I am surprised how many different systems are used for strapping on to a men’s horizontal bar.
Most coaches use the system they first used.
Eugene Galperin, one of the most successful Canadian coaches in history, brought straps from the USSR to Toronto decades ago. An athlete from Ontario showed up in my gym one day with straps — and I was hooked.
I still use 2 inch (5cm) wide straps with long sport socks (from the lost & found) wrapped around the bar. I want to simulate the feel of the actual wooden rail for the girls.
Kids who are used to narrower straps find mine awkward to put on. But force is distributed over a greater surface area, a real advantage, I feel.
Mountain Shadows Gymnastics
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Would you be able to tell me where I can purchase safety straps, the ones in our gym are old and worn. I would like to get some that I don’t need to worry if they are going to break.
Thank-you in Advance
[...] Using “safety straps” to teach bars and horizontal bar is essential for efficient training. [...]
Don’t know if anyone ever told you where to get some straps from. We get ours from http://www.ten-o.com. They work great!
The basic setup for strap-bar is;
men’s high bar
PVC pipe
athletic tape
1) cut the PVC pipe along it’s length (if making one for each hand cut the pvc into two 7″ pieces before cutting it length-wise)
2) place over the high bar
3) reinforce the PVC by wrapping it tightly with athletic tape
I have gymnasts begin working with the single tube then move on later to the
….one tubing for each hand (as a lack of shoulder stability can cause the tubing to move out from underneath the girls and become a safety hazard)
Additionally — I have seen PVC piping placed over a WOMEN’S rails and utilized successfully. This had been particularly beneficial in getting the smaller athletes used to the feel of the thicker womens rail. It also created slower rotation as friction increases dramatically when PVC is placed over a wooden rail as compared to a men’s rail. It did wonders for their free-hip circles to handstand…
Note however, that that particular set of bars was older- and as the straps were used over the years, it had made the wood underneath very slick.
As a side note— I would feel a bit weary about using socks as the object rotating around the bar under the athletes hands. If those were to bind up somehow around the straps, I could see a potential for wrist and forearm injuries— possibly breakage?
[...] Check an earlier post to see the socks taped to the bar. [...]
[...] gymnastics bars “safety straps†[...]
we use thick pieces of velcro wrapped around the men’s bar (hooks facing in as if you were shaving chalk from the bar). It works very well.
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