My Back is Bananas

B-A-N-A-N-A-S
I was doing my iPhone self-video coaching the other day and "Hollaback girl" popped into my head.  It made me smile.  I've always liked Gwen Stefani - a "classy" pop star,  songwriter, fashion designer, and mom of two.   It is evident Gwen is in shape; she takes care of herself - she looks just a fit today as she did when used to sing along to her No Doubt hits back in high school  ....Gosh, it's hard to believe "Just a Girl" debuted in '95...

Anyway, back to the my gymnastics.   I train mostly on my own (since practices are during work hours).   It's me, my iPhone - and my joby grillapod.   This tripod is the best - I can prop in it on mats - twist in around the bars - or bend it around the beam!  I highly recommend it if you do a lot  Iphone videos.

Joby Grillapod - posing on the stall bars

My self-coaching protocol is to video the skill I'm working on and replay in slow-mo.  I have the imovie video app, and I can slow-mo forwards and backwards with finger swipes.  Super easy to go frame by frame and see your body position as you progress through the skill.

And that is how I spotted the banana!  Both on my front handspring vault and free hip I arch my back and stick my head out.  My body should be in a straight line - a tight handstand, not a C or banana shape.  This is not the ideal mechanics for transferring power on the vault.  The power should come from the run, then be transferred the from the jump off the spring board, and then finally, the block or push off from the vault table.   With my back arched, arms bent, and head out - my back and shoulders absorb much of my power which cannot be used to spring off the vault and get "air time."  Also, the position is not healthy for the back, especially when hitting a stationary object at a high speed.  I'm sure it explains why my back gets sore and stiff the day after vaulting.

And so the banana follows me to bars on my free hip to handstand.  Ideally, I should shoot up into a tight straight handstand.

Correcting these body positions will be my big challenge as I continue on this gymnastics journey.  And its just one of the challenges that attracts me to the sport  - first discovering the problem (awareness) and then addressing the correction, and fine tuning for perfection - improvement - excellence.   And I think that is just how we should approach our problem "areas" in our work and personal life. - It first starts recognizing them- yep it all starts with a good dose of self-awareness.