Stick & Salute Drills

Drop from a panel mat → stick. Drop from beam height → stick. Increase height progressively. The stick must survive real landing impact — not just be practiced from stepping off a low box. 3x8 at each height. Never advance until the stick holds at each level.

Look for: Land · freeze · salute — in competition, the stick IS part of the skill

Every landing in practice is held for 3 seconds before relaxing. 3 seconds is approximately the competition window for a stick to be credited. Gymnasts who cannot hold 3 seconds are not demonstrating a stick — they're demonstrating a recovery.

Look for: Land · freeze · salute — in competition, the stick IS part of the skill

Landing → 3-second stick → clean salute → arms down. 10 reps from any dismount or landing. The salute is part of the performance — gymnasts who slump, look around, or drop arms immediately after landing lose presentation points. The whole sequence must be practiced as a unit.

Look for: Land · freeze · salute — in competition, the stick IS part of the skill

Gymnast assumes a perfect landing position (knees bent, arms forward, chest tall, hollow) and holds for 10 seconds. 3x. The stick requires the entire body to freeze simultaneously — build the isometric strength to sustain the landing position under the body's natural impulse to recover.

Step off a panel mat, land, and immediately freeze. 3x10. Builds the eccentric quad and glute strength needed to absorb landing impact and maintain position. Gymnasts who step or hop after landings typically lack eccentric strength, not technique.

Hollow body plank — not a standard plank — arms by ears, posterior tilt. 3x30 seconds. The stick requires a hollow body to be held under impact. This conditions the whole-body tension that makes a stuck landing look confident rather than accidental.

Athlete performs the full Stick & Salute on their own — spot only as needed. Goal: consistent, confident, competition-ready execution with the cue: "Land · freeze · salute — in competition, the stick IS part of the skill."

Look for: Land · freeze · salute — in competition, the stick IS part of the skill