Mind games and other Blockers - Part one.

So now that I have stepped completely out of my comfort zone and taken up the challenge of learning to roller derby, I have discovered that it is a whole lot harder for me than I thought it would be.  

I was confident, shall we say, slightly cocky, to begin with.  Having done so much roller skating growing up I thought I would take to it pretty quickly but there were a few things I didn't see coming, a few 'blockers' that I will have to get past...

Blocker 1

My core strength, or rather my complete lack of it.  After stretching to accommodate 3 babies my abs resemble one of those cheap wine bladders rather than a sexy six pack.  

Anne Lamott writes  after the birth of her child that when she lay down to sleep her stomach 'laid down next to her like a puppy.'  I love that description - and it fits me perfectly.  

This has never bothered me before now - I am actually proud of my post baby body and all that it has achieved in bringing my lovely children into the world.  I have never felt driven to whip my body into shape so that I look like a 20-something who hasn't had children.  

After all, there are times that a soft squishy tummy comes in helpful.....

Suddenly though I care about how my abs work. By the end of training my lower back feels like it is on fire because my core is so weak, I can't even manage to do a proper crunchy and my attempts at 'whipping' are more like some kind of awkward high-five.

So it's baby steps for me, or shall we call them 'post-babies' steps?  Luckily one of the other freshmeat is a personal trainer and she showed me some easy starting exercises (did I mention that the other women who do derby are Awesome?)

Rock hard abs are only a few million crunchys away...