Floor A Skills

A SKILLS

• Work a ton of circles and flairs on a floor dome. Should be doing this anyway.

• No drills yet available for this skill.

• Work dive cartwheels trying to wait as long as possible before touching the ground.
• An aggressive kick and lifting of the chest is essential.
• Arms can either be swung across the chest, or up and back (similar to a Russian lift for fronts on floor). Either way the arms should help lift.
• Working on getting the lead leg around quickly is very important. Fast legs and flexible hips is how some can do an Aerial with their nose inches from the floor.
• Work areals off a panel mat to develop the feel of the skill while having a little more time in the air.
• Work aerials uphill onto panel mats. This forces more lift and kick.

• Round-off punch on to a port a pit or stacked mats. With mats about level with the upper back.Have the gymnast do round off punch to land flat on their back on the mats.
• Round-off punch 1/2 turn to port a pit or stacked mats. As above but with a late 1/2 turn before landing on the mats.
• Round-off punch 1/2 turn to handstand on port a pit or stacked mats. As above but finish in a handstand on top of the mats. These drills will build amplitude.
• An aggressive heel drive after the 1/2 turn will position the gymnast properly in the air.

• Jump backwards to an incline mat or port-a-pit. The gymnast should try to travel backwards as far as possible. There should be no leaning forward in the upper torso. The gymnast should finish in a slight arch with legs together and straight and arms up and by their ears.
• Sit back to a wall. The gymnast should stand about 3/4 the length of their femur and sit back with a vertical torso until they reach a wall sit position. This will develop a feel for the proper sit position.
• Back limbers over a rounded block.
• Handstand snap downs. The gymnast should try to finish with their feet in front of them with their arms traveling upwards.
• Place a mat against a wall. Sit and fall back agains the mat. The entire back should contact the wall at the same time. This will help reinforce not leaning forward when sitting for a backhandspring.
• Place a springboard on the floor,have gymnast get into a push up position with hands flat(without grabbing edges of springboard) work on moving body with shoulders without bending arms or legs.

• The key to a back walkover is good shoulder flexibility.
• Stand about two feet (or so depending on your height) away from a wall with your back to the wall. Arch back and walk your hands down the wall to end up in a bridge. As you do this try to keep as little weight on your hands as possible by pushing your hips forward.
• Start in a bridge with your feet close to a wall. Walk up the wall and kick into a handstand. Keep as little weight on your feet as possible by pushing your shoulders out over your hands.
• Work bridge kickouts with feet on a raised surface such as an 8" mat.
• Shoulder flexibility is greatly benificial to this skill. Be sure to work bridges properly and push over your hands.

• No drills yet available for this skill.

• The gymnast must have a strong front handspring that finishes with their feet behind their hips.
• The most common first mistake is to try and rush, piking at the hips, and bringing the head forward. This is the last thing that you want to do on a flyspring.
• An aggressive block and heel drive are essential. The heels should pull back throughout the skill.
• The gymnast should feel as if they are pushing up and back on the floor.

• Blocking drills onto an incline mat or stacked mats. From a hurdle or a step kick to handstand and block, landing flat on the back with arms by the ears and body in a slight arch.
• Blocking drills to handstand or up a mat. Kick to handstand-block catching in handstand. This drill can be worked from the floor to a panel mat increasing the number of layers to build amplitude.
• Aggressive kicks to handstand against a mat. Lean a mat against a wall and have the gymnast kick to handstand aggressively. Their head and shoulders should not touch the wall. With their hands close to the wall only their heels should hit.
• The most common error in handsprings is to tuck forward as soon as the hands leave the floor. This causes the gymnast to land in a squat position with their head and arms forward. The gymnast needs to get a feel for keeping their hips forward with their arms and head back.
• Starting from a bridge with hands near a wall. Walk the hands up the wall to a stand. Be sure head is kept back the whole time.
• Front limbers concentrating on keeping the head back.

• The key to a front walkover is good shoulder flexibility and proper body positions.
• A common mistake is to want to sit up too soon. This causes the gymnast to fall backwards. The hips should be pressed forward. Head and arms are the last to come upright.
• Stand with your back to a wall. Arch back and walk down the wall to a bridge. Walk back to stand. Very important to keep proper body positions when working the drill.

• Stability in a scale is all about practice. Work your scale on a lot of different surfaces. Including on beam, or on a bar.

• The only way to really get a solid handstand is to do lots of handstands. Do them on the floor, on P-bars, on rings. Do them free standing and against a wall.
• Work on extending your shoulders and pushing towards the ceiling.
• Ideally the handstand should be slightly hollow. You should be able to look at your toes while in a handstand.

• No drills yet available for this skill.

• Work handstand straddle lower to straddle stand against a wall. Go as slowly as possible.
• Work handstand straddle lower to straddle stand free standing. Go as slowly as possible.
• The key is control and keeping the shoulders open as long as possible. A lot of gymnasts will begin to planche the skill making it significantly more difficult. The motion should initiate with a wide straddle and deep piking of the hips.
• This skill is very developmental for presses and should be worked by any gymnast working on standing or stalder presses.

• The key to this skill is getting the gymnasts center of gravity over the gymnasts hands.
• As the gymnast rocks forward they should aggressively drive their heels towards the ceiling.
• This skill can be worked in repetition with a spot for conditioning. Rock to handstand, lower slowly through chest roll to prone, back to handstand.

• Be sure that the arms are straight throughout working this skill. Working it bent arm will help develop a bent arm stalder press.
• Work stalder presses on a folded panel mat. This will help the feet clear the floor.
• Handstand lower to straddle L. This should be done as slowly as possible.
• Working stalder presses with the gymnasts back against , or near a wall will (in the seated straddle position) will help improve the efficiency in the skill by forcing proper technique.
• The skill should be worked with both a fast roll into the stalder, and from a seated straddle L. This will aid in the development of a stalder on bars, as well as working the strength of the press.
• Work stalder rolls across the floor. Gymnasts can work the stalder roll to whatever point they are capable, be that just to straddle L or to handstand.
• Pancakes are key to this skill, as this is mostly a flexibility as opposed to strength skill. Get the gymnast to think of this skill as an extended version of the standing straddle press handstand by having them do straddle L-press to stand-press to handstand. This will help them get the compression concept. Be sure to try to keep the arms and legs straight.

• See the conditioning page.

• Proper technique greatly reduces the strength and energy output required to do a press handstand.
• Most gymnasts will try to rush to the handstand lifting their heels early causing the press to planche out making it very difficult to excecute.
• Work presses against a wall. Start so that when the gymnast leans forward their shoulders will push against the wall. This enables the gymnast to work through the motion with some assistance.
• Work presses facing away from a wall. The gymnast should stand with their back against the wall and lean forward to press, trying to stay as close to the wall as possible. This forces the gymnast to lift their hips. If they lift their legs too soon they will kick the wall.
• Do a lot of presses. Ensure that the arms are kept straight. Working a bent arm press will develop a very strong bent arm press, but does little to develop a straight arm press.
• Set up a floor bar in front of a wedge. Start the gymnast with in a push up position on the bar with the wedge in front of them and a barrel under their shins. Rock back and forth to press to handstand forward roll down the wedge.

• No drills yet available for this skill.

• No drills yet available for this skill.