Are You Interested in Purchasing Home Gymnastics Equipment for Your Gymnast?

If so, then you’ve come to the right place! Home gymnastics equipment is great for helping both beginner and advanced gymnasts improve their skills by practicing at home. Practicing at home can help your child improve faster thanks to the power of repetition — without spending extra money for more time in the gym. It’s also a great way for your gymnast to show you the skills she is learning in class.

Below we’ve given you some tips on buying your at home gymnastics equipment. And we’ve given you our picks for the best beams, mats, and bars for home use. We’ve actually seen and tried out all of the equipment listed below so we know that we’re recommending quality, sturdy pieces.

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Picking out at home gymnastics equipment can be tricky for a number of reasons: you want to get gymnastics equipment that can be used to practice a variety of skills, that can grow with your gymnast as she improves, that has the right weight restrictions, and that can be stored easily in your house.

The most popular gymnastics equipment for home use are low beams, floor mats, and mini bars. However, gymnastics accessories like pull-up bars and balance balls can also improve your gymnast’s strength and help make her time at the gym more productive. Gymnastics videos can also be an inexpensive way to give your gymnast some extra coaching on skills she’s struggling with. And don’t forget, the best way to get better at gymnastics is to practice your skills consistently everyday through an at-home program like SkillTrakker.

 

Types of At Home Gymnastics Equipment

1. Balance Beams

2. Mats

3. Bars

4. Gymnastics Accessories

Below we’re going to give you some things to think about when purchasing your at home gymnastics equipment, as well as give you our recommendations. If you want to skip to a section you can just click on the link above to scroll down to that section.

 

Balance Beams

Mats

 

Having a mat at home to practice on is great because wood floors or carpets don’t have a lot of cushion. You want to be able to fall without getting bruises. Home mats are great for practicing beginner tumbling like handstands, cartwheels, rolls, and walkovers. Mats are also great for general horsing and playing around safely.

Home Use Gymnastics Equipment: Mat Considerations

When you’re buying a mat for at home use, you want to consider its thickness and size.

• Thickness of the mat: If the mat is too thin, it won’t provide enough cushion and protection if your gymnast falls. If the mat is too thick, it will be harder to do skills on because the gymnast will sink into the mat.

 

• Dimensions of the mat: You want a mat that is big enough for your gymnast to practice skills on, but won’t be too big for where it’s being stored.

 

• Storage: Does the mat fold? If not, do you have a good place to store it?

 

• Max Skill Level: Some gymnastics mats are only sturdy enough for beginner gymnasts, whereas other mats can grow with your gymnast as she progresses.

 

One you have a gymnastics mat, your gymnast can practice skills from this Floor Skills List.

Home Use Gymnastics Equipment: Recommended Gymnastics Mats

Below is a chart with the at home gymnastics mats we think are the best:

PANEL MAT

A panel mat is the most popular piece of at home gymnastics equipment. We like this Tumbl Trak panel mat that comes in many different color combinations. It comes in the most popular panel mat size, 4 feet by 8 feet, and can be easily folded. It comes in standard panel mat thickness of 1-3/8″, but also comes in a 2″ thick version. These mats fold into 1/4 of the size that they are laid out.

PROS

CONS

Easy to fold and store Comes in different thicknesses

Not thick enough to cushion falls or hard landings

CHECK CURRENT PRICE

 

HOME AIR FLOOR

Air Floors are super popular right now and this Home Air Floor is great for at home use. Air tracks are somewhere in between a trampoline and a spring floor. They can also be stored conveniently away when not in use by simply deflating them and rolling them up. We like this one because it’s very durable. If you buy one that isn’t durable and it gets a hole in it, it will no longer inflate so it’s worth investing in this higher quality mat.

PROS

CONS

Durable Good quality Fun

Needs to be inflated every time you use it if you store it away

CHECK CURRENT PRICE

 

TUMBL TRAK HANDSTAND HOMEWORK MAT

We love this handstand homework mat because it makes practicing handstands against the wall much easier and more comfortable. Handstands are such a great exercise for both beginner and advanced gymnasts to practice at home. Doing them against the wall with this mat helps your gymnast make sure she is practicing with perfect form. This homework mat is designed to easily attach to any door, but can also be taken off the wall and used on the ground for practice.

PROS

CONS

Fun to practice on Versatile

Need an adult to help take it off the door

CHECK CURRENT PRICE

 

PRACTICE MATS

These practice mats come in different sizes for different purposes.

