Hi everyone!

[BlackBeltGymnast4321]

Hello! I'm Shelby and I just joined chalkbucket. I'm pretty new to gymnastics, I've only been doing it for about a year now. I used to be a cheerleader, and I am also in karate/martial arts. One of my friends took me to an open gym last year, and I guess because I'm in shape from karate and know a tiny bit of tumbling from being a cheerleader, I impressed a couple of people who talked me into signing up for gymnastics! It's been a lot of fun and I always wanted to try something new, but sometimes I feel awkward because I'm older than the other girls. This site is really cool tho, it comes up whenever I google anything about gym so I figured I would sign up. Hopefully I can learn some more about gym from here.

 

[Gympocalypse]

Hi Shelby, welcome to ChalkBucket! I've just started gymnastics (almost two months ago) and I'm a black belt, too. You'll meet many nice, helpful people here. Don't worry about being the oldest one in your class....there's many gymnasts here who were late beginners and with tons of determination and hard work, they achieved their goals. Have fun!

 

[BlackBeltGymnast4321]

Thank you, gympocalypse! I'm not too worried, I am having fun and that is whats most important. I guess 14 isn't too old, but I just feel old.

That's cool that you're a blackbelt. I have to admit I am not yet...I am testing next week. But it says you can't change your user name once you pick it so I took it a week early!! Do you find your martial arts helped you in gym at all?

 

[Gympocalypse]

Glad that you're having fun! You're never too old for gymnastics. My first class was with 7 year olds. Around the time I joined, the gym was preparing for a showcase, and it was hilariously embarrassing to spend 15 minutes each time practicing a cutsie dance inspired by the Wizard of Oz. Some parents would laugh at me and I would just remind myself how much it took to even convince my mom to let me do gym and worked harder. I switched gyms recently due to scheduling conflicts and take private lessons now at around new level 3.

In many ways martial arts helps gym. You have to do many reps full out, and it really builds pain tolerance. However they don't emphasize flexibility and I find conditioning in gym 10x harder lol. What really helps me the most for gymnastics is having a strong dance and music background.

Good luck on your testing!! Have fun at gym.