Never too late!

[@mu]

Hi everybody!

 

I'm coming in late for the current challenge but I read somewhere than better late than never

 

Quickly on my background:

 

I'm a 38 yo woman, used to do powerlifting and then aerial dancing (silks and rope). I stopped aerial for 2 years and a half (needed a break and moved to another country). During that break, I kept weight lifting, more as maintenance than anything else. Then got myself parallettes and did about 3 months exclusively on them (GMB parallettes 1, which was very enjoyable). And 2 months ago I got myself an aerial apparatus, not very high (~2m60 or so) but enough for me to train again at home (no aerial classes where I live).

 

I now train about 5-6 times a week, alternating parallettes+aerial and stretching routines. Length and intensity depends on how my body feels / how much rest I need (can go from 20mn to 2 hours, but usually it's about one hour in the morning before I go to work).

 

I'm fairly consistent with my workouts but I have a tendency to go all over the place, and I'm a bit nostalgic of the level I was at, it can be very frustrating. I can do some tricks but I want to be able to start sequencing again and make it look good. I'm hoping to find some focus here, and feedback/support, see what people do with their own training, learn from that. The challenge format looks very promising and I love the guilds idea Let's see how it goes!

 

What else, I'm a typical nerd in some ways (sys admin and developer for a small organisation), shows I like: Battlestar Galactica, Spirals, and I'm currently reading the whole Inspector Rebus series (Ian Rankin). I love languages, be it programming languages, natural languages, body languages...

 

So here we go:

 

Medium term quest (say a few months from now): create a 2-3mn video of a solo choreography on my mini aerial apparatus

 

Challenge quest #1: improve my body lines / gracefulness.
I tend to be very forceful or a bit wobbly and it's not a pretty sight. I want to do my usual workouts but focus on alignment / stability / tempo.

 

I'm entering late so it's only a 3.5 weeks challenge for me :~

 

Goals

1. press lines: 3 times a week: 3 sets of 3 reps of straddle bent arm press on parallettes focusing on movement control and quality (lines). I hope to see improvement in quality rather than just knocking reps. I thought maybe I could grade quality for each set: 0 = ugly, wobbly or less than 3 reps | 1 = passable | 2 = pretty (of course pretty is subjective and my bent arm press is not that pretty but let's say I can feel a difference between: holy crap that was horrid / mhm sort of okayish / not bad at all, and I take a video to check it out)

   Evaluation on 3.5 weeks: 11 times => 3x11 = 33, maximum pretty score = 66

    

2. aerial lines: 3 times a week on silks (sorry for the aerialist jargon, I could get pictures if needed)
   - drill: straddle up with straight legs from the floor (x3 left/right)

   - drill: same knee hook from straddle (x3 left/right)

   - drill: beats from same knee hock to grab the pole above (x3 left/right)

   - mini sequence: straddle up with straight legs from the floor to same side knee hitch to hip lock and back to floor focusing on movement quality (straight legs at all times, minimize arm movement): 3x left & right. I will grade quality here as well (0/1/2).
   Evaluation on 3.5 weeks: 11 times => 3x11 = 33 (on each side) for each drill, and a max "pretty" score of 66 for the mini sequence (I don't really need a "pretty" score for the drills). And there will be a score for my right side and my left side (poo!).
    

3. Always stretch properly after each strength workout, I want to block a slot of 10mn doing various shoulder & hips/legs stretches, and not cut it short because I'm in a hurry or can't be arsed (bad habit!) Even if I have stretching sessions on their own, I feel that this bad habit has been a bit self-defeating.

    

4. Life level up: smile (genuinely) to people the first time I see them (strangers included)

 

I hope the goal setting looks ok. Goal 2 must be hard to read with no aerial background, basically it's drills and sequencing. The actual action is much simpler than the wording of it :~
See you all soon!

 

[karinajean]

hi, and welcome! you're really not that late to the challenge, it's great taht you're here.

 

the assassin's have a few people with aerial interests or challenges, so let me know if you need help finding them!  

[@mu]

6 hours ago, karinajean said:

the assassin's have a few people with aerial interests or challenges, so let me know if you need help finding them!  

 

Thanks! I found the Assassins section, and I saw one person doing aerial and preparing for a live performance, this is great!

