12/6/2017 0 Comments WEEk 12- THE FINAL PRODUCT Welcome back bloggers to week 12! This is my final week in this project and I am very excited about it. This has been a very long and hard journey but I am so glad to say that I made it through and finished with the result I wanted. Everyday I stretched and stretched to try to get my needle by the end of week 12 and I cannot believe that I really did it. I had some doubts at times that I wasn't going to follow through with it but turns out I did and I am very proud of myself. At times I would say to myself, oh I don't have to stretch because I'm not going to get a needle anyways but I ended up stretching everyday and look where it got me.
There was many difficult parts to this project but I learned how to overcome them and was determined to get my needle. I think the hardest overall task was trying to pull my leg up when I didn't stretch much and almost breaking my back. Sometimes I would just want to get up and try and do my needle without stretching, but I soon realized that it wasn't the smartest idea. It would cause immense back to my back whenever I tried to do that and it wouldn't cause my leg to go up any higher because I didn't stretch before. I just wanted to get it over wit sometimes on Sunday nights and pull my needle but it wasn't a good idea to. Another hard part about this project that not many people would think about is holding the needle long enough to snap the picture. Sometimes I would hold my needle but not long enough for my mom to snap the picture and it was quite difficult. I think it was hard because you are holding an uncomfortable position and you have to hold it long enough to get a picture of it. I think this project was pretty fun because I gained a skill that I never thought I could get, but then it turned out that I actually did get it and I am proud of myself for that. I knew all along that I was flexible but when I used to see people on my cheer-leading team do that I though to myself that is impossible you have to be extremely flexible to do that. I pushed through and I finally got the end result that I was hoping for all along. When I look at the picture of my doing my needle I am just flabbergasted. I never thought that I could do this incredibly hard skill but I found out if you push through and try hard enough then it is in fact possible. I am sad that this journey is over but I will keep up with my needle for a very long time.
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11/29/2017 0 Comments WEEK 11- GETTING CLOSE Welcome back bloggers to week 11! I can't believe this journey is almost to an end and I am very excited to share with you guys my end result. I have been working very hard these last couple of weeks so that I get my needle and I am positive that I will get it by the end of week 12. This week I got so close to my needle but couldn't quite get it. So, on week 12 I am going to make sure that I get my needle because this is a goal I have been wanting to accomplish for a while now. Learning how to stretch correctly can be a difficult process. If you don't do your stretches correctly then you possibly risk not getting your goal. For me, I had to find the right stretches to do for my needle and it took me a while. I had to google many possible stretching techniques until i found the right one to suit me.
Whenever I try to do my needle sometimes I fine that my upper back hurts. I have always had this tight muscle sin the top left corner of my back and it has been bothering me for a while. Whenever I am attempting to do my needle it stretches that muscle and causes a lot of pain to my back. This is why it is difficult for me to stretch sometimes and not want to get up and stretch. I have been telling myself that I need to stretch everyday and I have seen myself getting better at this. I used to not want to stretch every single day because I was tired and just didn't want to do it but now I realize that I have to in order to get my needle. This has been a long journey for me and I am so excited that I am going to get my needle by the end of these 12 weeks. Next week is week 12 and I ma very excited because I will have my needle. These 11 weeks have gone by pretty fast and I didn't expect time to move this fast. I wish that I had a little more ti,e to do this just to make sure i get my technique right but as long as I get my needle I am perfectly fine with what my outcome is. I am excited to share with you guys my needle next week! 11/21/2017 0 Comments WEEK 10- THE NEEDLE Welcome back bloggers to week 10! I am now in the double digits and it is getting into the final weeks of my goal. These next three weeks I intend to work very hard so I can get my needle. I have been stretching everyday and increasing my flexibility every week to ensure that I can my needle. I have been trying to stretch twice everyday now so I can 100% get my needle but sometimes I fall short. Sometimes it is hard when your relaxing and watching a movie and then you think oh I have to get up and stretch now. It is very hard to get the motivation to do that sometimes even though I know I have to.
