Equipment and apparatus:
To ensure safety in the gym you will need equipment that is in good condition. Here is some equipment that you will need to ensure safety in the gym:
Panel Mats: Panel Mats come in various sizes and colors, they also range from thickness from between 1 - 2 inches. The color of the Panel Mats such look well with the surrounding Gym. There should be enough room for a few panel mats so more then one client can work on one at the same time.
Skills and landing mats: Unlike Panel mats, Skills and Landing mats or Crash mats are thicker with a range of 4 inches - 8 inches depending on what the mat is being used for. These type of mats absorb shock from landing on them. These mats are mostly used from landings from Beam, vault and also the bar.
Octagon mat: These mats are padded and have eight sides hence the name "octagon" and is in a way barrel shaped. The size and shape of this mat makes it very useful in teaching front and back walkovers, back-bends and front handsprings.
Incline mat/ Wedge mat: It is a mat filled with soft shock absorbent foam. It is used as a ramp for teaching skills that require gymnasts to gain momentum such as backward rolls and back extension rolls.The wedge mat comes in various widths and heights. The recommended size is 5 feet wide, 6 feet long and 18 - 20 inches high.
Vaulting box: The vaulting box is made of three - five stacked trapezoid shaped pieces that are held together by Velcro strips. The base piece of the vaulting box is larger than the top piece. You can add and remove pieces of the trapezoid to adjust the height when doing progressions and vaulting drills.
Parallel Bar: Bars that can adjust from 3 feet to 5 feet are recommended.
Springboard: When using a springboard it is important to follow the weight recommendations to avoid injury.
Balancing Beam: It is a wooden beam 5 meters (16.4 feet) long, 10 cm (4 inches) wide, and raised 125 cm (4.1 feet) from the floor. The performer begins the exercise by mounting the beam by either a vault or a jump and executes movements that must include steps, running, jumps, turns, sitting positions, and some held, or posed, positions. The duration of the exercise is 70 to 90 seconds. The beam should be covered with a padded or nonslip surface. Only gymnasts that have mastered the skills on the floor and small or medium beams can progress to the balancing beam. Some times the class may be to large for every student to practice on the balancing beam so you may have to find other apparatus to substitute the balancing beam so students can still practice different skills.