This week I accomplished...

[dannolynn]

Good luck Kylie!! I'm always dying to get to my next doctor's appointment... always hoping he will give me some good news. My appointment is next monday, and I can't wait either. I hope you can get back into the gym soon!

 

[kyliesmith1]

Well I went to the doctor yesterday and it was mostly good news. I can put full weight on my foot now but basically that means a lot of work and a lot of pain to get back to walking normally and being able to move my ankle. I went to physical therapy today and never thought walking could be so difficult and painful. My ankle doesn't move like its supposed to so it makes it really hard to take very large steps and it just hurts a lot but I'm just happy I'm doing it anyway. I also have a hard time turning my foot inward so I'm supposed to passively stretch that too. Well, I did do 15 minutes on a spin bike today until my weak calf started cramping (glad to get it working again though) and I'm still planning on going to a private lesson on wednesday at gymnastics to work on bars and stuff. I guess my coach will just have to help me walk around a bit but it will be nice to do some stuff anyway. I figure its a good time to work on getting my giants and cast handstands. I hope it goes well.

 

[GikiGirl]

Not a lot new this week, I practiced 10 hours though, got some more time in the gym this week. I am trying to improve my technique on a lot of things, to not just barely make them but to make them w/ the least deductions and more amplitude. I did do a whipback 1/2 for the first time, out of a roundoff. I have done layout 1/2s but never tried a whipback half. I don't have enough momentum to tumble out of it yet but that was cool to try. My tumbling and vaulting are finally not as much of a problem right now. Bars has been a little harder this week for some reason, my cast got crappy again. Ah well, everything can't be good at the same time, I have come to understand that.

 

[nicci1999]

Great to hear about your ankle Kylie!!! Nothing new for me this week. Making progress, but nothing earth shattering Progress for the sake of progress can be a good thing I guess. Gina that is awesome about the whipback 1/2! Good that everyone had a good week!

 

[GikiGirl]

Nicci, your sole circles are looking good! I forgot to watch you again during the private. I think your front bounders on tumble trak are getting more consistent too!

 

[grizzoline]

I'm working of front halves off beam now. I think I'll get there, same for roundoffs on beam, which is really just a matter of getting comfortable on the beam rather than the skill itself. Hopefully next week I'll be able to do some bars. clear hip to giants on strapbar would be good. Never done that, but since I can to both individually the combination should be fine...?! again just a matter of being scared

 

[GikiGirl]

I'm working of front halves off beam now. I think I'll get there, same for roundoffs on beam, which is really just a matter of getting comfortable on the beam rather than the skill itself. Hopefully next week I'll be able to do some bars. clear hip to giants on strapbar would be good. Never done that, but since I can to both individually the combination should be fine...?! again just a matter of being scared

You should be fine...its mostly that first one, when you connect the free hip to the giant. Do lots of punches off the beam to get comfortable and I am sure the dismount will go well

 

[nicci1999]

I got great compliments from my coach tonight on how well my bars, especially sole circles are coming along, that was a definite ego boost! Not hating bars so much since I am actually improving on them. Finally got to do some tap swings with my dowel grips, and they were a lot higher than they were. I'm sure its a combination of improving, and having the dowels. They just seem to give me a lot more confidence with bars. Still dont have my pullover and BHC all by my little lonesomes completely yet, but I think I know what I have to do with the pullover to get it the rest of the way. I have to bring myself upside down more when my legs go up, b/c I am getting the very top of my thighs up and touching the bar, so I think if I straighten my arms some and go more upside down, then that will give me the final momentum of getting my legs over the bar fully. I have known it wasn't a strenght issue for awhile(I was able to do them by myself off of a high block a couple of weeks ago), its just been a mental block, so that way I don't have to depend on my coach giving me that little extra push I still require. And I figured out how to not throw my head back and give myself wiplash on my BHC!! NOw that I have babbled on incessently about my bars, I hope everyone else is having a good week!

 

[kyliesmith1]

Its great to hear everyone is progressing. I feel a little bit like I'm starting over and my coach isn't sure what to do with me somewhat. I went for the first time since the injury this morning and did handstands, press handstands, switch leg backwalkovers and then some kips and clear hips on bars as well as giants on the strap bar. I think my coach was just nervous at first but I made the suggestions and hopefully next week I can do a little more and my coach will be more comfortable. I'm walking with most of my weight on the foot and just a little on a crutch so maybe by next week I won't need it. It was a little uncomfortable going into the gym with crutches. I thought everyone might think I'm a little crazy to be back in the gym but it just feels good to do a little something. You guys probably know what I mean. Anyway, I need to keep working on strengthening my leg and hopefully tumbling on the tumble track won't be too long down the road.

