M2M Day 96: I thought I would be scared, but I feel something even more confusing…
This post is part of Month to Master, a 12-month accelerated learning project. For February, my goal is to land a backflip.
Yesterday, I went to my first backflip lesson and made great progress.
Largely, I attribute this progress to the harness/pulley contraption I used to practice: Basically, I was able to try nearly real backflips on the ground, but with the peace of mind that I wouldn’t die.
As a result, the fear I had entering the session disappeared. In fact, I’ve proven to myself that I can easily land a backflip without a problem, or at the very least, not land on my head (which is arguably my current measure of success).
And yet, although I’m not fearful anymore, I’m still really confused: I have no clue how I’m doing a backflip. Clearly, I’m doing something right, because I’m landing on my feet, but I can’t explain what.
My body seems to know what to do, but my mind doesn’t feel in control of the process.
This isn’t a new feeling for me. I’ve always had a bad mind-body connection. When learning new exercises, it takes me time to figure out how to activate the right combination of muscles, and even longer to be able to mentally visualize that process.
As a result, right now, I can sit here and imagine the muscles I’d need to trigger to do a pull-up or a shoulder press or a sit-up. But, I can’t, at all, imagine what I’d need my body to do to execute a backflip.
In my brain, the “backflip folder” feels completely empty. And yet, I can watch the videos from yesterday, and clearly see that it’s not.
This disconnect between my mind and body is eerie: Watching the videos, it’s actually hard to believe they are real. Genuinely.
I hope, as I continue to practice, my mind catches up with my body, and I’m able to mentally trigger the backflip motion. This will give me the confidence I’ll need to execute a backflip outside of the gym or without a progression building up to it.
Read the next post. Read the previous post.
