Comments on: do you weigh your gymnasts?

By: shergymrag

shergymrag — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 08:44:44 +0000

That is one ugly dog on the wall.

By: apolytongp

apolytongp — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:38:44 +0000

I remember this one kid on my HS wrestling team who was at 105 to get a top spot and looked skeletorish. I myself was lean at 136, but competed at 126 (not hard to do because you can count on about 5 pounds from dehydration, by not drinking the night before) and even made a run at 118 to get a starter spot, which was hard. Later in the season, I considered going at 138, to get a varsity spot, when our top guy dropped out, but my coach would not allow it, since some of those guys were natural 150+ guys and were significantly heavier physiques than me (even though I could defeat the second best 138 pounder we had to field).

We had calipers and weighed ourselves all the time. In general if you were smart about it (tactical), it was pretty safe, and did create an athletic advantage (or if you ignored it created a disadvantage). These gals losing some wieght has got to be pretty similar. bodyweight is much easier to cut a little than strength to gain. I’ve even seen it with male gymnasts that were on the borderline for getting some moves done.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:45:05 +0000

I really admire when coaches encourage body weight restrictions providing (here’s the key) that they not only keep their athletes below the “fat range” but still above the area where one is dangerously below what their ideal weight should be. Georgia should be an example for gyms everywhere, intense training plus malnutrition does NOT equal success. It creates injuries.

By: AE

AE — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:25:51 +0000

kinda crazy to read bc i know from college track and field that we got weight before every race.

By: Katrina Burton

Katrina Burton — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:28:16 +0000

I don’t weigh my athletes, but from an early age I start teaching them about food. They have journals that they write in and they add one food under each heading: protein, carbs, and fat. Then when they bring their book back to training we talk about the foods they put in and move them to the correct column if they were wrong. We discuss if the foods they put down are good or bad, why and what they make your body do or feel like. Then during the off-season I get them to try different Protein, Carb, Fat combinations for snack during training and have them write HOW they feel for the second 1/2 of training. That way during competitive season they know which foods make them energized for training and which ones don’t so I can get the most out of them.

It is much easier to TEACH kids how to eat right than adults. The kids will go home and tell their parents what they want packed for their lunches and snacks for gym and that “Miss Katrina said I have to eat this”. We don’t have weight issues (big or small) in my gym. They all look like healthy, muscular, young ladies.

But if something were to arrise I would probably go and talk to the parents and tell them that the girl needs to gain or lose weight for her to reach her potential. The excess weight is giving her a difficult time on the bars. Or the lack of some more fat mass is giving her difficulties on vault and tumbling. Then leave it up to the parents. I’m just trying to help the kids reach their potential.

By: apolytongp

apolytongp — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:35:38 +0000

I don’t remember our wrestling team crying after caliper tests. ;-0

By: apolytongp

apolytongp — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:33:15 +0000

They should. Problems exist both with girls that are fat (by the eye, beleive your lying eyes, look at McCool) and with girls that are anorexic.

By: Blair Lowe

Blair Lowe — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:35:27 +0000

I still like the idea of body fat testing, especially as it sounds like they are checking bone mass with DEXA which is even more useful than the BODPOD or hydrostatic testing.

I also like the fact they allow their athletes to snack. Our gym doesn’t allow our girls to which if you think about is a 3.5 to 4hr workout with conditioning at the end. Our boys do though I think our boys aren’t eating enuff since they are running out of gas in the workouts too early.

I’d be very careful about doing it with many juvenile gals unless I knew they were mature and sound enough in mind to take the repercussions. Can’t say many of the girls I’ve worked with are. I can remember the girl’s softball team in tears after just caliper testing.

By: kecks

kecks — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:54:34 +0000

So, I think that is a healthy way to handle the weight and food issue. =) Daily weigh in with very competitve teenage girls participating in elite sports and eager to please the coach usually results in eating disorders. At least this is what happens in track (I am coaching the junior sprint group here). It is NOT easy to get rid of it without ignoring the importance of weight and low body fat in track or gymnastics.

By: Marcus

Marcus — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:32:10 +0000

I’ve heard from sources that Abby Stack, Courtney Kupets, and Tiffany Tolnay have all had issues with food, but none of this was put on them by the coaches, Abby wasn’t even allowed to compete at one point during 2007 because she was so skinny

Courtney and Abby are doing fine now, but I’m still worried for Tiffany, she looked very thin at regionals, and if you compare her between now and in her freshman year, the difference is crazy