The Reformer

 Lesson today! I didn't have any time to practice some of the changes that were made last week so I tried to cram as much into the time before my lesson as I could. Mostly, it's the spin that is causing me grief. I was able to practice it on the floor at home to get the change of positions right with the music and it all seemed easy enough but it didn't translate well to the ice at all. If I fall out of my camel, there is no way to get into the "Fourspin" position (that's what my husband is insisting I call it, lol). This will take a lot of getting used to. 

Lessonz - We started out by looking at the spin combo. It's kind of a disaster. My leg is still not high enough on the camel so I keep falling out of it and the fourspin is still gross (okay, no, I can't keep calling it that. I feel dirty). Foursquat? Is that better? With Christopher's help, I discovered that if I look into the direction of the spin instead of straight ahead, I seem to have better control over things. Also, it really helps to center the spin from the get go. Once we were done looking at spins, we took a brief look at the flip jump. It's looking better but still needs some sprucing up. Finally, we ran the program. I think I'm feeling more relaxed with it overall but it still has moments where my flow doesn't...flow. I have a little over four weeks to get it together and, honestly, I think it will be okay for the competition. I just need to put in some work and "get good." Oddly, the thing I thought I would worry about the most in this program, the flip jump, doesn't worry me at all. I've been landing it consistently and I'm not getting anxious over it. I feel like I've come such a long way with this. A couple of years ago, I was just terrified of it and now it's in my program and I'm not worried about it. That's progress! But that spin combo, tho! That worries me. 

Pilatez - Christopher suggested that I look into Pilates for strengthening my core. He knows best. He can see what I can't. So if he says Pilates will help, it's worth looking into. I signed up for a free trial class at a Pilates place near where I live and it was basically a one-on-one introduction to Pilates with me and one of the instructors. I walked in and there were all kinds of crazy looking torture devices! Like, I knew about the Reformer but I didn't know there were all these other contraptions! She had me try each one to get a feel for things. It was a lot. And it was hard! So, I became a member and now I'll be going every Sunday for a "Reformer Flow" class. I better get some abs out of this or I'm quitting, lol.