Here at the official GK Elite Sportswear Gymnastics Blog, you will have the opportunity to comment, ask questions, and learn something new about GK apparel and gymnastics. This blog will inform you on some of the most important topics in gymnastics today. Topics will pertain to coaches and parents, as well as gymnasts of all ages and levels.

• 1. The Feet:
  • You may not know this but judges can deduct if you do not pivet on high toe in a tight releve position on beam. 0.10 can be deducted when you do not show this position.
  • Point your toes on everything you do, from giants on bars to leaps on floor and beam. 0.10 can be deducted from flexed feet.
• 2. The Knees:
  • Unless you are in "pile", your knees need to be straight on every skill and also in the standing position while dancing. Tight hamstrings can lead to consistent bent legs. Bent knees will also lead to 0.10 deductions.
• 3. The Abdominals, Rib Cage and Shoulders:
  • Every gymnasts should stand with their hips under, abdominals and rib cage tucked in and shoulders pressed down. Deductions have been added to the code pertaining to the shoulders during your performance. Having your shoulders pressed down, and your back muscles pinched together, your neck will appear longer making your body look taller. Ballet dance classes are a great way to help you and teach you how to make a straight body line. Correcting a gymnasts "line" earlier in their career will better their gymnastics in the long run. 
• 4. The Head:
  • When performing, a gymnast should NEVER look down! Having your chin lifted and looking above eye level will make your presentation look 100 times better.

• You can begin to contact colleges in your junior year of high school. Send the head coaches of all the schools you are interested in an e-mail to see if they are interested in you. Remember: coaches can not call you until July 1, after your junior year of high school.
• Start preparing your recruiting video. This video should include routines from competitions and the new skills you are working on. Make sure to make it good because you want to make a great first impression on the coaches. Send your video to all of the schools you are interested in.
• Along with your video, you should include a letter to the coaches. Include your name, graduation year, high school GPA, level of competition, your coach's names and phone numbers, the skills you perform on each event, any awards you have received, SAT or ACT scores, your intended college major, and any other interests of yours that will help you stand out in the crowd! Include a recent picture of yourself in competition as well.
• Once you have received a response of the coach or coaches, visit the schools unofficially and attend their gymnastics meets. Unofficial visits are extremely important because they will help you get a feel for the school, gymnastics team and coaches. 
• Once you become eligible for official visits, you must determine up to 5 schools you want to visit. The school will pay for all of your expenses on the trip. You will follow an itinerary during your trip, visiting practice facilities, apartments, academic support staff, and much more. What you learn and see on your official visits will help in your final decision of a college. 
• You must register and be certified to the NCAA through the NCAA Clearinghouse. 
• When making your final decision, you must put many things into consideration. Ask yourself the following questions:
  • Is my intended major available at this school?
  • Is the gymnastics program suitable for me?
  • Is it too close or too far away from home?
  • Are the campus and classes to big?
  • Are there different activities to do in surrounding areas of the campus?

• Wearing grips is the greatest prevention on hand rips. Reisport dowel grips are a preferred brand of gymnastics grips.
• If calluses start to build on your hands, use a pumice stone on your hands to reduce them.
• After a bar training session, wash your hands with cold water. This reduces the heat from friction and will help in the prevention process
• Wear thicker wristbands to help prevent rips on your wrists and palms. I would suggest using the GK 5 inch Terry Wristbands.
• Use Handebalm on your hands every time you do bars. This is a great prevention method that works great.

• Wash off the rip immediately with warm water and soap.
• Cut off access skin around the rip.
• Treat immediately with Neosporin or Vitamin E and bandage it up.
• Before bed, wash out the rip with soap and water, then pat dry. Cover the infected area with Neosporin and bandage the area. Wear a glove on your hand while sleeping to help keep the bandage from falling off. Continue this until the rip is gone.
• You may need to take a few days off from swinging bars depending on the severity of the rip. You can still swing and perform what you can on the strap bar since there is no friction build-up while swinging on this piece of equipment.
• Sometimes you have to work through the pain!
• Use tape grips when the rip is healed enough to start swinging again. Ask your coach or athletic trainer how to make them. They can be reused many times.
• You can also use second skin to cover the area under the tape grip.
• Spray tuff skin on the rip before putting on the second skin and tape grip.

