16 Fitness goals for 2016

Classes to try.
1. Try a class at Blast.  (Interval training with treadmills)
2. Take a yoga class.
3. Try a barre class at Ramsey.
4. Try a SUP yoga class. (or just rent a paddle board one day when it's warm.)

Running goals
5. Run a 5k.
6. 7 minute mile

Tumbling goals
7. Connect fly springs
8. Walk overs
9. Touch my feet to my head
10. 10 second handstand
11. Practice handstands at home. (Daily?)

General goals
12. Conquer the Ninja course at Rush
13. Try another flying trapeze place. Bonus: Get my cutaway!
14. Get a body composition test done
15. Stay on budget with fitness clothes. (Spend less money at Lululemon)
16. Active wear brands to try: Goldsheep, Alala, Sweaty Betty, Heroine Sport, Michi, Koral Activewear, Albion Fit

What are your goals? Any goals I should add?

2015 year in review

As 2015 is coming to an end, I'd say it was a great year fitness wise.

I was pretty diligent about working out 5-6 times a week. (Gotta have that off day. I get hurt when I try to skip my rest day.) I think I was eating healthier and when I started running I actually slimmed down some (for the first time in two years! Nothing else worked.)

2015: The year of the Gym Rat.

1. I tried lots of new classes.
1) Above Barre
2) Rush fitness classes
3) Flying trapeze at Leap and Cirque Fit
4) Sparc fitness classes
5) Body Shred at Chase Street Yoga
6) Beginner Pole
7) Gymnastics at Oconee Gymnastics
8) Handstands at Canopy
9) Pilates—tower and mat
10) Walk Georgia Boot camp
11) Walk Georgia Fitness at noon
12) ice skating. (no class, but counting this as something new).

I did nine months of Pure Barre—for a total of 120+ classes. I made it to the 100 club in about six months. Pure Barre was my obsession for the first half of the year. I even took a class at their Destin studio. I let my membership expire in August—mostly because of cost. At $150 a month, it was just too much and I really like to do more classes and try different things.

2015 was definitely the year of flying trapeze. I did my first class on my birthday and did classes until the rig closed. I learned

Tricks
1) Knee hang
2) Whip
3) Split catch
4) Seat roll from whip
5) Pullover shoot
6) Single Reverse
7) Never caught my cutaway—WANT TO GET THIS
8) Backend split
9) Backend straddle
10) started learning straight jump —COME back to.

Running
I ran 245+ miles in 2015. I started off running once a week—just to vary up my workout and get some cardio in. I tried to increase my mileage too fast and had IT band issues for about 6 weeks, but then kept it up strong, bumping it to twice a week and then three times a week in the fall when I killed my barre membership (and needed to workout without the fees.)

By the numbers
Miles ran: 245+
Best mile: 7:19
Best 2 mile: 15:35
Best 3 mile: 23:02 for 3 miles on an indoor track
Furthest ran: 4.5 miles

In high school I was a runner. I honestly haven't run this much since 2001 when I graduated high school. I was a speedy little thing and I trained so hard. Two-a-days when I could. I'd run a mile or two in the morning, or do weights, and then running and or weights after school. I ran six days a week—most days between 2 and 6 miles. My best times ever were a 62 second 400, a 2:17 800, a 5:58 mile. I don't remember my 2 mile time. 12 and change? And I think I got under 20 minutes for a 5k.

In college, I didn't have time to workout. I went to college full-time and worked 20+ hours a week. I didn't really have the time to workout until I switched jobs three years ago. Once or twice a year, I'd try to get back into running but this is the first year it stuck. I have a $15/moth gym membership and feel like I need to use the indoor track once every week or two so I'm not wasting my money.

I dropped my barre membership to pay for playing trapeze—and started running more as workouts. I'd run trails when the weather is nice and on the indoor track when the weather was cold. In October I really amped up the miles and my times started dropping. I don't feel the need to run every day. I think running every other day suits me just fine.

In 2016, I should run a 5K and I want to join a running group or get a coach to help me drop the times. I think it's something I want to make time for.

Tumbling

I'm working on my front fly spring—hopefully I can double this in 2016. Maybe even work on a front handspring on the floor.
I'd like to work on my front and back walkovers too. I need to go back to my kickovers and work some.

