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Original poster

To find watching the gymnastics utterly depressing?

207 replies

GandalfsWrinklyHat · 09/08/2016 21:53

Watching the olympics - gymnastics on right now. Think it's the team competition bit. I know nothing about gymnastics at all, and am in awe of all those girls doing what they're doing, but they are SO YOUNG. And I cannot imagine that they could have had much of a childhood at all. I just find it so depressng. And they must surely know pain? You cannot train to do what they're doing and not experience a lot of pain. Somebody set me straight. I actually feel quite guilty for watching... Am I wrong?

OP posts:
RedorDread · 09/08/2016 23:53

I can't remember getting help stretching, I'm naturally quite supple, I can see it in ds too, maybe this helps. Are some of us naturally more supple or am I talking bollocks? It just seemed to come quite easy for me, the flexibility that is.

snowy508601 · 09/08/2016 23:54

Doing the splits in the air is the same as on the ground you just need to strengthen the muscles that hold the legs up ie hip flexor , glutes. You do that by leg raises forwards and back. I get them to hang straight on the high bar and then try to raise their legs to splits shape, hold lower and repeat.It really isn't a difficult skill!

Scuttle22 · 09/08/2016 23:58

Also if you fracture a bone along a growth plate then that can stunt growth or the bone can grow back crooked causing lifelong pain and deformity Then there are issues with discs slipping due to instability in the spine when a child is going through a growth spurt - causing lower back pain.

SoupDragon · 10/08/2016 00:01

Also if you fracture a bone along a growth plate then that can stunt growth or the bone can grow back crooked causing lifelong pain and deformity

So, just the same as tree climbing, bike riding, football, rugby and crossing the road.

Scuttle22 · 10/08/2016 00:09

Yes but I wouldn't let me DC do a hobby that can cause all manner of problems. Hmm. No gymnastics does cause more problems just by doing the sport the others would be an accident. Bending your back repeatly when a child's spine is growing is not a good idea.

2016namechangeagain · 10/08/2016 00:16

I know a couple of elite gymnasts, aged 10-12. They train for 3hrs every weekday after school and all day Saturday. So about 20-22hrs per week.
In the summer holidays they are allowed one week off, and are all told which week they are permitted. In all other weeks of the school holidays they train six days a week 9-5.
They are lovely kids but they really don't get any chance to live a 'normal' childhood. The eldest has just finished year 7 and it's not a life I would pick for my child, despite it being amazing to watch them, the chances are they won't ever make the national team (or again they may do but certainly not guaranteed). It all seems a lot of sacrifice for such a slim chance of 'success' however you define that.

JenLindley · 10/08/2016 00:17

I see someone asked up thread as I was actually going to start thread myself asking why the women have to do the silly half-dancing between their tumbles and jumps instead of just tumbling and jumping. IMO it looks ridiculous. I don't understand the point of it. I don't think I've ever seen the men having to do the same but I could have just missed it when they did.

JenLindley · 10/08/2016 00:19

Have also recently put my boys on the waiting list for gymnastics and am now rethinking it as a result of reading this thread! They are both v excited to start though especially after watching the olympics.

meck · 10/08/2016 00:25

I don't think the men do have to do the same dance element, Jen.

Ilikedogs · 10/08/2016 00:28

The only thing I find depressing about watching the gymnastics is that I no longer have the strength or the skill to do any of those things anymore!
I used to compete at elite level and we did training every day except Tuesday's. I did quit once our coach decided we needed to go to the gym for strength training before school but what I remember most is having fun with great team mates and lots of travelling.
Anyone that makes it past around 13/14 when boys and social life take over is extremely dedicated.
I do think that from certain countries succeeding in sport is definitely seen as a way out of poverty but I would hope that some of the extremes in coaching of the past no longer exist.

JenLindley · 10/08/2016 00:33

I am watching now and the commentator said something about a good interpretation of the music. I am baffled Confused. Firstly, because to me as a complete "know-nothing-about-it" it never looks as if they are even trying to be I time or co-ordination with the music and secondly, why do they need to interpret music? They're oympic athletes not dancers! The music/dancing is a ridiculous distraction IMO.

CotswoldStrife · 10/08/2016 00:47

In the 70's you would have been hard pushed to notice that the music playing in the background was even slightly related to the floor routine! I think the routines they perform now do make better use of the music.

I am agog at the gymnasts doing twisting somersaults on the beam!

kateandme · 10/08/2016 00:52

i think they are trying to make it better.ive read of new acts and law passed to let bodies be as they should(or as much as they can police it)they looks lots better,they used to be tterribly stunted and tiny.more varied body shapes are seen now,but still...it makes me feel sad sometimes too.
ive read up on it and there does seem to be paased gymnasts and others really trying to make it better now.

kateandme · 10/08/2016 00:54

one of the saddest thing I read ecently was yesterday on the sexual abuse from the usa coaches.watching and reading the new on this disgusted me. the sickos were covered for it was medals over young girls welfare.horrific.some coaches are now in jail luckily.one killed himself,but it was huge.