      Choosing the right floor music is a very critical process, whether you are choosing your very first piece for your level 7 competition season, or mixing together multiple songs for your level 10 routine. Since you will be performing the routine for a year or two, serious thought and consideration should go into choosing and preparing the music. Here are a few pointers to help you choose the correct piece for you:

• Choose a piece that will make you stand out. Getting the crowd and judges involved with the routine and music will help boost your score.
• The music MUST fit your personality. A very serious gymnast should not choose a piece that requires an upbeat and happy personality.
• Since you will be competing the routine for a year or two, you MUST enjoy the music.
• Music can also display your talents. (If you are a graceful gymnast, choose classical music that will display your beautiful dance movements and graceful leaps. If you are a powerful tumbler, choose music that is upbeat and has a fast tempo. If you can dance to hip-hop music, choose a current rap or hip-hop instrumental. )
• Have an emotional connection with the music so that judges and the crowd will get involved.
• Do not choose a piece with a lot of musical repetition.
• Your music can not have any words or singing in it.
• Your music can not be longer than 90 seconds.
• Expect to pay from $50.00 to $200.00 on a piece of floor music.
• After choosing the right floor music for you, hire a professional choreographer or someone with experience in choreography to help you demonstrate your personality through your routine!

This is the time of year when all gymnasts deal with balancing a new school year and a new gymnastics season.  Here I will give you a few tips on how to begin this competitive season successfully.

• Summer has now ended, so it’s time to put together routines. Be excited about the new skills you have learned over the summer and start adding them into your new routines. New perfected skills= a perfected routine!
• Start your season off with a great attitude! Thinking positive thoughts about your new season will lead you to a positive year.
• Not only do you need to concentrate to prepare for the new gymnastics season, but you also have to concentrate on a new school year. Remember: education always comes before athletics. Take care of your schoolwork, just as you are your gymnastics.
• Take care of your body from the start! Start your season off healthy. Not only should you be taking care of injuries, previous injuries and rehabilitation, you should also be aware of how you are fueling your body. Give yourself the energy it needs in the right way. With balancing school and gymnastics, you need the proper energy to get you through the day. The healthier you are, the more successful you will be!
• Get your sleep! Refueling your body with the proper rest is also the key to a great start. Since gymnastics season requires traveling all over the country, you must get rest for your body to be in tiptop competitive shape.
• Be excited for a new start!
• Last but not least… back to school means you need to buy the new GK Elite Sportswear back to school workout essentials! Take a look at the catalog here!

Most high-level gymnasts have used a strap bar before as part of their training regimen. Do you know what a strap bar is? It’s one of the most efficient training tools for learning circling skills on bars. With just strapping your wrists onto the plastic piping surrounding a metal high or low bar, you can learn many different skills. A high metal bar is used to learn tap swings, uprises, back giants, front giants, kips as well as drills for specific release moves, and the low metal bar is used to learn free hips, stalders, and toe shots.  A strap bar gives gymnasts comfort and security while learning new skills because your hands are completely strapped in.




Different gymnasts will use different size straps and wristbands while using the bar, so be sure to wear the correct size strapping and wristband that fits your wrist size. GK Elite Sportswear sells the perfect neoprene wristband for you to use! Also, you must be supervised by a trained coach while using a strap bar. If your gymnastics facility does not have a strap bar, talk your coach into getting one. Using less space as a regular bar, and also costing less than half of the cost of a regular set of bars, a strap bar will definitely work in your favor and will help you become more successful on the event!

If your child’s goal is to make it to the Elite level of gymnastics and even receive a full gymnastics college scholarship, choosing the BEST gymnastics program for your child is the first step to success. Putting your child in gymnastics requires family dedication and may involve tough family decisions. Families may have to make a sacrifice and decide to move out of state for their child to get the best gymnastics experience they can possibly get.

Here are helpful hints to choosing the BEST gymnastics program:

1. A top gymnastics program will have a coaching staff who has had many years of experience competing in the top levels of gymnastics and also coaching top gymnasts in the country.
2. A top coaching staff will have individual top accolades:
           A. Coach of the Year
           B. Olympic Coach
           C. Led gymnasts on to;
                1. Receive Full College Scholarships
                2. Become National Team Members
                3. Become Olympic Team Members
                4. Become World Championship Team Members.
3. A top program would have been voted top gymnastics facility in the area, state or even country.
4. A great facility will have top of the line equipment and will also have many different sets of each gymnastics event.
5. A program that offers Men’s gymnastics, Women’s gymnastics, Cheerleading and Special Olympic Programs.
6. A program that offers gymnastics to children age 1 and UP. Beginning in a program, and growing up in the same program is a huge benefit for a gymnast.
7. A program that offer dance lessons for gymnasts. Dance is an essential tool for all gymnasts.
8. The top programs will have a mission to provide boys and girls with the opportunity to experience the joy and benefits of gymnastics while becoming part of a gymnastics family.
9. The program must be committed to helping a gymnast to be the best they can be.
10. A program that offers financial scholarships.

