Hey guys, it's Whitney and welcome to my channel today. I'm going to be sharing five things. I wish I knew when I started gymnastics
Now some of these are bad and some of these are good
but just remember that these relate to everyone in completely different ways because everyone has a different life a
different family different school different conveniences
So I'm going to be sharing my experience and hopefully you can relate it to yourself. So let's get started
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So the first thing I wish I knew was that
gymnastics causes huge sacrifices
So when you start to get serious about gymnastics
Most teams need to be in the gym for 20 hours a week. I even did 30
For most of my career usually that's like 4 hours a day. I usually do 6 hours a day
So it just depends on your team and your schedule. So that's a huge commitment for me personally. I had to start homeschooling
Because it was just too much for me to go to school for 7 hours
Have all this homework and have to go to the gym for 4 hours
I'd beat at the gym until like 8 o'clock and then I'd have to come home and do my homework
After the gym and I'd be up so late every night and it just became too much for me
So yeah, that's the first sacrifice
I had to make I had to quit school leave all my school friends
Which I didn't really think much of because I was only in the third grade
But now that I'm older I kind of wish that I could go to school
So yeah, all of my friends are from the gym
I only have a couple
Close friends that I've had since I was little but other than that most of my friends I've made from gymnastics
Which is fine, but it just shows how much I really spend at the gym
I'm missing out on a bunch of social experiences because I'm always at the gym
I'm not getting ready going to school coming home doing homework hanging out with friends like a normal kid
would I also moved away from my
because
Driving an hour-and-a-half twice a day was a little too much
So yeah
we I had to buy a condo up near my gym because that was the best decision for my
Gymnastics, but I'm the one who made these decisions
I'm the one who chose to home-school and I'm the one who chose to go to a gym far away
Because they would all help me reach my dream
So you definitely need to consider your priorities because gymnastics is a big sacrifice. So the second thing is
injuries
So injuries come with the package when you do gymnastics
Gymnastics is a very intense and grueling sport on your body
Overuse injuries are most common because of how much we're pounding every day
I have had two major injuries that have caused me to take two years off of your
Gnostics if you want to find out more about that
I have some videos that you can go and check out but other than those I've had countless other injuries. I've sprained my ankle
Multiple times I had slj in my knees, which caused me pain for years
I've had wrist pain lower back pain. I even popped a rib out of place toe pain
Which I'm not even gonna go into
I had to go to a toe doctor every other week for a while
I also had severs in my heels and that was horrible
Most of you gymnasts probably have had severs too, and that sucks
I had it in both my heels for like a year too and that's not fun
But injuries are bound to happen as an athlete and you just need to listen to your doctor recover and come back even stronger
So those were more of the bad things. I wish I knew now
We're going to move on to more of the tips or advice that I would give myself
So the third thing is do not rush to level 10 or whatever level you're trying to get to
Because when I was little I would try so hard to get all my skills
I would I would be like, oh, I need to get to level 10 and can't wait to be a level 10
So every year I would
rush and rush and rush and
I would try to get to level 10 if I had to be held back a level. That was a nightmare for me
Like I never wanted to be held back
I always wanted to go to the next level so that I could be a level 10
but now that I am a level 10 I realized like
take your time and enjoy the process because
You have a long career ahead of you, and you don't need to rush to level 10
Just take your time because now that I'm a level 10, I look back and I'm like wow
Those were the good old days like you don't realize how
How good you have it until you get done?
That's not meant I'd say I'm trying to say just take your time and listen to your coaches and if you have to be held
Back the level. It's okay. Like it's for the best if
It means your gymnastics is going to be cleaner
then I would totally do it because you don't need to rush to get to the higher levels every level is equally as
Important and you need to take your time to master each level and trust me when you're a level 10, you're gonna miss those days
when skills are easier, so the fourth thing is
Focus on yourself as a gymnast. So this one is super important to me because I am obviously
Way different than most gymnasts. I am five eight almost five nine and
Yeah skills are harder for me and it's harder for me to find
skills that work in my routines and
Do skills that look better on my body. I used to always compare myself to my friends. I used to think
Oh, well if they can do that new skill
then I should be able to do that new skill and
I need to I need to work harder because if if she can do that then I should be able to do that and
you constantly compare yourself to other gymnasts and
it's frustrating because everybody is different and just
because one of your friends can do this super hard skill and
You can't that does not mean that they're a better athlete than you. You have to learn how to use your body and your
Technique and your style to your advantage
Everybody is different. Everybody is better at different things. So you have to focus on what you're good at and
what is best for you comparing your gymnastics to anybody else's is just leading you down a
frustrating hole because
Everybody is different
I used to always be so jealous of all my friends who could do all these super difficult tumbling passes and
These super crazy things they could volver than me. They could tumble better than me a lot of skills on bars
They could do and I was like I can never do that
And I was just comparing myself to others like oh, I'm not as good as them because I can't do as many skills
That is not the case. You have to learn your
you have I
had to focus on my style and I'm a more graceful and dancey kind of gymnast and
Just because I can't do those crazy vaults in crazy tumbling passes
It doesn't mean I am a worse gymnast. I can still compete with everybody else and
I've learned to use more graceful skills and more
Skills that I'm good at and that's what makes me unique as an athlete and that's what makes me my own
Person
But yeah be yourself don't worry about anybody else but you focus on what you
can do best for your gymnastics and what is best on your style and your body so
The fifth and final thing. I wish I knew is to have fun and love what you do
so often times when you get serious
you kind of
Like I don't know how to explain it. So I'm gonna try and explain it with my face
Note no doing that so being determined and focused is
way different than being
frustrated and
Mad at years if you are one of my past coaches or
teammates, you know, I am a very very very very very very
emotional
athlete I
would cry
almost
every day when I was little I would cry every
Time I fell if I couldn't get a skill and cry and be mad at myself. I would be
Upset the whole practice. I'd be trying to be so perfect all the time
And if I wasn't then it was the end of the world if I fell out of me
I would cry I still pry so what I didn't even notice but
basically what I'm trying to tell you guys is
Have fun and when I say have fun that does not in any way mean
You know joke off with your friends or not. Listen to your coach and be crazy like you can still focus
But just remember why you started like you
Started for fun. Right like who doesn't start something because they want to have fun. I mean unless your parents forced you into it
But I started gymnastics
Because I wanted to tumble and I wanted to be like the older girls who could do all these flips and it was fun
that's why I started and
If you're not having fun
like
Why are you still doing it?
Like what's the point in giving your whole life away to something if you're not enjoying it, you know
Like you have to think yes
It's very stressful sport and it's very frustrating and you can get mad
But just remember if you're not enjoying what you're doing, then there's no point. So
keep that determination and keep you know your focus, but just remember to enjoy what you do because
You don't want to look back and regret it later. Okay, so I'm sorry for the noise that came on
Um, my neighbors and lawn people just came in, but I've been doing out here really quick
So those are all of the things I have for today. Let me know if you would like more of these videos
Here's my Instagram you can comment there because YouTube has disabled comments
But yeah, those are things that I would tell my younger self as a gymnast because looking back. I definitely did not follow
Most of those tips, but I hope these
Have helped you guys and I love you so much, and I'll see you next time. Bye
You