The Complete Handbook of Gymnastics Protective Gear
A professional's field guide to selecting, maintaining, and profiting from gymnastics protective equipment
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
From chalk and grips to pit padding and spotting belts: the complete, unbiased reference for choosing, using, and maintaining gymnastics protective gear.
About this book
Gymnastics protective gear is a multi-hundred-dollar annual expense for a club and a multi-thousand-dollar decision for a facility, yet most buyers make those decisions based on a logo or a coach's habit. This handbook replaces guesswork with a systematic breakdown of the gear itself: how wrist wraps differ from dowel grips under load, why a 1-inch landing mat is not a 4-inch skill mat, and how to read the density rating on a foam pit block before you write the check. It covers the physics, the materials, and the maintenance in plain language, with real-world examples drawn from competitive and recreational gyms.
Business owners and independent coaches will find the later chapters equally valuable. There is a direct line from the chapter on installation and maintenance to the chapter on business opportunity: a spring-floor anchorage check is a service you can sell, and a foam pit re-foaming schedule is a revenue stream. The book profiles the major equipment manufacturers by market position, explains the certification standards that matter in a lawsuit, and outlines concrete ways to build a business around protective gear without holding an athletic training degree. It is written for professionals who need to justify a purchase to a board, a parent, or an insurance auditor.
The final sections look forward to where the industry is heading—sensor-embedded padding, regenerative shock foams, and tightening competition standards—and provide a roadmap of standards bodies and publications to follow. A lengthy FAQ and a glossary pull the most common questions from the text and answer them directly. This is not an endorsement of any brand; it is a field manual for anyone who takes responsibility for the safety of gymnasts.
Reader Reviews
Jeffrey Rivera
★★★★★I've been coaching for about 12 years and I'm pretty set in my ways, but this book actually got me to rethink our pit padding rotation schedule. The chapters on specifications and maintenance are the most useful part - I had no idea how to read a foam density spec, and now I feel like I could argue with a vendor. I do wish it had a few more photos or diagrams of the more obscure things like spotting belt rigging points, since the text description is thorough but a visual would have sealed it. Overall, it's the best practical reference I've bought in a long time, and it's already paid for itself in avoided mistake purchases.
Jennifer King
★★★★★I bought this because I'm a club manager looking to standardize our safety protocols, and there's plenty of solid fundamentals here. The chapter on choosing gear is genuinely helpful, and the business opportunities chapter is a smart addition that other safety books don't have. As a whole, though, it leans a bit more toward the business and procurement side than I expected - I was hoping for a heavier emphasis on hands-on daily coaching usage tips for younger athletes specifically. The FAQ is fine, and I respect that it's not trying to sell me anything. It's a good book, just not the one I thought it was going to be.