A program that has a competitive team who wears GK Elite Sportswear Custom Gymnastics Leotards and Apparel will always look the BEST!

The decision to miss practice for summer family vacation comes around every year. Most gymnasts decide to take that time to get away and spend a week or more with their family. Gymnastics is a year round sport, however most coaches, in almost any sport, would tell you that it's healthy to have some time away from daily practices.

Here are a few summer vacation tips to help gymnasts stay in tiptop gymnastics shape:

1. Every gymnast should first ask their coach and make sure that missing practice is acceptable.
2. A coach may want a gymnast to organize practice at a gymnastics facility close to where they will be vacationing. If available, take the opportunity to help yourself improve your gymnastics skills and return to your gym in topnotch shape.
 3. If another gymnastics facility is not available, a gymnast can use the workout room in hotels and even on cruises. Keeping up with your cardio on cardio machines and also making use of the free weights will be in the best interest of a gymnast.
4. If a workout room is not available, you can simply condition yourself anywhere (in a house, in a hotel room or even on the beach).

Here are some exercises that do not need any machines or equipment:

·      Push-ups

·      Abdominal Exercises

·      Jump rope

·      Walking squats

·      Pull-ups

·      Running

·      Jogging in place

·      Toe-raises

·      Handstand Holds

Stretching is the most important exercise of all! If a gymnast does not stretch while being away from the sport for a while, injury can easily occur when returning back to gymnastics. 

Make sure to show off and wear your GK Elite Gymnastics Apparel while vacationing!

Whether you’re just starting gymnastics or have been competing for years, balance beam nerves seem to never go away. Struggling with inconsistency, fear and anxiety are common issues gymnasts face when it comes to the balance beam. From my experience, I have learned some pointers to help subside beam nerves and have also learned how to mentally prepare before getting on the beam.

Here are some helpful hints for balance beam workers:

1.     No matter what your nervous or scared about, (such as attempting that new skill for the first time on the high beam) the balance beam will ALWAYS be just a tan line over a blue mat. The height of the beam does NOT matter!

 

2.     Before getting on the beam, you should always first do a practice skill/routine on a line on the floor. Doing more of each skill helps with consistency, and consistency helps suppress nerves.

 

3.     After practicing the skill/routine on the floor, a mental routine should be conducted in your head with your eyes closed. Picture yourself up on the beam doing your skill/routine with confidence and consistency from beginning to end!

 

4.     “Cues”- Each one of your skills should have a cue. A cue is a word or phrase that you say in your head before performing that skill each time. An example: If you have trouble doing a front tuck and landing with your chest down, you would say “Chest Up” to yourself every time before you perform that skill. This helps remind yourself to focus on that problem area, which is especially necessary during a beam routine with multiple skills. Don’t forget to use your “cues” when doing your mental routine in your head!

 

5.     “Beam center”- The beam center is considered your belly button. Always focus on pulling up through your stomach and keeping your beam center over the middle of the beam during skills/routines on the floor, mental routines and on the balance beam.

Most importantly, you need CONFIDENCE on balance beam. Without confidence in yourself you will get nowhere while learning new skills or perfecting them on the high beam.

Looking your best in GK Elite Custom Gymnastics Leotards will also help you feel confident and graceful while practicing and competing balance beam!

Injuries can cause major setbacks in an athlete’s career, causing them to be a gymnast’s worst nightmare. I have experienced many different injuries, which resulted in 4 major surgeries during my 19 years in gymnastics. Learning that there are numerous steps an athlete MUST take in order to comeback successfully, I am going to share with you my insight on some of the important tips to help an injured gymnast comeback from an injury, stronger than ever.

 

1.     The term “RICE” is often referred to as one of the most important terms an athlete must abide by during an injury:

·       Rest- Resting an injury and not pushing yourself too soon to get back to hard pounding (tumbling) is an important key in the recovery process. Rest will also help in the prevention of other injuries.

·       Ice- Icing an injury will help with decreasing inflammation. The best method of icing is called ice massage. Freeze water in a cup, which will result in a block of ice. Massage the injured area for NO longer than 20 minutes with the ice block. Also, never apply an ice bag directly on the skin.

·       Compression- Compression will reduce swelling of the affected part of your body. I have found that ace bandages are the most effective way to compress an injury. Do NOT wrap an injury too tight. 

·       Elevation- Elevating an injury also helps to prevent swelling. Usually an injury should be elevated above your heart.