I have found that now sometimes when I try and do my needle, my leg begins to cramp and causes me immense pain in right leg. I am still trying to figure out what is causing this because now every time I try to do my needle it causes my leg to cramp up. I have tried to sort of roll the cramp out and make it less tight but that hasn't seemed to work very well. On the internet I looked up hat to do to get rid of cramps and it said it apply a warm compress on the cramp. I also tried this and it relieved some of the pain with he cramp but not all of it. So, if this problem doesn't resolve then I am just going to have to push through and deal with it. I have come across quite a few physical problems when attempting to do my needle. I think part of the problem is I am not doing the right stretches or not doing enough stretches to prepare for my needle. Every week I keep trying to get my leg higher and higher and this seems to be working out for me. Since week five all I had was a needle and on week ten I have something very close to a needle. But this whole project isn't just about working to get my leg higher it is about increasing my flexibility so I can accomplish other things in cheer-leading as well. Most of cheerleading involves you to be very flexible so that you can do your moves and routines in cheer. Being flexible also decreases muscle tightness and helps you with other daily things in life. By week 11 I hope to have my leg almost touching my head. See you bloggers next week! 11/15/2017 1 Comment WEEK 9-GETTING FARTHER Welcome back bloggers to week nine! These past few weeks are going to go by pretty slow because all I am trying to do is get my leg a little higher each week so I can accomplish a needle. Weeks seven and eight I didn't put any pictures because all I was doing was stretching but I am going to put a picture on this weeks so you guys should see a drastic change from week six to week nine. Since about week six I have started eating better and exercising more in the hope that it will improve my flexibility. I have noticed from exercising more that it is a little bit easier to stretch and pull my leg because my muscles aren't tight anymore. Whenever I try to do my needle when my muscles are tight it is very painful. It is just easier if I get my muscles loose before I try to do anything or else I am afraid that I'm going to injury myself.
For about the last week I haven't been keeping up the with stretching that I need to. Part of the reason is because last week on Friday I went to the doctor because I had been feeling very tired lately and it turned out that I had mono. Mono is a virus that makes you have extreme fatigue and just not feeling up to anything. This caused me not to want to do as many stretches as I needed to and not to exercise as much. But I cannot blame this whole problem on me having mono because some of it is just lack of motivation. So, last week in order to get more motivated I started going to bed a little earlier so that I could have enough energy to do my stretches at the end of the day and eating a full breakfast before school every morning. Since I started doing this last week I have felt more energy to want to do thing and I also stepped up my exercising. Starting last week I have done fifteen minutes worth of stretching and forty minutes everyday of some exercising. For my exercising somedays I do full body workouts just to get a lot of my muscles loose and then somedays I do light workouts just to get my heart pumping. I have found hat exercising has helped quite a bit with my needle and I am going to keep up this routine until after my twelfth week. Two weeks ago I found that my leg was getting much higher than before. My leg is not quite straight behind my legs but it is getting there. Every week I am trying to get my leg a little higher than before so that I can ensure that I get my needle. If I don't get my needle then I am going to be very disappointed with myself because I have worked very hard this past couple of weeks. This week I accomplished a big step because I got my leg very far behind my head. It is almost to the point where it is straight but it is not there yet. I still have a lot of stretching that I need to get done before I can obtain my goal of getting a needle. I worked very hard this week and I intend to do the same for the next few weeks. See you guys on week ten! 11/9/2017 1 Comment WEEK 8- ACCOMPLISHING A GOAL Welcome back bloggers to week 8! This was a very exciting week for me because for the first time I didn't feel pain when I tried to do a needle and it was very easy for me. I think this is because in the past weeks I have been stretching extra hard and that has made my muscles more loose. Last week I accomplished one of my mini goals of getting a scale. This week I lifted my leg a little higher and I am very proud of that because it means I am getting closer and closer to my needle. Since there are only four more weeks left in this journey, I am ahead of schedule. Since I am ahead of schedule I am going to stretch a little more in my free time and try stretches that I haven't tried yet. Since I lifted my leg a little higher this week I am getting to the final stages of my needle.
