Let's all say hello to the newbie (that's me)

[McKaylaMaroneyHopeful]

 SO  to make a long story short, I have always wanted to do gymnastics as a kid. But life just seemed to get in the way. People will say I am too old, or  Im wasting my time and that is ok, they can think that - but they are wrong. I have a dream that i ave had since I was young. I want to make the national team.  I am not naive to think that I will represent the US in the Olympics but just to say this - I have wanted this for a very long time and I am going to go as far as this sport  will allow me to go. Some people will joke and say - yeah and as far as your body will allow you too.  To that, I say, I will go as far as I can take myself and then some.  I am  just pointing out my positions  so I don't have to reply to the hate mail that I have gotten on some other sites (no disrespect to anyone here - just  trying to avoid the negativity in my life - so I put this up )  

 

 So onto my goals. I am in Good shape. I use the term good because it is not Great nor Excellent shape.  I am looking to start some conditioning to  start this journey off. Kind of like training  before the training.  

 My questions are this: 

 What tips would be best to start off with - any Basic skills that I could work on my own right off the bat? 

 I have read many different opinions of  running IS essential to gymnastics-  Your thoughts ? 

 SO this one is the big part.  I don't eat right.  Dont get me wrong I try to stay away from the fast food as much as I can but it is  very safe to say - I can eat healthier.  What can I do to change a diet in a short matter of time?  Also - What foods are best for this kind of training that I am about to get into?  Again my  thoughts are preparing myself mind and body to  get myself " in the zone" in all aspects  before I even start my training. 

 

 ANY and ALL tips and  advice you can share with me would be great and appreciative!!  If you can share some --- I wish someone would have told me  ____  when I first  started -  THOSE tips  would be great too. 

 

 A little about me.  I am a 30yr old female from South NJ   and I ran cross country and  track in  High School and College.   I used to swim every summer  when my old house had a pool and I would just do laps and laps.  I was told several times that I have " gymnasts legs"   

 

 So   everyone say hi to the newbie and I look forward to hearing  from you all and making friends along the way

[Deins Drengers]

Hello

[Jon Douglas]

Gday

[Keilani Gutierrez]

Aloha

[Alexander Svensson]

Hej hej

[Guest SuperBru]

Aweh!

[Afiya Zia]

Hi

[McKaylaMaroneyHopeful]

Hey everyone!  Thank for the nice welcome.  So if anyone ahs some  newbie tips for me -  let me have it ! 

 

 Thanks 

[Jon Douglas]

I imagine as a female the best person to talk to is Desi, who began (resumed?) competing as an adult.

Otherwise, if you're coming in completely raw, the advice is pretty much going to be pick up foundation one and handstand one if possible, and get your teeth into Gymnastic Strength Training™

Edit;

Also, if you're game, submit a video to the gbodies YouTube compilation thread, BECAUSE IT IS GLORIOUS

[McKaylaMaroneyHopeful]

 Ok Thanks for the  reply and I am going to check out  Foundation One.  

 

 Thanks for the tips!

[Jon Douglas]

Ok Thanks for the reply and I am going to check out Foundation One.

Thanks for the tips!

Then we'll see you in the foundation private forums, where there is significant technical discussion on GST Go ahead and post skill related questions in the skill forum, specific questions will get more attention and faster answers there

[FREDERIC DUPONT]

Welcome from China

 (...) What can I do to change a diet in a short matter of time? (...)

Hummmm......... eat something else right at your next meal ---> sorted!

 

Throw away all soda, chips, sweets, bread, cakes (don't tell Cory), & other junk foods.

Replace them with green veggies.

 

96% Done!

 

For the remaining 4% fine tuning, there must be 8 or 900 posts from Joshua Naterman telling you what time to eat the veggies and in what order; use the search function.

[McKaylaMaroneyHopeful]

Throw away all soda, chips, sweets, bread, cakes (don't tell Cory), & other junk foods.

Replace them with green veggies.  

 --  Well, I'm screwed haha  JK.  Ok ok I will.  I've been doing what I call a step down program so my body doesn't go into shock or something haha.    

 

 

For the remaining 4% fine tuning, there must be 8 or 900 posts from Joshua Naterman telling you what time to eat the veggies and in what order; use the search function.

--  OO  *goes to search*  Thanks for this tip!

[obvdgb]

hello, McKayla!

[Joshua Slocum]

Hello!

In my experience, fixing your diet is best done progressively. If you try to radically change your diet overnight, you're going to get massive cravings and most likely suffer from a 'bounce-back'. The key is to incrementally improve your diet over time. So maybe this month you'll resolve to stop drinking soda. And then in another month you'll resolve to eat some fresh green vegetables with every lunch. Small changes like that add up to a healthy diet over time.

In terms of skills: if you're a complete newbie, I'd suggest finding someone to teach you in person. GST is pretty easy to do on your own (especially when you have F1 to help guide you), but skills are generally much more difficult to pick up on your own. Another factor is that there is a much bigger safety concern with skills, so it's useful to have someone show you the 'safe' way to learn them.

[McKaylaMaroneyHopeful]

Hey - Sorry for the late reply. It is  so funny that you mention this because at least I know I am starting on the right track. I haven't had a Monster energy drink in over two weeks.  Switched to  Pepsi for now,  but slowly weaning myself off of  caffeine.  Understand I lived on it for the past ten years  so I am trying not to send my body into shock haha.  I have been doing OK with the diet department. I am Trying to stay away from the fast food and actually ate a chicken Cesar salad last night for dinner.  It might not seem much, but to me, these are big steps for me.  I am sometimes cheating and eating a donut here or there  and  the other day I had some hash browns from  Dunkin Donuts.   
 

[Keilani Gutierrez]

Hey - Sorry for the late reply. It is so funny that you mention this because at least I know I am starting on the right track. I haven't had a Monster energy drink in over two weeks. Switched to Pepsi for now, but slowly weaning myself off of caffeine. Understand I lived on it for the past ten years so I am trying not to send my body into shock haha. I have been doing OK with the diet department. I am Trying to stay away from the fast food and actually ate a chicken Cesar salad last night for dinner. It might not seem much, but to me, these are big steps for me. I am sometimes cheating and eating a donut here or there and the other day I had some hash browns from Dunkin Donuts.

this list helped me

sweets- fruits, chocolate, honey

salty-make your own french fries, chips(I made sweet potatoe fries this week and they were so easy to prepare. before i made thin slices and put olive oil on it. now to not spend so much time on preparation. i just slice and leave the sweet potatoe together, drizzle olive oil on it, throw it in oven. when its done open it up and eat the chips of your liking)

fat-olive oil, coconut, nuts in general.

i made a resolution in 2007 that i'd never drink soda again, now it just tastes like perrier with aunt jemima. you won't regret it

made that decision after having to urinate a stone. F$(& that. never doing that again. then i found out it was for other reasons, but ditching soda was a good side effect, it had a direct impact on my sweet tooth.

[FREDERIC DUPONT]

(...) made that decision after having to urinate a stone (...)

 

ROFL!

Soda will make you fart sand.

[Guest SuperBru]

Also stay away from cow's milk, unless you want to increase your chances of getting cancer.

[McKaylaMaroneyHopeful]

Hey   All. 

 

 Thanks for all the replies.  I know its a year later  so let me update you.  

 

I hav taken all of your suggestions and now I know what " bounce back " means.  I failed a few times but  I am in the best shape!  I found a gym and the next  goal is to start training. Oh and I  also moved  to Washington,DC  if anyone wants to say hello.    

 

Thanks again for the nice welcome and advice!  You are all awesome  

[GoldenEagle]

Howzit!