Since I challenged the ASU men’s gymnastics team to a pommel horse circle competition a few months ago I’ve learned a great lesson about flexibility.  I was training on a mushroom leading up to the day I went into the gym, but after doing 74 circles on the mushroom I was only able to do 46 circles on the pommel horse when I went to the gym.

Then I began training with the mushroom top on the floor, but after a week or two I hit a barrier at 39 circles and realized that my inflexible wrists were preventing me from keeping my legs straight.  Because of this, I decided to stop doing circles and focus on my wrist flexibility.  I decided that I would be ready to do circles again when I was able to hold a handstand for a minute or two, so that was my goal and today I did a press handstand, got it on film, and posted my first video on Youtube:

When I was a freshman in college, I sustained a head injury from a car accident which required me to relearn many basic functions, including walking, talking, and writing with a pencil. Arizona State University (where I went to school) has a very good disability support system. Due to my injury which happened over Christmas break, I was allowed to take untimed tests that spring. For most classes that didn’t matter, but for Physics that is the main reason I got an A in that class - hardly anyone finished those tests, but I remember sitting in the disabilities center for about 3 hours to finish each one.

That semester I didn’t get to compete on the gymnastics team either, but I did spend time in the gym, mostly stretching. Once I was able to workout again I was more flexible than before, which was great. I learned a great deal about how to improve flexibility from the times I was injured in college and could only stretch.

I learned that holding a stretch for 30 seconds or a minute during group stretches (where everyone is doing the same stretch) is much less effective than settling into a stretch and just relaxing and letting the world go by as if you weren’t there. Reading a book, talking to a friend, or even watching TV while stretching is great, so you can take your mind off it and relax.

These days, as I am doing circles on my mushroom almost everyday, I stretch for awhile soon after doing circles when my heart slows down a bit, and I also stretch at night before going to bed. I was just stretching at night, but since I’ve started doing circles again I know that I need to stretch my wrists right after working out in order to not tighten up. That way my nightly stretching can be helping me get more flexible instead of just catching up from the workout of the day (working out tightens muscles in general, so stretching is good to do after any type of workout).

So the next time you workout and feel the rush of endorphins, take the time to stretch and enjoy the natural, relaxing, good feelings of a healthy body. It will help you keep the good vibes going longer. If you want to gain flexibility, also pick another time in the day when you can either relax and meditate, or engage your thoughts in something else (like a book, homework, tv, or talking with a friend) while you stretch.

Mental blocks can come in many forms, but they all come down to the thoughts we think.  Writers get “writer’s block”, actors get “stage fright”, and gymnasts (as well as other athletes) can develop an irrational fear about one specific trick or movement - like doing back handsprings on floor or beam, or doing release moves on the high bar or uneven bars.  Depending on the skill, some may argue that the fear is very rational(!), but it is still a mental game whether the fears are rational or not.

I often get asked about how to overcome mental blocks by gymnasts or their concerned parents over at allexperts, so I thought I would write a thorough post about the subject here that I can refer to.

Fear is a very powerful emotion that takes a little while to overcome.  On the emotional scale where feeling empowered is at the top (love, joy, and appreciation are all empowering), fear is at the bottom.  The following list of emotions is taken from page 114 of the book Ask and It Is Given (see amazon link below):

There are over 20 powerful processes detailed in that book which can help you move up the scale of emotions, and I’ve tried most of them successfully.  It is a wonderful reference for practical mind games you can play to help you feel better about any subject.

I remember going hiking with my ASU gymnastics teammates about 10 years ago in Oak Creek Canyon.  There was a waterfall at one point of the hike and we stopped to take a look.  Some of the guys decided it would be fun to jump off the ledge right next to the waterfall (about 30 feet up) into the pool down below.

I looked over the edge and was gripped with fear, so I sat back on a rock several feet away while others jumped off and climbed back up a few times.  I gave no indication that I was going to jump, so eventually people stopped egging me on.  I sat very still and calmed my breath, focusing my attention on the ground beneath my feet.  After awhile I had calmed down and was able to focus on the fact that the others were jumping and safely landing in the water below, and I worked my way up to feeling hopeful that I could do it too.