This week I found some new stretches that have interested me an helped me gain more flexibility. Since my lower back has been causing me pain I found a stretch that really helped me with this. The stretch is called the Back Flexion Stretch. For this stretch you lay on your back, pull both knees to your chest while flexing your head forward. This stretch really helps my whole back because when I pull my head forward it pops my whole spine and feels very relaxing and good. Now since this stretch has helped me in many ways I am going to start doing this stretch every time before I attempt to do a needle. This gets my back muscles loose so that I can pull my leg as high as it needs to go to get a needle. These past eight weeks have been kind of difficult for me because of all the stretching and frustration it can cause me. Whenever I attempt to do my needle and I don't get close or I fall it causes me to get a little mad at myself because I know I can do it and I don't like to fail. It is also very hard to keep your balance because you're standing on one leg and the balance is not equal. I don't have the best balance in the world so sometimes it is hard for me to do my needle and try to do it while I am not holding onto something. For the next four weeks I am going to try to get my leg a little higher and by the end of those four weeks I am going to have a needle. See you bloggers on week 9!! 11/1/2017 0 Comments week 7-Higher and Higher Welcome back bloggers! I am now onto the final stages of my needle and I couldn't be more excited! This has been a long but fun process and I cannot wait to see my needle at the end of this. I have been working very hard each week to improve my flexibility and it is finally paying off. Last week I mastered a scale and by getting that it made me a lot more flexible in my back and very much so in my legs. Every week when I lift my leg higher it makes me just a little but more flexible. At the end of these twelve weeks it's just not about getting my needle it's about increasing my flexibility along the way. I have always been flexible my whole life because I am double jointed but I have never really done anything with this gift. So, I decided I am going to make myself more flexible and finally do something with it. I have done cheerleading since I was in third grade so people just assume that you're naturally flexible but that's not the case.
When I started cheerleading I wanted to be very flexible like all of my friends and do all the same stretches that they were doing. I was flexible but not flexible enough. I wanted to be like my friends and impress my coaches just because I was flexible enough to do a stretch. By doing a needle it can lead you to lots of other cool and interesting things that you can do. When you get your needle you can to all three splits, overextended splits, maybe a needle with the opposite leg, and all the stretches leading up to a needle. This week I am going to have to stretch a lot to ensure that I get my needle. The stretch that seems to benefit me the most is overextended splits. This is because I am actually touching my leg with my head and its like doing a needle but on the ground. My second most beneficial stretch is where I put my leg on a doorframe and put my leg flat on it. This stretches the inside of my leg very well so that when I practice my needle it seems fairly easy. I have been having trouble with my back lately and that is causing my stretches habits to go down. Since my lower back hurts it's difficult to try and do my needle because of the pain and stress it causes on my back. A needle is not just about stretching every week to accomplish it. It's about dedication and lots of motivation to make you want to stretch. Somedays when I know I need to stretch I just have no motivation to do that. But then I tell myself that I have been wanting a needle for a long time and I need to get this. I have also heard that being flexible can also make you loose weight. I'm not sure that that statement is a myth or not but it seems true to me. I think it is true because if you have motivation to get a needle and be active everyday it can make you loose weight fast. See you bloggers on week eight! 10/25/2017 1 Comment week 6- halfway Welcome back to my blog! This is a super exciting week for me because I am very close to getting my needle. This is week six which means it is the halfway point so I am going to work very hard these next six weeks. These past six weeks have flown by and I haven't realized how fast time flies until now. When I first started this project i was thinking to myself that I am just going to take it show the whole time but now I have realized that I can't. Getting a needle is much harder than people think. It involves very hard stretches that you have to do weekly and getting more and more flexible as the weeks progress. I am in the final stages of getting my needle and I am very excited. I need to keep doing my stretches daily so that I become more and more flexible.
On Thursday of this week I went to my cheer gym and my coach helped me with my stretches. I haven't been to my cheer gym in a while so it was good for me to get back into the routine. When I got to the gym I first worked on tumbling just to get me warmed up and ready. Then after I got my muscles loose we started working on the flexibility aspect of it. I did a lot of scorpions to help me stretch for my needle and I did a lot of splits. I wasn't used to all of this stretching at the gym because they work you much harder. But this was a good experience for me to go because it made me a lot more flexible. Now I am going to start going to the gym every Thursday because it improved my ability to do a scorpion and I did more stretches there. One thing I am very proud of that I accomplished this week is something called a scale. A scale is lifting your leg a little bit higher than a scorpion and not quite touching your head yet. This gets me much more closer to my needle so I am very excited about this. When I did the scale I felt some sharp pain in my leg. To help with this I did some splits and some scorpions and tried it again.The second time I did it I didn't feel any pain at all and it made it easier to do the scale. The following weeks I just want to work on getting my leg a little higher every week. See you next week bloggers! 10/18/2017 3 Comments week 5- taking it slow This week was a very simple week for me. Since I got my scorpion last week, I decided to take a week off and do all stretching to help me get my goal of getting a needle. When I got my scorpion last week I felt immense pain in my back and also my leg. After that I decided to do something about it and stretch. I searched up a lot of stretching techniques to do and I found quite a few that I was interested in. A stretch that really helps me is a back bend. Most people know what this is but spefically cheerleaders and gymnasts because it helps your back stretch very well. First you lay on the floor and then lift your back up so only your hands and feet are on the floor. This stretch is also called a "bridge" because you physically look like a bridge when your doing it. The back bend stretch is now going to be my main stretch for when I am about to do my needle or any other stretches.
