V-Up Challenge: Day 30

It looks very similar to my first video thirty days ago, but there are a few improvements.

I’m not making a huge jump to get myself off of the ground, and my descent is much more controlled. I could still lift my butt higher towards my hands, but my legs are straighter. The two things I still need to improve: inverting with straight legs, and inverting in the air.

To be honest, I didn’t spend as much time on the silks working on my inverts as I did doing Scott Fun at home every night. Had I made more time to do that, I know I would have seen a greater improvement. Definitely as case of you get out what you put in.

As much as I don’t particularly like conditioning, I’m closer to having an at-home conditioning routine I will keep up with. So far it includes:

• V-ups
• Pike ups
• Reverse crunches
• Diamond leg lifts
• Abductor leg lifts
• Adductor leg lifts
• Heel touches or Russian twists
• Yoga routine of the day

I probably need to add in something for obliques and for arms. Planks. And something for splits. Overall, though, I’m happy with my routine.

I’ll be even happier when I’m inverting in the air with straight legs.

V-Up Challenge: Day 1

 

Today is the first day of Vertical Fitness’ V-Up Challenge. There are two versions of the challenge. One, see how many V-ups you can do between February 14 and March 15. Two, see how much you can improve your V-up from day 1 to day 30.

I’m opting to see how much I can improve.

Things I need to work on:

• Not jumping up to get momentum
• Diamond legs all the way up
• Straighter legs when extended out
• Hips higher towards my hands once inverted
• Looking out/forward, not up at my hands
• More controlled exit
• Inverting with straight legs (goal)
• Inverting in the air, not from the mat (goal)

This is going to involve a lot of at-home conditioning work. V-ups on the floor, all of the Scott Fun moves Scott showed me, leg lifts on the pull-up bar. Plus continued work on releasing my lower lumbar, lengthening and strengthening the hip flexors, stretching for splits (to help with straight extended legs). Not to mention, drilling straddle back inverts whenever I have the opportunity.

It’s all stuff I know I should be working on all the time. But haven’t been. The challenge format should hopefully get me up off my butt and do it (figuratively and literally).

Back In Balance

Last night I was reading about how a metaphysical cause of lower back pain has to do with issues of support and security. Today’s Lyra class focus? Back balances. Thank you, synchronicity, for pointing out something I need to work on.

The three back balances we worked on were “Star on the Bar” (legs in a straddle), pike back balance (legs piked with feet against the top bar), and a full back balance with knees bent. As part of our exit strategy, Kimberly taught us Bird’s Nest.

Back balances are not comfortable. Then again, hanging from various points on your body off of a metal hoop is not comfortable. The hoop does rest on the lower back right about where my trouble spot is. Of the three balances, the first two were definitely more secure than the full balance, which requires a lot of trust in your body’s ability to not let you fall once you let go. I did let go of the bar once or twice in that one, although I didn’t move my hands very far away, and have obviously lived to tell the tale.  As with many things, eventually I will get there.

The girl I was sharing a lyra with (whose name I forgot to ask! oops) turned on paparazzi mode and took some pictures. Yay! I forget to do that during class, take photos of various poses to document my progress. One of the girls in silks with me takes video of everything she does, every class. (She does this in lyra and her pole classes, too, I’d bet.) I need to follow that example. Seeing how far you’ve come is just as important as reviewing what could be improved.

Documented

This week’s project was even more exciting than learning new Cat’s Cradle variations. Russ gave me editing control of the long neglected Project Penguin doc. After a few days of writing, now we have a manual for our specific rigging process.

He almost just deleted the file, since we already have several people who know how to put up the rig. However, we’ve started putting it up more often at Clown Gym, after a several month hiatus, and began teaching Courtney and TJ the ropes. I’d much rather have a thorough description of what to do in addition to the hands-on training, especially with us rigging for lyra on occasion,  than trusting people to remember the correct chain tension mark or cotter pin hole for each height.

Tech writing + circus = happy me. Bonus, safe rigging.