How to get through corona time as a gymnast; tips from Maud!

My name is Maud Zentveld, I am 17 years old and I do gymnastics with A.Z.T.V Zevenbergen. Normally I train 3 days a week in the hall. But because of the coronation time in the Netherlands this is not possible anymore. Because almost every indoor athlete is suffering from this at the moment, I thought, I will write a nice blog! This is about how I as a gymnast get through this corona time. Be sure to read the other blogs of Gymnastics Tools, because then you don't have to be bored anymore in the coming period!

How do I train in corona time?

Now that the hall is closed, we had to look for another way to keep moving. We train with the selection groups on the athletics track, where we make sure that our strength and condition is not lost. After the May holiday we will finally train outside again with all groups!  Then we will also be able to use a number of materials. The airtrack and mini trampoline, among others, will be moved outside. I think that's great, because this way we can train more really. We can finally do some flips and somersaults again.

Besides training with gymnastics on the athletics track, I also train with football every Saturday. I really enjoy this, because it keeps me in good shape. At football, I'm also really pleased that we can train as a group again. And we can prepare ourselves a bit for hopefully a few more matches. Unfortunately, I do not expect much good for this season when it comes to playing matches, but hoping and keeping my fingers crossed is never a bad thing.

My education

I am also on a sports course, where I also exercise every now and then. Unfortunately, this is often online because we can only be at school physically one day a week. I am in my second-to-last year. So I hope that next year the corona will be better, so that I can be busy during my exam year. At the dance lessons we have a workout every Thursday lately and I think that is great. This way, in addition to the boot camp lessons at athletics, I can work on my strength a bit extra. I like to do a work-out at home once in a while. But I also like to train my flexibility or do some tricks on the trampoline.

The competition season

Unfortunately, in this corona time, all matches for the coming season have been cancelled and we have to wait again until the next competition season. Last season I did have 2 competitions. This was the first preliminary match and the club championships. At the first preliminary competition I became 3^e and at the club championships 2^e. I thought it was really great that we could still do some competitions, so that we could at least experience a bit of the feeling of the competitions.

I am in the 5^e division, but I would love to compete in the 4^e division again. Unfortunately, it is difficult to train on the apparatuses at the moment, but I hope to be able to pick up some new elements as soon as we are indoors. We are also working hard with the association to get a new hall. I keep my fingers crossed that the hall will be built as soon as possible. This will make it a lot easier for me and my fellow gymnasts to perform new elements.

How do I see the coming year

My greatest hope is that we can return to the hall as soon as possible to train, and that we can leave the corona time behind us! Of course, I am very happy that we will be able to do some more gymnastics after the May holiday. But it is of course always best to just enjoy the indoors. I also hope that we can compete again with everyone in the coming competition season, because that is something that I miss very much.

Next year, I hope to follow the optional course: gymnastics leader kss3 at school and gain even more experience and eventually obtain my level 3 diploma. After the summer holidays, I would still like to continue teaching my own group, but we will have to wait and see how my days will look like at school.

There are also some very nice things to come on the Gymnastics Tools Youtube Channel, among others, and I will continue to be a promoter gymnast with mega pleasure. With the equipment and materials from the Gymnastics Tools webshop, I manage to keep myself sufficiently in motion. Through Gymnastics Tools I keep my flexibility, strength and I am challenged by a number of super fun challenges that come along. It's always great fun to see how everyone participates. And therefore still train hard in these crazy times.

Stay fit!

Sportsmen and sportswomen, keep moving! You can do this outdoors or indoors, with or without friends. But maybe you will also practice a different sport than the one you actually do. Take care of each other and stick to the rules! If we all just hang in there, we can start practising indoors again as soon as possible. We still have to persevere in this corona time, but everyone is already doing very well.

Do you find it difficult to keep moving in these times? Then take a look at the social media of Gymnastics Tools. They always share great exercises that you can try and imitate. You can also sign up to practise a backflip or learn and improve your splits. This way I managed to keep moving during this corona time and I'm sure you will too!

Hope you enjoyed reading this blog about me and maybe you have come up with some new ideas for this corona time.