Still working on my handstand but it's getting better.

I got my pull-up!

I started missing trampolines so I need to go once a week if I can. I just love bouncing.

Adult Tumbling

I brought my camera to tumbling class this week.

This is me working on a bridge kick over.

I usually start kicking over from higher up and work down to one pad. This is the kick over from two pads. (It's easier when you start from higher up and have more leverage to kick over from). I can get to one pad after about 10 minutes.

I am THIIIIIS close to getting a bridge kick over from the floor. I still need a tiny push from Megan or Helen (in pink in the back).  And looking at this picture, I need to get my arms straighter under my shoulders and not bend my elbows.

Here's my bridge. I was showing Lindsey the difference between arms below your shoulders and arms angled out. It's hard to open up your shoulders to get that straight angle, but it makes bridges and easier.

The thing I like about tumbling is the more I work on it, the more flexible I get. Now, I can do a back bend no problem. I couldn't a month ago. And I like to think I get a little better every week.

Flips…
I'm still working on my flip. I don't feel like there's a lot of progress, but I'm getting closer, I know it! I have to do about 10  bad flips to warm up and then I get some flips closer to landing. I saw some of the photos about me not going high enough and the very next flip I did higher. Next week I'm going to take over the tumble track and try flipping on there. I think the footing with the run, run punch and trampoline confuses me. I think the tumble track might be simpler. That or get the high mats out again. I must get this!

Bad flip. Much too low and too open. I landed on my butt, which is better than my head.

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.

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?

Fall tumbling

Being bendy on the trampoline.

Today was the first tumbling class of the fall semester. There were so many people in the class. During the summer it was usually 5-6 people. Twelve people was a big class. I think there were 17 people there tonight: some of the regulars, 4-5 acro people, a few cheerleaders, some college dancer/gymnast type people and a few guys who must do acro, parkour cheer or something, because they were flipping impressively.  

I had to redo paper work. Then it was stretching and drills (forward rolls, handstands, cartwheels, round offs). We did these in lines three people deep—there were so many there.

When it was time for stations:

I worked on my bridge kick over. I've been stuck on two rainbow mats, or about 3-4 inches for a month. Today, I tried on one mat, about 2 inches and finally got that. Hooray! Progress! I tried a kick over on the ground—and got it twice with a tiny push from Coach Megan. I guess next week, I'll see if I can do it without her. And then I need to work on going back to a bridge instead of coming up from one. 

I did some handstand drills.

Then I worked on my front tuck. Robert (one of the new instructors) piled the mats up to my chest and had me practice getting UP and getting my hips over. I think this is exactly what I needed to work on. So I did this, and did it and did it. He wanted to build muscle memory. Hopefully, this is exactly what I need. 

Goal: Front tuck by the end of the year, if not sooner.

I was a little overwhelmed by all of the people in the class, but I got to work on what I wanted to work on. I got some time with the coaches (there were 3-4 there).

Tumbling is my favorite class of the week. I wish I could do it a few more times.  And I'm thinking about buying a tumbling mat. If only there weren't so expensive. #takinguptumblingat31

Just a flesh wound

Tonight at tumbling I bled all over one of the rainbow tumbling mats. It was awesome.

I was working on a bridge kick-over on the rainbow mats. They're pretty primary colors.

The instructor walks over to me. I'm probably doing something wrong.

Her eyes get wide and her voice is a little more emphatic than her normal super excited tone.

"Are you bleeding!?" she asks me.

I blink. I don't think I'm bleeding. I'm certainly not hurt. I'm fine.

And then I wonder if I am bleeding. OMG. What did I do?

There is indeed blood on the yellow part of the rainbow mat.

"Am I bleeding?" I ask. 

She inspects me.

Do I have a compound fracture? Is there bone sticking out somewhere? What is wrong with me?

"I think it's a mole," she finally decides. "At first I thought it was a bug bite, but it's a mole. Maybe it got rubbed on one of the mats."

"I can't see it," I apologize. Really not knowing what's going on with my back.

I think of what could have caused it. Maybe when I was working on gymnastics presses and tumbled back on to one of the mats. Really, I don't feel hurt. 

