Gymnastics for 1 - 2 hours a week - worth it?

[angrydinogrrrr]

Hi all,

My 8 year old, who whilst quite athletic, isn't naturally flexible, has been enjoying recreational gymnastics for the past few years (1 and a bit hours twice a week with somewhat patchy attendance). And now we have to decide whether to renew for the year ahead. She is quite keen but we are struggling to fit in the timings next year - it is possible but its a definite strain on what would otherwise be a much more chilled schedule (she does other activities)

My questions are:

1. What can a child realistically achieve in 1hr 15 mins of gym up to twice a week? So far she's some way from doing full splits and touching her feet when she stretches, she does forward rolls and backward rolls (admitedly not with the most grace!) and is now proud to have mastered a cartwheel and bridge. I know her enthusiasm to attend gym mainly arises from watching the more advanced groups around her (potentially the squad groups - it's a great gym with very advanced teams) do backflips, walking on their hand, spinning on the bars and honeslty i think she is wistully dreaming of getting there. BUT I'm guessing a backflip isn't really realistic, even several years from now, given the fact she is solidly on the most recreational track? What can kids realistically look to do at this level?

2. Does it make a major difference whether she does the 1 hr and 15 mins once or twice a week at this stage? Most of the class would be signed up to twice a week and she will most likely fall behind the group with just 1 session a week. But 1 session would be easier to fit in then two! Is it a case of she should do two or none at all or can one be enough to improve her flexibility, strength and teach her some things she will be proud of, like a hand stand?

She enjoys gym - but honestly i don't get the feeling she really loves it - she just reallly wants to do the back flips🙃

Thank you for any insight!

My girls did gymnastics once a week for abt three years it was a 40 mile round trip in the rush hour which I hated.

They enjoyed it though. Unfortunately when they reached young teens they grew out of it as they had not quite finished their badges and the company would not put all the teens in one group, they were in a group with 8 year olds not so fun when you are 12 and 13. They ended up leaving. Tbh they were not really into joining the competition team after their badges anyway but it was a shame they didnt finish the badges. They only had one and two to get.

Clubs which go on and do competitions are a good option.

Gymnastics is a fabulous base for almost all other sports so even on a recreational only basis it's a great thing to be doing. If she's in a group who will all do twice a week then she'll probably get frustrated only going half that time because she is likely to fall behind that group. If DD isn't naturally flexible even a small amount of gymnastics will help in so many ways that will benefit another activity that she might have a more natural talent for. Gymnastics conditioning is brutal but my DD who trained 6 days a week from age 9-12 has been leading warm ups in other sports for years and it's definitely helped her core strength which is vital for both sport and life.

Thanks for your replies!...

@RoseMartha wow 40 miles in traffic ! That is intense! Did your girls find once a week enough to see some benefit from gym? Did they have to practice at home too? And do your girls still see the benefits of having gone to gym for those years now still? Sorry for all the questions!

The gym club we go to is really a great environment - very inspiring. They don't do badges or anything like that but it looks fun and there are plenty of recreational competitions even at the most basic level should she want to take part.

@TheTeenageYears Theteenageyears, I can really see what you are saying about benefiting other sports and really just life in general...but I wondered if you had to do it for a minimum amount of time each week to see those benefits. Regardless though I totally agree about her feeling frustrated if she does once a week instead of two like her classmates..

uff It's just so tough as honestly I really don't see her sticking at it beyond a few years (her friends have all been dropping out) but I see the benefits of it and she is pushing to do it (so she can learn her back flip!!)

But If she does gym however we would give up our family weekends a little (it falls on a Friday evening) and the other class would push her swim class to a weekend (swimming is a non negotiable as water is a big part of our lives!)..if we were activity free at the weekends we would love to use that time as a family to bike, hike, see friends and generally be free!

Hmmmm

She’s only eight. I’d focus on whether she enjoys it, not on what she might be able to achieve.

My kids do gym. The kids that make the comp squads pretty much without exception do a lot of practice at home. If she’s not naturally flexible then she needs to stretch and practice regularly and once a week isn’t going to be enough. Another rec class won’t make as much difference as some regular practice.

@Snowiscold totally agree, but she's eight and enjoys a lot of different things and twice a week is a bit of a commitment for us! And the alternative of not doing gym would be just playing and being free like a kid should be ... But the girl has a dream,(of a back flip!!!!) And that dream is mostly why she enjoys doing it. As a total non gymnast I just want to understand how much of what she's seeing the other (very talented) girls do that she can realistically work towards...before I give up her dream on her behalf in favour of being free, being with the family and being in nature!

@angrydinogrrrr

I hated that drive, there was an A road stretch notorious for accidents that I hated with a passion in the dark and especially with driving rain. I also waited no point going all that way home and back again. No spectating allowed after Covid.

They did. They practised at home. At the time we had a trampoline and they practised on there a lot. They can still hold a handstand and do walk overs. Also it built core muscles and they have very good upper body strength.

They made friends there and still in touch with them and occasionally see them.

