Vim Vigor Technique

One of the most unique elements a gymnast can add to their floor routines is floor work tricks!

These skills are adapted from the Vim Vigor dance technique. When a judge initially watches a floor routine, a trick of this technique can add diversity to what the judges are normally watching. Vim Vigor floor work is a very fun technique to try and is not taught in gymnastics.

The gymnasts are learning how to properly perform these floor work tricks. Starting with basic conditioning drills and then working our way up to a short phrase, the gymnasts learned the effect of safely rolling over their shoulders, arms, and back.

These elements are not worth scoring points in a routine but can add a touch of personality and uniqueness to every routine and help land them more success!

More about Addison!

Floor was always my favorite event to compete in because I got to dance and show both sides of myself through one sport! My routines were always filled with advanced leaps, floor work rolls, different types of connections, and, most importantly, my turn. I was the only gymnast to compete in a triple-turn on the floor at every primary gymnastics competition I attended!

Linked here is one of my choreographed, older floor routines that has a very elegant and classical touch. All my routines were in a different style of choreography, and I loved choreographing my own routines on myself! This routine awarded me first place and the Judges Choice Award in the USAIGC Platinum level at the NJ state championships!

*I do not own the rights to this music*

Putting it Together

At the end of each session, the gymnasts learn a short and slightly mutated phrase of an Olympic floor routine! On the first day, the gymnasts picked the top 10 routines they watched in the Olympics and would like to learn for themselves. For example, we learned phrases from Simone Biles and Suni Lee's 2024 floor routine, as shown in the videos below!

By learning these phrases, the gymnasts experience true gymnastics choreography that is very advanced. Each day, the gymnasts learn a new routine, and it becomes easier to pick up the choreography as they get more familiar with dance and rhythm. It is also important to fully immerse these young gymnasts in different types of choreography. For example, we have Simone Biles, who is very powerful in contrast to Suni Lee's elegance.

This is a fantastic exercise for young gymnasts as they learn the choreography of their ultimate idol and role model, who was seen at the Olympics this past summer! To practice, the gymnasts were taught the choreography and then practiced in small groups. This allowed for a bit of a performance-type feeling when showing the other groups the routine and also let the gymnast on the side watch and learn from others' minor mistakes.

"I am demonstrating in black to show the original choreography that the gymnasts were taught*