Improving Your Weaknesses in Gymnastics

Improving Skills

Adopting an Improvement Mindset

“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”

This proverb strongly applies to sports.

While strengthening a strength vastly improves your performance output, improving weaker aspects of your gymnastics repertoire can greatly improve your overall sport confidence and make you an overall better performer.

But in reality, most gymnasts avoid working on those weaker areas of their skill set.

Let’s use a fictitious character, Lisa B. to illustrate this point…

Lisa is teenage gymnast on her local USA competitive gymnastics team. Lisa loves the floor routine and she scores consistently well in competitions.

In practice, Lisa is excited to work on her routine and learn new tricks. Lisa attacks her routine with confidence, and even if she doesn’t hit the landing on one of her tumbling passes, she quickly moves on to the next element.

Conversely, Lisa hates the beam, her worst event by far. When it comes time to practice beam, Lisa puts in a half-hearted effort. Even her practice routines are riddled with mistakes.

Lisa thinks she’s horrible at the beam and her body language shows it. Lisa feels that working on the beam is a lost cause and becomes so anxious when the beam event nears in competition.

The end result is that Lisa proves herself right over and over about her perceived lack of ability in the beam event.

Let’s refer back to the proverb and apply it to gymnastics… You are only as strong as your weakest point.

Imagine what Lisa could do in the sport of gymnastics if her overall confidence improved.

The University of Utah women’s gymnastics team wanted to improve the team’s overall performance on the balance beam, an event not considered to be the team’s best event last year.

In fact, last year at NCAA Championships, mistakes on the beam caused the Utes to slide in the standings and finish ninth.

This year was a different story. Starting in the off-season, the team committed to improve what was once considered a weak event.

Armed with a new mindset, the team nailed their routines on the beam with no falls and just a few minor bobbles when they opened the regular season against Michigan.

Utah co-coach Tom Farden said it was the best performance he has seen from the program in his seven years.

Senior Baely Rowe commented on the team’s commitment to strengthen the team’s overall mindset and performance on the beam.

ROWE: “We have worked hard in the off-season to become a beam team. I honestly trust everyone up there that they are going to hit.”

Working to effectively improve a weakness requires a perspective shift.

Concluding you are bad at a skill and always will be is a false assumption.

Instead, adopt an improvement mindset.

Understand that you are not looking for perfection… Perfection is an illusion that never can be attained anyway. You are not even working to make that weak event your best event.

Your goal for improving a weaker aspect of your performance is to be a little better today than you were yesterday.

Your goal is incremental progress.

Anything that you work on with focus and purpose strengthens and improves. Baby steps over time become huge performance leaps.

Commit to improvement, not perfection.

Tips for strengthening a weakness:

Just like physical strength, the more consistent repetitions increases over time results in added strength gains.

What apparatus do you need to improve the most?

Pick one aspect of this weaker event that you will commit to improving. If it is the balance beam, don’t look to nail the whole routine at once. That will only doom you for failure.

When it is time to work on that element, your goal should be incremental progress. Remember, progress is often two steps forward and one step back.

Get excited about working to improve a weakness and know it will lead to increased overall confidence and performance.

Learn all of my secrets to improving your gymnastics mental toughness here!


Learn Mental Game Secretes to Unstoppable Confidence in Gymnastics!The Confident Gymnast

Are you ready to improve your mental toughness and perform with ultimate self-confidence in competition?

Check out The Confident Gymnast Program!

The Confident Gymnast CD and workbook program was developed not only by Dr. Cohn, but with the assistance of former gymnast Olympian Wendy Bruce.

The Confident Gymnast is ideal for any competitive gymnast. But not only do gymnasts benefit from the program, coaches and parents do as well!

Gymnasts: Get the mental edge by learning how to take control of their confidence, mentally prepare for competition, and preform with composure under pressure

Coaches: Boost your gymnasts’ confidence using simple, proven mental strategies.

Parents: Help boost your athletes’ performance. Don’t let their mind hold them back any longer!

Mental Coaches: Learn a proven system for helping your athletes boost mental toughness.

The Confident Gymnast is a complete brain dump of the TOP 8 mental training sessions we teach our gymnasts to help them boost their mental game and improve consistency- from how to mentally prepare for compeition to perorming under pressure to building unstoppable confidence.

The Confident Gymnast: Mental Game Strategies For Peak Performance

What are mental coaching students saying?

My Coaches Were All So Proud of Me!”

“It was amazing!!! Before the show, I really felt like I was becoming the part. I was oddly calm, which concerned me because I thought my nerves might kick in on stage!  But, they didn’t!  I stayed focused in each moment, and remained calm, and actually did the difficult tricks better than I ever have!  My coaches were all so proud of me and the one who I know the best was marveling at my calm, poised manner throughout the ballet.  They said it seemed like I was doing it for the 15th time, I looked so comfortable. This is the result of my work with you! You gave me the tools to tackle this huge mountain of a role, step by step!  I am beyond happy!”
~Professional Ballerina, Student of Dr. Cohn in 2013


gymanstics-free-report-web

What All Gymnasts Must Know to Overcome Perfectionism

Are you a perfectionist? What is your mindset when performing?
Here you’ll learn:
–How your mind can be your best or worst asset in competition
–If perfectionism is holding you back from reaching your peak
–The top 6 perfectionist mindsets that sabotage success
–How to use perfectionism to your advantage, not your demise

What are gymnasts saying?

“It Helped My Game So Much”

I really appreciate your mental game tips. It is very informative and useful, helped my game so much.
~Irene


Boost Your Self-Confidence And Focus With Expert Mental Game Coaching!

Master mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn can help you overcome your mental game issues with personal coaching.

You can work with Dr. Patrick Cohn himself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone. Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!

Mental Game Coaching with Dr. Cohn

What are our mental coaching students saying?

“10-20 Minutes A Day Was Simple To Adhere To”

“I enjoyed ‘The Confident Athlete’ very much. I particularly liked the format, the ease of the program, and the 2 CDs that accompanied the workbook – 10-20 minutes a day was simple to adhere to and put in my busy schedule. I love the part about confidence with grace, and what I want to portray and feel the minute I step foot into Los Angeles for nationals. I love the affirmations, the relaxation techniques, and just the entire perspective of the program.”
~Sarah, US National Aerobic Gymnastics Team

Leave a Comment