Gymnastics Drills

By Riku Pelkonen•Last verified October 18, 2026

Every flexed foot on a Value Part costs an Xcel gymnast 0.05, each time a judge sees it. A landing that sinks below the knees costs up to 0.30. Both numbers come from the USA Gymnastics Xcel Code of Points(opens in new tab), and together they explain why shapes and landings fill so much of your beginners' week in the gym.

You get drills for the four women's events (floor, beam, bars and vault), plus a table that ties them to the faults a judge takes off. Men's artistic gymnastics runs its own USA Gymnastics programs(opens in new tab), so every value on this page is from the women's books.

Teach the skills on the floor first, then on low equipment, then high. Tap Add to plan on any card you want, and the plan in the last section totals your minutes.

First Gymnastics Drills: Floor, Then Low, Then High

Start beginners on the floor with the four body shapes (hollow, arch, tuck and pike). Then add rolls, the handstand, the cartwheel and a held landing. Take balance work from a tape line to a floor beam and then to the low beam, with the high beam last. Bars begin on the low bar with the pullover and a front support.

That order is ours, written for a group that has not stood in front of a judge yet. The Women's Development Program(opens in new tab) leaves room for it, because it lets a gymnast progress through the events and skills at different levels.

You'll often have one gymnast ahead on bars and behind on beam. Fine. Let the cards follow them event by event.

Ten Basic Skills From the Level 1 to 3 Routines

Lists of ten basic skills vary from gym to gym. The Level 1 to 3 routines come nearest to a published one, because every element in them is written down and valued. These ten are taken from those pages, with the card that builds each one.

Stretch jump (Level 1 vault, Level 3 floor): Two-Foot Punch to the Mat Stack
Handstand (Level 2 floor): Lunge-Kick Handstand Hold
Cartwheel (Level 2 floor): Line Cartwheel
Backward roll to push-up position (Level 2 floor): Backward Roll Down a Wedge
Bridge and back kick-over (Level 2 floor): Bridge Kick-Over Off a Raised Mat
Straight-leg leap and split jump (Levels 2 and 3 floor): Straight-Leg Leap Lane
Back hip pullover (Level 1 bars): Two-Foot Pullover
Cast and back hip circle (Level 1 bars): Front-Support Hold and Cast, Back Hip Circle Hug
Needle leg kick (Level 1 beam): Needle Kick Line to Low Beam
Relevé lock stand (Level 1 beam): Relevé Line Walk

What a Judge Takes Off, and the Card That Trains Against It

In Xcel, a bars, beam or floor routine starts at 10.00 from Bronze through Diamond. Sapphire starts at 9.60 and can earn up to 0.40 in bonus. Either way, the judges work down from there. For the whole deduction scale, start values by level and sheets you can print, our gymnastics score sheet covers the scoring side.

This table keeps to the execution faults a beginner drill can actually prevent. The value column is from the Xcel Code of Points in its August 2026 revision, and the event column lists the events that price the fault at this value.

Fault	Xcel Deduction	Events	Card That Trains Against It
Flexed or sickled feet on a Value Part or skill element	0.05 each time	Bars, beam, floor	Hollow-to-Arch Rocks, Needle Kick Line to Low Beam
Legs or knees apart	Up to 0.20 each	Bars, beam, floor	Hollow-to-Arch Rocks, Lunge-Kick Handstand Hold
Bent arms in support or bent legs	Up to 0.30 each (0.30 at a 90° bend or more)	Bars, beam, floor	Front-Support Hold and Cast, Jump to Front Support
Stretched position not exact (arch, or hips not open)	Up to 0.20	Bars, beam, floor	Hollow-to-Arch Rocks, Underswing to a Stick
Small or medium step on landing	0.10 to 0.15 each, up to 0.40	All four events	Three-Second Stick
Large step or jump on landing (about 3 feet or more)	0.20 each, up to 0.40	All four events	Three-Second Stick
Squat on landing (hips below the knees, or a knee bend tighter than 90°)	Up to 0.30	All four events	Three-Second Stick, Two-Foot Punch to the Mat Stack
Landing with the feet wider than the hips	0.10	Vault, bars and beam dismounts	Three-Second Stick
Extra movements to keep balance on the beam	Up to 0.30	Beam	Relevé Line Walk
Turn not in high relevé	Up to 0.10 each	Beam, floor	Relevé Line Walk
Concentration pause on beam	0.10 at two seconds, 0.20 longer	Beam	No-Pause Low Beam Series
Board punched with one foot landing before the other	0.20	Vault	Two-Foot Punch to the Mat Stack

