Clicked
There are times in a new hobby where you practice and practice a new-to-you skill, when it just clicks, and things suddenly start going more smoothly, quickly, etc. That first time when you knit a row without thinking about how the needles and yarn go on every stitch. That first swim where your breathing is dialed in automatically. That first time you're able to write or type a whole sentence just writing and not paying attention to how you form/type the words. And that feeling when it finally clicks is so exciting, because you know all the practice is finally paying off and you're on your way to doing the things you wanted to do well. This morning was that with the basic jump during jump rope with the 1/4 lb rope.
At some point in my youth I picked up a double-jump habit. So when I'd swing the rope around and jump I'd bounce an extra time while the rope was in the air. Jump-bounce, jump-bounce. Which is apparently bad form in jumping rope, and also kind of wasted effort. So much of my time with this new jumping practice has been staying fairly mindful of that and training it out of my jumps, meaning taking it slow and concentrating on staying down between jumps. Which has been fine, and it slowly got better and the urge to bounce receded. This morning, I decided to try speeding up a little bit, just to see how it felt, and everything just clicked. I was jumping at a good pace, no bounce, going smoothly, not tripping over my feet (mostly), and getting a much more intense workout. Felt fantastic, even with the increased intensity. Realizing it in the middle of the first repeat (the beginner workouts I'm doing are a lot of "do this jump for 30-45 seconds, rest for 10-30 seconds," etc.), and not losing the rhythm, was just so much fun. Definitely took it up a notch, and I'm looking forward to the next one this weekend.
At some point in my youth I picked up a double-jump habit. So when I'd swing the rope around and jump I'd bounce an extra time while the rope was in the air. Jump-bounce, jump-bounce. Which is apparently bad form in jumping rope, and also kind of wasted effort. So much of my time with this new jumping practice has been staying fairly mindful of that and training it out of my jumps, meaning taking it slow and concentrating on staying down between jumps. Which has been fine, and it slowly got better and the urge to bounce receded. This morning, I decided to try speeding up a little bit, just to see how it felt, and everything just clicked. I was jumping at a good pace, no bounce, going smoothly, not tripping over my feet (mostly), and getting a much more intense workout. Felt fantastic, even with the increased intensity. Realizing it in the middle of the first repeat (the beginner workouts I'm doing are a lot of "do this jump for 30-45 seconds, rest for 10-30 seconds," etc.), and not losing the rhythm, was just so much fun. Definitely took it up a notch, and I'm looking forward to the next one this weekend.