MIZ on a pole.

by

This is how that would look.

This is how that would look.

 

I know. 

The title was kinda mean.

It actually didnt occur to me what you mightcould surmise this post was about until it was written, edited and I *stopped* to reread the title and then grabbed a sharpie and some construction paper.

Alas it’s not about SEXXXY MizFit time.  (although Id like to explore that. OAKLAND? lets do a class!)

It’s about PLAYouts.

It’s about getting our PLAYGROUND time on (which, if youre me, is the anti-thesis of sexy).

It is, in fact, really more about ROPE CLIMBING—something thats been on my mind for a while now.

Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad gym class flash backs and all.

Allow me to elaborate.

A few months ago the Tornado started circus class.

Toward the end of the class they do “stations” which consist of floor work, silks and rope climbing.

Bring on Cirque du Soleil!

Bring on Cirque du Soleil!

She, unlike her misfitMama, rocks the rope climbing. 

As I watched her scamper up the coil it struck me how she LOVES rope climbing (!) because she doesnt have all the additional (gym class) baggage I have.

Watching her climb and fall and sliiiiiiiide down and climb again and play around with climbing only using her arms and giggle the entire time made even *me* long to try rope climbing again.

I went up after class and quickly learned it is NOT proper protocol for moms to mount said ropes and “have at it.” Who knew?

Since I didnt have access to a rope—we decided to try scampering up this structure at the playground:

Yay for free "gyms!"

Yay for free “gyms!”

The Tornado informed me we would be climbing without using our legs and proceeded to demonstrate proper form.

At this point I didnt care if I couldnt make it much off the ground.

The pride emanating from her at the opportunity to be the expert made.me.smile.

"Just do this, Mama!"

“Just do this, Mama!”

I’d be lying if I didnt share I was apprehensive about trying.

Im not sure if it was more remembering how badly I sucked at climbing the ropes in gym class or fear at the peeling, icky state of the pole.

Regardless I felt surprisingly nervous as the Tornado shouted GO MAMA!! GO!!

I was pretty sure this was a bad idea.

I was pretty sure this was a bad idea.

But embraced the fear, grabbed the pole, *completely* relaxed my legs, and strived to haul my ass self upward.

 

 

And while the process kind of sucked (Im nothing if not honest. It was hard on everything from HANDS to shoulder joints!) getting to the top rocked!

 

  • What was the last childhood fear you faced?
  • Do you share my HORRIFYING gym class experience?  (please never to even utter the word VOLLEYBALL in my presence)

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Comments

  1. I missed out on having to climb the rope in gym class. It was never even around all through my school years! I can just imagine how hard it is. Your little video makes me want to attempt to climb the pole next time I’m at the park with the kids. I’ll keep you updated on if there’s any HFM on a pole. 😉

  2. I had my flashback of the rope as soon as you mentioned it. We were still in our old gymnasium with peeling paint and dark lighting and the rope in the middle. I remember I wasn’t too good with it back then, wonder how I’d fare now?

  3. Yeah, I never passed the ol’ rope climb or the pullups.

    Miz on a pole….I really thought you went to a fire station and they let you slide down one. 🙂

  4. Such an amazing moment! I can relate in so many ways but do we need to mention the translation this whole event has on LIFE?! Or because I’m in one of those places of needing to get back on the gym class rope and try climbing again, that I’m piecing things together too much? 😉

  7. I totally thought I was going to read about a pole-dancing class, too 🙂 Way to go, though, that is awesome! I remember thinking it was a joke that we were expected to climb all the way to the top. #1 – It was HARD! (And I was adverse to all exercise as a child.) #2 – My hands hurt! #3 – It was scary!

  8. OMG, you rocked that pole! My nightmare PE event is running. I had to do cross-country because PE wouldn’t fit in my gym schedule and I didn’t know about anti-chafing products … I guess doing it for fun is the best revenge!

  10. Tornado is so fun! I cannot believe there is a circus class. My kids would looooove this. My nightmare in PE was baseball/softball. I could never hit the ball and always felt really dumb. 🙁 Well, I also couldn’t really do pull-ups during the annual pullup test.

  11. You both ROCK! Maybe that should be my next challenge. Every time I run I face my childhood demons. I was always last during the mile run because I couldn’t run it. My 5K PR this weekend was another huge step forward.

  12. Rope and pole climbing were never my forte as a kid…no physical activity was really lol. I’ve been dying to try again as an adult!

  15. I like you should still channel your inner sexpot and take a pole dancing class haha.
    This post is adorable. I remember loving climbing, gracefully swinging across the rings and the monkey bars when I was younger. But not it is really super-duper hard!

  16. PE classes soured me on fitness for decades! I dreaded both the running and the gymnastics. Rope climbing? Never woulda happened. Good for you!

