I checked out the kids open gym tonight. In many ways, it's disciplined by the adult open gym, and the nine-year-old level fours and fives were offering me lots of advice and conditioning tips, which was pretty awesome. I'm going to try their push-up/crunch ideas when my arms aren't rubbery. I did a lot bar work and conditioning--negative pull ups, dips, and lots and lots of casting. My shoulders are going to hurt tomorrow.
I made a lot of progress on my squat-ons, had a great string of cartwheels on beam, some decent front tucks, and a lot of good round-off back handsprings into the resi pit. At the end of open gym, I had one of the coaches spot me on floor. She gave me a light spot the first time, and then at my request just stood nearby for the second set. I did it, no mats and no spot. From here, I think I'm going to work with having the coach standing just a bit farther away each time until I get some more confidence. She also gave me some shoulder stretches--my shoulder flexibility isn't very good, and it's probably part of why I'm so nervous on back handsprings. I really depend on sheer power and on my back flexibility, and that's not a good thing.
But I did it by myself. No mats. No spot. There's nowhere to go but up!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Cats and Circuit Training
Tonight I learned about all the ways cats can help with your circuit training. Many involve the additional weight, but there are many ways.*
1) They can insist on being held during squats, adding extra weight
2) They can lie on your back when you do push-ups, again adding extra weight
3) They can curl up under your stomach when doing planks, encouraging you to keep that core tight
4) They can curl up on your chest or hang onto your ponytail with their claws when doing crunches and v-ups
5) They can bat at your hands to keep you moving with hindu squats
Unfortunately, I cannot find a way for them to help with jumping rope. It does, however, provide them with valuable time to steal the bookmark from my book (Red Seas Under Red Skies--the wonderful sequel to the fabulous Lies of Locke Lamora) so that they can play with the tassels.
That's okay. They need to get their exercise too :-)
*Please note I do not advocate using animals as exercise tools against their will or in any way that may harm the animal. My cats initiated all interactions noted in this post and were safe and content the entire time.
1) They can insist on being held during squats, adding extra weight
2) They can lie on your back when you do push-ups, again adding extra weight
3) They can curl up under your stomach when doing planks, encouraging you to keep that core tight
4) They can curl up on your chest or hang onto your ponytail with their claws when doing crunches and v-ups
5) They can bat at your hands to keep you moving with hindu squats
Unfortunately, I cannot find a way for them to help with jumping rope. It does, however, provide them with valuable time to steal the bookmark from my book (Red Seas Under Red Skies--the wonderful sequel to the fabulous Lies of Locke Lamora) so that they can play with the tassels.
That's okay. They need to get their exercise too :-)
*Please note I do not advocate using animals as exercise tools against their will or in any way that may harm the animal. My cats initiated all interactions noted in this post and were safe and content the entire time.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Discouragement
The reason I haven't been posted is mostly discouragement. I'm improving on almost all of my fitness goals except one--and that one I've regressed on. I have a beautiful round-off back handspring. Lots of power, completely connected. I can through it uphill onto mats stacked a foot high without a problem. However, I can't throw it on the regular floor.
I used to be able to. Only a couple of months ago, I was doing it without problem. Then, for no particular reason, I got scared to do it. And I haven't been able to do it without a mat or a spot since.
I've tried slow progressions towards doing it with just the floor. They aren't working. I only get about one hour at the gym a week, and that's an open gym--not a lot of coaching. Still, one of the coaches was talking to me about it last night, trying to help me through it. He reminded me that each week it's just a workout. Some workouts are good, some are bad, and that's okay. I need to stop thinking so hard about the skill and just do it. Which is very good advice. I just can't seem to follow it.
Gymnastics is easily the highlight of my week, especially when things seem as rough as they have recently. Having this shadow over my favorite skill is having a major impact on many other things in my life, especially my caring about fitness. I'm keeping at it, but I'm not sure how to move ahead. How do you deal with major mental blocks on skills, and what keeps you going when you find it hard to care about exercise? I'll just keep working on the skill, and practicing all the other skills that are going well. And there are many--my front handsprings are cleaner, so are my aerials, I'm developing a good front tuck, my cartwheels are becoming consistent, and I'm becoming stronger. All that should balance out to positive compared with one skill that's holding me back.
I should be focusing on all the good things. But it's hard not to get stuck on the one thing that's holding me back.
I used to be able to. Only a couple of months ago, I was doing it without problem. Then, for no particular reason, I got scared to do it. And I haven't been able to do it without a mat or a spot since.
I've tried slow progressions towards doing it with just the floor. They aren't working. I only get about one hour at the gym a week, and that's an open gym--not a lot of coaching. Still, one of the coaches was talking to me about it last night, trying to help me through it. He reminded me that each week it's just a workout. Some workouts are good, some are bad, and that's okay. I need to stop thinking so hard about the skill and just do it. Which is very good advice. I just can't seem to follow it.
