Skip it.

by

(my re-found love is now always ready & waiting by the front door)

 

I frequently lament how I dont love the cardio.

I do it (for my heart and for my daughter.  Im a firm believer once we become parents we forfeit the option of losing our mojo).

Yet everysinglesolitaryday theres a huge internal debate that goes on before I do.

You’ll *never* hear me say I dont wanna hit the weights and, in the same fashion, you’ll *never* hear me say I want to do cardio.

Until you will.

Somehow this woman of the I HEART PLAYouts had kindasorta forgotten the favorite cardio playout of her youth.

We called it a lemon twister (apparently those who chronicle stuff from back in the day insist we called it a Lemon Twist) & you’d have been hard pressed to find this little misfit WITHOUT a lemontwister whirling around her ankle.

Walk the half mile to the bus stop? Nope. I lemon twisted.

Plop on the bed after school to read & reread Harriet the Spy? Nope. I read whilst lemon twisting in our drive way.

You get the idea.  I went through so many of the black & yellow toys my parents finally dedicated a hook in the garage upon which to keep a few backups.

As a result I was super-excited when I spied a generic’y version for sale last April in Target.

I bought it.

I tossed it in the trunk.

I inexplicably left it there until last week.

As I shared in a different post most of this ‘leaving’ was due to the fact I was leading a fear based fitness life.

I was afraid trying to lemon twist would hurt my back & booty and I *knew* I wasnt emotionally strong enough to handle that.

I was afraid trying to lemon twist would cause me to feel every one of my forty-two years and I *knew* I wasnt emotionally strong enough to handle that.

Thankfully, as seems to happen frequently these days, the Tornado accidentally shoved nudged me outside my emotional comfort zone when she spied the Skip It in my trunk.

I yanked off my shoes (for some reason I never mastered Lemon Twisting with shoes) I slipped the plastic ring over my heel and muscle memory took over.

I lemon twisted through the kitchen, down the hall, up the hall, threw open the front door and lemon twisted all the way to her bus stop.

As a woman who loves to write it surprises me I have no words…no way to POWERFULLY enough convey how this experience made my heart sing.

My back didnt hurt.

Piriformis didnt whine.

The longer I twister the more energized I felt.

I experienced a pure & wonderful Lemon Twisting high.  Something Id never had during or after running.

It was a cardio experience (as evidence by my sweating and breathing) & one which bolstered my spirit as well as taxed my body.

As with all things I re-discover & am instantaneously re-smitten with, I wondered why I’d ever stopped.

I toyed with making this post a Skip It giveaway post (from me–not the brand) but it dawned on me my Skip It may be your hula hoop, pogo stick, hop scotch or monster feet.

As a result I leave you with a 10 second video of my new favorite, fab for travel, could be SO fun to add in juggling, maybe a good precursor to barefoot running cardio-exercise.

And I highly suggest, for your heart and your soul, you spend a few moments today looking BACKWARD & exploring your past for your joy.

No matter how joyous your today already is it never hurts to have a little bit more.

 

POSTS BY EMAIL

Never miss a post. Enter your email to get my latest posts delivered to your inbox.

Comments

  1. Haha I remember these from being a kid. I was so good at it I can’t remember why i stopped using is 🙁
    I wonder if it’s still in the garage? 🙂

  4. I had forgotten all about this toy I had when I was a kid. Instead of a ball or lemon at the end mine had a plastic shaped bell with a jingle in it so the faster I skipped the more it jingled. I meet about once a month with my gradeschool friends for dinner–now I know what everyone is getting for Christmas! Imagine 5 50+ women doing skip-it! If I get a picture I’ll send it along. Thanks for reminding me.

  7. I had one of these but it was in the 90s and I think it was called a skip it!

    I want your tattoo 🙂

  8. I’d forgotten about these joy makers! I think I may have too many jiggly bits to make the skip it (or the pogo stick) fun now, but you never know. Will keep an eye out at Target for any remainders.

  12. I’ve seen them in the stores lately and even had one in hand once while buying a few jump ropes (which are still hanging on a hook in the garage). And my hula hoops have been in storage since before we started stripping and finishing the floor in our house.

    You are a great reminder of how much fun I had with those hula hoops. They will return today! And skip-it is on the list too.

  15. I had one of those – I think we called it a Skip It but then again, that was a long time ago so what do I really remember? 😉 That WAS a fun toy! My all-time favorite was the Hippity Hop, and now that I think about it, I bet it was great for core work!

  17. So fun 🙂
    Years ago I took a boxing class, best workout ever!!!! And soo fun. The trainer was the best 🙂
    Cardio…. All I can say is thank goodness for the placement of a TV in front of my treadmill…. The only way I can get my morning cardio in. If I had to mindless walk every morning, I am sure I would have given up a long time ago!!

  18. We are so alike. I am a weights lover & not so much cardio even though I do tons of it! I do appreciate the challenge of the run & my Hokas let me do that again!

    I so remember this from being a kid! How fun for you!!!! I love this post Carla & so glad the bod can handle the fun of it! 🙂

  20. WOO HOO! I remember those things. I never had one (my parents NEVER bought the COOL toys).

    Well, I can fix that now, can’t I? I’m goin’ lemon twister hunting! There must be some online. And there must be something better to do this morning than *work* 😛

  21. You know I never saw this before until a couple of months ago when all the kids in the street had one of these. Suddenly it was a hit here in Holland.

