Bridge Kickover

I've been working on a bridge kick over for most of the summer. Here's one at Aerofit. This one's not especially pretty, but you get the point.

Basically you go up in a bridge and kick over. It's not the hardest skill ever. Your back has to be flexible enough to go up into a bridge. And the key to this one is keeping your arms straight—hands and shoulders should be in line, not extended. (Mine arms are slightly extended in this video.) And you have to kick hard with one leg.

I worked on these at my first tumbling class. You can start kicking over from a higher block (easy!) and gradually work your way down to the floor. Here, I'm kicking over from 2-3 inches of padding.

I can't quite do them all the way on the floor, but I've been pretty close for a while.

Up next: I'd love to do a front limber to back walk over.

Quitting trapeze

I've really been struggling with trapeze classes. It's a lot of complicated movements. Every move has 8-or-so steps that I have trouble remembering so I've really been debating whether I should stick with it.

I should stick with it, because I quit everything. And if I stuck with it, I could potentially get better at it. How do I get better at something I can only do for an hour a week? If I stick with it, I can take more classes and go to open studio. I could also take silks, which looks super fun, after two classes.

The problem is that I feel super busy. I do Canopy on Monday, Aerofit Tuesday and Thursday, and Tumbling Wednesday and it's just too much. I need to drop something and I think Canopy is what I'm going to drop.

It's the easiest thing to drop. I can just not sign up for the next session. Aerofit I have a yearly contract for. And I just love tumbling.

• I don't love trapeze
• I could spend my time doing something I love
• It's expensive
• Not enough instructor time
• Not for me

1) I don't love trapeze. I thought I might. I remember playing on the trapeze like contraption on the playground when I was a kid. I could hang upside down. It came naturally. I was good at it. It was fun. Trapeze for me is a source of bruises and frustration. It hurts. I can't do the moves. And I don't come out of the class excited, floored or thrilled. I just trudge on to Aerofit to get a real workout.

I loved Aerofit first class. I thought this was so fun. I bought a membership a few days later. I knew immediately that jumping on a trampoline was something I enjoyed. I tried to drag all of my friends there. I leave feel de-stressed, happy, euphoric.

I love tumbling. Coach Megan and Robert are awesome. They have great energy. I have so much to learn—but there's always things I can do. I can do a one armed cartwheel. I'm decently flexible. I have fun at the classes. Even if there are 20 people in the class, I can get a few minutes of attention or help from someone else. I always leave happy. I wish I could put a gymnastics gym in my basement.

2) I could spend the time and money from trapeze at Pure Barre, at rock climbing, at the outdoor trapeze place—or at any of the new classes I need to try. My time is valuable. It's only an hour a week, but it makes me feel a little overwhelmed.

3) It's $153 for nine classes. That's pricey. Pure Barre has a $100 first month unlimited deal. That's 2.4 months at the climbing gym. That's almost 4 flying trapeze classes. That's a lot for nine hours of instruction.

4) I get about 30 seconds of instructor time a week. Classes begin and end promptly at the scheduled time. There's no chatting before class to the teachers. They disappear after class so you can't talk to them about something that you couldn't do or wanted to try next time. I'd rather take private lessons—and really it might be worth it. $30 for 30 minutes, is the same price as about two classes, but I could potentially learn more. I'm really struggling in the big class and the complicate series of movements.

5) I think it's just not for me. My brain doesn't work like that. My body does't move like that. I have no trouble hanging upside down, but

Everyone just raves about Canopy. And yes, it's amazing what some of the people can do. There's a cool kid cred you get for saying you take classes there. It's an awesome hipster thing to do. But it's me. It's jut not for me.

But their customer service is nonexistent. They don't return emails. The classes and big and too expensive.

Me. I have trouble remembering all the moves. It doesn't suit me.

Battle wounds

I'm calling this the week of the injury. Nothing serious. Just lots of scrapes and bruises.

Monday, I bruised the back of my knee at trapeze class. It always bruises my knee. It's the candlestick pose. It just hurts.

Tuesday, I wore shorts to TRX and we climbed the rope. I got some nice rope burn on my knee (it since scabbed over) and a rashy burn on my lower leg that will be quicker to heal. The rope is scratchy and when you wrap your leg, it just tears the skin off. I tried just climbing down and unwrapped my feet completely and was about 10 feet up in the air and was really worried I would fall. I was tired and my arms could fail. I didn't fall, but I kept wrapping after that. A rope burn is better than falling from 10 feet.

Wednesday, I went to get an allergy shot and the nurse really stuck me with the needle. It hasn't hurt that bad in a while. It really hurt and lasted forever. My arm swelled up like a bee stung me and the muscle was sore because she jammed it so hard. And sure enough,  I got a black bruise the size of a fingertip from the shot. My right arm was stiff going into tumbling class and later.

I suppose I should be symmetrical because at tumbling that night I got a nasty blue bruise on the inside of my wrist. I don't know how. I think it happened halfway through class. Maybe from a handstand. Maybe I hit it on something? I don't know. It doesn't hurt, but it does worry me.

Thursday, I decided I'd had enough and didn't go to the gym.

Almost flipping

A tumble track is a long trampoline runway. This is not me.

It's been another week of tumbling classes and I think I'm making progress towards my flip. Almost there.

We'd been flipping onto a huge pile of mats—to work on getting UP. At this class, the teacher got a mini tramp and we were jumping on to waist-high mat. I didn't think I could do it at first and thought that I needed to work up to it. After a few runs I got it. Run. Hit the trampoline hard. Jump high. Hands up. Hands down, hips over, ball up and reach for your knees and try to find your feet. And don't put your hands out behind you like you're breaking your fall. It's a reflex. Everyone does it. It's also a good way to break your arms.