So without any warning, when there was no one getting ready to jump or getting out of the water I stood up and quietly walked off the ledge.  My teammates were freaking out when I re-emerged because they didn’t expect me to jump and I had barely missed the rocks on the way down (because I didn’t jump I just walked off), but I didn’t care because I had done it and I was done.

I remember having several other mental blocks with specific gymnastics skills (like every release move I ever tried on high bar!), which are actions to take over and over (not just once with the cliff jumping example above).  The most success I had overcoming these mental blocks happened over periods of time when I could “play” with different aspects of the skills (either in my mind or on the equipment) but not really focus on them or bring attention to the fact that I was playing with them.  Just like in the example above, I had to remove myself from the situation and work my way up the emotional scale on my own (without the pressure or attention of anyone else) before I could approach it from a different perspective.  Then once I felt better about it I would try it on my own (or ask for a spot or a belt if I was ready for that), but without much fanfare.

Regarding specific gymnastics skills (like backwards tumbling, cartwheels, kips, jumping from the low bar to the high bar, release moves, etc.), I believe that when a mental block is developed a break is needed from whatever skill it is to focus on others that are easier and very comfortable.  Recently I’ve been skateboarding for fun at a skate park near my house, and it helps me to do something like that which is totally different from my work or family life in order to gain a fresh perspective on whatever I’m stuck on, whether it’s a programming issue or a parenting one.

The length of the break really depends on how long it takes to feel better.  In the example above I was able to feel better about jumping off a cliff in a matter of minutes, but when fearful thoughts are practiced over time about a given subject it may take some time to believe different thoughts that are more hopeful and empowering.

It can help to talk about the subject if the people you talk with can help you reach for thoughts that feel better, but it is not necessary and will hinder progress if the person you talk with is frustrated about the situation.  When I was training in gymnastics I learned how to block out my coach or teammates at times when I was ready to try something again after taking a break, because they were usually still frustrated about my previous attempts.

I have received quite a few questions about glide kips over at allexperts, so I thought I would write a summary of my suggestions in one place that I can refer people to.  It is a skill that is tricky for many people because it is not based on strength, flexibility, or balance - it is the swing that matters most.

The kip can be tricky to learn, but the trick is to use your body to your advantage.  Here are the 3 key movements I think it helps to think about:
1)  When you scoop your feet under the bar just above the floor (depending on your height), you want to get your feet as far up as you can and extend your body as far as you can from the bar before you change direction.
2)  As soon as you feel yourself coming back down, you want to get in a tight pike with your feet about a tennis ball away from the bar (and your hands) while your nose is almost between your knees
3)  As you swing back, you’ll want to start pulling the bar towards your hips (after you pass under the bar) but keep the bar right next to your straight legs while pulling it.

I’ve tried it on a trapeze before and actually hit my head with the bar the first time because I was used to a stationary bar!  After a few tries I was able to do a kip on the trapeze, though I had to adjust my swing and keep my arms straight in order to get up without hitting my head.

But on the playground or in a gym, the proper swing will take you up to a hip support on top of the bar, which is fun and feels very satisfying for me even after 24 years.

I remember in college one day a nutritionist came and spoke to the gymnastics team and told us that it is important to eat within an hour after working out.  He said this would help the muscles rebuild faster.  I noticed afterwards that I didn’t feel so wiped out if I ate soon after working out.  So 10 years or so later, as I’m trying to get back “in shape”, I have a drink that helps me feel nourished after working out.  I don’t spend hours working out now like I did back in college, but I still feel the effects of a half hour of fun, strenuous activity (whether it’s raking leaves or warming up to do circles on my mushroom). 