    I do like cardio. I don’t like going to the gym and do weight training. That’s why I ended by gym membership and bought a couple of DVD’s with strength, cardio and yoga so I can alternate between workouts and I’m loving it. Even the workouts where I need to work with weights.

    We all have to find something we like doing because otherwise we probably quit sooner or later.

  22. Fun! I was never a big skip-it or hula hoop girl (too uncoordinated), but I used to dance my booty off in the living room quite frequently. I just danced for the sake of dancing. I’ve never been a dancer, but despite my awful moves, I didn’t care if I was home alone or not. Perhaps I need to bring this back into my life!

  23. Oh, Miz, thank you! This post just took me right back to 5th grade. Ahhh, the lemon twist. What a fun reminder that cadio doesn’t have to be mind-numbing miles on a treadmill. Love It!!!

  26. Awesome!

    Never had one, but it makes me want to resurrect childhood games that were so fun once. Anyone for freeze tag or dodge ball? How ’bout we all scale the fence and ignore the “no trespassing” sign and climb up the water tower and see how high up we can jump from without breaking anything?

    Or, hmm, maybe not all childhood games should be resurrected…

  28. I love to jump around even at work…
    I’m not sure if it’s “all that” for hard core cardio….
    But over the course of a day, I get about 30 minutes of BLAST time in…
    just 2 minutes at a time! So yeah…. 30 minutes I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. You think that’s a great idea – or what!
    😀

  30. Those never made it to my shores… I don’t think I’m ready to try it now – I’m a bit of klutz, you know! Looks like fun though.

  35. I won’t lie Mizzy.

    I was hoping we were really skipping the workout when I saw your tweet.

  37. I remember those! I got a hula hoop last year, for the cardio and waist whittling. But that was right about when I got diagnosed with my hernia and couldn’t do any core work. I wonder where I stuck that thing?

  38. Jump Rope! I could do that all DAY! Wonder where that thing went anyway? Thanks for the reminder. I do not love cardio.

  41. I remember the Lemon Twist! And yes, it looked like an actual lemon. My 11 year old found the same Target version a few months ago and I got quite the workout trying to teach her how to use it. I might have to dig through her room and find it and USE IT. And while I’m in there, I think I’ll pull out the Hula Hoop as well!
    This could be my new Retro Exercise Plan!!! 🙂

  42. I love the Skip-It. In fact, my mom bought a few a couple years ago at Target so we could do it again. Looks like I need to dig them out again.

    A few months ago, I started hula hooping and jump roping again when I know I need a workout but don’t want to “work” at it. When it becomes “just fun” I want to do it and the problem is solved.

  44. Yes, fitness should be fun while bringing out our childish zest for life. When fitness ceases to be fun, it becomes a chore! And then we lose our motivation. This is a great post, fellow fitness mama! Let me know if you’d be interested in swapping guest posts on our blogs 🙂

  45. I tend to get stuck on a rut of gym gym trail trail.
    I need to remember just moving around is exercise.

  46. That was terrific watching you do that Mizfit, loved hearing you whistle too 🙂 So glad you found your childhood love again.

  47. I found total ennui with cardio until I put a goal to it (races and trying to beat my time). Now when I don’t want to get out there, I think about the race I’m training for. Totally motivating to me.

    Although, if there was a way to do adult gymnastics without, say, danger of this old lady breaking a hip somehow, I’d be all for it. I feel the same way when I get a chance to go springboard diving. I still someday want to set up an adult diving league here….

  48. I’ve been wondering what happened to those! I have the most vivid memories of lemon twisting in my driveway growing up in Richardson, TX. I also did it barefoot, and remember stubbing my toe a lot. But it didn’t stop me, I loved it so. Thank you for this memory. I’m going to get one and have my second childhood.

  51. I didn’t have the real lemon twister when I was a kid, my dad made me a homemade version. Thank you for the sweet memory and thank youvfor reminding me that it’s okay to have fun! Fitness doesn’t have to be a test of wills all the time. I forget that but your lovely lemon looks like a lot of fun!

  52. I remember having a horrible time learning to use the lemon twist, but I fought through it and figured it out. Glad you are having fun with your cardio!!!

  53. Mine is the jump rope I even bought double dutch ropes and the kids and I have been trying to figure out how to do that. Not much luck with the double dutch, but a 5 minute jump rope session gets my heart rate up, gets me sweating and makes me feel great.

  56. I used to have a skip-it! I loved that thing. But my favorite thing of that nature is still either a pogo stick or a trampoline. I’ll trampoline forever with my kids, even if I do pee my pants a little. (yeah I do, every single time. I blame the children.)

  58. OMG OMG OMG, that was totally one of my favorites as a kid! I’m totally going to look for one!! My memory’s wonky sometimes, but, I thought I called it a lemon drop. I bet you’re right with ‘lemon twister’, though!!! Man, I loved that thing! And I’ve always despised exercise, even as a kid, but that thing – that thing I would do. And do. And do. And do!

  59. LOVE this post. And I LOVED my “skipper” when I was a kid. (in fact, I wonder if it is still in my parents attic. Hmmm) Thanks for taking me on a wonderful trip down memory lane to my childhood. Have a great Wednesday.

  60. When I was a little girl, my dad worked for Eldon Toys. One day he brought home a prototype of a “jumprope” that didn’t use your arms. It was exactly this thing. I totally loved it.

Trackbacks

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This