@Elnetthairnet I can see the importance of practicing at home if she wants to really build her flexibility . She's not ever practiced at home till now really... She's not that commited! She's not aiming to be in the squad or anything. Well maybe she wants to be in a dance group that ends up in britains got talent!

The only benefit she needs to get from it is enjoyment-she’s unlikely to make any Olympic team, but knowing the value of doing something, no matter what it is, for the sheer enjoyment of it is a a great grounding for good mental health

Our club doesn’t train for back flips etc unless they are in a selective group. Not in the rec group. And they have to be invited into the selective groups.
My DD is in a squad group and is just learning this stuff now.
She does go to an acro class which is non selective and they do some of this stuff there but tbh I’d be wary of this if your DD isn’t already quite advanced or learning the correct techniques at a gym club.
I do understand though, I was always desperate to learn the more advanced skills when I was a child but was never good enough for the squad groups.

I would agree though that it is really beneficial for core strength anyway. I practiced a lot at home and when I gave up the classes within a few years I had taken up Pilates which I now do at an advanced level and it is amazing.

Just a thought re swim class - assuming she can swim, then could you scrap weekend classes and do an intensive course each year in the school holidays to work on technique, and build regular family trips to the pool at the weekend or after school another day do she is still practising swimming regularly?

Tbh, I think lots of families have to organise family time around weekend clubs and commitments at this stage. DS had had something on a Saturday lunchtime for the last 8 years, it's a total pain, but he loves it and we try and keep Sundays free for doing things as a family.

Is there a Cheer club with more convenient times for your family? Tumbling is a huge part of what they practice.

@JudgeRindersMinder I get that. But she does other stuff for enjoyment and to give her a sense of achievement. She's been doing a sport thing which she looves (and now requires an extra session from her). She plays an instrument and swims!

She wants to keep gym in that list of activities with very specific aims of doing some fancy stuff (not to join a squad or become Olympic or anything). Just trying to understand her aims so I can talk to her about them before we decide whether we give our weekends to it!

Plus I'm a big believer in learning to love nature and freedom are a big contributors to mental health - so I'm really reluctant to let go of that ...for another skill! But I also want to give her support for what she wants to achieve...

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@WhatWouldTheDoctorDo great idea re. Swim class..am going to see what we can do to work around it ..

@Snoopsnoggysnog that sounds great. Honestly I wish I was more flexible and I do want to encourage her if her heart is in it!

@RandomMess no cheer club I know of! And it's the only club near us too

1-2 hours a week is rec level. You might achieve certain things, like cartwheels and basic tumbling, and if you're working through the BG certificates. If you started very young, pre school or only a little later, and had the right attributes for development then squad might eventually be an option.

An 8 year old can still benefit from the exercise and enjoy the recreation classes. They may also learn some skills along the way.

My child did gymnastics but she did 12 hours over four days a week.

Does she go out in the garden and practice practice practice?

Her tumbling will improve if she does that. You could get a trampoline - softer landing!

I know girls in rec classes who were able to do some of the fancier elements - back walkoevers or whatever they were called, handsprings off the vault, some spins on the bars etc - not the really hard stuff, perhaps, but enough to seem quite impressive. Also their technique on things like cartwheels was much better than those who were self-taught - the pointed toes, the graceful take off and landing etc, so there is still stuff that can be learned from good coaches, even on the simple skills. if it is a good gym that lets the rec classes still benefit from good training from decent coaches, then I think it's still worth encouraging her if she wants to go, even if some of the skills she dreams of might be too hard. She may well still be able to do some of them despite not being squad-level. And in the meantime, she can still enjoy the classes and her dreams, until she eventually realises where her natural limit will be. And she can always do trampolining as well for some of the other tumbling skills! Or diving. I still remember a boy from when I was at school who used to impress us by turning somersaults from a standing position on the gym mats, because he was a diver. He probably shouldn't have been allowed to do that out of nowhere, but he did, and we were impressed!

if we were activity free at the weekends we would love to use that time as a family to bike, hike, see friends and generally be free

At most you’ve got a couple of years of that left before they start moaning at bring dragged on a boring walk or that it’s boring hanging out with your friends. Weekends aren’t just about what you want to be doing, kids need their enjoyment too and if that’s activities that they enjoy then in my view you should allow them some of that time too.

Get them into an activity that takes up a whole morning or a whole afternoon and you get a chunk of time to go off and do your own thing anyway! Orchestra or dancing are great for that once they’re a bit older.

Thank you all so much for your replies - they've been really helpful. I really know nothing about gymnastics.

@RandomMess she doesn't practice gym at home at all - honestly I didn't think she was all that keen on gym until I mentioned giving it up! We don't have a trampoline unfortunately... and to be honest i'm a little terrified of her trying flips on a home trampoline!!!

@BotCrossHuns that's all really helpful to know. I'm surprised by how nice her cartwheel looks to be fair!

@NewYorkLassie Def agree there is only a small window of the kids enjoying spending their weekends and free time with us.. so I'm keen to make the most of it while they are so happy to do it!

So far on balance I am landing on squeezing in gym for her since she's keen.. and thinking creatively about how we can still swim without it blocking a chunk of the weekend! Thank you again!!