Off Season Alternative Training

Like many things in life, I kinda this one found me.  A Living Social deal popped in the inbox months ago for an introductary lesson in the flying trapeze at Aerial Edge. Following a brief moment of thinking "coooooooooooool" I bought a voucher with the aim of having it there for something fun to do in the off season.
About a month ago, while in the midst of my crappy bunged up and lethargic phase I booked the session to give me something active & fun to look forward to, but that didn't carry any pressure to compqre myself against where I'd been earlier in the year; Wednesday was the day I had my lesson.
The brief summary: it was brilliant!

Billed as an introduction session, I was plopped into the deep end with 4 other fliers who had experience with this and other aerial acrobatic skills, which suited me fine as there was way less faffing and more time on the trapeze.
I had figured that this was going to be a good workout for the upper body & the core in particular and I wasn't wrong! From the moment I climbed up onto the platform, it was all about core, poise and control. Onto the trapeze itself and the core had to be completely switched on to provide the power to beat the legs forward and back, powering the swing. The timing started to come reasonably quickly and I had a grin on my face everytime I landed in the crash mats, even the time I slipped off at the start of my swing. There is lots to learn there, but in the process of learning, I'll also learn a lot about my body and get some upper body strength again!
With my arms having the same feeling as post rock climbing, it was time to stop with the trapeze and get sent up to the catchers cradle. I don't think many people without aerial experience get put up there on their first lesson, so I'm quite chuffed.
The trapeze platform must've been about 12' off the deck and the cradle maybe 15', which for me, after climbing up the rigging to then step across the 3' gap is quite high up. The platform itself is only a frame with a wee boarded out bit either side. You sit down on a bar and lower yourself backwars to hang, with your calves on top of the first bar and your feet underneath another and then swing from the knees. To say this was a slightly odd sensation at first would be an understatement, as the first time I went back I freaked out and had a sensatiom that I was falling and sat back up immediately.
After a few long deep yoga breaths to calm me down and some chat from the instructor I got myself back down and swinging. A few more of those and it was time to get back down. It was quite a buzz, to be fair.
The only downside of the whole things is that 48 hours later the DOMS really kicked in, with my abs in particular feeling it. It tells me though that if I keep going back as intended, I'll get the core workout I'm looking for and also brings something completely different to my training to mix things up!

This morning's blog was written while listening to the gentle tones of Slaughter of the Soul by At The Gates. A mighty fine album.

Stuck in a Rut

So I probably chose the wrong time to announce my new challenge, as I've done hee haw since, between hangovers and colds. Still, I can just call it the off season, eh?
In truth, I've been in a total rut aince Roth. I've allowed myself to be lazy in many aspects since then, particularly my diet, which has been spectacularly bad since then, and I've probably been slightly dehydrated something stupid like 80% of the time, both of which add into the cloak of lethargy that I have woven around myself.
There are many excuses, but no solid reasons, just slipping back into bad habits, habits that need to be eradicated once and for all, because at the peak of training for Roth I felt strength in my body that I'd always assumed I'd never be able to attain, and energy levels that I'd not had since being a kid and I want them back.