Yesterday I went over to Chelsea Piers to find out more about their gymnastics program. When I got there, there were a ton of kids running around doing things on different apparatuses, like parallel bars and balance beams. They also had a lot of padded stuff that just looked like a huge set of blocks for a giant playset and something I can only describe as a “ball pit” that people would practice flipping into. The guy at the front desk didn’t really have much info for me, but he said I could go upstairs and watch the classes. I was there for a while. I watched the end of the kid’s classes and then watched all of one class for adults.
They started with about 25-30 minutes of conditioning and serious stretching. That alone looked really good. I thought I was watching the beginner’s class, but people were doing two or three flips in a row and a few of the people there looked like serious dancers. Still, it was really cool just to watch. The class was pretty small; 8 people with a main instructor and a second guy for spotting and help. They were pretty much self-directed, but they also got time with the instructor. At 8:30 when I saw that people were leaving and another class was coming in, I decided to go hunt down someone from the class and see what they thought of it. The woman I ran into gave the class a glowing review. Even before “Should I…” was out of my mouth, she said “Yes! I keep trying to get all of my friends to do this!” She’d been into a lot of different sports over the years, but she started gymnastics a year ago and was already in the intermediate classes. They start the beginner’s classes by spotting people while they do cartwheels and then just keep having you do more. She said that they were really good with injuries and limitations. There’s no real pressure to become an Olympian at 30. She also said that the first few weeks were really hard and that the conditioning left her so sore she didn’t want to laugh, but that she really enjoyed it and was very happy with the program.
From the mom gallery, everyone there looked like they were in really good shape. I’m not, but it might prod me to get there… I definitely need something to do in the off season. My mom thought it was a great idea. She pulled me out of gymnastics class in pre-school because I really didn’t like being dropped off the bars and my teacher would just let me hang in the air until exhaustion overcame my fear. Not cool. My sister later did gymnastics at a place the next county over that was much nicer and not full of crazy folks and my mom remembered how good it was for her. I’m like 90% of the way there, but I’m not quite ready to get in the pool. I’m in decent shape for me, but I’m worried that I just won’t have the conditioning and… well, it looks like fun, but it also looks like tough stuff. There’s a beginner’s class tomorrow at noon (?!?) and another on Thursday and Friday at 7pm (much more doable…) I’m not sure when is a good time. I also feel like I should get stronger or join a “real gym” before I do it, but if I just keep putting it off, I may never go, you know?
