Introduction :: Starting Again ... Again.

Hi, I'm Damien. Mid-30s from Queensland, Australia. I did gymnastics (rather poorly) in my teens and into my twenties. Once I got married, I stopped, and got steadily more sedentary. I guess I'm not the only one with that tale.

Late last year I got enthusiastic, and tried to develop some of the old strength again. My quest peaked at about this stage: Press/planche video.

Sadly, over winter, I was struck down with a recurrence of the ol' Glandular Fever from a couple of years prior. In order to shake the GF, I had to stop all exercise for a few months. About two weeks ago I began a bit of exercise, and I'm taking it steadily at this stage, hoping not to get sick again. So far so good.

Needless to say, I'm feelilng very frustrated at having to begin again. It's demoralising to try to regain what I'd hard-earned a year ago. In truth, I've been having the "is it worth it?" thoughts. And then - BAM! - I found this site a couple of days ago. It's exactly what I need. The discovery of a group of other people, doing what I'm trying to do, has given me a welcome boost.

Unfortunately my access to an actual gymnasium is limited - once a week if I'm lucky. But I've got a few things at home ...

Some parallettes, chain "rings", and chin-up handles:

And my pride and joy, a pommel horse in my back yard:

(I've recently made some changes to the horse to weather-proof it, if anyone is interested in seeing the photos.)

I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone. And if anyone has any specific advice/experience about returning from Glandular Fever, I'd be very grateful to hear it.

It's a pleasure getting to know people like you on this site. I don't speak english very well and I can't communicate all my thoughts about your story, but the video with your kid imitating you... amazing.

Your body it's your better tool for improvement and training, and the tools that you already have are great to keep it with your training. That pommel horse is fantastic.

Don't worry about ups and downs of life, there are part of it and make us stronger. Keep in your mind what it's your passion and fight for it. And don't forget the signs of life, like came across to this forum an all that contains it. Remember: every fall it's an opportunity to get up and make it better.

Good luck my friend. As for my, welcome!

Damian,

If you're *really* fast, you should be able to get yourself registered for the seminar in canberra this weekend. I honestly cant recommend it enough. 3 days will improve your practice by 100 fold.

Recovering from illness sucks, however if you're patient and listen to your body you should be fine. I'm not sure if glandular fever is the same but I had a bout of strep throat and i had to be very careful because even when I was feeling better, the bacteria that was in my throat was capable of dropping down into the heart/lungs if I exerted myself too much, which could have caused a heart attack, so I had to be very careful for about 4 - 6 weeks after I was feeling better. Basically listen to your doc and you should be sweet.

Cheers,

Craig

Craig said:

patient and listen to your body

Thanks, mate. Yep, this is the bit I need to remember.

Hi Damien, welcome to the forums.

If I can suggest, view your recovery as a positive opportunity. Back in my early twenties I was an avid rock climber. When I got glandular fever I was laid up in bed for fully 6 months and saw it as a victory if I could walk down the hallway. It's a b**ch of an illness, and I feel your frustration. Anyway, in the intervening time, my climbing partner had been hitting the rock pretty much everyday and ended up with forearms like Popeye. I felt pretty frustrated getting back into it in my atrophied state. Within a month, I blew my previous climbing ability out of the water. I could climb much harder grades than my climbing partner, or my pre-ilness self? Why? I had no strength to fall back on, so I was forced to focus on technique in order to keep up with my buddy. Over time, my strength and energy returned, but I doubt I would have learned so much technique if I hadn't been forced to it.

Gymnastics requires great strength for sure, but a lot of it also relies on technique and perfect alignment of your body. Remember when your kids were learning to walk, they still did a lot of crawling? There's nothing wrong with getting right back to the basics and focussing intently on form. Personally I have found this to be one of the best things about the GB progressions. Getting over the fatigue is going to be really hard, Doing a full pommel routine will drain your tank really fast, but I bet you'll be able to do lots of flexibility work, pike compressions, toe points, dish holds, handstands with a focus on feeling the balance point, lengthening and straightening your body. If you can see this as a chance to really lock in the basics I suspect you'll come out of this experience as a much stronger gymnast than if you just try to dive back into doing iron crosses!

Good luck, see you round the forums, and hopefully at the seminars..

Nice post Primate!

Just been diagnosed with Glandular fever myself and it's horrible. Feeling pretty down as I haven't been able to train in a few months now. Thanks for your posts guys, got to remember to look at the positives

Dude did you DIY the horse from raw materials or did you order it?

ForzaCavaliere said:

Dude did you DIY the horse from raw materials or did you order it?

For a wild moment I thought I was reading a crossed thread, then read the previous ones. Relax everybody, the horse is ok and hasn't been force-fed raw materials 

Spinelli, all the best with your recovery from Glandular Fever.