[@mu]

Ok so today

 

Goal 1 Straddle Bent Arm Press 3x3

Not very good Had low focus, a kitten attacking me and people coming in and interrupting. Which did not help with Goal 4 about smiling to people
Set 1: 0, ugly wobbly, bummed the last reps
Set 2: 0, I fell off, had to start again and was still wobbly pas the first rep and fell off again

Set 3: 0.5 I completed the 3 reps but I did not go high enough on rep 2 and 3, so it's a bit of a miss. And it was not very controlled anyway.
Pretty score: 0.5 out of a max of 6 = 8.33%

It reflects my level on the skill, some days are better, some days are particularly bad... Haven't got it yet.

 

This is my shape on bent arm press (I can't manage yet to have shoulders at a 90 degree angle):

 

Goal 2 Aerial drills and mini sequence

Drill 1: 100% Right & Left (still have a micro bend on my straddle though, but I'm scoring for reps on drills)

Drill 2: 100% Right & Left

Drill 3: 66.67% Right 33.33% Left => I failed on rep 3 on both sides, and on the left, I could not do a one hand hold. so

Mini-sequence pretty score: 50% Right 33.33% Left

Which I think is fair. My left side is weaker. And my right side is okayish, but not very clean.

One difficulty is that my apparatus has bars around the silks and sometimes I don't have space for a wide straddle or a straight leg beat, I need to work around this.

 

Here is a video of one run on my right hand side and then left hand side. There are quite a few issues that I hope to fix with the drills over time...

 

 

Goal 3 Post-workout stretching

Ok done 100%

 

Goal 4

As I said, a bit of a miss this morning. Will see how it goes during the day.

 

[@mu]

And this is my first set of bent arm press for reference, where the cat got excited  and I bummed the last reps (not going high enough, having to muscle it, and generally speaking a bit wobbly)...oh well tomorrow is another day

 

 

[@mu]

So today no goal to accomplish except Goal #4 (smiling when meeting people). This is turning out to be very difficult oddly enough. Not to smile as such but to pay attention. I met quite a few people today and I have no idea if I was smiling or not at the moment we met. Which means I'm not paying attention / I'm not really mindful of the moment. So I'll have to work on it :~ it's a bit weird, I really didn't think I would blank out that much. But it's quite revealing I have always had trouble remembering faces and names. Maybe I'm onto something.

 

Otherwise I had a wee stretching session today (~30mn) on back&front bends, and a bit of splits. I overstretched a few weeks ago (my piriformis I think - inner bottom of the glutes) and I have to be careful there.

[ValkyrieRising]

Omg, youre amazing. I can't even imagining being able to do even the basics of that. YIt looks like you have your challenge on lock so far. Im going to follow just for the kick ass aerials in here.

[TGP]

you know that stuff just blows my mind.

 

my weakly little arms can't even do a proper pullup.  how did you get into this?  is this from a childhood of gymnastics??

 

you mention powerlifting. did you step up into this, as a way of challenging yourself?

 

at any rate- its not to late to start a challenge this is all very much self-paced.  the magic of them, is the idea is that we all talk to each other and offer support and salutations.

I'll follow along and ofc,

pics of some of this is very welcome.

 

its such a Hardcore fitness accomplishment to do any of this.

[Elastigirl]

You have such grace and strength. I was going to do GMB parallettes 1, but decided to do their Integral Strength first. Watching you makes me super ecvited to try P1 though!

[@mu]

Thanks all for your replies!
 

I started aerial when I was 31 so really no magic, I have no background in gymnastics. I would really say to anybody interested to give it a try and stick to it at least a few 3-6 months before even thinking of giving up. A lot of it is skills/practice as opposed to pure strength or crazy flexibility. And the strength/flexibility that is needed comes along. But you have to practice and stick to classes.

Mhm I did do ballet when I was like 5 yo, but I don't think it counts, I did not like it and ballet did not like me either When I was a teenager, I was into horse riding, so a very different set of skills. When I was a student I had no money for horse riding so stopped. I did a bit of aikido. At that time I could not do a pull up to save my life either. I started powerlifting when I was like 28 or so.

 

I got into aerial after seeing a circus rope show and daring to think that -maybe- I could try that. There were beginner classes available where I was living at the time, I signed up. Little by little, I started doing much more aerial than powerlifting, because it's very creative, playful. There were lots of people around my age also (from 25 to 50 yo actually believe it or not). A great bunch.

