Gymnastics Gear: Grips, Wrist Supports, Leotards, Home Mats and Beams

This article contains affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

The gym bag tells the story of a gymnast’s season. At first it holds a leotard, a water bottle and a hair tie. A few levels later there are grips in a little pouch, wrist supports, a block of chalk, tape, a foam roller and recovery slides for the ride home. The right gymnastics gear keeps hands and wrists protected and makes practice at home safer, without turning the living room into a gym. This gymnastics equipment guide covers grips, wrist supports, leotards, home mats and beams (with the safety notes that matter), chalk, and the recovery gear many gymnasts use.

Prices change often. The prices below are what we saw at the maker or a major retailer in October 2026; check the current price before you buy.

Our top picks

What the rules say about gear

Under the World Gymnastics (FIG) 2025–2028 Codes of Points, women compete in a non-transparent leotard or unitard and may not wear jewelry except small stud earrings. Men wear a singlet on every apparatus, long gymnastics pants and socks on pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and high bar, and shorts or long pants on floor and vault. In both, handguards (grips), body bandages and wrist wraps are allowed if they’re securely fastened and in good repair, and skin-colored bandages are recommended. Chalk is allowed on bars and for small marks on the beam. US youth levels and college follow their own rulebooks, so check with your coach. More in our gymnastics rules guide.

Grips

Grips are leather straps that cover the palm, with finger holes and, on most bar grips, a dowel that helps the hands hold the bar during big swings. They protect against rips (torn calluses) and help with grip. Beginners usually don’t need them; most gymnasts start when their coach says they’re ready for bigger swings. Fit matters: US Glove, for example, sizes its grips by the length of the hand from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger and says sizing differs from grip to grip, so measure first and let the coach check them. Women’s bar grips, men’s high bar grips and ring grips are all different.

The US Glove Elite uneven bar grips are a good example for optional-level gymnasts: made from the maker’s most durable leather, with a curved, wide palm piece, a hollow dowel and a hook-and-loop wrist strap, made in the USA and sold as a pair. US Glove recommends them for optional through elite gymnasts and athletes over 100 lb, not for kids under 10, and suggests wearing wristbands under them. They were about $55–60 on Amazon.

Check the US Glove Elite grips price on Amazon

Wrist supports

Wrists carry a lot in gymnastics, and sore wrists are common. Many gymnasts wear wrist supports for tumbling, vault and handstands. Tiger Paw wrist supports are a long-time favorite: sold in pairs, adjustable, made in the USA and sized by body weight (Amazon listings show XS up to about 69 lb, S 69–115 lb, M 115–150 lb and L 150–210 lb), at about $65. One honest note: a 2023 study of 23 young gymnasts found that wrist supports, including Tiger Paws, changed how force went through the wrist during landings, and the authors suggested thinking about injury history and how long supports are worn. A support is not a fix for wrist pain. Pain with weight-bearing needs a sports medicine doctor, PT or athletic trainer; see our gymnastics injuries page.

Check the Tiger Paw wrist supports price on Amazon

Leotards and what to wear

For practice, girls need a leotard that fits snugly without digging in, plus shorts if they like; boys wear fitted shorts and a T-shirt or tank. Competition leotards and singlets are usually chosen by the team. Specialist makers such as GK Elite sell training and competition leotards, singlets and warm-ups in kids’ to adult sizes, with a size chart on their site; measure your child rather than going by age. Hair goes up and away from the face, and jewelry comes off.

See leotards at GK Elite

Home mats and beams: safety first

Home equipment is great for stretching, conditioning, handstand holds and balance drills. It’s not a place to learn new skills. A few rules many coaches use: no flips or new inverted skills at home, nothing a coach hasn’t taught, an adult nearby, clear space around the mat, and a floor beam instead of a raised one. The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly discourages home trampolines, noting that most trampoline injuries happen with several kids on the mat and that neck injuries often come from falls or attempted flips.

• Folding mat: the BalanceFrom 4-panel mat is 10 × 4 feet and 2 inches thick with a vinyl cover, folds to 4 × 4 feet, weighs 15 lb and has hook-and-loop ends to join more mats. About $103. A 2-inch mat cushions stretching and drills; it’s not a landing mat for tumbling.
• Floor beam: the Z-Athletic 8-foot folding floor beam is foam, 2.5 inches tall with a 4-inch top and 6-inch base, folds in half and weighs 4 lb. About $45. Z-Athletic also makes a 9-foot, 2-inch-tall folding low beam.

Check the BalanceFrom folding mat price on Amazon

Check the Z-Athletic floor beam price on Amazon

Chalk

Gym chalk is magnesium carbonate; it dries sweaty hands so they don’t slip on bars, rings and pommel horse. Gyms keep chalk bowls, but older gymnasts often carry their own block for grips and home conditioning. Cannon Sports gym chalk comes as eight individually wrapped 2 oz blocks (1 lb) for about $18. Ask before chalking up at someone else’s gym; some limit chalk to the bowls.

Check the Cannon Sports chalk price on Amazon

Recovery gear

After hours barefoot on a sprung floor, feet and calves are tired. Soft slides like the OOFOS OOahh (about $60, APMA Seal of Acceptance, machine washable) are a gym-bag favorite. A foam roller such as the TriggerPoint GRID 1.0 (about $40) works for calves, quads and upper back, and older athletes may like a small massage gun like the Theragun Mini (about $220). These are comfort tools, not treatment; MAAPP rules say coaches shouldn’t massage minor athletes, so kids should use them themselves or with a parent. Compare more in our best recovery shoes, best foam rollers and best massage guns guides, and see the gymnastics recovery page.

Check the OOFOS OOahh Slide price on Amazon

Check the TriggerPoint GRID price on Amazon

The gymnastics bag checklist

• Leotard (or shorts and fitted top), plus a warm layer for between rotations.
• Hair ties and clips; no jewelry.
• Grips in a pouch and wristbands, if the coach has fitted them.
• Wrist supports and athletic tape.
• Water bottle and a real snack (see our meet day guide).
• Slides for after, and a small foam roller.

Back to the gymnastics hub, or see youth gymnastics, gymnastics training and, for comparison, soccer gear.

Gymnastics gear questions

When should a gymnast start wearing grips?

When their coach says so, usually once they’re doing bigger swings on bars. Some grips, like the US Glove Elite, aren’t recommended for kids under 10. Have the coach check the fit.

How do I size gymnastics grips?

Measure the hand from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger and use that maker’s chart. US Glove notes its sizing differs from grip to grip, so don’t assume the same size carries over between models.

Do wrist supports prevent gymnastics wrist injuries?

There’s no proof they do. Many gymnasts find them comfortable, but a 2023 study found they change how force goes through the wrist. Wrist pain with weight-bearing needs a sports medicine professional, not just a brace.

Is a home balance beam safe?

A floor-height beam is a good tool for balance drills and practicing skills a coach has already taught. Keep new skills, flips and raised beams for the gym, where there are mats and spotting.

Can gymnasts wear jewelry?

Not in competition under the FIG codes, apart from small stud earrings for women. Most gyms ask for no jewelry in practice too, for safety.