  19. I have no bad memories of rope climbing in gym class. Either that means I’ve blocked it out completely, or it never happened…somehow I suspect my mind is protecting me, lol!

  20. I adored the poles as a kid but barely went near the ropes. They were thick and scratchy and rough on the bod.
    Nice work!!!

  22. Go you! I don’t remember having to climb a rope in gym class. I just always hated to have to play any sports like games. And dodgeball? Who the heck decided that was ideal for kids? Love the idea of climbing the pole in relation to something that scares the crap out of you in life.

  24. LOVE this. I love it when our kids get to be the proud ‘expert’ and show us how to do things. Although now with an almost teenager, she thinks she knows more than I do about EVERYTHING! We give them wings, right?

  26. You totally rocked that pole. 😉

    And, btw, I think what adding to the insanity of the rope climb is that it is not stable like a pole. It swung around while you tried to climb it. Yikes.

  27. Yes, we all thought of pole dancing EXCEPT I did recall your rope thread over at FF. 😉 I love the whole Tornado experience & that she is experiencing different things – FUN! So cute that she cheers you on as the “expert”. You rocked that – loved the addition of our matching YMX tanks! 🙂

    I face childhood fears & demons every day unfortunately or at least every week – part of the reason for my I AM ENOUGH campaign.. to try to get past them at 55. Not physical but more emotional & about my internal demons..

    I was fairly good in gym BUT I was also heavy the first half of high school & that was no fun in gym class…

  28. Totally relate to this–I despised the rope! In fact, my daughter is really good at it and just the other day she was asking us where she got it from–both my husband and I chuckled at that and noted that it definitely was not from me!

    This weekend I get to do something along those lines–I am going to a ropes course with a bunch of ladies. NOT my thing and I’m afraid I’ll have flashbacks, but so looking forward to giving it a go!

  29. I detested gym class, both as a child and a teenager. I was thrilled when I completed grade 10 and it was no longer mandatory.

    For most of my life I did not consider myself an athlete (ironic, given what I do now). I was the last picked for every team sport. Although my parents insisted on swimming and skating lessons (all Canadian children must skate!), neither of them stuck and I was the ‘musical and clever’ child, rather than the ‘sporty and athletic’ one.

    Your post reminded me of how strong those childhood associations with physical activity can be…

  30. One of the great joys of fatherhood (early on) was playing on the jungle gyms, and tree climbing with my girl. A gym class washout in my youth (pure hatred), I was a middle aged monkey with my child. She and still talk about how I was usually the only parent in the park that would climb with her — trees, ropes, or jungle gym…

  31. I don’t have a munchkin to play on monkey bars and gyms with so I take my nieces whenever I can. I get odd creeped out looks from parents when I play on them now on my own and do a few fitness things, which is too bad.

  33. Just this past weekend I jumped off the diving board! When I would do it as an obese kid it made huge waives and a painful splash that I soon realized need not be repeated. At the pool this weekend my kids were all “Mommy, just do it” …”Mommy be brave”. Long story short, I did it! Only once, but I did it.

  35. I’ve blocked out all the bad memories of gym class as a kid, but I LOVE the playground! I want to climb to the top of a pole!!! It all looks so fun to me!

  37. Gee I haven’t had a nightmare about the rope in years. That thing was attached to the ceiling of the gym 2 stories up and they wanted you to go up touch the ceiling with one hand and come back down. I remember about 5 people in the class could do it. Everybody else climbed up 4 to 5 feet and stopped and half of those people only got that far because the teacher was lifting them.

  39. You work that POLE MISSY!!!! 🙂

    And while I would tell you ALL OF THE STORIES from “gym class” which was actually professional snowboarding… You don’t feel like reading a book right now, do you? lol

  40. I’ve never had the upper strength. Thankfully we didn’t have a rope climb, but I always dreaded the pull up bar!

  41. In the gymnastics portion of gym I was banned from using the uneven bars (my center of gravity was right at my hip bones). So I played a lot on the ropes. LOVED them! I could hold and flip upside down… I could climb a little bit.

    I’ve always had more upper body strength than lower…

    Now? my head would remember the awesome and the body would so fail…

  42. Back in the day, I spent a lot of time on the rings and bars at the playground (and was very proud of the resulting callouses). It was the “in” thing at my elementary school. Then unfortunately, hit junior high on and girls weren’t encouraged much to climb poles, ropes, or swing in rings. Too bad.

    What I was really bad at (and still haunts me now) is throwing a ball. I think a lot of it is in my head, but it never goes in the direction I plan it to.