I still love powerlifting, especially deadlifts, they are like a form of explosive meditation for me really. But with aerial, you can invent new moves, new sequences. It's really good fun while being still very challenging. I like performing also.
 

Then I had a long break from aerial (needing new horizons, moving to a new country, learning new things, settling down etc), which is now a tad bit frustrating. When I started again 2 months ago I could barely straddle up  (but hey it was my decision to have a break, no whining allowed!) So here we go.

And then my apparatus also has its own sets of constraints / advantages that I need to explore, it is interesting and very different from the way I used to practice. It looks more or less like this, 2m60 or so in height, with 3 curved bars around:

It is sold for aerial yoga. I only bought the frame (happily at a discount price) and rigged my own silks on it. I find the yoga sling stuff too bulky and with too many gadgets for my taste. The weight rating is low so even if I could manage some drops with no slack within that very low height, it's not made for it really (not safe).  So no jaw-dropping falls planned here

But then it has bars to play with  - or knock yourself with...(on top of silks burns) I'm certainly expecting to show my ass being kicked in that area      I don't know if all aerialist / circusy people would agree, but I would say a slight tendency towards masochism can be a good background for these sorts of skills 

 

[TGP]

I was thinking "Hardcore"; I like that word  as it expresses determination and a desire to push the limits of what one can do...

 

but if you insist on the word "masochism"  I won't object. I certainly have a future event that is hardcore Masochistic.

to hike 100 miles in the wood in two days (48hours) in the woods around here fits.

 

.... anyways. I will follow along; I'm intrigued.  and from what I can tell there's a whole bunch of similar people in the Assassins guild.

[@mu]

36 minutes ago, Elastigirl said:

You have such grace and strength. I was going to do GMB parallettes 1, but decided to do their Integral Strength first. Watching you makes me super ecvited to try P1 though!

 

Have a go at parallettes 1, it's really enjoyable! Well I found some moves very mean but overall I could really feel a progress and my triceps have visibly grown in size. When I started I could not do any form of bent arm press at all, I was just doing bunny jumps on the bars. 

You can also see that my parallettes are fairly high, it makes some moves easier. They are very versatile little things, I really love them. I started P2 preparation, then got my aerial stuff and decided to improve my P1 moves instead, along with aerial re-training (and it's a good pull/push combination).

[@mu]

18 minutes ago, TGP said:

 

but if you insist on the word "masochism"  I won't object. I certainly have a future event that is hardcore Masochistic.

to hike 100 miles in the wood in two days (48hours) in the woods around here fits.

 

 

wow! indeed! Be safe!
Once I went hiking alone in Scotland, during summer, along the eastern coast line, past Edinburgh, less than a day worth of walking, not too much. At night, I got my tent setup on the top of a wee hill very close to the sea. I was alone and it was very very scary to be honest. Lots of wind, rain, bird noises, weird noises coming from unknown creatures. I started imagining the worse case scenarios that could apply to a woman alone in the night (a few years later, there was actually an assault in that remote area...). I managed to fall asleep still, and when I woke up, I was completely surrounded by the sea, I had to wait for the water to retreat. It felt like a rite of passage. But pfiou don't think I would do it again!

[MarmotGrrl]

Wowza.  I'm with valkyrieRising and TGP.  Amazing and hardcore!

[@mu]

Quick update before I leave for work.

 

Goal 1: bent arm press

Today I managed my full 3x3 reps. I could have gone a bit higher on a few reps. And I don't have a full control over the movement. But it was ok so 1 point for all sets. That's a 50% pretty score.

 

Goal 2: aerial

Drill 1 (straddle): 100% LR

Drill 2 (knee hook): 100% LR

Drill 3(beat up): 83.3% R 58.33% L
Drill 3 just show that my knee hook and one-hand grip strength are still weak (especially on the left). Not pretty, lacking pelvic action also (hips hanging low). Tight shoulders also.  But that's it, I just to have sit in there for now.

Mini-seq:  50% R 37.5% L as pretty scores

While beating up I knocked the outer foot bone against a plant pot and a furniture. I will survive but that hurt :~

 

Goal 3:stretching

100% done

 

This took me about 1 hour. Including warmup, parallettes warmup, bent arm press (goal 1), some aerial warmup (wee climb, pikes, leg raises, skinning the cat). Then goal 2 takes quite some time. Then goal 3. And the hour is gone. I don't have time to do other things during the work week. It might get a bit boring after a while. Will see. I spent the last month trying out many different tricks that I used to do and see how to adapt them on the apparatus.  Lots of variety but also frustrating because my level has gone down. It will help to focus on the basics for a while. Ooops got to go, running late

 

[Hazard]

On 11/29/2017 at 3:47 PM, @mu said:

Challenge Main Quest: improve my body lines / gracefulness.   I want to do my usual workouts but focus on alignment / stability / tempo.

