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Kids Gymnastics Equipment for Home
One of my favorite things about gymnastics is that there is nothing but your body required to do it. No ball, no bat, no bike, no nothin’! A kid can bust out a handstand any moment, no planning required. It gives your body a great sense of freedom! You can read more about why I think every child should learn gymnastics here.
As great as it is to practice gymnastics in a wide-open space, there are also times where equipment can be very useful. Home gymnastics equipment is often the same equipment used in gyms or a smaller version of it. You don’t need to train at gyms to know how to use it! Kids gymnastics equipment for home is a great way for kids to learn gymnastics at home or to practice at home.
Gymnastics equipment for kids is also a great tool for encouraging kid’s fitness. Mats and bars encourage physical play – what kid can resist hanging on bars?! Kids gymnastics equipment is also helpful for kids in gymnastics that want to practice at home.
Different Types of Home Gymnastics Equipment
It can be overwhelming choosing the best gymnastics equipment for your home. There are a lot of options to choose from, and they greatly range in price.
Focus on what your child likes. Maybe you have a toddler that loves hanging from the monkey bars at parks – how about a gymnastics bar for home? If you have a child that already takes gymnastics, ask them what their favorite event at the gym is. Or if your child has motor delays and difficulty balancing maybe a gymnastics beam for home is best.
Although home gymnastics equipment for specific events is popular (home bars or beams or mats), there are a lot of other items that can help your child with gymnastics as well. Trampolines are amazing for skills – read my review for the best trampolines for gymnastics and why. Ropes hanging from the ceiling or trees are also excellent (actually they are quite popular in most gyms).
Gymnastics mats are a good place to start when getting home gymnastics equipment for your kids. For a thorough understanding of the best gymnastics mats to get your child, see my detailed post, The Best Gymnastics Mats for Home. Especially popular (and fun for all kids, gymnasts or not) is the popular gymnastics cheese mat!
Gymnastics sets are another option. A gymnastics set is gymnastics equipment for kids that you can buy together for a discount. Usually they include a gymnastics mat and other home gymnastics equipment.
If your kids are young, almost all of the equipment in this article is also appropriate as toddler gymnastics equipment for home and even baby gymnastics equipment! See my articles on toddler and baby gymnastics too!
Kids Best Gymnastics Bars for Home
Gymnastics bars for home use are not going to be just like the uneven parallel bars at gyms. The best gymnastics bars for home are generally single bars, but sturdy and high enough to practice intermediate/advanced skills.
Gymnastics bars for kids are fun for all kids – not just serious gymnasts! Gripping, hanging, and swinging are activities that should be done often, for kids especially. Hanging strengthens the whole upper body and is great for spinal alignment.
For gymnasts, they can practice all of the foundational skills needed. Supports, hip circles, stride circles, low bar mounts, and dismounts are all easily practiced on gymnastics bars for kids. Most gymnastics bars for home raise high enough to hang on, which really helps grip and upper body strength. The bar we have (see below for link) I can even mess around on and it feels extremely sturdy still.
Kids as young as babies can have fun with kid’s gymnastics bars. They love to hang! You can even put a folded gymnastics mat or sturdy stool underneath so shorter kids can reach the bar and hang on their own. Don’t forget to get a gymnastics mat to put underneath your bar. Some bars come with them, but if not, you will need a safe area to land.
Lucky for us parents, the price of single home gymnastics bars have gone way down! You can get the best gymnastics bar for home (we’ve had this for a few years in our home) here.
Kid’s Gymnastics Beam for Home
A gymnastics beam for home use is another great piece of gymnastics equipment to consider.
There are many cheap beams, made with a foam core that seem safe for kids. However, these often cause their feet to sink into the beam, which is not safe. It actually makes it harder to balance on a soft surface like a soft beam. Many of the beams also have outer fabric that is not connected to the core. This causes slipping, which is also dangerous. I would only consider the soft balance beams for preschool or younger ages and make sure the fabric is attached or tightly wrapped around the beam.
I recommend getting a beam with a harder core and outer material that is attached tightly. Balance beams that sit on the floor are great for practicing walking skills and turns, cartwheels, and handstands. Some kids like the feeling of being raised to practice more, especially more advanced gymnasts.
The best kids beam for home use is one that I have found provided all of the above. It offers an adjustable height and a solid surface with suede outer material and is a reputable brand. Check the current price and buy it here.
Boys Gymnastics Equipment
All home gymnastics equipment can be used for both girls and boys. Gyms normally begin to separate boys and girls classes once they are training for competition, or about grade school age. In competitive gymnastics men actually participate in six events, compared to women’s gymnastics of four events. Additional “men’s” gymnastics apparatus include pommel horse, rings, and parallel bars. These are generally called boys gymnastics equipment.
The Best Gymnastics Rings for Kids
Rings are fun for all ages and genders. That’s probably why many home playground sets include a set of rings!
You can find my choice for the best gymnastics rings here. They have the same diameter to grip that professional gyms use, but you have to choose that option – 1.1″. Many that are found online have a wider diameter grip to make workouts harder. However, a smaller area provides for a better and easier grip to practice skills or swing. If your child is in gymnastics these rings should feel the same, or similar, to the ones at his gym.
Pommel Horse Trainer for Home
While it’s not very practical to buy a pommel horse for your home, now it is for the mushroom trainer. The mushroom is what they use at gyms for boys before they progress to the full-size pommel horse. I’ve only found one option that is good for home use, find it here. It is the same size as used in competition and has excellent reviews.
Parallel Bars and Parellette Bars
Gymnastics parallettes are helpful for practicing parallel bar and uneven parallel bars skills. They’re also great for strength. I wouldn’t, however, consider parallette bars fun for kids that aren’t in gymnastics or training in some way. Check out small gymnastics parallettes here.
If you have room, the best idea is to get a set of double bars like this. That way they can be used as a single bar, uneven parallel bars, or parallel bars!
Home Gymnastics Room
If space allows, obviously you want to put your new gymnastics equipment together. For most people, a basement or the kids’ playroom works best. If you don’t have that type of space, why not set it up in your child’s bedroom? Here it will get seen all of the time and, therefore, used all of the time!
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