My nourishing after workout tonic is actually a type of medicated milk.  I have been allergic to milk for as long as I can remember (I grew up eating cheese-less pizzas, soymilk in my cereal, and “Dreamy Tofu” was my ice cream), but I learned about medicated milk from Dr. Vasant Lad at an Ayurvedic cooking seminar I attended (where I learned how to make poha and chapatis) in New Mexico back in March.  The seminar was based on the book Dr. Lad wrote called Ayurvedic Cooking for Self Healing, which I had been trying to learn from for several months.  In the book there are actually a few different kinds of medicated milk, but the one that I like the best is the one with turmeric.  The picture above is what I made the other night after doing 45 circles on the mushroom.  Here is the recipe (from Dr. Lad’s book, pictured to the left):

“1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup milk
1/4 cup water
Mix all ingredients and heat to boiling point. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until there is 1 cup of liquid left.
*This is good for pharyngitis, laryngitis and hoarseness of the voice. It is also effective for acute tonsillar congestion and acute kapha-pitta conditions of the lungs. It is a natural antiseptic.”

When I prepare it I don’t use that much water and I cook it on high since I have an electric stove (unlike Dr. Lad who insists on gas stoves, even in the cooking class). I also put the pot into a larger pot or bowl of cold water after cooking to cool it down faster while I keep stirring to prevent a skin forming on the surface.

I was amazed when I tried it for the first time, it actually helped reduce my allergies.  I used raw goats milk from a local farm, which we happened to have because we wanted to give Nickalus something better than commercial formula (he joined our family last year when he was 4 months old).  I’ve tried pastuerized milk from the store and I reacted badly to it, so I stuck to the raw milk (see www.realmilk.org for a source near you).

Since I’ve decided to compete again, I’ve attracted all sorts of ideas in line with that decision. I have thought about how I’m going to go about getting back “in shape”, what I should eat, how much and how often to exercise, etc. I also thought about the last competition I participated in, the 2001 Collegiate National Championships. After the 2000 Nationals I thought I was done, since I got married a few weeks later and we moved to Oregon for a summer internship I procured with Intel. I lost about 10% of my weight that summer since I stopped working out (muscle weighs more than fat), and after we got back to school at Arizona State in the fall I had no plans to get back in the gym.

But for some reason, Candice happened to hear about the Body for Life program and she was inspired by it (see the book on the left, that’s the one we got). She wanted me to do it with her so I agreed and read the book. In the beginning after taking stock of where you are, you decide where you want to be in 12 weeks, in terms of health, fitness, etc. We started this in October of 2000, after I had not worked out for more than a few minutes at a time for six months. I remember thinking about the program for a few days before I came up with a goal that was exciting to me. I decided I wanted to be “in shape” enough to compete again during the spring season. I wanted to be able to make the team in January, 12 weeks after starting Body for Life. What this means is I had to be able to perform well enough on at least one event to be able to score within the top six members of the team, since only six people compete on each event per team.

I did not discuss this goal with the coach, I hadn’t been in the gym for six months and didn’t even know how many people were on the team that year since I hadn’t met the freshmen. But I was excited about my goal and had fun imagining the surprised looks I would get when I first got back into the gym.

Looking back on it now with an understanding of the Law of Attraction, it makes sense how everything sort of fell into place to manifest the exciting goal I set for myself. I tried out for the team on parallel bars, pommel horse, and the still rings (my favorite events). I just wanted to compete in the home meet that year, but the coach told me I couldn’t do that unless I would commit to go with them to Nationals (I can’t remember where that was, maybe California). So I did, and I remember working on my masters thesis in the hotel the day before the final individual competition of the 2001 collegiate championships.

I learned that you don’t need to workout 20 hours a week (like I had done in high school and college before getting married) to be in great shape. The exercise methods taught in the Body for Life book are very efficient at building strength and endurance, and the eating plan is very supportive of that as well.

