Frustration? Returning to gymnastics

[sarahghost]

Hi there, I'm pretty new here but wanted to ask this. It may get long, which I apologise for now.

I guess I should start at the beginning. I started gymnastics the day after my 4th birthday, the age for my local club. I did it for a good 10 years but due to coaching issues (long story), poor facilities and being a mostly recreational gymnast, I didn't really progress as much as I felt I could. Then I developed M.E/CFS so for almost 4 years I could barely walk to the end of my street, then it was a good year before I got myself back to fulltime education. Then I started to get better again and I got some energy and strength back, so I just did some running and a bit of gym type stuff with a personal trainer.

Then about January this year I got that itch. I wanted to be back at gymnastics. So I found an adult session near me and off I went. I loved every minute of the first session, however, the next day I pretty much couldn't walk or brush my hair or anything. Oops, turns out I'm nowhere as strong or flexible as I used to be!

So four months on and I've hit a wall. Mentally and physically. I'm frustrated by my lack of strength, lack of flexibility, the fact I've lost all my skills. Even my cartwheels suck these days, I can feel my legs being bent. And it's something I'm finding hard. I keep remembering what I could do, even though I know what I'm remembering is from age 8ish-14. Not 4-8 and being a beginner the first time.

I don't really know what sort of advice I'm hoping for, maybe just someone to tell me that they feel the same or something. Surely I'm not the only one?

 

[nicci1999]

This, as you know, is a sport that has SO many walls of frustration to hit, it's not even funny. Maybe even more so as an adult. When I came back as an adult(mind you I had VERY little experience as a child), I couldn't even do a cartwheel anymore, and it did take me a couple of months to get a nice cartwheel again, let alone be able to do anything else! You're body is different than it used to be as well. The main thing to remember, are you having fun? It's easy to get frustrated when something isn't going right, but what about the minor changes and improvements you are most likely coming across? Maybe, even though your legs are bent in your cartwheel, you're passing through verticle properly now. This sport is a marathon, not a sprint Look at the small improvements you have made, or gained back, the rest will come! and most of all, remember to have fun with what you are doing, most people are scared to do this sport as children, let alone as an adult!! And forget them being able to do a cartwheel somewhat properly lol

 

[AudraColdiron]

When you do start, be sure to take it slow. You'll be amazed how sore you'll be for a long time *even* if you keep in shape. Given that you are 28 you might not have much of a struggle as far as loss of flexibility. For me - even though I did yoga - I have lost plenty of flexibility in my back which makes back handsprings on beam all but impossible. I agree that now that you are an adult you don't have a time limit to progress. Enjoy the process. I have found that I am much more aware of my body now and that is interesting to me. I am 37 and have 2 kids. I started back in Feb. going once a week. Now I'm up to twice a week. I'm learning to wear grips finally and having a great time. I get butterflies every time I drive to the gym. I hope to be able to do it for a long, long time... even if I never get that back handspring back

 

[sarahghost]

Thanks for the replys.

nicci1991: I think I'd forgotten about a lot of the walls of frustration! The joys of only remembering certain bits of childhood I guess. I am mostly having fun, although I do find myself getting frustrated in class. I think it makes it harder that the senior girls there train at the same time, and some of the coaches who can still do pretty much everything, use the adult session to practice their skills too. I'm in the UK at a pretty small club so there's no elites and most the senior girls just do Team Gym not 4 piece, so they do different skills to what I'm used to too. I had a little think over the small bits of progress and do feel better, think maybe I should write them down somewhere so I can see how I'm improving.

AudraColdiron: I'm only 20 not 28 yet but the theory is the same I guess, I'm not as flexible as I was. I've been back once a week for about 4 months now, just taking it bits at a time, I'm just impatient to get back to how I was. It doesn't help I'm almost a foot taller than I was when I quit though. The body awareness is something I've noticed too, and I'm able to comprehend the reasons for doing stuff better now. The big one being pushing off with handsprings etc, I never quite understood it as a child but I get it now

 

[teena82]

One thing our gym finally realized is that it's hard for us to progress only going once a week. If they offer multiple classes or there is another gym you can attend on a different day that will help a bit. They tried doing once a week for an hour with us and that's really not enough time to learn anything new, especially trying to do more than just tumbling. We all get frustrated. It's embarrassing to say but I had to leave the gym one night because I started crying due to frustration. Hang in there. And like Nicci said, remember to have fun. That's the whole point of us doing this.

 

[nicci1999]

Thanks for the replys.

nicci1991: I think I'd forgotten about a lot of the walls of frustration! The joys of only remembering certain bits of childhood I guess. I am mostly having fun, although I do find myself getting frustrated in class. I think it makes it harder that the senior girls there train at the same time, and some of the coaches who can still do pretty much everything, use the adult session to practice their skills too. I'm in the UK at a pretty small club so there's no elites and most the senior girls just do Team Gym not 4 piece, so they do different skills to what I'm used to too. I had a little think over the small bits of progress and do feel better, think maybe I should write them down somewhere so I can see how I'm improving.





Though it may seem like you're doing nothing compared to the senior girls, watch them anyway! Set big goals for yourself, you see one do a giant, be like, I'm going to do that one day! Or even a backlayout, tell yourself you're going to do that one day. And remember as you watch, they started out in the same spot as you. Like I said, gymnastics is a sport of perseverance, keep plugging along.

 

[sarahghost]

I may have hit a small bump in that my gym closes over the summer holidays. In the UK the competition season is different to US and the gym has reduced training times for summer apparently. Not sure what I'm going to do without gym! I may have to head back to my old gym a few times over the summer, it's a good 2 1/2 hours away but I can stay at my Mum's house overnight which helps. At the moment the ones I have my focus on are getting my handsprings right and starting back handsprings

 

[teena82]

That sucks Sarah! Since out team kids are out of school they're in the gym all day. Consequently, the majority are gone by the time our class starts and we basically get both rooms and all the equipment to ourselves. I love summer training.

 

[laineyb]

I've found that doing gymnastics as an adult is a whole different ball game than doing it as a kid. I started gymnastics when I was 8, and did it until I was 16. I started taking classes again when I was 20, and found that nearly all of my skills had been lost. I look at gymnastics now as more of a workout and recreation activity more than skills than need to be accomplished. It is frustrating to not be able to do what you once did, but remember that your body and energy levels are different. Just keep trying your best, have fun, and don't try to compare what you can do now versus what you used to be able to do.