JenLindley · 10/08/2016 00:59

Yes DS and I were both agog watching the beam performances earlier. We just kept looking back and forth at each other in shock at what they were doing. Beyond comprehension to a lazy couch potato like me. Blush

UnderTheGreenwoodTree · 10/08/2016 01:41

My dsis did advanced gymnastics years ago (I'm talking before the Berlin wall came down, here) and she went on a trip to the USSR - and yes, it's all true what they did to their gymnasts to make them so superior at the time.

My mum said she actually feared for dsis's little friend at the time (they were 8) - who was exceptionally good - that she may actually be kidnapped, they were so interested in her. It was a strange time, travelling to the USSR in those days. It's different in the former Soviet Union now - but now it's China that has the horror stories.

TheFlyingFauxPas · 10/08/2016 02:09

Daily Mail link. Forgive me! I remember this a while ago. here

GinIsIn · 10/08/2016 02:23

Do you know what life is like for the poor in rural China? Yes, the sweat box system where they are forced to train all hours a day is horrific but at least it means they are fed, clothed and have a vocation. The way those athletes are trained is wrong, yes, and they don't necessarily always have a choice, no, but the alternative for them is probably not playing Xbox and going to the park with their friends the same as it might be for our children...

JoyLibs · 10/08/2016 02:35

Re: age of Chinese gymnasts, as a non-gymnast (but am a Chinese person!), I got mistaken as 14 when I was 18. I also know someone who's in her early thirties that looks like she's possibly 19, maybe 20 if you're being generous. So not surprised at all that they look so young Grin

Don't doubt that the conditions are a far cry from what we'd find in other countries though. Especially in a country like China, excelling at a sport may be your and your family's way out of poverty.

HobnailsandTaffeta · 10/08/2016 02:58

DD1 has decided she wants to be an Olympic gymnast, and is very annoyed I can't take her to Rio now.

She's 6 and has been saying if for a year, so I hope you are wrong op as I'm signing her up to a class. The kids does a serious 1 handed cartwheel to flip thing instead of bloody walking so time I gave in and gave up my dream of her showjumping career and got her classes.

KickAssAngel · 10/08/2016 04:46

I live in the US and recently taught a student who was the US U14 champion for their sport. People giving the amount of time etc. they train in the UK it just doesn't compare. The student I taught did 5 hours every night after school, all of Sat and Sun from 9 am to 6 pm.

Almost never went to parties, even if they did they were on a strict diet. We could never give candy as a treat etc etc. This had been the lifestyle since about age 10.

This was a 13 year old. They were national champion and just starting to think about internationals, no mention of Olympics.

IT's absolutely terrifying how much work is required to attain these levels. Way more than most of us ever put in to anything. And it starts very, very young.

I feel very sorry for the hopefuls who get close but then have an injury or just don't make it. They have almost no other life to fall back on, and very few strong relationships outside of their sport. Then their career is over before they are 30, in most sports. IT's all a bit cruel really, and just because we like to watch, and it's good for national morale to get some gold medals.

GlindatheFairy · 10/08/2016 04:56

Also - why do the women have to do floor to music and wear glittery costumes when the men get to treat like any other sport?

Why do the men not get to wear glittery costumes and move to music? Why do women have to do things in a man's way to be valid?

GlindatheFairy · 10/08/2016 05:13

All these parents worrying about other people's children finding a sport they enjoy doing and being super fit. It's far more harmful to children to be inactive.

wannabestressfree · 10/08/2016 05:21

My sister was an elite gymnastic. She started at nearly 3 and i travelled all over with her. She eventually gave up at 16 as her hands split after years doing the bars. They just wouldn't heel....
I was a swimmer but my parents weren't particularly supportive and as soon as it meant long hours in the pool is was bye bye. That's why I go to every football match/ rugby game/ whatever is on....

Jubaloo442 · 10/08/2016 08:13

The long and short of it is that to be an Olympic athlete in any discipline, you need to dedicate your life to it. It's not going to happen by taking up the sport at age 16 and training for 4 hours a week. The long hours and repetitive training are what make success. In gymnastics this happens at a younger age, and is more likely to happen if you aren't so tall. As pp have mentioned, the situation re: weight and height has improved dramatically.

I think the people who are saying 'I was going to sign up my child but this thread has put me off' are being a bit over-cautious. There's a big gap between learning to do cartwheels once a week and spending the equivalent of a full time job in the gym.

Like any sport, only a few will make it to the Olympics. Even making it to a national level is a massive achievement. Training for such long hours makes you v self aware, you know your strengths, weaknesses and limitations and so it's not usually a surprise to gymnasts when they don't make it to Olympic level.

The concern shown is touching, but I feel a bit naive. The sportspeople involved are fully aware of the shortcomings of their career path as well as of the benefits. Despite their youth (in most cases!) they are mature beyond their years and able to make decisions for themselves. Nobody is being bundled into the back of the team bus and being forced to compete.

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