Hi All,

I know a lot of you are heading into season, doing lots of routine and skill work etc. But don’t forget to give your gymnasts a break (even if it’s just one station in the rotation) – where they can work new skills, upgrades etc. It’ll make your life easier down the road, and will keep them from getting burnt out on routines. Today I wanted to share some drills you can work on a lowered strap bar (I really, really, really encourage people to have a strap bar they can lower).

This first one is a couple gymnasts working on their inbar circles. This is by no means the first step. For your gymnasts who are flexible enough to do this skill I might start them in a pike underneath the bar and just have them start learning how the compression effects their swing. Eventually they’ll start circling and then opening etc. One of the reasons I really like the low strap bar is that if they don’t make it around, they just land on the floor.

This second one is another set up I like, gymnasts can do clear hips, toe hands, and stalders from a station like this. One of the reasons I like strap is it gets them a little more confident and they start to play with their timing more. They’ll open early, open late etc and really start to feel how the skill works a little more quickly. Especially if the bar is low.

Train hard!