And before I know it, I've turned around and the coach has applied a band-aid to my back. Like I was a good obedient, kindergartner. Except, I'm a 31-year-old woman. But it works for me, because it would be super difficult to bandage a spot I can't even see.

Tumbling class continued mostly without incident, though one guy did accidentally kick the instructor when we was working on a back tuck. Oops Job hazard. (I think I kicked the other instructor a few weeks ago. Sorry H)

The bandage fell off when I was working on my front tuck. Thankfully, it stuck to the bottom of my foot. 

Next time I will wear a shirt that covers that pesky mole. No more skinny racer-backs for me. Or I will bring a T-shirt. And show less of my massive muscles. 

Gymnastics at the age of 31

I took my first gymnastics class at the tender age of 31.

I've wanted to be a gymnast since the first time I saw gymnastics on TV. Shannon Miller, Dominic Dawes, Dominic Moceanue. I grew up wanting to be just like them. To flip. To fly through the air.

And since I saw gymnastics on TV, I've been asking my parents to take gymnastics. I begged then. I'm flexible. I can put my feet on my head, do a split! I'd be so good at that, I insisted. My father said there was no place near our house to take gymnastics. I told him my friend was ranked first in the state on floor and she took gymnastics in the next city. Then he said gymnastics was too expensive.

And it was. And I'm sure my parents didn't want to schlep me 45-minutes one way to take gymnastics, pay for leotards. And then have my siblings all want to try different sports.

So I took measures in my own hands. And tried to learn handsprings on my own. In my hard, rocky yard.

My best attempt was a round-off with a twist. I didn't know what I was doing. This was before the days of YouTube. Had I had Youtube I probably would have broken my neck, arm or both.

For years, I tried to flip. I landed in the springs of the trampoline we finally got. My sister could flip. I still couldn't. I watched in high school as the cheerleaders learned to flip. I still couldn't. And for a while, with college and silly distractions like a career and pets, I forgot.

When I turned 30 I caught the workout bug. I started going to the trampoline gym every day. I watched everyone else flip and remembered how much I wanted to flip. I should be able to do that, I thought. Only, I tried for months and months. I could rotate—and then land on my back. I put my hands down. I couldn't get my feet over my head. I watched new people get a flip in two visits. After much frustration, I decided to try a real gymnastics gym. One with mats and trampolines and pads and pads and pads.

My husband thought it was the worst idea ever. Gymnastics at the public rec center. Of course I went.

The class was $10. I figured I could try and see if I liked it. What's the worst that could happen? (A: A group of cliquish high school cheerleaders smacking bubblegum and all doing back tucks perfectly.)

But actually, the class that night was six women—all around my age, of varying abilities: A yoga instructor with amazing arms. She was working on her front tuck (and nailing it.) An aerialist who was working on her back tuck with two spotters. There was a science researcher working on her back walkover.

But before all of that, there was the warmup. Laps around the mat. (I could do this!) There were handstands (I only crashed to my back once) and forward rolls and backwards rolls (and a mat because I couldn't do them.) Then, there was another mat when I couldn't do a bad-hand cartwheel. (I can do an awesome one-handed cartwheel.)

Mostly, I kept up with the class. I didn't crash and burn. I did almost miss the mat on a front tuck attempt. I over rotated and went flying around the room a little. And yes, everyone saw it. I should have done a big gymnastics smile with my arms to the sky. But alas. I didn't. My worst critique was "that's how you break arms."  Apparently I tuck my arms under me fetal style when tucking when my arms should go to the side.

I tried a handstand fall and ended up doing a front layout (landing on my back on some pads). The point was landing on my hands, so of course I just rotated around and never touched. That pretty much summed up my night. I wasn't clearly the worst. I was in the thick of it. Mostly, I wasn't that weird uncoordinated new kid. Someone even called my flexible. (And then a few minutes later the instructor told me to work on my shoulder flexibility as my shoulders aren't over my hands in my bridge.) But maybe they'll think of me as the new girl—who could climb the rope and do a front layout on her first visit. (They don't need to know I was working on my tuck.)

All in all I survived. I don't even think I have any new bruises.

I would have liked to flip but it was fun to play on the equipment. I'll probably go back, but I'm already worried about my arms.