Vault prices the faults in the first four rows on its own scale, which is why those rows leave it out. Four of the twelve rows are landings. That is why the Three-Second Stick is the one card we would ask you to run at every practice, whatever the event of the day.

Level 1 Has Its Own Penalty Tables

The Level 1 to 3 routines are judged element by element, against penalties written for each skill, with the general faults added on top. On Level 1 bars(opens in new tab), the back hip pullover mount is worth 0.60, and lifting one leg before the other costs 0.30 of it. Both feet, every time. A card that builds a Level 1 to 3 element shows the element's value in its Builds line, and most give its penalties under Common mistake & fix.

Floor and Tumbling Drills

Floor is where shapes get built. Nothing is up high, so a gymnast can hold a position long enough to feel it. The first card trains the hollow and the arch, the two lines that come back in every cast, handstand and landing on the other events.

The other five come from skills in the July 2026 replacement pages for Level 2 and 3 floor(opens in new tab).

Hollow-to-Arch Rocks

FloorBeginner

Individual, whole group at once5 minA floor mat per gymnast

Builds: The two body shapes every event borrows

Your gymnasts lie on their backs, arms by the ears, lower back pressed into the mat, legs squeezed together and toes pointed.

1Hold the hollow for ten seconds, then rock it from shoulders to hips without the lower back lifting.
2Roll to the stomach as one piece and hold the arch, arms and legs just off the mat.
3Rock the arch, then roll back to the hollow.

Reps: Three rounds of 20 seconds hollow rocking and 20 seconds arch rocking

Target: Twenty rocks in a row with the legs together and the toes pointed

Coaching cues

Squeeze your legs so I could not slide a hand between your knees · Point through your big toe and keep it pointed

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: The hollow turns into a sit-up, with the shoulders curling and the lower back lifting off the mat.

Fix: Raise the arms and legs only as far as the lower back stays down. A lower hold that stays flat beats a high one that does not.

Lunge-Kick Handstand Hold

FloorBeginner

Pairs, one working and one watching8 minFloor mat, a wall or a padded panel mat to kick toward

Builds: The Level 2 floor handstand, worth 0.40

The working gymnast stands in a lunge facing the mat, arms by the ears. The partner kneels to the side.

1Reach forward, place the hands shoulder-width apart and kick to handstand.
2Close the legs at the top and hold while the partner counts one second out loud.
3Step down to the same lunge, arms still by the ears.

Reps: Five kicks each, then swap

Target: Three of five kicks reach vertical with the legs closed for the full count

Coaching cues

Keep your arms straight, your shoulders open and your eyes on your hands · Squeeze your legs shut at the top and hold for one

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: The kick stops short of vertical, or the legs stay apart at the top. Level 2 floor takes up to 0.30 for not reaching vertical, 0.10 for open legs and up to 0.10 for a hold shorter than one second.

Fix: Have your gymnast kick from a deeper lunge and reach long through the arms, and ask the partner to call "close" as the legs pass vertical.

Make it harder

Kick up facing away from the wall, then free-standing on the mat.

Line Cartwheel

FloorBeginner

Line of four to six8 minA strip of tape about 15 feet long on the floor mat

Builds: The Level 2 floor cartwheel, worth 0.60

Lay the tape line along the mat. Each gymnast starts at one end in a lunge with the front foot on the line.

1Place the first hand on the line, then the second, one after the other.
2Pass over the hands with the legs wide and straight.
3Land in a lunge facing back down the line, both feet on the tape.