1. press lines: 3 times a week: 3 sets of 3 reps of straddle bent arm press on parallettes focusing on movement control and quality (lines). I hope to see improvement in quality rather than just knocking reps.
2. aerial lines: 3 times a week on silks
   • drill: straddle up with straight legs from the floor (x3 left/right)
   • drill: same knee hook from straddle (x3 left/right) drill: beats from same knee hock to grab the pole above (x3 left/right)
   • mini sequence: straddle up with straight legs from the floor to same side knee hitch to hip lock and back to floor focusing on movement quality (straight legs at all times, minimize arm movement): 3x left & right
3. Always stretch properly after each strength workout, I want to block a slot of 10mn doing various shoulder & hips/legs stretches
4. Life level up: smile (genuinely) to people the first time I see them (strangers included)

 

 

 

Hi mu!  Welcome to the game!

 

You've got a well-designed Challenge; all your goals are specific, clear and measurable.  .  Also, your cat is hilarious. 

 

 

[ValkyrieRising]

So how much space do you need in your home to be able to do that? Is there like a starting kit or do you suggest finding classes and not really doing the "Youtube has all the answers?!" routine? That just seems so powerful and graceful at the same time. I've found that kind of activity fascinating since the first time I saw a Cirque show in Vegas. 

[@mu]

8 minutes ago, ValkyrieRising said:

So how much space do you need in your home to be able to do that? Is there like a starting kit or do you suggest finding classes and not really doing the "Youtube has all the answers?!" routine? That just seems so powerful and graceful at the same time. I've found that kind of activity fascinating since the first time I saw a Cirque show in Vegas. 

 

It fits in the living room, which is not very big but high enough. For aerial yoga, there are kits, you can check out the specs (height / diameter):
https://www.yogaswings.com/products/swing-models/

I got the stand for less than the current price (an earlier model at a discounted price).

 

But I would say go to classes first though. First to see if it's really your thing or not, without investing too much money in that sort of material (overall it's expensive) and then also for security, to have somebody spot you, get an appropriate warmup, get yourself to know your body, see how classes are structured etc. You will see different kits (trapeze, hoop, slings, nets etc.) , and different types of material involved. Going to classes and workshop will also help discovering all this and see what works best for you.
Specifically for aerial, YouTube can be a bit dangerous if the video doesn't let you see the proper wrap or if you start wrapping the wrong way without realising.

I also very rarely train alone at home, my husband is usually around and if he is not, I'm very careful about what I do. Even with all the experience in the world, and little height, you can get stuck in wraps and it can be dangerous if you are in a bad position and too tired to get out of it.

A few years back I also took a course on rigging and security for aerial. It was really helpful and scary at the same time.  It should be a requirement really. There are accidents and unfortunately they are often due to human error (overloading carabiners, kit going in multiple directions and rig not made for that, beams that have not been assessed by a structural engineer, using material with no known weighting rating and so on). 

So definitely classes / workshops first. It's getting quite popular,  you might actually discover that there are classes available near you.

 

[@mu]

1 hour ago, Hazard said:

 

 

Hi mu!  Welcome to the game!

 

You've got a well-designed Challenge; all your goals are specific, clear and measurable.  .  Also, your cat is hilarious. 

 

 

 

Hello and thanks! yes the kitten is a bit high. She sees herself as my coach and shoves my head down for reps. We have had a few arguments regarding her claws and my silks, I know she's dying to get up there but ain't gonna happen kitty, this is MY toy 

[@mu]

Quick update! Yesterday was my rest day. Re Goal 4, it's improving a bit, I'm starting to pay a bit more attention and processing the moment (seeing someone, making eye contact, smiling - although I'm not necessarily smiling like crazy, I'm trying to have a friendly approach on people, say).

 

Goal 1: Straddle bent arm press 3x3

 

Completed my 3 sets with the following pretty scores (over 2):
Set 1: all 3 reps but very wobbly and not high enough on 1 rep 0.9

Set 2: not bad 1.2!