I worked really hard on stretching this week because this is going to be my only easy week and the rest are going to take some work. I have heard of stories of people getting seriously hurt or pulling something when they try to do a needle. It is not any easy task to do and it will take a while. I am almost halfway from getting my needle so this means after week five it's getting serious. I was very serious about my stretching this week because I wanna make sure I don't hurt myself. If I hurt myself then that means I won't be able to accomplish my goal of getting a needle and it will make me very upset. This week in my view was a very successful week! I got a lot of my stretching done so that I am fully prepared to do my needle. For next week I am going to make sure my leg goes a little higher than my scorpion and I am going to do this technique every week. Coming up on week six after this I have decided to step it up a notch. I will be stretching extra next week to make sure that I get my needle. This will require me to be very determined and want to actually stretch. I will see you bloggers on week six! 10/11/2017 0 Comments week 4- scorpion Hello bloggers! This was a very exciting week for me because I finally accomplished my goal of getting a scorpion. I have been struggling to get one and this week I got it. I didn't hurt my back or my leg in the process and it also made me more flexible. To get my scorpion this week I had to do an immense amount of stretching. The reason I couldn't get my scorpion the previous weeks was because I wasn't doing enough stretching or preparing my body for a scorpion. So this week I buckled down and finally got the scorpion. Now since I have accomplished my goal of getting the scorpion the next few weeks are going to be very difficult. Week five I am going to take that week for just simply stretching for my needle. Stretching is the biggest part of my project and it will be the difference between either getting my needle or not.
This week whenever I actually got my needle I found it hard to balance on just one foot. I fell over a couple times once I got my scorpion and it frustrated me. I am going to concentrate on my balance a lot now and especially next week. Another challenge was that it was very difficult for my father to get a picture of me doing the scorpion because I do not have the best balance. There are a lot of challenges when it comes to being flexible. You have to eat right because that helps with the stretching of your body, you have too be careful not to hurt yourself and stretch daily. I have only sort of hurt myself once while trying to do the scorpion. When I was trying to do my scorpion this week, I stretched my leg a little farther than I should have and I felt a very painful sensation near my groin area. I have now been very careful about stretching too far and making sure to stretch before I try to do my needle or my scorpion. Well now is the time that I am on the verge of getting my needle after next week. My main stretch that I am going to do is putting my right leg against a doorframe and doing a needle that way. But before I try to do this stretch I am going to have to do some more simple stretches so I don't pull anything. I am just going to sit down and touch my toes and hold them, do some splits and just mainly simple stretches to get my body used to doing a needle. Some overextended splits would also benefit me greatly so I can get my needle but there is a chance that I may pull something. Doing overextended stretches can be a difficult thing to do but can benefit you greatly. Till next time bloggers! 10/4/2017 1 Comment week 3- the needle Hello bloggers! This is week three for my blog and I am very excited. Last week I almost accomplished my goal of getting a scorpion. But I ran into a bit of a problem. When I tried to actually do the scorpion I couldn't reach my leg to my head because I didn't stretch out enough. It was very difficult for me to stretch because I simply didn't have any motive too. But this week I am going to tell myself to stretch and simply get up and do that. This week I am going to get my scorpion so that I can come closer to getting my needle. If you get the simple techniques down first then it makes it more easier to get your needle. I have found that when you eat healthier that it makes stretching easier. Your ability to stretch is much more easier and it doesn't pull as much muscle.
When I did my stretches for last week I found that it hurt my back more than my legs. It caused immense pressure on my back and caused it to burn. I did not expect this to happen because when I was doing my split stretches, I was expecting my legs to pull bit instead my lower back had a lot of pain. To stretch my back I am going to do the cat stretch which is putting your knees on the floor and then leaning up and stretching your back. I have also learned that yoga will help with stretching and getting more flexible. I have a yoga mat at home so for my stretches this week I am going to do a lot of yoga. For some more steps in this process of getting a needle I am going to eat healthier, do stretches on Saturday now instead of skipping that day and also coordinate with my cheer-leading coach and stretch. Last week was not a very successful week because I really wanted to accomplish my goal of getting a scorpion but I didn't. I was disappointed in myself that I didn't get that goal last week but this week I am going to make sure I do. I will see you guys next week! |