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?
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.)
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?
Today was my third trapeze class. We learned catcher's hang (from higher up), trapeze swings (run and hang on the trapeze) and a few new moves.
We started the class with a review of last week's moves: skater, bowsprits and catchers hang. From a hang like when you first get on, we out one of our feet down (forgot the name of this move). You bring one knee to your nose and then let it hang and arch your back. This move looks really pretty (my partner could touch her feet to her head.)
Dolphin—starts out like the hip balances from last week. Fold yourself over the trapeze and the balance yourself (like a balance) but with hands and feet up. From dolphin, you can fold yourself over into arrow (feet wrapped around the rope, head below the bar, an inverted arrow). From there, you can bring your hips up into catcher's hang.
We also worked on tree frog. You hang on the trapeze, hands closer together, on the trapeze, and bring your feet on the outside, also up the trapeze (butt up too.) This one just feels weird.
The hardest part of these moves is remembering what to do next, where your foot or hand goes. But it's getting easier.
We ended the class with the trapeze swings. You just run with the swing and then hang off of it for a while (with your feet up).
We had a bunch of new people in this class. Three, then four and then a few more trickled in. We'll see how it goes.
For now, I have some calluses that are starting to look impressive.
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
I am always on the hunt for cute workout clothes—preferably on sale.
I kept getting Pandora pop-up ads for Fabletics. They were on my radar for cute workout wear, but I could never find the cute capris in the ads actually in stock.
By chance I happened to click on Fabletics on the first of the month when they release new products. And I found some capris that I had to have. I bought them immediately.
I went ahead and signed up for the VIP membership. They're an online subscription retailer where you can buy an outfit every month. If you sign up for the VIP membership, you can get better prices, but the catch is you have to remember to login the first of every month to buy or decline the month. I could live with that, I thought (though I do have huge doubts.)
They also have a new member signup deal where your first outfit is $25. The catch is you have 48 hours from signing up to redeem that deal. So only sign up for their service if you want to buy immediately. I'd signed up a few months ago for their service (not the VIP membership), so I couldn't get the $25 deal. And I didn't really want any outfits. (I have a ton of workout clothes). I just wanted the capris (cute capris that aren't black are hard to find.)
For my first time ordering, I got 20% off the capris. It took a while to get a shipping confirmation, but after that they came in shortly. And they were the wrong size. I'me between a small and an extra-small in workout pants. I opted for the xs, because that's what they said a size 4 was. I'm a 4. I couldn't even fit my thigh in those pants.
I exchanged them. And exchanges are easy enough. You exchange them online. And when you put the return pair in the mail, they'll send out the new pair. (During this time, I was worried that they would sell out of the smalls.) Finally, my capris came in the mail. The smalls fit. They seemed to be a good quality. The exchange was free and I was happy about that.
First capri I ordered from Fabletics.
The next month, I wanted a pair of printed capris and it took forever to find an outfit I liked. (The site sells workout wear in terms on outfits. See image at top.)I like the bottoms and the tops, but never in the combinations they pick out. And when an outfit is $50 and the pants are $40 it makes sense to go ahead and buy the outfit. I found two outfits with the tops and bottoms I liked—and when I went to order that night, a lot of the styles that were there that morning were already sold out. I picked an outfit, added a top in the sale section and they offered me another top for $10 so I added that for my August outfit.
The outfit came in the mail. The capris (now that I know what size I am) are adorable and I wore them right away. The sale top was a lot cheaper than it looked online, but was okay. The top that came with the outfit and the $10 add-on tops were extremely cheap. I took one look at them and knew they were going back. They were also huge. I went ahead and ordered a small—after having to order up in the capris, but the small was way too big.
This top was cheaper than it looked, but for $20 it was okay. TjMaxx has the same kind of stuff for the same price, and you can try their clothes on.
This top runs big, is super cheap and I had to call to return it.
I tried to send these tops back online, like I did last month. Only I couldn't. It said I had to call their 800 number and talk to someone weekdays between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. It was 8:50 p.m. when they sent me this message so I called them the next day. I was only hold for about 4 minutes before getting a girl who called herself O'Hara (what Indian girl calls themself O'Hara? And clearly she was at an overseas call center. Very thick accent.) It took five minutes for her to understand that I wanted to exchange two tops for a pair of capris. And then she returned one top for the capris and gave me a refund for the other top. It took her a while to figure out that I wanted the RIO RUN CAPRI IN BLUE LAVA. I said that like 10 times. Why I had to talk to her to do this, I don't know. It was annoying. I'd rather do this online. But no language barrier.
But a least she let me return the items. I was worried, I was going to have to dispute the charge on my credit card and/or cancel my Fab membership. I was fully prepared for this conversation.
Then, the return label she promised me took forever to get to me. I expected it to be in my inbox when I hung up the phone—that's the speed of email. But after our 9:30 a.m. conversation I got the return label at 6 p.m. After the post office closed. So much for having that taken care of that day.
Verdict: Would I recommend this service? Maybe.