PROS

CONS

Different sizes Durable

Can slide around if on a slippery surface

CHECK CURRENT PRICE

Bars:

 

A mini bar at home can be fun, is great for strength training and for improving your gymnast’s bar performance. Beginner gymnasts and young kids love to play around on them, and more advanced gymnasts can use them for strength training. Mini at home gymnastics bars have made many improvements over the last few years and are much sturdier than they used to be.Home Use Gymnastics Equipment: Bar ConsiderationsWhen you are buying a bar for your home there are some things to consider.

• Stability: You want to make sure the bar you buy for your house is stable. You want to make sure it won’t fall over or shake when your gymnast is using it.

 

• Weight Limit: You definitely don’t want a bar that isn’t strong enough to hold your gymnast.

 

• Matting Requirements: Different bars have different matting requirements to be safe.

 

• Bar Height: It needs to be tall enough that your gymnast can use it, while still being able to be stored in your house.

 

• Ease of Assembly: Some bars are much more difficult to put together, or require extra plywood or leg supports.

 

• Max Skill Level: Some home bars are only stable enough for low-level skills, whereas others that can support high-level skills are better able to grow with your gymnast.

Home Use Gymnastics Equipment: Recommended Bars

Below are our at home bar recommendations:

JUNIOR PRO BAR

The Junior Pro Bar is the home bar we recommend because it is a very sturdy bar, and does not need to be stabilized with additional plywood or supports (like some bars). It can be set from 38″ (about 3 feet) to 59″ (about 5 feet) tall, with a weight limit of 125 lbs. This bar is safe for all levels and can be used to practice kips and casts. It takes up a 4 foot by 6 foot space on the floor. It needs a 4’x6′ mat that is 4″ to 6″ thick, due to the thick center support bar. This mat will work, or something of similar size.

PROS

CONS

Safe for all levels Adjustable

Takes up a lot of space Needs a large mat

CHECK CURRENT PRICE

 

THE BEAM STORE PARALETTE

This Beam Store floor training bar is great for more advanced gymnasts. Use it for practicing press handstands, bar handstands, and pirouettes at home.

PROS

CONS

Great for training more complex bar handstands at home

For advanced gymnasts only

CHECK CURRENT PRICE

 

Home Gymnastics Equipment Accessories

 

Pull-Up Bar: If you have a more advanced gymnast, you might want to think about getting a Pull-Up bar. A Pull-Up bar is inexpensive and can be installed right in a doorway at home. It’s great for building upper body strength which helps gymnasts excel on the Uneven Bars. It can also be used to build core strength by doing leg raises — hanging from the bar and lifting the lower body.

Fitness Ball: A fitness ball is a great tool to use for building core strength. Use it instead of a chair as your gymnast does homework. Or use it to do sit-ups and other ab exercises. The link is to buy it at DGS, but you can also get it on Amazon here.

EZ Move Sliders: Tammy Biggs, an amazing Elite-level gymnastics coach, recommends using these sliders in several drills and conditioning exercises. I’ve put together some Tammy Biggs videos, which include videos of her teaching aerial drills with these sliders, and doing conditioning and flex with them (The videos are great; I could watch her for hours!).

Theraband Exercise Band: Tammy Biggs recommends using Therabands for core strength. I’ve included the video on how to measure your Theraband on this page of videos. You can also buy them on Amazon here.

Hand Glove Weights: Tammy Biggs recommends doing a dance-through where you just do the arm movements of your floor and beam routine using these hand glove weights. She says in the video that practicing while using these hand glove weights will help to make your arm movements intentional throughout the dance portions of your routines.
Where to Buy At Home Gymnastics Equipment OnlineWhile there are many gymnastics suppliers online, the following are companies we recommend for buying at home gymnastics equipment online:

• DGS Gym Supply: DGS Gym Supply has all kinds of gymnastics equipment and gear. They have some home mats in addition to grips, accessories and gymnastics clothing.
• Norbert’s: Norbert’s has some great folding panel mats along with cartwheel and beam mats that are perfect for home use. Their sectional floor beam is also a great piece of gymnastics equipment for the home.

Once you have some kind of a bar, beam or mats, here are Skills you can Practice with your Home Gymnastics Equipment.

Related Posts:

• 10 Exercises You Can Do at Home to Improve your Gymnastics Skills
• Gymnastics Grips: Guide to Buying the Best Gymnastics Grips for You
• 10 Exercises You Can Do at Home to Improve your Gymnastics Skills