[gymnastic_chick12]

Hey. I have been in gymnastics for a long time but still cannot get over my fear of the beam. Can someone please help me on how to get over this fear? Thanks

[rudi_in]

Thank you for posting your question to the Ask Me Help Desk.

That is a great question and not an easy one to answer.

Well, of course, there are the obvious things like practicing on a line on the floor, moving to a floor beam with spot, floor beam with the road on, floor beam without the road or spot, moving up to low beam with road and spot then removing the road, and finally moving up to the high beam. Each move requires that you do the skill alone on the previous beam.

In the long run, though...
Overcoming fear is something that ultimately you will have to accomplish for yourself.

Here is a small story about a fear I had years ago to illustrate my last statement.

I remember when I was first learning standing back tucks. My coach would spot me a few times and then say "Try it on your own" but I was scared and would never throw it. One day, however, I started throwing some tucks into the local swimming pool off the side of the pool. I realized that I was finishing my rotation well above the level of the pool deck. It was at that point that I realized that I could do it on my own on the floor too. I went into practice the next day and said "Hey coach, watch this" and I just threw it without any warm up spots or anything. I nailed it.

I could have done it when my coach said to do it earlier too but I did not believe in myself. I needed to find that on my own. No matter how many times my coach or fellow gymnasts said "you got this" or "you can do it alone easy", no matter how much others believed in me, it wasn't going to happen until I believed in myself.

Since then I never really had trouble learning any new skills. I also never had spots after then on any skill. I worked progressions until I felt confident and then I threw them. I was able to to teach myself several high level skills this way but it would not have been possible unless I believed in myself.

I hope that this story was somewhat inspirational and while I cannot give you a single cure all answer to eliminate fear, here are some tips to help you out along the way.

This is a short piece on nervousness...

Everyone feels some sort of anxiety or nervousness prior to competition. To an extent, it is perfectly normal. In fact, I would even call it healthy. Unfortunately, some people get so nervous that it completely ruins their performance. Here is what I think about nervousness.

1) Some of it you can't help.

2) Some of it you can help.

3) Some of it is natural, don't worry about it.

Now let's take a look at these things a little more in depth.

1) Some of it you can't help Your coach plays an important role in how nervous you are at the meets. The amount of importance that is placed on winning and doing a good job by the coach cause many athletes to get "all worked up inside" and falter during performance. Every athlete is affected by this to some degree. Some more than others but there is nothing that you can do to help that. Just get out there and concentrate on doing the best job that you can do despite all of the nervousness. Have fun!

2) Some of it you can help You can help to alleviate some of your competition fears in a couple of ways. One is to take some deep breaths, close your eyes, and visualize your routines. (see the hot topic on visualization) Visualization can play a very important role in the career of an athlete. You might be surprised at how effective visualization can be when done properly.

It is OK to make mistakes. (unfortunately some coaches do not believe this-which brings us back to #1) It is part of the learning process. Many athletes will perform much better when they realize that it is OK to make a mistake. Try to tap into the joy you feel just from doing gymnastics itself. Feel the pride that you have for being able to do the things that you can do. Let that guide you. (see the hot topic on motivation) It can also be helpful to talk about it a little. Sometimes a teammate or coach can help calm you down and comfort you. Remember, you have lots of friends here on the team as well! And, of course, I am always ready to help out as best as I can.

3) Some of it is natural, don't worry about it Some of what you feel is completely natural and if you didn't feel that way, I might wonder what was wrong. To me, a little butterfly action in the stomach is a good indicator that I am ready and it also keeps me in check. What I mean by that is it keeps my level of confidence at just the right spot. I don't want to become over-confident and I don't want to be under-confident, both can have devastating results. So if you feel a little nervous, that's OK.

Just get out there and do the best job that you can. It is OK to make mistakes, I will never yell at you for making a mistake. You are a valuable part of your team and anything that you can do to help it will be appreciated.

Remember that for the most part, being a little bit nervous is normal. If you are one of those athletes, however, that are overwhelmed by nervousness, try looking at some of the ideas here. Good luck to you at all of those upcoming competitions!


Here is a short piece on visualization...

Have you ever heard your coaches say "focus!, focus!". I know that as I was a training gymnast, I heard it all the time. Now that I am a coach, I am the one saying it. It is a skill that takes practice but you may be surprised at how beneficial it can be for you over time. Let's stop and take a closer look at visualization.

Many gymnasts have the ability to learn all kinds of skills but the ones that really go the distance also have the ability to visualize and focus on the skills. There is more to the game of mental imagery than you might think. There is a lot that you have to know about it in order to make it successful for you.

First of all, visualizing is something that, if you are going to do it, you need to do it all of the time. You cannot just visualize one time and expect to get amazing results. It just does not work that way. You need to train the brain. You must also learn to do some of your visualization exercises away from the gym. Work on strengthening your mind at home too.

To visualize properly, you must get yourself into the right state of mind. This means you are going to have to relax. That does not mean you have to sit in a corner with your eyes closed and legs crossed with your hands on your knees palms up. Early on it may take you longer than you think to get the mind relaxed and ready to visualize. Clear your mind of all of the negative things you may tell yourself. They will only cause to to become more nervous. Start replacing the negative with positive thoughts. "I can do this", "tap, shift, push" etc. Once you get good at it, you should be able to do it fairly quickly.

Remember these key points when you visualize.

** You have 5 senses. Use them! Visualization is more than just a picture in your head. See the blue mats, hear someone hitting the springboard, smell the air at the gym, taste your mouth, and feel the texture of the beam under your feet. These are just examples of how you can use all of your senses.

** Always picture positive. The sticks or the awesome, no wobble tricks. Never picture crashing or falling.

** You must continue to visualize on a consistent basis. Make it part of your workout. Just like anything, it takes practice.

** Make sure your mind is relaxed when you try to visualize. No negative thoughts!

** Try to feel yourself going through the motions. This is known as kinesthetic imagery. Feel what the muscles do, how they move, where they are in relation to the body.

** Talk to yourself. Say things like "I am good at this" or "No problem."

** Visualize at actual speed and not in slow motion.

I once heard someone say that properly visualizing something one time is worth actually performing it 3 times. Remember, it is important to train the brain so that it knows what to do.

I also recommend using two types of visualization. Internal and external. Internal visualization is when you picture it through your own eyes. External visualization is when you picture it as if you were the spectator watching someone else. Like you are in the stands watching yourself do that awesome floor routine. Practice both to find out which one works the best for you. You may like one or the other or a combination of both.

Remember, stop, close your eyes, and visualize. Feel the tricks and use your senses to try and create the same atmosphere in your mind that you had when you made that first one. Block out all possible distractions and focus on the task at hand.

If you get into a habit of visualizing all of the time both in and out of practice, you will begin to reap the benefits. I truly believe that one of the keys to successful practice and performance lies with the art of visualization.


These things should help to keep your mind in the right place as you work through this plateau in your training.

I wish you the best of luck!

[gymnast6394]

I have been a gymnast for about 10 years. I have always been afraid of the beam but you just need to pretend like you are on the ground. I know it sounds stupid but it really works.;)