Post by Cara on Dec 25, 2011 7:40:05 GMT
It was six o’clock in the morning when Cara headed toward the gymnastics studio. She threw the door open with more force that was needed and hit the light switch, blinking a couple of times as the fluorescent lights came on, brightening up the dark room. She took a deep breath as she looked around the room, she knew she shouldn’t be in here, especially since she didn’t have any intention of just using the beam today. She needed to just do something normal. She needed a slight escape, and this was her drug of choice.
Kicking off her tennis shoes, she adjusted her leotard and walked across to the medical scale that stood against the wall between the two changing rooms. Dropping her gym bag on the floor, she let out a deep breath and stepped onto the scale. She slid the weight along until the scale sat flat. She pressed her lips together as she studied the number, shrugged and stepped off the scale - quickly putting it back to zero so that she wouldn't forget to do it later.
Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a notebook and pen. Opening the book she wrote down the date and her weight. She then dropped the book and pen back into her bag and walked over to the floor mat where she slid into the splits and stretched her upper body forward, to both sides and backward. She then rolled backward and jumped to her feet where she stretched out her arms and back thoroughly before walking over to the uneven bars, feeling slightly guilty that she didn’t have a spotter. “Let’s rock!” She ran forward and grasped the low bar. From there did a long underswing , upstart to catch the highbar, she extended back under the low bar and gaining momentum swung back to the higher bar. With a backward somersault beginning in straddle piked position, she did a tumble turn to catch the low bar. From there she did a long underswing into to a move called skin the cat (passing straight leap between hands) and rose into back support on low bar. Kipping, she flew back up to the higher bar where she dismounted with a double pike somersault and landed on the ground, throwing both arms into the air. “Stick that landing!” She cheered as she did a small victory dance on the mat. She then jogged over to the beam.
Standing on the springboard, she placed her hands on the end of the beam. Bending her knees, she sprung into the air and came into a handstand on the beam. Doing the splits, she brought her foot down in a backwards walkover as she had done just before in the work-out room, and stuck a pose, she then went into a needle scale (an arabesque). She then stepped forward, swung her other leg forward and down toward the beam and bent into a bridge. Straightening up again, she did an illusion, followed by a cartwheel she then jogged forward a couple of steps and dismounted the balance beam with a front-flip layout with a full rotation, landing squarely on the mat.
Now that she'd done a routine, she walked back to the beam, placed her hands on the side of it and pushed herself up until she was standing on it. Scrunching her nose in a cheeky grin, she then pirouetted from one of the beam to the other and back again, throwing in the occasional leap or flip. She lowered herself into the splits on the beam as she looked at the uneven bars, she shook her head quickly though, as she knew she was just asking for trouble if she went anywhere near them.
Pushing down on the beam with her hands, she rose into another handstand. Taking a breath, she lifted one hand off the beam and held it out to the side. Placing her hand back, she pushed off hard and did a back flip before her feet found the beam again. "Steady." She told herself as she slightly lost her balance and wobbled on the beam.
Kicking off her tennis shoes, she adjusted her leotard and walked across to the medical scale that stood against the wall between the two changing rooms. Dropping her gym bag on the floor, she let out a deep breath and stepped onto the scale. She slid the weight along until the scale sat flat. She pressed her lips together as she studied the number, shrugged and stepped off the scale - quickly putting it back to zero so that she wouldn't forget to do it later.
Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a notebook and pen. Opening the book she wrote down the date and her weight. She then dropped the book and pen back into her bag and walked over to the floor mat where she slid into the splits and stretched her upper body forward, to both sides and backward. She then rolled backward and jumped to her feet where she stretched out her arms and back thoroughly before walking over to the uneven bars, feeling slightly guilty that she didn’t have a spotter. “Let’s rock!” She ran forward and grasped the low bar. From there did a long underswing , upstart to catch the highbar, she extended back under the low bar and gaining momentum swung back to the higher bar. With a backward somersault beginning in straddle piked position, she did a tumble turn to catch the low bar. From there she did a long underswing into to a move called skin the cat (passing straight leap between hands) and rose into back support on low bar. Kipping, she flew back up to the higher bar where she dismounted with a double pike somersault and landed on the ground, throwing both arms into the air. “Stick that landing!” She cheered as she did a small victory dance on the mat. She then jogged over to the beam.
Standing on the springboard, she placed her hands on the end of the beam. Bending her knees, she sprung into the air and came into a handstand on the beam. Doing the splits, she brought her foot down in a backwards walkover as she had done just before in the work-out room, and stuck a pose, she then went into a needle scale (an arabesque). She then stepped forward, swung her other leg forward and down toward the beam and bent into a bridge. Straightening up again, she did an illusion, followed by a cartwheel she then jogged forward a couple of steps and dismounted the balance beam with a front-flip layout with a full rotation, landing squarely on the mat.
Now that she'd done a routine, she walked back to the beam, placed her hands on the side of it and pushed herself up until she was standing on it. Scrunching her nose in a cheeky grin, she then pirouetted from one of the beam to the other and back again, throwing in the occasional leap or flip. She lowered herself into the splits on the beam as she looked at the uneven bars, she shook her head quickly though, as she knew she was just asking for trouble if she went anywhere near them.
Pushing down on the beam with her hands, she rose into another handstand. Taking a breath, she lifted one hand off the beam and held it out to the side. Placing her hand back, she pushed off hard and did a back flip before her feet found the beam again. "Steady." She told herself as she slightly lost her balance and wobbled on the beam.