  43. I was that kid in school who was completely unathletic, so I can’t say I have great memories of gym class. I’ve since learned to find what I like so moving and getting fit isn’t traumatic – its quite the opposite. My worse gym/school memory though was during gymnastics, I attempted the uneven bars, didn’t succeed and fell chest first (before I had breast reduction) on to the mat, and everyone laughed and teased me about bouncing back up. I remember just wanting to curl up on the mat and disappear. Now, I couldn’t care less that I can’t spin on the uneven bars, and my boobs are pretty darn fantastic!! 🙂 Kidding…well, sort of! Have a great day pole girl!! You rock!!!

  44. Rock on Miz! That gave me flashbacks of gymnastics conditioning, having to climb up and down the rope with no knots, legs out, toes pointed in a straddle. 🙂 Up down up down up down up down. I’m pretty sure I don’t have the arm strength for THAT anymore, but here’s hoping I could shimmy up one – though I’ll have to find an avenue for testing that soon :D.

  46. Ugg… I hated having to climb the rope in gym! I always felt like I was the only one who couldn’t do it. I haven’t tried in years… and it’ll be years before I try again!

  47. Never mention gym class in any way, shape, or form! But i’ve gotten over the fear of riding horses that came from a fall. Had to so i could take my horse loving girls for rides.

  48. I like you on the pole!

    I had to conquer running as an adult. I was teased so horribly in gym class that running was very traumatic for me and it took me 25 years to try it again.

    We never did rope climbing, thank goodness.

  49. Way to haul up that pole!! And, I love hearing Tornado screaming for you in the background!!!
    Dodgeball?! Worst game ever in 6th grade PE!!!

  51. Take a rock climbing class-those are fun and you get much higher! I loved conquering the rope in school-finally made it to the top to touch the beam on the ceiling! whoot! Have been dying to try silks (daughter loves them)-but classes are late in evening…gotta find one this summer!

  52. Ugh. I remember rope climbing. I could do it when I was very little, climbing to the top to proudly ring the bell, but by the end of elementary school, when I started to “fill out,” it became a nightmare. (Gymnastics was pretty much the same. All I was good for was being the base in the pyramid.) Oh, well, those trials make us stronger, emotionally anyway. 🙂
    Gaye

  53. I don’t think I have ever had to try rope climbing but I know there is no way I could have pulled myself up that pole like that.
    You go girl… look at those guns! 🙂

  54. You daughter is an inspiration! I finally tackled wearing shorts, which became a phobia during gym class. I was called chicken legs and other awful names. But the worst gym class fear was dodgeball. It should be outlawed.

  55. You have no idea how jealous I am that you have Circus Class. I feel like I teach Circus Class in my home on a daily basis, however there is no poles and ropes.

  57. Volleyball – don’t even get me started! I had no coordination in PE class and hated most of it. I never thought I could be athletic.

    Then some years back I had some feet issues and while the podiatrist conducted his exam he referred to me as “athletic” and I immediately corrected him and told him I was no athlete. Well he said I think you are as you are in very good shape, have strong legs and this injury is one that athletes get.

    That little exchange changed my view – yes I just might be athletic after all! I bike and hike on the weekends and I go for daily power walks! You don’t have to play a sport or be runner to be an athlete. Athletes come in all kinds of packages.

  59. I enjoy the rope climb even though I’m not very good, ha. I love how children just embrace everything and don’t over think it like us adults.

  60. You totally rocked it!! And can I tell you that I love that you went at the rope after her class?? Oh, there were many gym class fears but my revolved around the flexed arm hang that was part of the Presidential Fitness Test. Hated it. Couldn’t do it. Was lucky if I got 0.0000001 second.

  61. Sorry. I win the gym class horror award. We had to do gymnastics. As in uneven parallel bars and a regulation height balance beam. The chubby kid (me, of course) somehow (finger quotes) fell from the uneven parallel bars and had to be taken from the gym in a wheelchair. No more gym for her. Teehee????

  62. There was dodgeball. Mean boys (and girls) and a slow reaction time on my part. Let’s talk about something else, shall we?

  64. Gym class!! Ugh!! 2 of the nastiest words in my school vocabulary!! I sent so far as to work as an office aid to get out of gym class 1 year! Best year of my high school career!!

  66. I used to be able to climb the rope, I was the only girl in my gym class who could (thanks to being a gymnast and having lots of upper body strength). These days, I doubt I’d be able to climb. My upper body strength is lacking a bit and the size of my ass is not.
    In other news, I’d love to take a pole dancing class…

  67. I don’t think we had to climb the rope in gym class, but to be honest, I’m not so sure. I guess it wasn’t so traumatizing for me, but as soon as I read that, I pictured every movie that depicts that moment in a kids life. I remember the rope always being around, but that is about all. I still don’t understand the true point of that. It is like it is some cruel joke for the gym class teachers to be amused.

  68. Not so much a childhood fear, but just a fear – of reading my writing out in public – which I did just over a week ago. A BIG achievement for me!

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