So considering all of this, here is my training plan:

• First and foremost, I will do exercises that are fun and feel good when I do them
• I will continue to practice on the mushroom at least once a week, doing more circles in a row each time. In order to feel good doing this I will spend 10-15 minutes warming up with dips, pull ups, sit-ups, pushups, and jumping rope (our three oldest kids each got a jump rope free from a booth at a children’s health expo last week, so I will borrow one).
• Once I get up to 50 circles in a row, I’ll take the top off the mushroom, put it on the floor, and do circles on it there
• Once I get up to 75 circles I’ll post a video of it on YouTube
• A few times a month I will swing on the steel parallel bars at the park nearby - I like to swing, it’s a little bit like flying:)
• At some point I’ll either make or buy a set of parallettes I can use for presses, handstand push-ups, and playing with my kids
• I’m also going to finish raking the leaves before next year, once I get a new rake - the rake I had broke in half while I was trying to rake wet leaves

I’ve also done some research recently about good foods to eat for developing muscle tone and stamina according to Ayurveda and Chinese medicine (we have dozens of books on these subjects that Candice studied from during her apprenticeship to become a medical herbalist), but I’ll save that for another post.

Update Aug 15, 2009:

• I didn’t quite get on the mushroom once a week, but I did get up to 50 and put the top on the floor (see my related post about that).
• We’ve moved twice so far this year, including once across the country, so our life routines have changed several times.  I don’t live near a park with metal “parallel bars” anymore, but we do live in a house with a pool now.
• I did finally finish raking the wet leaves (it may have been February by then), after breaking two rakes.
• My latest good feeling exercise is swimming back and forth across the pool with my 4 year old daughter hanging on my neck while being chased by my 7 year old son.

I got my mushroom today, and I love it.  It’s been 7 years since my last gymnastics competition (as a collegiate gymnast at ASU, see www.sundevilgymnastics.com for a look at that program).  I got one from Amazon, similar to the one in the picture.
It may take a little while for my wrists to get used to the pressure again, but I am very happy about it - it feels good to move.  The kids were all excited too, but it may be awhile before they make it all the way around:)

Nov 1st Update: My coach from college (Scott Barclay) saw this post and suggested I compete in the next Rocky Mountain Open on Pommel Horse. That is mainly a collegiate competition that is open for anyone to compete. This coming January is a bit soon for that since we just moved across the country, but I’m thinking that in January 2010 I can plan for it. I figure if I get back in shape physically and get a good circle, I’ll be able to do one of my old routines once I get there. We have a park nearby with bars I can swing on with my kids to build up some callouses again, so I expect to be able to do it:)

Nov 22nd Update: I learned after about a week that if I didn’t warm up sufficiently, my wrists would hurt too much to do any circles (or at least enjoyably). So after a week off to let my wrists recover I started doing some pullups on my chinning bar, dips on my kids’ monkey bars, leg raises, and a type of yoga that I can’t remember the name of - just to get warmed up so I could do some circles. Today (after warming up) I did two sets of 20 circles and just about passed out.

I remember observing one of my teammates who was very good at pommel horse but he didn’t have huge muscles. At the time I reasoned that pommel horse doesn’t take much strength based on that observation, but we were little kids back then - now I know that it does take some strength, even for pommel horse:)

Dec 10th Update: I did 30 circles in a row yesterday. I think I’ll take the top off and put it on the floor once I can do 50 circles easily in the elevated configuration. I figure I’ll be in good shape when I can do 75 circles with the top on the floor. I remember having a “50 circle club” and a “75 circle club” in college, and I was the only one in the “75 circle club”. Of course that was circles on the pommel horse, not a mushroom - that’s why I want to put the top on the floor, to more closely replicate the circle I’ll need on the horse.

Dec 13th Update: I did 40 circles today, but after 35 I was barely making it around. I’ll need to pick up speed before I take off the top and put it on the floor

Dec 16th Update: I was feeling good last night and did 45 circles after a short warm up. I’m hoping I’ll get to 50 this week, and then I’ll see how many I can do with the top on the floor.

Dec 18th Update: I made it to 50! I was really pushing it after about 40, but determination wins over weakness:) I’ll take the top off when I try it next.

Dec 23rd Update: I took the top off and tried doing circles with the top on the floor. After about five tries I was able to do six in a row, while Demitri and Eden took turns rolling each other around in the base.