I HATE that you have to buy in outfits. I never like two of the pieces that come together. I like some of the tops and some of the bottoms, but not in the combinations they choose. I just have a lot of workout tanks and don't need their tanks.
Their tops are EXTREMELY CHEAP. I might never buy another tank from them again. I like dry-fit performance tanks—not cheap see-through cotton.
That said, they do have a good variety of workout wear, that other ladies at the gym probably won't be wearing.
Sizing: I think their pants run small and their tops run big.
Annoyances: Their wish list feature currently isn't working. Their search is also not user-friendly. You can search by products by name (desio, flourish, but can't search for "blue tank" or "pink lava capri". VIP membership. I'm very way of this. I don't mind checking in on the first of the month. That's easy enough to remember, but I worry it will be a pain in the ass to cancel in a few months when I'm tired of this service (when my husband yells at me for having too many workout clothes. It's probably deserved. It's an addiction.)
Today I tried a Skyfitness class at skyzone. The kind you might have seen on Keeping up With the Kardashians (the episode where Khloe has some camel toe, but still wears tight pants and short tops.)
Granted, I've been taking trampoline cardio classes for a year, but I wanted to try another gym and see what their classes were like.
Atlanta traffic is unpredictable so we left very early. It took an hour to get there and we were super early. The manager signed us in and printed out our tickets (to jump afterwards). I signed up and paid online the night before.
Your first Skyfitness class is $5, and after that $10 each. Or you can buy a monthly membership for $20. Classes are offered at 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday.
There were 13 people in our class. There was a high school aged guy, 3-4 older couples, and a lot of 30-something women, maybe teachers. Most people came in pairs.
The instructor, Josh, was a beefy guy who I guessed played high school football. The class started with some light stretching, balancing on one foot, stretching shoulders, ankles, legs etc. The warm-up was 10+ minutes of running mans, jump up and touch your knees, side-to-side jumps, lunges, pulses, jumping front to back, tracing all the corners, butt drops, There were pushups, plank holds (where my feet slipped because of the socks), butt drops (but no spins), jumping jacks, donkey kicks, jumping really high for a minute—to get your heart rate up. I was definitely ready for a water break when it came.
The third part of the class was cardio. 60 seconds of laps around the trampoline, 60 seconds of curls with a band, or 30 seconds of lunges and 30 seconds of tricep dips on the floor. Then it was back on the trampoline, where we raced up and down the lanes for 30 seconds, while our partners did a sidestep with the band. We took the bands back to the trampoline and did some leg extensions, push ups, planks etc. There was also popcorn (back bounces), V-ups and butt-ups for abs. The class ended with 7 minutes of stretching.
After the class, we stayed to jump. We went to the foam pit and flipped until some 10-year-old boys showed up. Then we tried the basketball court and attempted to dunk the basketballs. We went back to the main trampoline to jump. I wanted to flip, but wasn't rotating enough and it wasn't happening. Kids also kept jumping across our pads (though the trampoline was pretty empty.) We went back to the foam pit and tried to flip some more. I kept under rotating. And Matt finally figured out how to dunk! And that was our 30 minutes.
I liked that there was a clock on the wall that counted down the seconds. We need that at my gym.
Socks: I would prefer to jump barefoot. I really hate socks. (I'm a Southern girl and would rather be barefoot or in flip-flops.) The Skyzone socks didn't bother me for the most part. The didn't bother me at all while I was jumping. They did make holding planks harder in the class (I kept slipping on the sock) and the foam pit foam tends to stick to them.
Quick Guide:
Verdict: Fun way to burn a lot of calories. You will get your heart rate up.
Thoughts: It was a good class. It got my heart rate up. There was nothing too confusing for me. Most of it was super easy. I rather thought I killed the class—jumping higher than most of the pros, etc. But there was no high-five from the instructor after class. The participants filed out and he put up the equipment. I missed the personal touch from the instructor, or maybe I just wanted to be told awesome job.
And overall, an Aerofit class is more fun. (Skyfitness also didn't use the walls at all). Alex's classes are brutal, but when he's singing Britney Spears off key it just makes the class more fun.
Atmosphere: Standard workout class. The attendees seemed very quiet. The instructor seemed to be a no-nonsense trainer.
Intensity: The first 10 minutes are the hardest. It will get your heart rate up. If you're new to working out, just take it easy. Do as much as you can and watch the others. If you're a pro, you won't have trouble with the class. It isn't too hard. And there were two water breaks built-in.
Price: $5 for a first class and $10 afterwards is pretty good.
What to wear: Workout clothes and the socks they sell there. I wouldn't wear anything too baggy. I like to wear capris and a tank.
If you go: Ladies, make sure you pee before you jump. Trampolines do weird things to bladders.
Would I do it again: Aerofit doesn't offer Friday or Saturday cardio classes anymore. (There is a noon class I can't make, but no Friday evenings or Saturday noon.) If gas wasn't $15 a trip, I'd consider it. Until then I'll wait until Aerofit expands. I've heard rumors of a basketball court, tumble track, climbing wall and foam pit.
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