Drills for saltos on beam

Hi All,

Today I thought I would share a couple less common drills for saltos on beam. It can often be hard to come up with enough drills for these skills without throwing in the towel and saying “just do it” but here are some that I think may help.

This first drill is a really nice one for layout step-outs. There are a couple reasons I like this drill. 1) The back handspring is going up, if only slightly. When in doubt I like to have gymnasts do their skills UP, and back handsprings are no exception. 2) The springboard gives a decent boost into the layout. For gymnasts just connecting this skill for the first time you can get short landings with chests down etc. This drill will help build confidence and awareness, without your athletes feeling like they are going to fall on their face.

This second drill is one of back pikes. It’s teaching the gymnasts how to pull their hips over their head, and curl them under on landing. Also how how to get their chests up. It’s a really nice easy side station to throw into your beam rotation.

Train hard!

Photo Credit: Erin Costa