Reps: Three cartwheels down the line and three back on the other side

Coaching cues

Hand, hand, foot, foot, and every one of them on your tape · Reach long and kick your legs right over the top

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: The cartwheel bends at the hips and lands off the line, because the gymnast looks at the landing. On Level 2 floor, missing vertical costs up to 0.30, and both hands landing together costs 0.10.

Fix: Tell your gymnast to keep their eyes on their hands until the first foot lands, and tape a small mark where each hand goes.

Backward Roll Down a Wedge

FloorBeginner

Line at one wedge6 minIncline mat (wedge)

Builds: The Level 2 backward roll to a push-up, worth 0.60

The gymnast sits on the high end of the wedge with their back to the slope, chin tucked to the chest and arms up by the ears.

1Roll back down the slope and reach back with straight arms, hands turned inward, to place them behind the head no wider than the shoulders.
2Roll over the hands and finish in a straight push-up position, legs together, balls of the feet on the mat.
3Once that is clean, move to the flat floor mat.

Reps: Five rolls, then five on the flat mat

Coaching cues

Keep your hands off the floor during the sit, until you start rolling · Chin to your chest, then push the floor away

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: The hands go down to the floor during the sit, or the roll ends in a tuck with no push-up position. Level 2 floor takes 0.30 for hands in the sit, 0.20 for no push-up position and 0.10 for hands wider than the shoulders.

Fix: Have your gymnast keep the arms up by the ears while sitting back, and mark shoulder width on the wedge with tape.

Bridge Kick-Over Off a Raised Mat

FloorIntermediate

Individual with a spotter8 minA raised mat or folded panel mat

Builds: The Level 2 bridge and back kick-over, worth 0.60

The gymnast lies on the raised mat with the hands by the ears and the feet on the floor, ready to push to bridge.

1Push to a bridge and walk the hands toward the feet until the shoulders sit over the hands.
2Lift one leg and kick over to a stand, with the spotter at the hips.

Reps: Three bridges held for five seconds, then three kick-overs

Coaching cues

Get your shoulders over your hands before you kick · One strong kick, straight over the top

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: The shoulders stay behind the hands, so it takes several kicks to get over. Level 2 floor takes up to 0.20 for shoulders not over the hands and 0.30 for each extra kick.

Fix: Give your gymnast a few more weeks of held bridges before the kick-over, and spot the hips on the first kicks.

Make it harder

Kick over from the flat mat, then start from a handstand down to bridge, as Level 3 does.

Straight-Leg Leap Lane

FloorIntermediate

Line of four to six8 minA floor strip, two cones

Builds: The Level 2 leap (0.60) and split jump (0.40)

Set two cones about 20 feet apart along the floor strip.

1Run, take off from one foot with the front leg straight and leap.
2Land on the front foot and run two steps into the next leap.
3Finish the lane with a split jump, landing on both feet together.

Reps: Four lanes

Coaching cues

Your front leg is straight from the take-off · Split your legs evenly, front and back

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: The front leg bends on the take-off, or one leg travels further than the other. Level 2 and Level 3 take up to 0.10 for the bent lead leg and up to 0.20 for uneven leg separation.

Fix: Have your gymnast leap over a low, soft obstacle such as a folded panel mat, which makes a straight front leg easier to feel.

Make it harder

Mark the split you are after with tape on the floor. Level 2 asks for a 60° leap and Level 3 for 90°.

Beam Drills From a Tape Line Upward

Height changes what a gymnast is willing to try. Start low. Each card here names the surface it starts on.

Three of these cards are Level 1 elements: the relevé lock stand, the jump to front support mount and the needle leg kick. The last one is for gymnasts who already have a routine to connect. Rhythm earns its own drill time.

Relevé Line Walk

BeamBeginner

Whole group on parallel lines6 minTape lines on the floor, then a floor beam

Builds: The relevé lock stand from Level 1 beam, worth 0.20

Your gymnasts line up behind their own strip of tape, arms in crown.

