Signs of a burnout gymnast

For a proud parent of an aspiring gymnast, the last thing you want is your daughter/son to feel any sort of pain. Be it physical or emotional stress, our lives are dedicated to protecting the most important people in our lives.

WARNING SIGNS

• Not enough sleep/sleeping every chance she can.
• Irritable. (watch out!)
• Not wanting to go to practice. Making excuses. 
• Talking about quitting. 
• Saying the coaches don't encourage her like they do the other kids
• Complaining about not having free time
• Increase of injuries
• Decreased appetite
• Lack of enthusiasm

But what happens next?

Not all cases are the same but here are some tips to help cope with whatever might be going on, gymnastics related or not. 

• Talk to them about rescheduling activities. Lower training hours, switching to a recreational program, etc. 
• Try to find out which activities they put in high priority. 
• Talk to their coach. Perhaps, he or she notices too and chances are they have dealt with this situation more than once before. 
• Come up with a game plan. GOALS to get out of this rut no matter what! What needs to happen, when, why and how?

Being forced to do a sport they just aren't into is much more damaging to a gymnast than retirement. Some say finishing what you started is something we need to instill in our children, I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

Would you make him/her finish the season if he or she decided its time to hang up the grips?

Ice Baths: Why does my daughter want to do them?

It’s a known fact that immediately after an injury that ice is the answer. An Ice Pack applied to the area helps reduce pain and swelling, but have you ever tried an ice bath? Sounds chillingly unbearable if you ask me.

I once did a polar bear jump into freezing lake Minocqua back home in Wisconsin before I moved out to Asia. It is definitely something to try once....only once.

But if you’re a gym mom or dad, you might be wondering why the heck your son or daughter wants to fill a tub with ice and more important is it safe? According to Runner’s World, ice baths are a method of cryotherapy or “cold therapy.” Immersing your body in ice water constricts blood cells and creates a reduction in metabolic activity, which reduces inflammation and prevents the breakdown of tissues.

When you get out of chilly water, the tissues begin to warm up and your blood flows faster. This helps return the by products of cellular breakdown to the lymph system for efficient recycling by the body. So not only does a soak in an ice bath help prevent inflammation, but it also flushes harmful metabolic debris out of the muscles. Many athletes, especially gymnasts swear by these post-workout ice baths. Dotting their bodies with ice packs is an option, but full-on immersion in ice water is much more effective. They only need to be in the chilliness for 10 to 20 minutes.

Here’s a clip from one Stick It, one of the most popular gymnastics themed movies of my gymnasts. I think they get the idea here, really not thinking about the benefits.

I would love to hear it, have you ever done an ice-bath or would you ever do one?