Gymnastics HQ

So it’s time to upgrade from single skills to a series on beam. What is a series? There are multiple kinds, however we are discussing an acro series. An acro series is two or more connected acro skills. This may seem overwhelming at first, but we are here to help you. We’re going to break it down so that it doesn’t seem so intimidating to accomplish.

Disclaimer: You should have some pretty good acro skills before attempting a series! Make sure you have a qualified coach to guide and spot you to avoid injury. NEVER attempt to do a series without proper professional instruction, or you risk injury or death. 

Step One: Learn Skills Individually on Beam

Make sure that you have mastered each of the skills individually- by mastered we mean on all heights of beam – low beam, high beam…all the beams!

Step Two: Learn the Series on a Line

Once you have your two connected acro skills on a line confidently, try it on a low, low, low beam. You can even use a wider beam like this air beam.

Step Three: Handstand + Second Skill on Low Beam with Mats on the Side

This is how you practice the entry into the second skill by combining it with the handstand. This is basically getting you used to the connection part of the series.

Step Four: Series on Low Beam with Mats on the Side

You can put mats all of the way up to the height of the beam so you feel more comfortable and are safer when you are starting out.

Step Five: Take Away One Mat and Learn Handstand + Second Skill

This is the same as Step Three, just with one less mat.

Step Six: Series on Low Beam with One Less Mat

Just like Step Four, you’re going to complete your series on the low beam, just with one less mat.

Step 7: Series on Low Beam

Now you’re going to do your series on a low beam without extra mats. Make sure you are confident on the low beam without wobbles, before moving to the high beam.

Step 8: Series on High Beam with Mats and Pad

Stack up all of the mats and put a pad on the beam. The pad on the beam helps make the beam wider to help you feel more secure when you’re starting out.

Step 9: High Beam Series with Resi Mat Underneath the Beam + Mat Pad on Beam

Now we’re taking away the stacked mats and just have the resi mat underneath the beam along with the mat pad on the beam.

Step 10: Handstand + Second Skill with Resi Mat Underneath Beam

Next we’ll be taking away the mat pad on the beam and practicing your series on the high beam with just the resi mat underneath the beam.

Step 11: Series on High Beam with Resi Mat Underneath Beam

You got it, now we’re doing the series with just the resi mat under the beam!

Step 12: Series on High Beam

Finally! You’re ready to complete your series on the high beam without the resi mat! Of course, if you need to, you can start with mats next to the beam and reduce as your comfort level improves. Make sure you’re communicating this with your coaches so they know what kind of support you need. Of course, if you need a spot, please ask for it from your coaches.

Here are some other ways to help you accomplish learning an acro series on beam!

Tip One: Set Big Goals

As we all know, goal setting is an important aspect in gymnastics. It really helps to make a vision board or at the very least, write out your goals for the season/year. We have a few resources for this that you can check out here:

• Mindset & Meet Journal
• 10 Non-Score Goals you Can Set this Gymnastics Season
• Setting Goals for Maximum Success This Gymnastics Season
• 7 Tips to Help you Set & Achieve your Gymnastic Goals
• Getting the Most Out of Your Gymnastics Goals This Season
• Slay Your Gymnastics Goals this Year with these 7 Steps

There are free downloads in these articles too to help you set your goals.

Tip Two: Set Small Goals to Help You Achieve Your Big Goals

A goal is just a dream unless there is an action plan behind it. Think of the small goals as your action plan. These are breaking down your big goal into smaller achievable goals. For example, if your big goal is mastering your back handspring, a smaller goal could be doing 10 back handsprings over a barrel mat each day to perfect the form of the back handspring.

Tip Three: Create Habits to Reach These Goals

Breaking down the smaller goals even more, determining and creating habits to achieve your small and big goals is vital. These could look like doing a core workout everyday to strengthen your abs/core muscles for your back handspring or practicing your handstand blocking everyday. Habits to reach goals could also be getting a certain amount of sleep each night, or eating a variety nutritious foods.

We hope these tips help you be more confident when you are beginning to learn a beam series!

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