1Walk the length of the line in high relevé, heels lifted as far as they go.
2Stop at the end in a relevé lock stand, one foot closed behind the other, and hold for three counts.
3Repeat on the floor beam once the line walk stays steady.

Reps: Four lengths

Target: A length with no arm waves and no step off the line

Coaching cues

Hips square, ribs in, and your eyes on the far end of the line · Heels as high as they go, and stay up there

Needle Kick Line to Low Beam

BeamBeginner

Line at each line and beam8 minTape line, then a low beam

Builds: The Level 1 needle leg kick, worth 0.40

From a pike stand on the line, both hands down on the line in front of the feet.

1Kick one leg backward and up to at least horizontal.
2Step back down to a tuck stand.
3Move to the low beam when five kicks in a row reach horizontal on the line.

Reps: Five kicks each leg

Coaching cues

Straight legs, and point your foot as you kick · Kick back and up, at least as high as your hips

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: The kicking leg stops below horizontal. Level 1 values the needle leg kick at 0.40 and takes up to 0.10 for a kick that does not reach horizontal.

Fix: Put your hand at the height of horizontal on the line, so your gymnast has a target to kick to.

Jump to Front Support

BeamBeginner

Line at a low beam5 minLow beam, a board or folded panel mat to mount from

Builds: The Level 1 jump to front support mount, worth 0.20

The gymnast stands facing the low beam with both hands on it, shoulder-width apart.

1Jump to a front support with straight arms and the body extended.
2Hold for two counts.
3Lift one straight leg over the beam with a quarter turn to a straddle sit.

Reps: Six mounts

Coaching cues

Push the beam away and keep your shoulders over your hands · Long body, tight legs, and hold it

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: The body stays piked in the front support. Level 1 takes up to 0.10 for not extending it.

Fix: Have your gymnast hold the support for two counts before every leg cut, and say "long" as the hips open.

No-Pause Low Beam Series

BeamIntermediate

One gymnast per low beam, a counter beside it10 minLow beam

Builds: Rhythm between beam elements

Pick three elements from the gymnast's routine that follow each other. A teammate stands beside the beam and counts out loud.

1Perform the three elements in a row.
2The counter starts counting at every stop. A count of two sends the gymnast back to the start of the series.

Reps: Three clean series

Target: Three straight series where the counter never gets to two

Coaching cues

Breathe out and go straight into the next skill

Uneven Bars Drills Built on the Level 1 Routine

The four bar cards walk through the Level 1 routine. Back hip pullover mount, cast, back hip circle and an underswing dismount. Level 1 lets a gymnast take a sole circle dismount in its place.

Your hands do the most work on these cards. Spot each new bar skill at the hips and thighs. Before you spot anyone in a meet, read the section on what a spot costs.

Two-Foot Pullover

BarsBeginner

Line at the low bar, coach spotting8 minLow bar, a panel mat or spotting block under the feet if needed

Builds: The Level 1 back hip pullover mount, worth 0.60

The gymnast stands under the low bar with both hands in overgrip, the bar at about chest height.

1Pull the bar toward the hips and lift both legs together.
2Rotate over the bar to a front support with straight arms.
3Hold the support for two counts.

Reps: Five pullovers

Coaching cues

Take off from both feet together, with no step or hop first · Pull the bar to your belly button

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: One foot leaves the floor before the other, or the chin rests on the bar. Level 1 takes 0.30 for each, and 0.10 for every step or hop before the pullover.

Fix: Have your gymnast start with both feet together under the bar and keep the elbows bent until the hips reach it. Spot at the hips and thighs.

Front-Support Hold and Cast

BarsBeginner

Line at the low bar6 minLow bar

Builds: The Level 1 cast, worth 0.40

From a front support on the low bar, arms straight, legs together.

1Hold the hollow front support for five seconds.
2Pike slightly, then push the legs back and up so the body leaves the bar in a straight line.
3Return to the bar with control and hold the support again.

