Most coaches and gymnasts know about using iPhones, iPads, Smartphones and Pads for recording themselves and watching the videos right away, right there in the gym for instant feedback. Any coach or gymnast who is not using this type of visual training almost daily is missing out.
Gymnasts are “Coaching” Themselves by Recording & Watching Video in the Gym
Lots of gymnasts already are bringing their iPhones or Smartphones out onto the floor during practice and when the coach is coaching somewhere else, they are getting a friend to video them working out, watching the video right away and “coaching” themselves. Gymnast have seen a lot of gymnastics and they know how they want to look and can get instant neutral feedback from video.
But There is Even Better Technology Now for Recording & Watching Video in the Gym
There are some new toys that are available that could make this video trend work even better than what gymnasts are already doing. Toys to make videoing better or easier.
iPhone, iPad, Smartphone and Pad Telephoto Camera Lenses
The Rollei iPhone lens (pictured above with its tripod) is currently available only in Europe, but there are similar products available in the US, and available for Smartphones as well. The very lightweight Rollei manual-focus telephoto zoom lens has an impressive F1.1 aperture rating and at 8X is about the equivalent of a 280mm zoom lens. It mounts onto the back of the iPhone using a clasp system. The Rollei lens come with the mount, a hard case and a tabletop tripod for only about $50.
iPhone, iPad, Smartphone and Pad Telephoto Camera Tripods
There are a variety of mounts to adapt iPhones and Smartphones to regular camera tripods. There are short tabletop tripods but normal taller standing tripods allow them to be set up anywhere in the gym. Having a tripod for their camera phone allows gymnasts (or coaches) to take videos without anyone else’s help to hold and take the video. No one else’s practice time will be sacrificed taking videos (although video training would be worth even that).
iPad Bigger Screens are Preferable for Instant Viewing
It makes financial economic sense to add on a lens and a tripod to camera phone you already own. But if you already also own an iPad (or other pad), the iPad larger screen makes for much better instant viewing than on any phone.
You Can Email Videos to Yourself, Your Friends or your Coach
While you may want to delete some videos and edit others, you should keep most all of the gymnastics video that you take. From an iPhone, iPad, Smartphone or other Pad, you can email and share videos with your coach, your parents and family and friends. You should certainly either email them to yourself or download and save them in some centralized location for future use or viewing. There are and will be many uses for them (think college scholarship videos) and you will be glad to have them.
Other Video Toys
There are numerous other video camera toys to use with your iPhone, iPad, Smartphone or other Pad. There are a huge number of video apps to share, upload to social networks and edit videos (although video editing takes too much time to be done by either gymnasts or coaches during practice). There are specialty lenses, adapters to mount regular SLR camera lenses to iPhones, iPads, Smartphones or other Pads.
There are So Many Different iPhones, iPads, Smartphones or other Pads
Since there are so many different iPhones, iPads, Smartphones or other Pads and there is currently a huge explosion in the number of products in this area, you will have to do some of your own research to find what is available for your own particular model. But the investment should be modest to gain such a powerful video visual training setup.
