How do I improve my Gymnastics skills?

Skills in gymnastics and dance?

• im 13 years old (please don't say im too old to start. i already am nervous enough about my age) and LOVE dance and gymnastics.i can never stop thinking about it. unfortunately i can't start until next year. i want to work on some skills. what are some i can work on that i can do alone considering i wont have a spotter? and what can i do to improve flexibility and what can i do to make sure im safe during all this? oh and for gymnastics i have a mat and a beam (b/c my sister is a cheerleader and used to do gymnastics). what can i do on those? thanks! oh and how long would you say i could be able to do a split in b/c i heard it takes months but i heard someone did it in a couple weeks. how long should i stretch normally and how long should i if i want to be able to do a split in a couple weeks? any suggestions on that? videos on all of these skills would be nice (but you don't have to post them if you don't want to) sorry this is a lot but the first good answer gets the best answer!!!!

• Answer:

  Stretch EVERY DAY. I know it sounds tedious and you wont want to do it sometimes, but trust me. It will pay off. And for lyrical, flexibility, strength, and grace are huge parts of what you'll need. Same thing for gymnastics. And you're never too old to start dance; there was a guy on So You Think You Can Dance who hadn't started dance until he was 17, and he was AMAZING. Better late than never :) for both dance and gymnastics, you'll need serious dedication, and you'll always do better if you have a passion for it. Good luck! :)