Pushing The Envelope

As I keep training I am amazed about the incredible progress I continue to make on a daily basis. I was down at L.A. Fitness training for four hours today and my warmup was an Octoslinky. Part of me was a little disappointed I only got 8 but I get to realize that alone is a phenomenal success. I then went onto my new beam combo which includes Beam Slinky, Back Walkover (BWO), a 2nd BWO then handstand pirouette 1/4 turn into front limber standup. I was able to do all five of these and they are getting stronger and stronger each time I do them.

I then worked on front walkover off the two panel mat. It was frustrating because I just cannot get the forward energy yet and keep stepping back. But progress is it and the more I focus on it, the faster I will be able to do it. It may seem like a while but in a blink of an eye I will have this technique as well. I am going to be doing a lot of these spotted in the mornings in Australia with Georgia so it is going to be fun.

One of the most important techniques I am working on is the Back Bend on the beam. This is where I lean back and grab the beam and squeeze for a count of 30 and then raise the leg for a count of 10. This takes me an hour to so 10 of thee because the pressure on the body is brutal, however it is getting the conditioning happening so I will be able to do back walkovers on the beam and eventually back handsprings.  I need to be able to get my hands much closer to my feet on the back walkover on the beam so it is easier to go over. It is coming along but much more to do.

I then got four handstands to 4Z. It is amazing as I get closer and closer to being able to hit THE handstand position eveyr time and hold in. Another three months or so and I should be able to get my first to 10Z. (Best to date is 7G). The handstands are getting stronger and stronger every day. I have a long way to go with these with stag position, splits and moving on my hands etc but the foundation of all of this is a solid base handstand.

I then did my  best set of bar handstands as well. I reached my longest hold of 1P and can definitely see dramatic improvement coming shortly. It will not be long before we start hitting Z. My press handstands were then the best I have ever done with more and more getting into the handstand and just coming short of holding it to Z.

I was doing Cartwheels with coach at the end and they were not that good and coach said ‘Bobbie, we need to focus more on handstands. In futue levels this is going to lead into other techniques including roundoff and tumbling off the beam. ‘ I decided to get back doing cartwheels every session. And they only count of they are in a perfect line and no wobbles. I need to raise my game in that area.

I also did my complete beam routine three times as well and am counting the wobbles. I need to increase the speed of it as well. I am also working on dips and chinups to assist me with the bars. At the moment I can do 5 dips and 8 chinups but I know this will change dramatically as I now focus on it as well.

Finally I finished off with the Leg Extension to build the muscle around the knee. Prior to the injuries I had it up to 110 lbs. I am currently back at 80 lbs and doing five sets of 20. My goal is to get it to 150 lbs or more over the coming six months and also focusing on calfs to get more vertical leap.

Overall I am sitting at breakthroughs right on the edge at almost everything and it is a great feeling knowing that tomorrow I will be better than today. Go Heroes!!!

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