Compulsory Beam Drills

Hi All!

Since it’s summer and lot of us are going back to basics (YAYYYYY!) – I thought it would be the perfect time to post some compulsory beam drills. These run the gambit from form, to stability, to turns to handstands. There are some great ideas in here, and if your littles are getting bored, try switching it up with some of these.

I really like this first one – I often do kicks with gymnasts backs against a wall but arm positioning is hard. The thing I like about this drill is the high v of the arms while she kicks. You can see her hip pushing back and not quite over her leg – but it’s a very minor thing. You could also place a block behind them so that they know if they feel the block they are pushing backwards. Otherwise fantastic drill for kicks!

I really, really like this drill for core stability. One of the things gymnasts need to be able to do is move their legs freely without their core/trunk moving and this a great example of it.

This drill is very similar to the last one – it just moves down the beam. The idea is that as each leg moves the trunk does not. You can see that the wobbles come when the core is loose or the chest moves with the leg.

Lunges are incredibly important, often overlooked, and often boring for compulsories. One of the things I like about this drill is it’s active (not a passive hold) – but also that when they jump onto the beam most likely they aren’t going to land perfectly straight. They then have to learn how to fight and fix their landing position.

This is another very, very good drill for both stability and turning. One of the things when I teach compulsory turns is I want them to move a little as possible backward and forward. My preference when first teach 1/1 turns on beam is for gymnasts to stand with two feet in releve (close together but not locked) – 1/1 turn – and step out as close to the turning foot as possible. That way their body mass isn’t moving too much. I find it makes for much easier turns. This is a great way to start it.

And finally a standard but often not used enough drill. Repeating “that’s not all the way up” for handstands often gets annoying. Instead of that try handstand flat falls, handstand forward rolls, handstand walks with partners on a low beam etc. in order to get kids over the fear of beaming upside down.

Video Credits:

Videos 1,4,5,6 – TNT Kid’s Fitness and Gymnastics

Video 2 – Jennifer Heist

Video 3 – Swing Big

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