Gym Story!

So, today was my first day of gymnastics class of the season, since summer term ended around 2 weeks ago. 

I had intially intended to return to Phoenix but since i only got on the waiting list, i decided to invest my time at RGA for the fall season instead. (of course, just my luck, they took me off the waitlist just awhile ago but then i had to refuse since i was already at RGA and my mum believes that "i can't handle the pressure" especially being in Grade 12, the crucial year, at school...) 

Anyway, i was a bit apprehensive about the whole thing since RGA is a pretty small place, and since Intermediate Girls and Teen Girls were at the same time, i just KNEW that they were gonna mush the two classes together, and hey guess what, they did! 

I don't really mind that since all the girls were working on similar skills, but i dislike being a head taller than everyone else in the class, but you know, it is what it is and i'm there to work on gymnastics, not to compare height! 

(this, and being too old, is also one of the reasons i left Cartwheels Inc. and headed off to RGA, Delta, and Phoenix a while back...) 

It was a fun class, really! It was my type of class.

At Phoenix we usually did warm-up together and sometimes did lines, then had 45 minutes of free time in which we could work on what we wanted - which is good and i am motivated! but i prefer the more competitive type class, instead of the purely recreational. 

(But yes, the class was rec and not comp) 

We went ahead with warm up and we ran back and forth a few times, hopped, straight jumped, inch-wormed... did handstand pops, variations of handstands, and all that jazz... 

there was this crazy thing where you sit in a straddle on the ground and lift up your legs, using only your arms to lift and propel yourself backwards. i can do it but my heels hit the ground every time. i think it's a progression to a straddle press. anyway, one of the older woman foreign coaches was watching me and being really strict so even though i cramped up really badly i had to continue, ehe~ 

Eventually we did a short stretch and then we were back on lines, doing front / back walkovers, as well as rolls like forward, backwards, straddle, back straddle, and eventually extension (i can't do this without hurting my hands) 

At this point one of my classmates, a little girl from the Intermediate Girls class, who actually was a beginner, went home in tears :( 

and then we did front and back handsprings and this is when the now group of four separated since we were at different levels. A male coach (as opposed to my young female coach) helped me with my back handspring and i pretty much got it right away, since i only took two weeks off, but this time, my back handsprings were able to be solid and controlled, instead of loose and uncontrollable like it was before. 

He then proceeded to tell me to do it thirty more times, and i did it as follows: 

"one....... two...... three......" (notices his attention turned to the boys he was coaching) "ten.... eleven..... ...... twenty....... twenty five...... thirty......." 

Anyway with this i think i can improve quickly since it's so structured and the teachers are great! Foreign coaches really do teach the best. They encourage enthusiastically but remain strict and harsh at the same time. I like it! 

After we went to the tumble track and worked on a few drills, as follows :

- long jumps x10 + front tuck 
- straddle jumps x10 + front pike / front handspring 
- right leg split jump x10 + front layout / front handspring 
- left leg split jump x10 + front layout / front tuck 
- bum drops x10 + flip / trick of choice 

we repeated these a few times and then eventually went to bars, where we worked briefly on glide swing to pike, and then kip training, in which we would do our swing and then go to the floor and do a variation of the v-snap, in which our feet remains in the air but we bring our upper body up to touch our toes (arms by ears), and to the beams, where we place our hands on the beam and jump-lift our hips up as high as we can. i can just about place my feet onto the beam but i lurch forward when i try. 

Then we worked on pullovers and chin up pullovers... i can get my chin to the bar but then i flail around because i can't pull my legs above the L-hand position. then some back hip circles for me, and the tiny powerhouse that trains with us, and then our 2 hours was up and we went and played a bit on the trampolines and watched the big boys train - they really are amazing! 

i hear that some of RGA's boys actually went to Russia for some crazy international event, and they (alongside some kids from various other gyms) were representing Canada. GO TEAM! 

Anyway, it was a fantabulous and fun day, but i think 2 hours is too little!!! I sort of wish i had 6 hour gym like before at Delta, but then back then it was competitive and we spent up to an hour doing warm ups and conditionings. I hate chin-ups the most. i did them like this: "one.... two.... ten.... fifteen.... twenty.... DONE!!" or avoided them altogether. hehe. 

anyway, that's really about it! 

Fantabulous first day. 

As for wardrobe, i wore a green and black rhinestoned leo from Snowflake Leotards, as well as a pair of black shorts that say "DANCE" on the booty.~ pigtails for hair~ 

Well then, this is one of my favourite things! Until next time, then! Ciao~~~~!!! 

~Rena<3