Old Gymnasts, Not So New Tricks

Yesterday at CrossFit Turlock was every retired gymnasts dream and probably everyone else's nightmare. We got to spend almost the entire workout practicing gymnastic's skills. Handstands, bridges, kips cartwheels, oh my! It was so much fun! I had such a great time practicing skills that were such a huge part of my life for over 7 years. As much fun as I had practicing old skills, it was even more fun helping our members do things that they were either afraid to do (kick up to a handstand against the wall) or thought they would never be able to do (back bend, kick over). It's so exciting to see people manipulate their bodies in ways they never thought possible. We all have a little inner gymnast in us!

My fellow crossfitter and former gymnastics teammate, Jillian, upped the ante in the afternoon with some more advanced skills. I can always count on Jillian to be a little daredevil. She started setting up a little station to work on aerials. This is a cartwheel with no hands. I watched her practicing and at first I was pretty nervous for her. Soon she started doing aerials and the competitive side in me came out. I joined in, scared sh**less at first, but it came back pretty quickly.

Thank you to Jillian for inspiring me to conquer my own fears and do a skill I haven't done in probably 15 years. I'm really getting old...Of course, we had to videotape ourselves because we were pretty damn excited. The first one is of me. A little sloppy and definitely not worthy of a 10. The last one is Jillian. Pointed toes, straight legs and always technically perfect. What do you say? One less plate next time, Jillian?