00:02I'm Lucy Fink. I'm a video producer at Refinery29, but every so often I like to try other people's jobs.
00:10Today I'm at Chelsea Piers in New York City and I'm going to see if I have what it takes
00:14to be a gymnast.
00:16This is Lucy for Hire.
00:19Gymnastics is an amazing sport in part because it involves your entire body.
00:24It gets someone in incredible shape in a way that I think no other sport does.
00:28And you get to feel like a superhero a little bit. You get to fly and flip and do great
00:32tricks.
00:32Before getting started, we warmed up together.
00:34So let's start out with some high knees.
00:38I did a bit of gymnastics as a child, but I haven't touched on it for at least 10 years.
00:45We're already out of breath. Uh-oh. We're just getting started.
00:50What was a mild warm-up for Anya was a full-on workout for me.
00:58Well done. Let's go into some static stretching.
01:01Oh, man. Upward dog.
01:03We finished up with a few more poses and then we were ready.
01:07That's it. Good job.
01:09All right. Your first challenge is the vaults.
01:13But first, I have to change. Oh, first you have to change into my gymnast outfit.
01:27A great vault starts with a great run. It's got to be fast. It's got to be powerful.
01:31And you have to have the right body shapes as you hit the springboard in order to have the power
01:35and amplitude that you need for successful vaults.
01:39Vaulting involves running down a padded or carpeted runway, hurtling onto a springboard, and then springing yourself onto the vault.
01:46You have to run very fast and literally explode off the board in order to get enough height and momentum.
01:56All right. First hand spring vaults.
01:58Not bad. How'd I do?
02:01Not bad at all. Great stuff.
02:03Ready to move on to the next challenge.
02:05Your second challenge is the uneven bars.
02:09Uneven bars is all about upper body strength. It's all about arm strength and core strength.
02:16Once I could hold my chin over the bar, Anya taught me a back hip circle.
02:20It's a beginner move, but it looks very complex.
02:24And once I had that down, I felt ready to jump to the high bar.
02:28But a couple of swings were more than enough for me.
02:31Very nice.
02:32How do they do this?
02:34Okay, so as you can see, the bars are not my strong suit.
02:38They're rough on the arms, rough on the hips, and rough on the hands.
02:41But I'm very glad I tried it.
02:43Your third challenge is the balance beam.
02:47Balance beam is all about balance.
02:48It's also very much about core strength.
02:50Not so much powerful strength, but isometric strength.
02:54Keeping your core engaged so that your body's not wiggling all over the place.
02:59We started out with the basics.
03:00A few jumps, some toe elevations, and a couple of turns.
03:04And when I felt comfortable enough, I tried doing a handstand.
03:08Starting on the low beam, and then gradually making my way up to the high beam.
03:13And you stuck it!
03:16And then I tried the infamous beam cartwheel.
03:20Moment of truth!
03:21It was nice!
03:25Next beam.
03:30I fell off many times.
03:33It's alright.
03:34Overshot it.
03:36But eventually, I stuck that too.
03:38Got it!
03:39Made it!
03:40And the dismount!
03:43Okay.
03:44Round up dismount on your own.
03:52Your final challenge is the floor.
03:54Let's start out with our basic forward rolls.
04:00Whoa!
04:01I'm dizzy.
04:02The floor is really the basis of all gymnastics.
04:05On the floor, we're going to focus very much on handstands,
04:07which you'll see across all of the gymnastics events.
04:10Wow.
04:11Okay?
04:12Yeah.
04:13You got it.
04:13I might need some support.
04:15I'm going to support you.
04:15Okay.
04:16You got it.
04:17Take on up to your handstand.
04:19Bend your arms.
04:20Candlestick shape.
04:21Roll right on up.
04:22Ooh!
04:23Gorgeous!
04:23Not bad!
04:24I did some handstand forward rolls, and then an entire sequence across the floor.
04:28And with Anya's help, I was feeling like a pro.
04:31Well, sort of.
04:39So you're just going to jump into that nice, laying back straight position.
04:43You're going to be arched over the barrel.
04:45Your hands are going to come to the floor.
04:46Your job is to keep your arms really straight, and your shoulder angle open.
04:50Don't let this happen.
04:51Yep.
04:51And then we're going to bring your legs over.
04:53First back handspring.
04:54You got it.
04:55All right.
04:55Let's do another.
04:56Ready?
04:56Same thing we just did over the barrel.
04:59Back handspring.
04:59Back handspring.
05:00Take it backwards.
05:02Woo!
05:02Woo!
05:03Very nice.
05:06Woo!
05:07Fantastic!
05:08Yay!
05:09How do I do?
05:10Amazing.
05:11Great job.
05:13My pleasure.
05:14She was fearless.
05:15Lucy went for every skill I asked her to do, and did them all beautifully.
05:19At the end of the day, I made it out unharmed.
05:22A young child in the gymnastics arena even asked me if I was training for the Olympics.
05:27That is not a joke.
05:28And that really boosted my confidence.
05:29All in all, my time at Chelsea Piers was so much fun, and I left feeling like gold.
05:34Hey YouTube!
05:35Thanks for watching my attempt at being a gymnast.
05:38What else do you want to see me try for Lucy for Hire?
05:40Click here for another video, here to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and right here for
05:44my personal YouTube channel.
05:46And please click something, because I'm just pointing at air.
05:49This is embarrassing.
05:51Ugh.
05:51Thanks for listening to our video.
05:51This video also has made me a great day of watching, and that's really who I am going to do,
05:51and I look at the video.
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