To ask for gymnastics equipment advice?

[Tuliprain]

My daughter has been desperate to start and her place on the waiting list has finally come up. She wants gym equipment for Xmas - in particular a bar and a mat. The bar I think I have sorted but the May she is asking for is an air track one and is huge. Will just about fit in the garden but not in the house. Can’t find smaller ones either. Any recommendations? Would be very appreciated.

My daughter had a floor beam that folded away.

We ended up with a hardly used air track because if it’s size. I think friends had thick padded mats from IKEA indoors. Worth a look?

Something like this
www.onbuy.com/gb/colour-colour-colour-colour-colour-6ft-gymnastic-tri-folding-mat-thick-yoga-fitness~c12263~p35700524/?exta=gshp&stat=eyJpcCI6IjI3Ljk5MDAiLCJkcCI6bnVsbCwibGlkIjo0NzYyMjg1MCwicyI6bnVsbCwidCI6MTYzNjcyMDc4NCwiYm1jIjoiMS41In0=&lid=47622850&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2evv2_CS9AIVye3tCh1rIQePEAQYAiABEgITs_D_BwE

She’s desperate for the air track but it will only be able to be used in summer in the garden so will have a look at the IKEA mats. Thank you

They are really fab!

Has she even started using the bars yet? I’ve no experience of this but when I was a child I wanted all the stuff for my latest hobby and then quite often moved onto something else. NB I may have wanted all the stuff but I certainly didn’t get it all.

I’d wait and see if she enjoys it before buying a load of stuff. You could ask the instructors if they’ve got any tips on what/where to get stuff.

She’s loved her first lesson so I think she will continue. I don’t want to spend a fortune just in case but it’s all she’s asked for so want to get her something.

Don’t buy the air track until she gets really confident and competent in gymnastics, and can perform tables safely it’s an accident waiting to happen. A lot of kids want to run before they can walk with gymnastics- and think that because they can throw a trick across a tumble track that it makes them a gymnast. A folding padded mat is a great idea to start with for a beginner- the IKEA ones are quite small and do not have grips under, so you may need some rubber rug grip to put underneath if it’s for indoors.

Not tables, tumbles. Stupid autocorrect!

Doesn’t the bar come with a decent size mat anyway?

DD’s gym club has a Facebook group for selling on equipment and leotards. It might be worth finding out if your’s does. Loads of people bought stuff for home during COVID, so coaches should be able to advise and some people might be getting rid of equipment.

My DD is a squad gymnast but they don’t do bar. I wouldn’t have thought that was a safe thing to have at home tbh. She has a folding mat like the one linked above and also a larger foam type mat that I think I got from Amazon years ago, it leaves bits of blue foam everywhere so I wouldn’t recommend it but the folding one it worth it.

She’s always asking me to buy stuff but most of it is not practical or safe in a domestic setting IMO.

We don’t have a floor beam but that’s probably a good bet and good for balance and core stability i would have thought.

Perhaps a beam would be better than a bar then. I think she just likes hanging on the like she does at the park 🤣

If she's only had one lesson will she know how to use the equipment safely?

@Tuliprain don't suppose you're in the Reading area, are you? I have a couple of gymnastics mats (large but fold up) I'm looking to sell on.

How old is your dd? She can play on the metal bar like you do in a park but my dd doesn’t really use hers anymore. She’d need a wooden one really, but no way would a proper sized gym bar fit in our home!

@Tuliprain

My daughter has been desperate to start and her place on the waiting list has finally come up. She wants gym equipment for Xmas - in particular a bar and a mat. The bar I think I have sorted but the May she is asking for is an air track one and is huge. Will just about fit in the garden but not in the house. Can’t find smaller ones either. Any recommendations? Would be very appreciated.

Can you share the bar please?

@Tuliprain

Perhaps a beam would be better than a bar then. I think she just likes hanging on the like she does at the park 🤣

We have a climbing frame in the garden for this maybe you could get that!