Free drill library · Gymnastics

At-home gymnastics drills for 11 to 13 year olds

This is a free sample week of at-home gymnastics training for 11 to 13 year olds: 3 of the 7 plans SSTracker has for this group, each 13 to 14 minutes, with every step and minute. Nothing here is written for this page alone; it is what the app gives a family.

Everything here can be done in a room, garage or yard. Drills that need a team are left out; a parent can be the partner in a pair drill.

A free sample week of gymnastics for 11 to 13 year olds

Session 1

Balance & Control at home 13 minutes

  1. Half Turns on a Floor Line · 4 min
    Rise up, turn, freeze.
  2. Handstand Against a Wall · 5 min
    Push tall, belly tight.
  3. Cushion Balance Challenge · 4 min
    Small fixes in your ankle.

Session 2

Strength at home 13 minutes

  1. Tuck-Ups and V-Ups · 4 min
    Reach for your toes, lower slowly.
  2. Plank Shape Circuit · 5 min
    Straight line, head to heels.
  3. Floor L-Sit Prep · 4 min
    Push down, shoulders low.

Session 3

Form: Ladder Footwork Patterns 14 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Ladder Footwork Patterns · 5 min
    Right first, then fast.
  3. Wall Lean Drives · 5 min
    Straight line, push the ground back. Safety: Run on flat, clear, non-slip ground with plenty of room to slow down. Stop if anything hurts.
  4. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly and hold each stretch about 20 seconds, never to pain.

Want the rest of the plan?

This sample is 3 of the 7 gymnastics plans SSTracker has for this group. In SSTracker every step is on the screen, your child logs the work, and you see it. No club needed: the family plan is $7.50 a month per player, or $12 a month for the whole household, and the first 14 days are free.

Get the full plan free for 14 days Coach or club director? Set up your team free Print a free week for another sport or age

The drills in this week

Half Turns on a Floor Line

Ages 11 and up · 10 min

Turn on your toes and finish facing the other way, still on the line.

  1. Stand on the line on your toes with arms up.
  2. Turn half way around on the balls of your feet.
  3. Finish in a tall, still pose for 2 seconds.
  4. Do 10 turns each direction.

Coach's cue: Rise up, turn, freeze.

Bring: tape or floor line

Handstand Against a Wall

Ages 11 and up · 10 min

Build a straight, steady handstand with a wall to support you.

  1. Place your hands on the mat a hand-length from the wall.
  2. Kick up one leg at a time until your heels rest on the wall.
  3. Push tall through your shoulders and squeeze your legs together.
  4. Hold 10 to 20 seconds, then step down one foot at a time. Do 5.

Coach's cue: Push tall, belly tight.

Bring: wall, soft mat

Safety: Use a clear wall with a soft mat under your hands. Warm up your wrists first and stop if they hurt. Come down by stepping one foot at a time. Have a grown-up nearby.

Cushion Balance Challenge

Ages 11 and up · 8 min

Balance on a wobbly cushion to make your ankles and middle react fast.

  1. Stand on one foot on a firm cushion.
  2. Hold arms out for 20 seconds.
  3. Then try arms up, then eyes on a spot on the wall.
  4. Do 3 rounds per leg.

Coach's cue: Small fixes in your ankle.

Bring: firm cushion

Safety: Keep a wall or chair within reach and stay low to the floor.

Tuck-Ups and V-Ups

Ages 11 and up · 10 min

Build the belly strength you need to pull your legs up on bars and in the air.

  1. Lie in a hollow shape.
  2. Pull your knees and chest together into a tuck, then lie back down.
  3. When that is easy, do V-ups with straight legs.
  4. Do 3 sets of 10.

Coach's cue: Reach for your toes, lower slowly.

Bring: mat

Safety: Keep your lower back pressed down. Stop and rest if your back hurts.

Plank Shape Circuit

Ages 11 and up · 10 min

Hold front, side and back planks to make your whole middle strong.

  1. Hold a front plank on straight arms for 20 seconds.
  2. Turn to a side plank on each side for 15 seconds.
  3. Flip to a back plank, hips up, for 15 seconds.
  4. Rest and repeat 3 rounds.

Coach's cue: Straight line, head to heels.

Bring: mat

Safety: Warm up your wrists first and stop if they hurt.

Floor L-Sit Prep

Ages 11 and up · 8 min

Push down through your hands to lift your hips, the start of the L-sit used on bars and rings.

  1. Sit with legs straight and hands on two thick books beside your hips.
  2. Push down to lift your hips, then one foot.
  3. Hold 5 seconds, switch feet.
  4. Do 3 rounds.

Coach's cue: Push down, shoulders low.

Bring: mat, two thick books

Safety: Warm up your wrists first and stop if they hurt.

Ladder Footwork Patterns

Ages 10 to 14 · 10 min

Quick foot patterns through a ladder on the ground: two in, in-out, side steps.

  1. Lay a ladder or draw one with chalk.
  2. Run through with two feet in each square.
  3. Then try in-in-out-out sideways.
  4. Do 3 trips of each pattern; get it right before getting fast.

Coach's cue: Right first, then fast.

Bring: agility ladder or chalk ladder

Wall Lean Drives

Ages 9 to 14 · 8 min

Learn the leaning body position of a fast start by driving your knees while leaning into a wall.

  1. Lean into a wall with straight arms, body in a straight line from head to heel.
  2. Lift one knee to hip height with the toes pulled up.
  3. Switch legs on a clap: 1 switch, then 2, then 3 quick switches.
  4. Do 4 sets of 3 switches, resting between sets.

Coach's cue: Straight line, push the ground back.

Bring: wall

Safety: Run on flat, clear, non-slip ground with plenty of room to slow down. Stop if anything hurts.

Safety for ages 11 to 13

  • Plans for this age group use beginner and developing drills only. Advanced drills open from age 13 in the app.
  • Home plans use only drills for a room, garage or yard. Stop if anything hurts.

Before you start: gymnastics

  • Mats under every landing; flips, bars, beam and vault only in a gym with a trained coach.
  • Low back pain, worse when bending backward, is never normal. Stop and tell a parent or coach.
  • Wrist pain is a stop sign: warm up wrists, and rest them if they hurt.
  • Stretch only as far as you can go on your own. Nobody pushes you down, and no oversplits.
  • No comments about a child's body, size or weight, from anyone.
For every sport and age (7)
  • Head knock or concussion signs (headache, dizziness, confusion, feeling "off"): when in doubt, sit them out. See a doctor, and no return the same day.
  • Back to sport only with a doctor's written OK, after a step-by-step return. Every U.S. state has a youth concussion law.
  • Heat: drink water before, during and after. Take shade breaks, ease into hot weather over about two weeks, and stop if dizzy, sick or headachy.
  • Lightning: if you hear thunder or see lightning, go inside a building or a closed car. Wait 30 minutes after the last thunder (the 30-30 rule).
  • Pain is a stop sign, not something to push through. Stop and tell a grown-up; pain that lasts or comes back each session needs a doctor.
  • Water and rest are part of training: 1-2 rest days a week, plenty of sleep, a meal or snack before and after, and other sports welcome.
  • Know where the nearest AED (heart defibrillator) is, and who calls for help in an emergency.

The research behind these plans

Which drills are shown at which age, and the safety notes, follow the 29 sources below: national governing bodies, medical associations and studies on youth sport (last reviewed October 2026). Where no study gives an exact number, the plans use cautious defaults, and we change them as the research does.

Gymnastics: governing bodies, safety and development (9)
Youth athletic development and safety (20)

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