Reps: Two holds and five casts

Coaching cues

Your shoulders stay in front of the bar and your chest stays hollow · Push the bar down and make one straight line

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: The cast leaves the bar with the hips piked, or the gymnast drops back onto the bar. Level 1 takes up to 0.20 for no straight line from shoulders to feet and up to 0.10 for an uncontrolled return.

Fix: Have your gymnast cast low and straight before casting high, and run Hollow-to-Arch Rocks first on bars days.

Back Hip Circle Hug

BarsBeginner

Individual, coach spotting6 minLow bar

Builds: The Level 1 back hip circle, worth 0.40

From a front support on the low bar after a small cast.

1Return the hips to the bar and circle backward around it.
2Keep the body straight and hollow all the way round, as if hugging the bar with the hips.
3Finish in front support.

Reps: Five circles

Coaching cues

Keep your head neutral and your eyes forward, never thrown back · Keep your hips glued to the bar

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: The hips leave the bar or the body breaks out of the hollow during the circle. Level 1 takes up to 0.20 for each, and up to 0.10 for a stop in the circle.

Fix: Spot at the hips and the backs of the thighs, and keep the cast small until the circle runs without a stop.

Underswing to a Stick

BarsBeginner

Individual, coach spotting8 minLow bar, landing mat

Builds: The Level 1 underswing dismount, worth 0.60

From a front support on the low bar, with a landing mat in front of the bar.

1Drop the shoulders back and swing under the bar with the body straight and hollow.
2Release, open to a stretched position in flight and land on the mat.
3Hold the landing for three counts.

Reps: Five dismounts

Coaching cues

Hips away from the bar, thighs can brush it · Stay hollow until you let go

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: The hips touch the bar on the way under, or the body pikes in the swing. Level 1 takes 0.20 for hips on the bar and up to 0.20 for losing the straight-hollow shape.

Fix: Spot at the hips and keep the swing small until the shape holds through the release.

Vault and Landing Drills

Level 1 vault includes a stretch jump onto a mat stack, and Xcel Bronze offers the same jump as its Vault 1A on a stack of 16 to 48 inches. Feet that reach the board out of sync cost 0.20 in both books. So the punch gets its own card.

The Level 1 book also lists developmental skills for vault. Handstand hops on the floor and a squat onto stacked mats are two of them. The Handstand Hops card and its progression follow that description.

A stuck landing is the same skill on every event.

Three-Second Stick

Vault and LandingsBeginner

Whole group5 minA panel mat stack about knee height, a landing mat

Builds: A landing that stays where it lands

Gymnasts take turns standing on the panel mat stack, facing the landing mat.

1Jump off with both feet and land on both feet together.
2Bend the knees into a demi-plié and stop.
3Freeze for three counts, then stand and raise the arms.

Reps: Eight landings

Target: Three counts with no step, no hop and the hips above the knees

Coaching cues

Feet no wider than the hips, heels together as you stand · Freeze, then show me your arms

Make it harder

Add a quarter turn in the air, then land a stretch jump off the springboard.

Two-Foot Punch to the Mat Stack

Vault and LandingsBeginner

Line at the vault runway8 minSpringboard, a mat stack of at least 16 inches

Builds: The Level 1 vault stretch jump, worth 5.00, and its board punch

Set the springboard in front of the mat stack, with a short run marked before it.

1Run, hurdle and punch the board with both feet together.
2Swing the arms up and stretch jump onto the mat stack, body tight and straight.
3Land feet first and hold the landing.

Reps: Six jumps

Coaching cues

Your two feet make one sound on the board · Arms up as you leave the board

Common mistake & fix

Mistake: The feet reach the board one after the other, or the stretch jump stays low. Level 1 takes 0.20 for a punch that is not two-footed and up to 0.50 for lack of height.

Fix: Have your gymnast punch from two short steps first, feet together on the board, then add the run back.

Handstand Hops

Vault and LandingsBeginner

Line on a floor mat6 minFloor mat

Builds: The shoulder block a vault needs

The gymnast starts in a half kneel, one foot in front and the back shin flat on the floor, arms low and behind.