 

[fuzi]

This week I did some clear hips that were actually almost, sorta, okay. Haha. I worked on my casts too, and finally got them to horizontel.

Other than that, I vaulted. Now, I hate vault. I have also had a messed up achilles tendon for 1 1/2 years, and it usually hurts to run and jump on in. Anyways, I did some handstand flat backs and while it hurt the ankle a little, it was fun.

 

[GikiGirl]

kylie, its great that you are getting into the gym and doing what you can. It will pay off for sure once you are healed, you'll get back so much faster.

 

[nicci1999]

Kylie, you will be back at it better than ever before you know it!!! Its great that you were able to get into the gym again! I did two pullovers by myself today, well with a two finger spot, but they were by myself! Its funny, b/c if i think my coach is going to spot me, I have a tendency to do them more correctly. Aw well, I did two alone today!!!

 

[kyliesmith1]

Good job Nicci, that's exciting! And thanks for the support.
Oh, and by the way I walked minus my crutches today and did a whole 25 minutes of spinning along with some pilates on the reformer even using my bad foot. So I guess I am getting somewhere even if I'm not doing a whole lot of gymnastics yet.

 

[GikiGirl]

This week I got to work on some harder skills especially on bars and floor. I am trying to learn how to swing bigger in undergrip and it's scary for me to shift my wrists, so if anyone has front giant drills I could use them. I have been messing around w/ toe hechts and I can catch but I don't have any swing out, so I'm working on turning that move over better. I think I just need to hold on longer for that. Trying to decide which combo of front pass I want to stick with. I would love to get a front handspring front layout or front pike to front tuck, but have not had the air sense to try that on the floor yet, just the resi pit. I don't compete again until December, so there is a chance I could get a RO whip 1/2 into something for my 2 salto pass, that would be awesome, but I am still a ways from getting the whip 1/2 solid. Beam was meh this week. I did team workouts this week and my legs were tired, which makes beam hard. But I was glad to have the chance to practice with the team again.

 

[gymmouse24]

front walkover on floor. My back is the most inflexible part of me, so it was big to be able to do that again. Also, cartwheel to BWO on low beam. I'm terrified to get back on the high beam, though.
Does anyone else notice that a back walkover is easier than front? I would think it's the other way around, since you can actually see where you're putting your hands to the front, but for me, BWO is a piece of cake...Maybe I'm just weird.

 

[nicci1999]

Great that you were able to do your walkover again! I find that front stuff comes easier to me, even though I have only done front handsprings/walkovers on T.T and floor. But I was the same way when I was younger too

 

[kyliesmith1]

Backwalkovers are a 100x easier than frontwalkovers, especially on beam. First of all you don't have to be quite as flexible for the backwalkover and also as long as you get your hands on behind you which is usually not a problem to place your hands in the right spot and you can kick hard enough you'll be fine even if your feet don't land on the beam. With a frontwalkover you basically have to make sure your first foot lands good and solid on the beam (which is really hard to do if you are the least bit off to one side or the other) in front of you and that the second foot is there ready to stabilize you as you come up. Also what I've noticed is that if you try to slow the walkover down so you make sure your foot lands square on the beam then you may get stuck in the backbend and not be able to get up. I did that one time and it was one of the scariest falls I've ever had on the beam. I couldn't get up back I couldn't stay balanced on the beam in that position. Anyway, just saying I agree. I do backwalkovers all the time even on high beam with no spot (well before my ankle injury) but I'm still terrified to do frontwalkovers even on low beam without a heavy spot.

 

[GikiGirl]

Hey gymmouse! If your back is your least flexible part, being able to do a front walkover is really great. Congrats.

 

[grizzoline]

gym today was kinda fun. over the summer we're in this really small gym and as we dont have a set of uneven bars there we can only do strap bar. but we do have a regular metal bar for the guys, so today I borrowed someone's grips and did so stuff on the metal bar! surprisingly enough it doesnt feel all that different. i only did clear hips and casts though. Mostly, because the men's coach was like 'whoa, your clear hips are pretty good, considering your casts,... cos they are awful'... which is true. I can only somewhat cast out of kips, but even then it's not exactly great. without the kip it's pretty embarrassing. So now I'm back to doing lots of casts. Which is a good thing, I guess. I really need that.

 

[MissBear]

On tuesday I started back sole circle for the first time, but they were pretty appalling! I did do my BWO on the high beam for the first time ever and stuck 2 or 3! I started with 3 mats underneath and a pad on top, and I took one of the mats out so it was higher than the floor beam! And on floor I did front tucks and landed nearly all of them. A very good week!