Dec 25th Update: Yesterday I made it to 15 circles with the top on the floor, but when I tried to stop I was going too fast and hurt my pinky toe pretty bad (it turned purple).  Based on my previous experiences with twisted ankles, I tried soaking my toes in warm salt water for 15 minutes.  That helped a little bit, but it still hurt too bad to put my shoe on and walk on it.  So later I made a healing paste (made from turmeric and salt, see link above for more details) and covered my toe with it.  I was happy when I awoke this morning at 3:30 to assemble Christmas gifts and it was starting to feel a bit better.  By the time I went back to bed at 6am I was walking on it without problems, and later when I got up to see the kids open gifts it felt good enough to walk around in my shoes again.  It has continued to feel better all day, even when I spent some time raking leaves outside.  I am very impressed, since I hurt that same toe on the trampoline when I was about 10 years old and it was several days before it really felt better then (I think all I did back then was ice it).

Jan 7th 2009 Update: I was feeling good this morning and decided to do some mushroom circles again. After warming up with a set of dips and some jumping on the mini tramp I bought Candice for Christmas I cleared some space (amidst the toys that have filled the basement since Christmas) and made it to 20 with the top on the floor. I had a few false starts before I decided to focus on my extension, that made a big difference - circles on the floor are not possible (at least not more than a few) without good extension. I hear a baby awake, time to make lunch:)

March 1st 2009 Update: Yesterday I warmed up with some jumping on our mini-tramp and playing with the kids, then I cleared a space and did 26 circles before slipping on part of a rug that flipped up over the mushroom top. I had intended to do 30, but I guess I was going fast enough to pull up the end of a rug (it’s rather thin) and slipped on it. Next time I’ll make sure I clear out the rugs as well as the toys.

Oct 25th, 2009 Update: We moved twice since the last update, and now we are living back in Phoenix, within driving distance of Aspire, where the current 20+ member ASU men’s team practices. Scott let me come and play on the equipment a bit recently (during open gym) with a couple of my kids, and we had a great time. I was inspired to get my body in shape so I could do more when I go next time. So this past week, after about 7 months “off”, I got back on the mushroom again (after warming up sufficiently), and did ten circles. I figured I could do that everyday, so I planned on increasing the number of circles by 5 everyday.

By the third day I began slipping off the mushroom (I was trying to do 20 at this point), and since my hands were sweaty I tried putting baby powder on them (I don’t have chalk, but we’ve had baby powder on hand at my house for the last 7 years). This dried my hands (and made them smell pretty good too!) but it actually made it harder to stay on, not easier. I guess baby powder helps baby butts get smooth, not just dry.

However, I was determined to do my 20 circles so I reasoned that if I keep my balance well enough in my circles and maintain tight form, I should be able to do as many circles as I want. So I focused on staying tight and level in my swing and was able to do 20. I had the idea this week to challenge the current ASU team to a circle contest (on the pommel horse, not the mushroom), so I am working towards that goal now.

Nov 21st 2009 Update: I got up to 74 circles on my mushroom early this week and subsequently planned to be at the team practice on Saturday for a circle contest. I learned that I could stop slipping off the mushroom by washing my hands and drying them beforehand. Today was the circle contest, my first time on a pommel horse in probably 5 years. Add me as a friend on facebook to see a video of my circles on the horse. I only made it to 46 on the horse, but I had a great time getting the team psyched up. Now I will take of the top off my mushroom and do circles with it directly on the floor. I plan to go back to the gym for a rematch once I can do 75 with the top on the floor, in a few weeks.

Dec 11th 2009 Update: I got up to 41 circles with the mushroom top on the floor early this week and then I realized that even from the beginning I was bending my legs in the back to keep from scraping the ground with my toes. I realized that my wrists need to be more flexible for me to be able to keep my legs straight and extended fully. So I will take my own advice and spend more time stretching than doing circles for the next few weeks. I hope to get to 75 with the top on the floor within a month or so, but I want to do circles with good form.