Gymnastics is easily the highlight of my week, especially when things seem as rough as they have recently. Having this shadow over my favorite skill is having a major impact on many other things in my life, especially my caring about fitness. I'm keeping at it, but I'm not sure how to move ahead. How do you deal with major mental blocks on skills, and what keeps you going when you find it hard to care about exercise? I'll just keep working on the skill, and practicing all the other skills that are going well. And there are many--my front handsprings are cleaner, so are my aerials, I'm developing a good front tuck, my cartwheels are becoming consistent, and I'm becoming stronger. All that should balance out to positive compared with one skill that's holding me back.
I should be focusing on all the good things. But it's hard not to get stuck on the one thing that's holding me back.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Got My Punch Front!
I had a great night at gymnastics last night. I started off conditioning on bars. I practiced my glides for a while, then I did hanging L-holds, negative pull-ups until my arms gave out, (2.5) hanging leg lifts, and tap swings until I started to rip. That was pretty much it on bars for the night, which is okay. Just getting my strength up will probably make more of a difference than lots of skill repetitions at this point.
My cartwheels on beam were solid. I need to practice handstands more often--on beam and off. Hanging around upside down is fun, and repetition works best for some things.
There were a lot of people there last night. Often, there are only two or three people there for adult gym, so I can bug the coaches and get lots of spotting. When twenty people show up, I'm on my own. That meant no vaulting, because I'm too much of a wimp to vault over the table without a spot still, and extra floor.
I did front handsprings to warm up and round-off back handsprings into the resi-pit. I have solid ROBHS (I can connect them up onto an eight inch mat), but I've developed a fear of backwards tumbling on floor. Any advice on getting over that is welcome. I mixed in some aerials with the ROBHSs and landed most of them. Then I decided to try a punch front (basically, run and do a front flip) onto the mat in the resi-pit. First time, I landed on my butt.
I expected that.
Second one, I nailed. Same with the third. The forth time, I tried pointing my toes and fell again. Fifth time, front tuck with pointed toes, and that stayed consistent for the rest of the night. Getting a new skill--especially a flight skill--is the most awesome feeling in the world. I also had my side splits both down to less than an inch off the ground.
Who says exercise is boring?
My cartwheels on beam were solid. I need to practice handstands more often--on beam and off. Hanging around upside down is fun, and repetition works best for some things.
There were a lot of people there last night. Often, there are only two or three people there for adult gym, so I can bug the coaches and get lots of spotting. When twenty people show up, I'm on my own. That meant no vaulting, because I'm too much of a wimp to vault over the table without a spot still, and extra floor.
I did front handsprings to warm up and round-off back handsprings into the resi-pit. I have solid ROBHS (I can connect them up onto an eight inch mat), but I've developed a fear of backwards tumbling on floor. Any advice on getting over that is welcome. I mixed in some aerials with the ROBHSs and landed most of them. Then I decided to try a punch front (basically, run and do a front flip) onto the mat in the resi-pit. First time, I landed on my butt.
I expected that.
Second one, I nailed. Same with the third. The forth time, I tried pointing my toes and fell again. Fifth time, front tuck with pointed toes, and that stayed consistent for the rest of the night. Getting a new skill--especially a flight skill--is the most awesome feeling in the world. I also had my side splits both down to less than an inch off the ground.
Who says exercise is boring?
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Off the Couch
My prefer exercise time is the middle of the day, but that's not really an option Monday-Friday. Any guide for getting in a workout schedule will tell you that people who workout in the mornings are more likely to get their exercise in, plus all the additional metabolic and mental benefits. Unfortunately, I'm the sort of person who can barely drag myself out of bed in time for work, and working out in the morning usually just makes me feel sick. So I'm an evening exerciser.
The problem with exercising in the evening it's so easy to come up with lots of very convincing reasons I'm too busy/tired/overworked/bored/whatever. It can be hard to remind myself why none of those excuses are good enough and there are lots of better reasons to get up and get moving.
1) I almost always feel better. This isn't always true--sometimes I really am just that tired. Usually, I'm just lazy and unmotivated and will feel better when I'm done.
2) It gives me a chance to beat what I did last time. I'm an extremely competitive person. I rarely put myself in positions where I'm competing against other people (I'm still learning to handle the stress I put on myself), but I love to beat myself.
3) I want to look good. It's vain and not the most pure motivation, but it's true. I'm at a good weight, but I'd still like to lose a couple of pounds, and I know I look better when I'm more toned and less body fat. And I like looking good.
4) I want to be healthy. I want the physical benefits that come from being active. I want to obvious ones, like lowered risk of heart disease, and I want some of the less obvious ones, like possibly have some protection from Alzheimer's.
5) It's a cheap way to be warm in the winter without turning up the heat.
6) The cats always help me somehow. There's nothing quite like doing push-ups and having an eleven pound cat jump on your back and lie down.
7) I get one point toward my weekly reward, and it's something concrete to look forward to.
8) My husband might just surprise me and ask to play a game with me after I'm finished with the official workout. Or even join me for the workout itself. It's one of the best ways to spend time together, and I love it when it happens.
There are a lot more good reasons, but these are the ones that are really on my mind right now. What are everyone else's?
The problem with exercising in the evening it's so easy to come up with lots of very convincing reasons I'm too busy/tired/overworked/bored/whatever. It can be hard to remind myself why none of those excuses are good enough and there are lots of better reasons to get up and get moving.
