Blog · Geriatric Gymnast · Managing injuries

Sometimes You Break Yourself…Again

Gymnastics is fraught with risk. Anyone who participates knows this. Once in a while, the risk catches up with you. No matter how careful you are, sometimes you break yourself. This is the start of another long road to recovery. December 15, 2024 I rise and shine, ready for another Sunday FUNday at Flipper's Gymnastics.… Continue reading Sometimes You Break Yourself…Again

Blog · Mid-Life Musings

Estrogen Matters to your Mind

I'm slowly making my way through the book Estrogen Matters (2018) by Avrum Blum, M.D. and Carol Tavris, PhD. It's deluge of science-based information has fast become the Bible of the menopausal transition set. It is helping me to better understand everything surrounding HRT. This article delves into what I'm learning about estrogen and brain… Continue reading Estrogen Matters to your Mind

Blog · Geriatric Gymnast

Overcoming Gymnastics Anxiety: My Back Handspring Journey

The summer of 2024 was a bonanza of gymnastics progress. I managed to avoid injury, and I had some pretty cool successes. There was a ton of breaking through some deep-seated Mr. Lizard fear of going backwards on the TumblTrak. In this article, I share my progress and the personal strategies I've used to get… Continue reading Overcoming Gymnastics Anxiety: My Back Handspring Journey

Blog · Mid-Life Musings · My Weight-Loss Journey · Self Care

Improving My Cholesterol in Perimenopause

The ins and outs of cholesterol, and 7 rules I've followed to improve my numbers this year, without statins. Let's talk cholesterol, shall we? Summertime is my rest and recovery time. I spend more time doing my Geriatric Gymnastics shenanigans. It is also my time to visit my doctors and check in on my health… Continue reading Improving My Cholesterol in Perimenopause

Geriatric Gymnast · Mid-Life Musings

Validating Fitness Strategies: Gymnastics, Nutrition, and Bone Strength in Perimenopause

Back in 2022, I wrote an article called Keeping the Bones Strong, which was an overview of the science behind bone building and how gymnastics activities really helps achieve strong bones. This article tracks my recent DEXA scan and looks at the strategies I've been using to maintain strong bones. I've spent the better part… Continue reading Validating Fitness Strategies: Gymnastics, Nutrition, and Bone Strength in Perimenopause

Geriatric Gymnast · Mid-Life Musings

Hot June Challenge, Geriatric Gymnast Style

What do Geriatric Gymnasts do in the heat? We pull it back a bit, but we still know how to have fun. Read on for some tips and examples of how we navigate class in the hot summer heat. The heat is on! Tuesday was one of those long, hot days just before summer begins.… Continue reading Hot June Challenge, Geriatric Gymnast Style

Blog · Geriatric Gymnast · Mid-Life Musings

Empowering GenX Women: Navigating Perimenopause with Expert Guidance

On one of my recent long walks, I was inspired to commemorate some thoughts on my iPhone. Seems as though walking gets the brain juices flowing and that's when many of my thoughts spill out. Dictating through heavy breaths, I waxed philosophical about being smack-dab in the middle of the menopausal transition. Living in perimenopause… Continue reading Empowering GenX Women: Navigating Perimenopause with Expert Guidance

Blog · Geriatric Gymnast

Practice makes habits

Whether you are a newbie or veteran gymnast, this article might be helpful when you consider how you create consistency in your training habits and why the journey is so darn hard. Gymnasts, particularly those of us โ€œof a certain age,โ€ work to develop complex physical skills through the obstacles of body limitations, fear and… Continue reading Practice makes habits

Blog · Geriatric Gymnast

A Primer for Back Tucks on the Trampoline

This article is designed to help gymnasts who are struggling with their back tucks on the trampoline. It offers lots of how-to tips and detailed, step-by-step descriptions of the hows and whys of the drills I've personally used to improve my technique. One of the main questions I often get relates to getting over the… Continue reading A Primer for Back Tucks on the Trampoline

Blog · Geriatric Gymnast

Improving backย handsprings, part 2

This article was actually written and published in February 2024, before my April version of Improving Back Handspring Technique. For some reason, it got lost in the WordPress ether and I had to do a lengthy archive search process to find it again. When I read it through, there was even more useful information than… Continue reading Improving backย handsprings, part 2

Blog · Geriatric Gymnast

Commit to the Fundamentalsย 

In gymnastics, every choice you make is an important one.  Each skill, whether a handstand, salto (flip) or a complex combination of moves, requires a laundry list of technical requirements. When you are first starting out, that list can be very intimidating. I coach adult gymnastics at Flipper's Gymnastics in Ramsey, NJ. We now offer… Continue reading Commit to the Fundamentalsย 

Blog · Geriatric Gymnast

Mental Breakthroughs 2

Two years ago, I wrote an article about some of the mental blocks I've managed, largely due to injuries sustained, and the mental breakthroughs I've made in trying to overcome them. Months later, I did a little research and realized that the reason for the blocks was due to our lizard brain, the part of… Continue reading Mental Breakthroughs 2

Mid-Life Musings · Self Care

Phytoestrogens and (peri)menopause

As a female Gen Xer firmly in the middle of her (peri)menopausal transition, I realize just how much I don't know about this part of my own life cycle. In my (peri)menopausal quest for knowledge, I've been digging for good research to learn what actually helps and what is bunk. This article delineates some of… Continue reading Phytoestrogens and (peri)menopause

Blog · Geriatric Gymnast · Mid-Life Musings · My Weight-Loss Journey

Weight-loss 12: Tricky 2023

It seems Iโ€™m posting these weight-loss journey reports biannually now. Apparently, I wax weight management when my work life wanes; during winter break and just as summer starts. A year ago, I recalled in part 10 the food challenges during my November reverie (birthdays, anniversary, Thanksgiving) and into the winter holidays (Chanukkah latkes and Christmas… Continue reading Weight-loss 12: Tricky 2023

My Weight-Loss Journey · Self Care

My weight-loss journey, part 1: Choosing to be Honest and Accountable

My doctor told my aging self that it was time to drop some weight. Here's how I did it. WARNING: There's no magic pill.