(no subject)

[aslant]

yesterday the blowing snow was incredible. for a while there was a total white-out outside, with the snow still falling and the already-fallen snow being whipped around by the wind. so pretty & so cold.

	view from april's office
	view from my office complete with wet spots on the window! that's agassiz house on the left, radcliffe gym on the right (under renovation)
	view from my office radcliffe college apple tree memorial. new bench and new tree on the left, old tree sans bench on the right.
	view from my office during the heavy snow
	drying things on the windowsill at work

Comments

[nevers.livejournal.com]

such pretty views, such pretty-colored winter things, and a windowsill with so much character!

[aslant.livejournal.com]

it is a nice view, though what i haven't photographed is the large, messy construction yard in front of the old gym (actually a huge open wooden space, used to be a giant dance studio).

my windowsill is so beat up; they all are. we are due for a renovation in 2 years so they just never bother to keep them in nice condition! sad.

ooh, ooh. i wanted to tell you, i had a dream last night i could do a handstand and the splits! i was tucking up into the handstand with my legs in a split the whole time. it was so fun when i woke up i came out into the living room to see if i could still do a handstand against the wall. i sort of did it! i am so weak i can't hold it for long, but i did it.

[nevers.livejournal.com]

even if the sill isn't technically in nice condition, i like that it seems to have personality rather than being cold and corporate and bland, though.

and oh how exciting! (heather says to tell you that even she can't do a handstand against the wall even after taking a few classes)

[aslant.livejournal.com]

the whole building is pretty, i wish it were more photographable. i keep trying!

how far from the wall do they have you hold your hands? one way i cheat when i do those is by having my hands far enough away from the wall that i can lean once i'm up; i also try to get my back and hips against the wall before i kick up, so i'm not battling the gravity of my whole torso, just my legs, i guess. what sorts of things do they have you doing to strengthen arms?

[nevers.livejournal.com]

to kick up to a handstand against the wall, you probably want your fingertips about a foot away. make sure they're directly under your shoulders and your fingers are pointing forward and your fingers are splayed.

i really can't imagine getting your back and hips against the wall before kicking up. are your feet on the floor but your full back is against the wall (that doesn't seem possible). hmmm.

the best thing to do to get stronger handstrands is to stay in a handstand for as long as you can (it's totally fine to practice them with your heels resting on the wall). work up to being able to stay for a minute. in the beginning, come down and rest as many times as you need to, but try to get a total of a minute upside-down time. and try to stay up for longer and longer as you keep practicing.

you can also try doing handstands with your belly facing the wall. stand with your back to the wall and your heels against it, and lean forward and place your palms on the ground a couple feet from the wall. then climb up the wall with your feet until your whole body is extended. make sure your shoulders are directly over your hands (get kirk to check...). you can also practice staying in that position for up to a minute.

aside from doing handstands, push-ups are your friend (except probably not, because they're not that much fun). for push-up info go to
http://stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=75
you want to work on the kind at the very bottom of that page, where your elbows go straight backward, in addition (or even instead of) the regular kind.

did you ever do a wheelbarrow as a kid, where someone holds your ankles and walks with them as if they're pushing a wheelbarrow, and you walk forward on your hands? those are good for handstand strengthening, just make sure to keep your shoulders over your hands, and go forward and backward too :)

forgive me for butting in ....

[bruisesroses.livejournal.com]

[aslant.livejournal.com]

in order to get my back & hips against the wall i'm on my tiptoes. okay, maybe they're not flush against the wall, but very very close :) (this could also have something to do with me having short limbs?)

oof. pushups. a girl in my hall at smith used to have a standing offer, $50 to anyone who could do 25 full push-ups. we used to all practice in the hall together (it was carpeted) while waiting for the dining room to open! i don't know what possessed us.

i don't think i ever did wheelbarrows, but god do they ever sound near-impossible as an adult! i need a padded room to bomb around in to try half this stuff.

[bruisesroses.livejournal.com]

[aslant.livejournal.com]

yes! those are the gloves you gave me :)