 

2.     Staying in good physical shape is another important aspect in successful comebacks.

·       If you have an injury to an upper body extremity, here are a few of the easiest ways to keep up with your cardio and strength:

o   Riding the stationary bike with your legs

o   Running on the treadmill

o   Lots of abdominal workouts

o   Depending on your age/level, weight training with the legs

o   Floor dance throughs with no upper body baring and sprinting the tumbling passes 3x

o   Dance throughs and turns on the low beam

·       If you have an injury to a lower body extremity, here are a few of the easiest ways to keep up with your cardio and strength:

o   Riding the stationary bike with only your arms

o   Any conditioning exercise that does not use your legs (i.e. pull-ups, rope climb, handstands etc.)

o   Lots of abdominal workouts

o   Depending on your age/level, weight training with the arms

o   Swinging on the strap bar (i.e. tap swings, giants, free hips etc.)

·       Water therapy is also an effective way to help keep up with your cardio while injured because there is no weight bearing involved:

o   Swimming laps

o   Treading water

o   Running in the water

3.     Physical rehabilitation is also extremely important in helping an athlete reach their fullest training potential again. Physical therapy can be done on your own or with a physical therapist. This will help you to reach 100% + before returning to full gymnastics training.

Every gymnast must take time to heal so they can get back to full practice and competition. This is necessary because everyone wants to be out there practicing and competing in their GK Elite Gymnastic Leotards and Apparel!

BEFORE PRACTICE:

From my experience, I have learned that eating right before gymnastics practice does not allow a gymnast to reach their fullest practicing potential. Eating too close to a workout can cause indigestion. A gymnast will not be able to perform at their top level because the food will just be sitting in their stomach, making them feel lazy. Eating 1 to 3 hours prior to any gymnastic activity is the most accurate amount of time an athlete needs to fully digest their food. What are the best foods to eat prior to training? We all know that energy is one of the most essential factors all gymnasts need to make it through a long successful practice and that energy source is carbohydrates. Mixing in fiber or protein with the carbohydrates will give you additional energy. The amount of food intake is also very important. LARGE portions are a NO NO! A gymnast should eat enough food that will make them feel satisfied. It is important to not eat too much prior to a training session because that will make them feel uncomfortable and sluggish.

-Here are some foods that could provide a gymnast with a necessary amount of energy:

·       Carbohydrates

o   Whole-grain bread, pretzels, or crackers

o   Whole-grain pastas or brown rice

o   Cereal

·       Protein

o   Chicken, turkey, or tofu

·       Fiber

o   Apples, bananas, or oranges

o   Yogurt or low-fat cheeses

o   Carrots or cucumbers

-Here are some foods/ beverages a gymnast should avoid before practice:

·       High fat content foods will cause a gymnast to become sluggish and heavy feeling:

o   Bacon

o   Cheese

o   Sausage

o   Candy

 o    Granola bars

·       Caffeine can cause headaches and muscle tremors in gymnasts:

o   Soda

o   Coffee (Iced or regular) 

o   Tea

DURING PRACTICE:

Staying hydrated is one of the most important things an athlete can do during practice. This means, keep the water flowing. Fruits are the best snacks a gymnast can eat during practice because they have high water content.

-Here are some of the healthiest fruits a gymnast can eat during break at practice:

·       Fruits

o   Apples, oranges, melons, or grapes

It is very important that athletes, especially gymnasts, follow a healthy eating regimen. Gymnasts should follow an appropriate diet to enable themselves to look their BEST in GK Elite gymnastic clothing and gymnastic leotards!!

Needed to protect a gymnast’s hands from rips and calluses as well as peeling off of the bar, gymnastic grips are a major necessity for uneven bars. Coming in many different sizes, gymnastics grips consist of a piece of leather that covers the hands of a gymnast and has either a buckle or velcro that straps around each wrist. To prevent the grips from slipping off of the wrists, all gymnasts should wear wristbands under the velcro or buckle. Non-competitive beginner gymnasts, who do not perform hard skills on the uneven bars, should use palm grips when starting out their gymnastics career.

Once you begin learning harder skills, gymnasts should use dowel grips. A dowel, or small metal bar, is added at the top of the leather to help competitive gymnasts grip onto the bar easier. Gymnasts should start wearing dowel grips when they start performing bigger skills and major release moves. All in all, palm grips should be worn when a non-competitive gymnast starts swinging on the uneven bars and competitive gymnasts should start wearing dowel grips when they start performing bigger skills, such as major release moves.

Gymnastics grips and wristbands can be purchased on the GK Elite Sportswear web-site!