Gymnastics backwalkover on beam

Question

im a level 5 gymnast and if i want to move up i need my back walkover on the highbalance beam.. if i dont get my backwalkover me and my coach decided that i would do a class on tues and thurs because if i stuck with it that would be my 3rd year of 5 which i dont want to do. im really upset because gymnastics was and will always be my 2nd home ive made so many amazing memories and great times that im afraid will b forgotten. the biggest concern i have right now is that im going 5 days a week and doing up to an hour and a half of conditionign everyday at gym im alot of muscle and im the perfect size im afriad that since ill only begoing twice im not gonna stay as fit and active ill still be playing lacrosse but not that much.. believe it or not now that its becoming closer to the time where its get ur backwalkover or i think its over timee im really thinking im gonna miss the conditioning! soo what i really need is some advicee what to do what to do i mean its not just my backwalkover that im quitting over im also sick and tired of missing alot of fun things cause i have to be at the gym its alot of work. the reason i did 2 years of 5 was my backtuck and backwalkover i hate things backwards weirdly i love flyaways ther my favorite and im not afriad but other back stuff i give up and dont believe! i need like a way to get over my fears and maybe some conditioning i can do at home to build up my muscle and still stay fit and active!

Answer 1

Hey, I know what you mean by "hating all things backwards". I'm more of a front flip person myself but backwalk on the beam is oddly something I'm confident in.

I need to know whether you've actually done backwalks on the beam or what standard of your beam is currently at though, to give you proper advice on the move.

Assuming you've already done backwalks on the beam before, tips for you that'll help you stay on the beam afterwards:

- Sometimes, what we're really scared of is missing the beam and falling off before even putting our hands on it. Put your hands on a beam and see how your hand fits on and remember that feeling. Normally for me, I'll just turn my hands inwards and point my thumbs at each other, such that when I touch the beam, it fits perfectly and supports my body weight well.

- Tighten your arms, shoulders and lower back especially. That will help A LOT.

- Point your toes. I've found that that helps, I think by doing that your body unconsciously tightens your legs?

- Look at your hands all the time, from the pose all the way until you land.

- Timing is crucial for this. Jump off your 2nd leg only when your hands touch, otherwise you'll go to a dead stop and find it hard to push over.

- Try to land your hands as close to your starting position as possible.

- Once your first leg lands, push off the beam with your hands.

- If you happen to have tiled floors at home, practice your backwalk on the lines formed between the tiles, or any line that's thinner than the beam. You can do it on the line if you dare to, why not on the beam? And if you're scared of falling, you do it a different way. Why not do it the same way you do it on the floor? You land it nicely on the floor right?

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For your dilemma, please don't quit gym if you love the sport. Maybe you can ask your coach to start you on forwards stuff for level 6 first? Your coach will know that with your ability, there shouldn't be a problem, I mean, people have different strengths right? Currently I've gotten a handspring punch front layout down but my roundoff backflip is still giving me problems. Talk to your coach, really.

Answer 2

try more back bend on a flat serface and just on a bit of a straight line

hopeit helps