some cases.   Certain creative exercises for humans could work better if the surface area were larger.  Maybe more grip action for the body to slider contact, too.

XR Slide is an example of customizing the slider concept for the specific purpose of exercise.  Too pricey, imo, though.

For further interest on the Takamoto:

Takamoto Drills

Half Takemoto Spot 

Full Takemoto

Full Takemoto Common Mistake

Marinitch - Takamoto Clinic

Mats

Al Fong:

Some of the mats I have are actually older than most of the parents of my Level 4 athletes. I hardly ever throw away an old mat. I refresh the tired ones by reinforcing the old foam with new foam pieces and then recover them. I discovered a long time ago that finding an industrial sewing person who works with car upholstery and vinyl could help me maintain the life of a mat that normally most gyms would discard. Since then I bought my own industrial sewing machine and found sewing people from my parent ranks and gym staff who had sewing experience. With the money I saved by recovering old pieces, I paid for my sewing machine 20 times over!
I still buy new landing mats, resi mats, panel mats, etc...but I can now design and build my own special mats to fit my style of teaching.
It can be challenging finding a place for all these mats, especially at the end of the day when it's time to make the gym orderly for the next day. It's very important to keep the gym clean and organized because it says something about your team and your coaching.