1Swing both arms forward and up and place the hands shoulder-width apart while kicking the back leg up.
2Keep the arms straight and open the shoulders fast, blocking off the floor into a handstand.
3Join the legs near vertical and roll out forward.

Reps: Six hops

Coaching cues

Block with your shoulders, never by bending your elbows

Make it harder

Squat onto stacked mats. From a 3-5 step run, hurdle onto the board, reach to a waist-high mat stack and tuck to a squat stand with the feet between the hands, arms straight.

Spotting, Mats and Safe Sport

Before any drill, the USA Gymnastics Safe Sport adult requirements(opens in new tab) set one condition for you. Anyone with regular contact with minor athletes, a list that names non-competitive gymnastics instructors, "must complete and pass a background check and U110: U.S. Center for SafeSport Core Course Training before contact with any athlete." A refresher course follows every year, and the full core course every four years. If your gym is a USA Gymnastics member club, your rec staff count too.

What a Spot Costs in a Meet

In an Xcel meet, on bars, beam and floor, each judge takes 0.50 for a spot during an element, and the element loses its Value Part and Special Requirement credit. A spot on the landing also costs 0.50 and keeps the credit.

Xcel vault is priced higher. A spot during the vault costs 1.00 and a spot on the landing 0.50, with the spot total capped at 1.50 for one vault.

The Development Program book prices a spot by the element. On bars, beam and floor, a spot during an element costs up to the element's value plus 0.50, and a spot on the landing only costs 0.50. The Level 5 flyaway dismount from bars is the exception: a spot there costs 0.50 only. On the Level 1 stretch jump, spotting assistance costs 2.00.

In both books, catching a gymnast who is falling on bars, beam or floor costs only the fall, 0.50. For Xcel bars and beam that rule sits in the August 2025 Xcel pages(opens in new tab), which the August 2026 revision does not replace. Never hold back a catch to protect your score.

How We Spot and Stack Mats

Reach without stepping. Stand close enough to take the hips or the waist from where you already are.
Fade in stages. Go from two hands to one, then to a hand held just off the body, and tell the gymnast each time you change.
Train at meet height. Set the stack in practice at the height you plan to use in the meet, inside the book's limits: at least 16 inches at Level 1, 16 to 48 at Xcel Bronze.

Development Program or Xcel: Which Cards Fit Where

USA Gymnastics' Women's Development Program runs from Level 1 to Level 10, and a gymnast new to the program enters at Level 1. Levels 6 to 10 are the optional segment, and Level 6 is the one level a gymnast may skip.

Xcel(opens in new tab) is a separate program with six divisions, running from Bronze up to Sapphire, and it cannot be used to meet Development Program mobility requirements. Its philosophy page names the emphasis as "correct technique, form, and performance."

The table sets each USA Gymnastics stage beside the cards we would start it with.

Stage	What the Rules Say	Cards From This Page
Rec class or pre-team, no level yet	Outside the Development Program and Xcel, so no level and no judge yet	Hollow-to-Arch Rocks, Relevé Line Walk, Three-Second Stick, Handstand Hops
Development Program Levels 1-3	The developmental segment. A gym may run it as a non-competitive pre-team program, and there is no mobility score	Every floor, beam and bars card except No-Pause Low Beam Series, plus all three vault and landing cards
Development Program Levels 4-5	The compulsory segment. A gymnast moves up one level per mobility score, with no skipping	No skill cards here build Level 4 or 5 elements. Keep No-Pause Low Beam Series and the shape and landing cards in every week
Xcel Bronze, Silver or Gold	A gymnast with no previous competitive experience may enter at any of the three, at the coach's discretion. With no composition deductions, the score rests on how the skills are performed	The landing and shape cards first, then the cards for the skills the routine actually uses

A skill rarely jumps from the line to the routine in one go. Spreading that build-up across a season is the subject of our drill progression design article.

Gymnastics Drills at Home to Hand a Rec Class

Parents ask what their child can practice at home. Kids try cartwheels in the living room either way. Give your families a short list that needs no mat and no spotter.

