The Core is Key

How is it that nearly a month has gone by without me posting? How did that happen? Oh yes, I remember... I can't get my tablet to work at work. Grrrr.... So much has happened since our last talk. Well, not that much, but some interesting things. I was selected to the Adult Figure Skating Committee. Since it is in transition, my term is only one year. That's okay; you can get a lot done in a year. I was also accepted to the American Sign Language Interpreting program that I have applied to at least three times previously. When I received the acceptance email, I didn't believe it and asked someone else to read it to make sure that they said "yes". And then I had my sisters read it and another person. Guess you could say I'm in shock. Excited, nervous, thrilled and in shock. Back to skating. I've been struggling with my jumps; jumps I could do with my eyes closed at one point. Grant it, I have neglected freestyle for those blasted Moves in the Field, but I should still be able to jump. They're kinda coming back, sorta... It's frustrating and disappointing to spend so much time working on things I mastered years ago. Elements I could do two years ago that have now disappeared. I thought long and hard as to why this happened. Why it still isn't fixed and I could only find one reason: my weight. I am closer to 200 pounds than I have ever been in my entire life and I'm only 5'6. I have no core strength. I don't even work out any longer. The reason for that, I already know: I work entirely too many hours. At my old job, I had reasons to get up and walk around. The office was about a block long and several times a day, I would have to ask someone something, so I'd just get up and walk over. Back and forth, back and forth. The commute was about the same length, and now I get to sit on the subway and allow my mind to wander, rather than wonder if that SUV in the middle lane sees my small car and how are my brakes doing and I wish the A/C still worked... I'm hoping my manager will allow me to change my hours so I arrive at work earlier and leave earlier. It was my plan to skate at City Ice Pavilion on the days I don't have class (yes, my first class starts July 10th), but City Ice decided to eliminate the early evening freestyle sessions. Naturally. Sky Rink's Black Diamond sessions are totally different this year. Rather than having 1 1/2 hours for a freestyle, it's 30 minutes. Yes, you read that correctly, 30 minutes. What can you do in a 30 minute freestyle with 20 other skaters on the ice? Not much. Several previous participants have abandoned the idea of Black Diamond because, a 30 minute freestyle is a slap in the face. Even Learn To Skate has the public session after the class and the public session is longer than 30. Getting back to my jumps; I have come to the conclusion that in order to successfully shift axis, you need core strength. Yes, the core is key. And yes, I know, I've had my coach tell me this for years. Sometimes you have to realize something yourself before it finally sticks in your head. I've been working out in the morning (it's just too darn hot when I get home)and feel that that will assist in my jumping. There is nothing wrong with my jumps; my body is capable. My gut is just in the way.