Flipping is like getting the right combination in the lottery. It's about getting everything together all at once. If I get a good jump off the trampoline, I open too early and land up my butt. If I don't get a good jump, I get a nice rotation, but didn't get the height to land on my feet. One of the coaches told me I was making progress and that if the mat was lower, I could have landed it. She told me to go practice on the tumble track. And the first few attempts were a disaster. I didn't get a full rotation, or I fell forward or didn't get enough height. Then, there were a few almost flips. I came so close to landing on my feet. I told coach to watch me one last time and I ALMOST LANDED IT. It was low, but my feet were on the mat and I stepped backwards twice….and into the hole between the tumble track and the mat. The hole that I'd just told another girl to close up after she flipped. Embarrassing!

"Are you okay?" she kept asking me.

I think she thought I sprained my ankle. I was a little dazed but only my pride was hurt.

I think that if I ever do flip, I should do something to celebrate, since it's such a big goal. I want a Go Pro, but that's big even for Christmas. Maybe we'll just have to go out to eat. I need to think of something. Any ideas?

Don't mess with my gym schedule

Today my husband invited me to margarita night at the nearby taco place.

It's a small victory because for years I tried to get him to go to the restaurant only for him to staunchly refuse. He finally gave in one day and is now addicted to their tacos. That first week, he ate there every day. Now, it's once a week.

But it's Tuesdays. And Tuesdays mean TRX and then cardio. Two hours at the gym. I don't really have a lot of time for margaritas.

I suppose I could cancel and not go to the gym. But then I'd lose two hours of working out for the week. And when there are no classes Friday, Saturday or Sunday, that's awfully difficult to make up.

If I was tired or hurt, I'd cancel. But for margarita night, I think we'll have to reschedule. #GYMRAT.

(Note: we did get tacos on Saturday, so it worked out. I got my workout in and we had date night at a time that worked best for both of us.)

Nerdy Girl's Gym Commandments: Things not to do at the gym

Here's a handy guide of some of the top 10 worst offenses at the gym. Here's what not to do:

1. Dress inappropriately. This includes showing your ass cheeks, plumbers crack or forgetting to wear a sports bra. Also don't wear too tight clothes—pants in particular. No one wants to see the outline of your lady parts. Wear a size up if your compression pants are too tight, or find a long shirt. (Just say no to camel toe.)

2. Hog the instructors time. Asking a question when you need to is fine, but make sure others get a chance too. If you really need individualized attention, hire a personal trainer.

3. Try to teach the class yourself. Unless you're on the payroll, you don't need to loudly critique the instructor or walk over to the other side of the room and show someone else a move. Don't be loud and obnoxious. You may have good intentions, but let the teacher teach. Feel free to quietly show a friend a move they're having trouble with or at the break pull the teacher aside to say "I'm having trouble hearing you, maybe we should turn the music down." But don't add your two cents about every move and worse yet tell someone how to do something wrong. After all, it probably doesn't hurt to be on the instructor's good side, and undermining their class isn't a good way to start.

4. Talk or laugh the whole time. The instructors want you to have a good time. You don't have to be silent, but don't be disruptive either. Laugh when you need to. Tell your friend a quick comment, but you don't need to fill a 45 minute class with 45 minutes of chatter.

5. Be an exercise hypochondriac and have a different injury every class. I did this my first year of cross country. I was making excuses to get out of working out. I see people do this all the time. And they loudly tell the instructor they're hurt (this is good), but every day it's something else. And in the middle of class they want to know how to stretch their toe, low back, hip flexor etc. And it wouldn't be that much of an issue if it wasn't every class. If you're hurt, it's your decision whether to come or not. But don't be obnoxious, disruptive or whiney about it. Silently, sit out those exercises you can't do.

6. Not try. Sitting out an exercise or two is no problem. Some things aren't for everyone or you might have an injury. But don't come to a class and sit there. You can for a reason. Exercise. Try it once or twice before you quit.

7. Complain loudly the whole time. Sure, we all hate burpees and a little whining is expected, but you don't need to be a drama queen about every aspect of the workout. (This is not a reality show, where you do the voiceover.)

8. Show up late to the class. Emergencies, bad traffic—things happen. Try not to be late, but if you are, slip in as stealthy as possible. Some classes lock the door when they start and some classes you can wander in when they're half-way over. But don't barge in and LOUDLY apologize. That will disrupt the flow of class. If you must, slip in, and hope you can catch on/ a friend will help you out. Again, some places are stricter about this than others.

9. Not wiping off equipment. Yuck. No one wants to do sit-ups in a pool of your sweat. Bring a towel. Be courteous.

10. Make the gym smell like Bath & Body works. There are enough smells at the gym without adding Apple Blossom and Lavender to the mix. Sure, put on lotion, but you don't need the whole bottle.

Honorable mentions
• Working out while sick. If you have germs and you're circuit training and everyone is using the same kettle bells that's a good way to get a lot of your friends sick. Stay home if your'e contagious.
• Eating a huge meal before a hard workout. Blowing chunks will not impress the instructors or your classmates.

I see all of these things way too often in the gym. It basically comes down to being courteous and self aware. Don't be disruptive.

The gym should be a fun place to get a great workout. Talk, laugh, wear your favorite muscle T. Just be aware of the others around you and they need to be able to hear and have a great workout too. Don't make it awkward for others.

What did I miss? What are some of the worst gym offenses you've seen?