Set 3: not bad either but previous one felt better 1.1

So for the session: 3.2/6 = 53.33%

I felt a bit more confident. The last rep is still hard, and my breathing is a bit off, I tend to do the weightlifting breathing, pushing the breath out slowly, but my timing is still a bit off so gasping for air a couple of times and my back is rounding also when I go up, have to be careful about that bit. Felt good though.

 

Goal 2: Aerial Mini-Sequence and drills

 

Drill 1 (straddle): 100% L R

Drill 2 (knee hook): 100% L R

Drill 3 (beat up) 66.7% L R

Sequence: 48.33% both sides

 

so bof...I do have a bit more pelvic action, and beat up a bit better, but then it's all over the place and I get my legs in the bars and stuff, so not pretty. If anything, the left side felt a bit better than usual. The right side was disappointing. My knee hook and my one-hand hold still feel weak.

 

Goal 3: Stretching

 

100% done!

My lats are killing right now.

 

Took about 70mn to complete with a few aerial extras.

 

 

[@mu]

Charts! I'm expecting to have about 11 sessions for goals 1 and 2 (came in late). So 33 sets. With a pretty score from 0 to 2.
This is how it looks like so far for the past 3 sessions:

 

[@mu]

Note: each set of bent arm press has 3 reps. Each aerial mini-sequence "set" has only 1 "rep".

[ValkyrieRising]

Ooooo.....shiney graphs and lines. *sits mesmerized* Actually though I love graphs and charts and visual confirmation of my improvement as I work to progress. I'm trying to decide how best to track my progress though I realize it depends on what Im tracking. Perhaps once I am back to working out consistently I can track improvements such as distance hiked/walked. Time walked/hiked. Running miles. Pounds lifted. Etc etc. But for now I will watch your progress and smile knowing I am not the only graph and chart nerd!

[@mu]

but maybe you can produce some chart on your sweet tea level. You might surprise yourself, I think.

[@mu]

Wee update.

 

Tuesday => stretching 30mn, nothing very deep

 

Wednesday => rest

 

And today was session 4/11 and I came in quite tired (cat having her own parties at 5am every night) and a bit bloated (ate too much yesterday). Not the best conditions for a body weight workout but well. Went on with it and feeling a bit better now.

 

Goal 1:  straddle bent arm press 3x3

//Set 1 => fell off on first rep

Set 1:  3 reps pretty score: 1/2

Set 2:  3 reps pretty score: 0.9/2

//Set 3 => fell off on first rep

Set 3:  3 reps pretty score: 1.1/2

 

So total pretty score: 50%

 

A couple of falls. I think it's because I'm getting more confident and over-reaching. Have seen this on floor handstands. Otherwise got my 3 reps each time, still a bit wobbly, tempo no so regular, sooo an average 50/100 fair enough.

 

Goal 2: aerial mini-sequence and drills

Drill 1 (straddle up): 100% LR still need to work on those microbends :~

Drill 2 (knee hook): 100% LR but my hook is still weak. I could go with bare flesh and it would feel stronger but I want to hook robustly with a protected under knee.
Drill 3 (beat up): 100% R 66.7% L  a bit of crooked feet going on, and one-hand hold still weaker on the left

Mini-sequence:  51.67% R 55% L

 

Felt better on the left this time indeed.

 

I'm not sure I can ever reach 100% on this... Maybe I should find an example on YouTube that qualifies as 100% pretty. I have a picture and a feeling in my mind but maybe it's too ideal.

Still a few things would help me score a bit higher: straight legs / straight arms at all time, pointed toes at all time, being a bit more elegant on the hook and beat up (handling better the bars around), a less pedestrian rhythm...

 

Goal 3: stretching post-work

100% done

 

I also did a bit of work on a new move, left and right side. I rested a bit more between sets. So overall the session took me 1h30 to complete (which is i fine, week-ends are Thursday and Fridays here, so no work to rush to).

 

Goal 4: smiling when meeting people

Still working on it. Now I'm slightly more aware of the moment. I don't always feel like smiling at all. So then it makes me think about why. Sometimes I'm not in the mood, sometimes I'm annoyed by the person. But it's interesting to see what's happening in those few seconds. Tuesday I managed to smile a lot and I felt like people were nice to me as well. Which is possibly just some form of projection going on.