Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Training for the 2012 Olympics...in Gymnastics!

Tuesday is the best day of the week. "Why", you ask? Tuesday is the day I go to Adult Gymnastics class!!!

Sidebar: If you are a fan of gymnastics, please call or email Coach Murphy at Wimbleton and beg, I mean ask, him to please start an Adult Gymnastics class. I only say this because, 1. what I am about to write will make to turn green with envy and 2. Beth and Edgin are coming to NYC next week and are planning on taking gymnastics with me. They will bring back to Memphis how freaking AWESOME! it is.


Ok, gymnastics, what I love is that they treat the adults, who are giddy with excitement, like any other student and they make us work hard!
Our class starts with 35 minutes of warming up-running, high knees, butt kicks, side steps, "floor punches", jumping. Then we move to stretching, splits (which I can't do to save my life), bridges (backbends), pikes (on the floor). Then we move to the conditioning part of the warm-up.

We do sets of 15 V-ups, 10 push-ups, and repeat. But this part changes each week, yet we still know we are doing those v-ups. And I love it!

And to make this "warm-up" even more awesome, the coach has a Romanian accent, so most of the time I imagine I am at the Bela Karolyi Ranch being trained by the man himself.


Then we split into 2 groups: the beginners (me) and intermediates.
The beginners cannot do a round-off back handspring or a front handspring. Once those are mastered, you move up a level!

The coaches now instruct us for line drills:
front rolls, front rolls from a handstand, dive rolls
backwards rolls (can't do these, either), backward rolls to a handstand (oddly, can aaallllllllmost do one)
cartwheels, roundoffs

Now onto tumbling!
We slowly move into front handsprings: using 3-4 mechanisms to aid with "how to perform one correctly"
The final 20 minutes is spent on back handsprings.

I will post pictures next week, of Beth, Jamie, Edgin and me tearin' it up at Chelsea Piers.

For now, be content on reading this article about adult gymnastics and be jealous because you WILL see me at the 2012 Olympics.
I can't wait to hear Bob Costas give the commentary on my floor exercise!!!


http://www.onlyagame.org/2009/02/adult-gymnastics/

1 comment:

  1. I am sooo freaking excited about adult gymnastics. I've already been studying the Chelsea Piers website. I wish I could say that I was going to start out at intermediate, but I'm afraid that if I attempt a backhandspring I might break my neck. I still have mad skills on the trampoline, but on the ground... not so much (except for when I'm drunk, of course)! :) Have a very Happy 4th!!

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