1) I almost always feel better. This isn't always true--sometimes I really am just that tired. Usually, I'm just lazy and unmotivated and will feel better when I'm done.
2) It gives me a chance to beat what I did last time. I'm an extremely competitive person. I rarely put myself in positions where I'm competing against other people (I'm still learning to handle the stress I put on myself), but I love to beat myself.
3) I want to look good. It's vain and not the most pure motivation, but it's true. I'm at a good weight, but I'd still like to lose a couple of pounds, and I know I look better when I'm more toned and less body fat. And I like looking good.
4) I want to be healthy. I want the physical benefits that come from being active. I want to obvious ones, like lowered risk of heart disease, and I want some of the less obvious ones, like possibly have some protection from Alzheimer's.
5) It's a cheap way to be warm in the winter without turning up the heat.
6) The cats always help me somehow. There's nothing quite like doing push-ups and having an eleven pound cat jump on your back and lie down.
7) I get one point toward my weekly reward, and it's something concrete to look forward to.
8) My husband might just surprise me and ask to play a game with me after I'm finished with the official workout. Or even join me for the workout itself. It's one of the best ways to spend time together, and I love it when it happens.
There are a lot more good reasons, but these are the ones that are really on my mind right now. What are everyone else's?
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Ballet +, Gymnastics -
I had a great dance class Monday. I was focused, I pushed myself, and I was able to focus on really dancing instead of just putting a series of moves in order to a specific beat. It helped that the combinations were fairly simple, and that seven years of training left good muscle memory, even if I haven't done any ballet in five years. I wasn't able too look at myself in the mirror very well, but from what I could tell my split leaps were at about 130--not very good. I have a lot of work to do there. But the form was good, and they were enthusiastic.
And I just didn't go to gymnastics yesterday. I don't have a good reason why. It had been a bad day, I was feeling down on myself, and I was exhausted. I didn't want to drive more (1:20 commute to work, an hour home, and I was more than done driving), I didn't want to be productive, I didn't want to face the frustration of not being able to do things I thought I should be able to do. And I was really, really tired. So when 7:30 rolled around, I didn't make myself go get ready. I wasn't out the door at 7:45. And by 8:30, I was in bed.
I'm regreting that decision now. I did need the extra sleep, but I needed the mood boost I always get from gym more. I'm still tired, but I know I'll get my workout in tonight (circuit training day!) because of that regret. I'm going to go and spend ten-fifteen minutes practicing my forms for Tae Kwon Do, too. That will wake me up more than a nap, and I'm going to need that extra energy to get through the rest of today and the ride home that's already looks like it's going to be too long.
Maybe I'll be able to convince my husband that we should check out the kiddy open gym practice on Friday.
And I just didn't go to gymnastics yesterday. I don't have a good reason why. It had been a bad day, I was feeling down on myself, and I was exhausted. I didn't want to drive more (1:20 commute to work, an hour home, and I was more than done driving), I didn't want to be productive, I didn't want to face the frustration of not being able to do things I thought I should be able to do. And I was really, really tired. So when 7:30 rolled around, I didn't make myself go get ready. I wasn't out the door at 7:45. And by 8:30, I was in bed.
I'm regreting that decision now. I did need the extra sleep, but I needed the mood boost I always get from gym more. I'm still tired, but I know I'll get my workout in tonight (circuit training day!) because of that regret. I'm going to go and spend ten-fifteen minutes practicing my forms for Tae Kwon Do, too. That will wake me up more than a nap, and I'm going to need that extra energy to get through the rest of today and the ride home that's already looks like it's going to be too long.
Maybe I'll be able to convince my husband that we should check out the kiddy open gym practice on Friday.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Sunday Check In
Every Sunday I will do a check in on how I am coming with my goals.
Last week, I made my strength and cardio goals for the week.
I have not had the opportunity to work on my pull ups or hanging leg lifts. I can currently do 10 handstand push-ups against the door. When that number is up to 20, I will move to free-standing spotted handstand push-ups.
Open gym is Tuesday, so I haven't been able to work on my gymnastics goals yet.
My turnout in first position is 100 degrees, and I have 40 degrees to a perfect fifth position. My free leg hold is at 90 degrees.
My side splits are at about 170 degrees to the left and 160 degrees to the right. My center split is at about 160 degrees. I will measure my shoulder flexibility at gymnastics on Tuesday.
That's not too bad of a starting point!
Last week, I made my strength and cardio goals for the week.
I have not had the opportunity to work on my pull ups or hanging leg lifts. I can currently do 10 handstand push-ups against the door. When that number is up to 20, I will move to free-standing spotted handstand push-ups.
Open gym is Tuesday, so I haven't been able to work on my gymnastics goals yet.
My turnout in first position is 100 degrees, and I have 40 degrees to a perfect fifth position. My free leg hold is at 90 degrees.
My side splits are at about 170 degrees to the left and 160 degrees to the right. My center split is at about 160 degrees. I will measure my shoulder flexibility at gymnastics on Tuesday.
That's not too bad of a starting point!
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