There are so many skills in gymnastics on beam, and you’ve probably wondered which ones you should focus working on. Well you’re in luck! We’re going to tell you the top 6 skills we feel you should work on for beam…and the great thing is that they are all skills you can work on perfecting at home, so that you can spend your time in the gym perfecting harder skills to ensure you’re scoring better in your routines.
You can also check out these gymnastics drills that you can do on your home beam.
OUR PICK: Brianna Beam for Home
WHY: Shape and feel is the same as a competitive beam. Low to the ground and perfect for practicing your skills at home safely.
Handstand
The handstand is in a lot of other skills, which is why we highly recommend perfecting your handstand. Not only is it in many other skills, it is the ONLY gymnastics skill that is in EVERY event. This is one of those skills that you want to absolutely perfect and can ALWAYS work on improving.
Some of the most common deductions gymnasts receive from their handstand are:
Deduction |
Deduction Value |
| Flexed/sickled feet | .05 for EVERY incident |
| Insufficient exactness of stretched position (not achieving vertical) | .2 |
| Bent arms in support position or bent knees/feet | Up to .3 for arms & up to .3 for knees/feet depending on which program you’re in |
Pivot Turn
Not only will the pivot turn help you change directions on the beam, it will help with your relevé. Having a really tight, high relevé is an important element you want to make sure you’re perfecting. The pivot turn not only works on your high relevé but it also helps you work on maintaining a nice, tight body position while on the beam, to avoid wobbles.
Some of the most common deductions gymnasts receive from their pivot turn are:
Deduction |
Deduction Value |
| Additional movements to maintain balance on beam | Up to .3 for each wobble |
| Bent arms in support position or bent knees/feet | Up to .3 for arms & up to .3 for knees/feet depending on which program you’re in |
| Not performing in high relevé | Varies based on level but can really add up! |
Straight Jump
It might seem basic, but perfecting the straight jump will elevate your other skills. A perfect straight jump can assist your tumbling on beam. It can also play a role in your body position and height for achieving a nice, high relevé.
Some of the most common deductions gymnasts receive from their straight jump are:
Deduction |
Deduction Value |
| Flexed/sickled feet | .05 for EACH incident |
| Insufficient height of jump | Up to .1 |
| Leg separation | Up to .2 |
Split Jump
The split jump is another skill that is on both floor and beam. It’s an important skill to perfect because the better your split jump is, the better your split leap will be. Once you perfect both your straight jump and split jumps, you can put them together for a jump series.
Some of the most common deductions gymnasts receive from their split jump are:
Deduction |
Deduction Value |
| Insufficient split degree | Up to .2 |
| Insufficient height of jump | Up to .1 |
| Flexed/sickled feet | .05 for EACH incident |
Scale
Perfecting a scale will help with balance and helping to maintain a nice, tight body position on the beam. This is a lower level skill, but an important one to make sure that you perfect.
Some of the most common deductions gymnasts receive from their scale are:
Deduction |
Deduction Value |
| Flexed/sickled feet | .05 for EACH incident |
| Additional movements to maintain balance on beam | Up to .3 for each wobble |
| Failure to kick leg horizontal or above when required | Up to .1 |
Relevé Hold
Perfecting your high relevé hold is important for many reasons, some of which we’ve already gone over in this post. Depending on your level, there can be deductions for not performing turns in high relevé along with a general deduction judges can take for your foot work for the entire routine, so the deductions can really add up here.
Some of the most common deductions gymnasts receive from their relevé hold are:
Deduction |
Deduction Value |
| Additional movements to maintain balance on beam | Up to .3 for each wobble |
| Insufficient exactness of stretched position (not achieving vertical) | .2 |
| Bent knees | Up to .3 |
As we stated earlier, these are skills that are really great to work on perfecting at home, so you can focus on harder skills in the gym. They’re all really important and play a part in harder skills as well. Our SkillTrakker program takes the guess work out for you, and provides drills to perfect these skills, at home. We’d love for you to join us!
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