Hollow and arch holds from the first floor card, 20 seconds each.
Relevé walks along a strip of tape in a hallway, finishing in a lock stand.
Small jumps on the spot, landed in a demi-plié and held for three counts.
Split stretches held still, never bounced.

Save for the gym: handstands against furniture, rolls on hard floors and anything that puts weight on the hands or head. Put that line on the list you send home, in plain words, as your gym's own rule.

A Sample 60-Minute Practice Across Four Events

This is how we would run a 60-minute rec or pre-team class with these cards, in one group rotating through the four events. The plan is ours. So are the minutes, reps, distances, mat heights and targets on the cards, except the 16-inch minimum stack and the Handstand Hops progression, which follow the Level 1 vault pages. The Level 1 to 3 pages never tell you how long to drill a pullover.

0-15 min, warm-up. Easy jogging and jumps with wrist and ankle circles, then Hollow-to-Arch Rocks and the Three-Second Stick.
15-24 min, floor. Line Cartwheel, plus a minute to move.
24-36 min, beam. Relevé Line Walk, then Jump to Front Support, plus a minute to move.
36-45 min, bars. Two-Foot Pullover, plus a minute to move.
45-54 min, vault. Two-Foot Punch to the Mat Stack, plus a minute to move.
54-60 min, conditioning and cool-down. One minute of hollow holds and relevé raises, then five minutes of split stretches.

Some groups rotate slowly. Drop the conditioning minute first, and never cut the warm-up. The 15-minute warm-up and the five-minute cool-down follow our session planning framework, which splits a practice into four phases from warm-up to cool-down. To attach a plan like this to its date on your calendar, see structured training sessions.

Your Gymnastics practice plan

Add drills from the sections above to build a session you can export, print, or copy

Printing the Cards

The cards print through your browser's own print dialog, which also offers Save as PDF and takes the whole article with it. If you want the Level 1 to 3 penalties on paper, expand each Common mistake & fix panel before printing. An unopened panel can print as its title only.

When a Gymnast Moves Up a Level

When a gymnast moves up, the hollow and stick cards stay in their week. The skill cards change to the new level's elements. The old skill cards go to the next group starting that level. In Striveon's drill library you write each card down once, then pull it into any session you plan.

Write the skills you care about as criteria in athlete development and rate them a few times in the season. Once a gymnast has two rated evaluations, their Progression chart appears under the evaluations on the Evaluations tab.

What's Next?

Keep Reading

Gymnastics Score Sheet

Printable all-around and per-event sheets, start values by level and the deduction scale for Development Program, Xcel and FIG.

More coaching resources→

Gymnastics Drills

First Gymnastics Drills: Floor, Then Low, Then High

Ten Basic Skills From the Level 1 to 3 Routines

What a Judge Takes Off, and the Card That Trains Against It

Level 1 Has Its Own Penalty Tables

Floor and Tumbling Drills

Hollow-to-Arch Rocks

Lunge-Kick Handstand Hold

Line Cartwheel

Backward Roll Down a Wedge

Bridge Kick-Over Off a Raised Mat

Straight-Leg Leap Lane

Beam Drills From a Tape Line Upward

Relevé Line Walk

Needle Kick Line to Low Beam

Jump to Front Support

No-Pause Low Beam Series

Uneven Bars Drills Built on the Level 1 Routine

Two-Foot Pullover

Front-Support Hold and Cast

Back Hip Circle Hug

Underswing to a Stick

Vault and Landing Drills

Three-Second Stick

Two-Foot Punch to the Mat Stack

Handstand Hops

Spotting, Mats and Safe Sport

What a Spot Costs in a Meet

How We Spot and Stack Mats

Development Program or Xcel: Which Cards Fit Where

Gymnastics Drills at Home to Hand a Rec Class

A Sample 60-Minute Practice Across Four Events

Printing the Cards

When a Gymnast Moves Up a Level

What's Next?

Put This Into Practice

Drill Library

Athlete Development

Drill Progression Design

Structured Training Sessions

Keep Reading

Gymnastics Score Sheet

Sources & References