00:02I'm Lucy Fink. I'm a video producer at Refinery29 but every so often I like to
00:08try other people's jobs. Today I'm at Chelsea Piers in New York City and I'm
00:13gonna see if I have what it takes to be a gymnast. This is Lucy for Hire.
00:20Gymnastics is an amazing sport in part because it involves your entire body. It
00:24gets someone in incredible shape in a way that I think no other sport does and
00:28you get to feel like a superhero a little bit. You get to fly and flip and do
00:31great tricks. Before getting started we warmed up together. So let's start out
00:36with some high knees. I did a bit of gymnastics as a child but I haven't
00:41touched on it for at least 10 years. We're already out of breath. Uh-oh. We're just
00:48getting started. What was a mild warm-up for Anya was a full-on workout for me.
00:58Well done. Let's go into some static stretching. Upward dog. We finished up
01:04with a few more poses and then we were ready. That's it. Good job.
01:09All right. Your first challenge is the vaults. But first I have to change. Oh first
01:15you 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 and
01:31you have to have the right body shapes as you hit the springboard in order to have
01:35the power and amplitude that you need for successful vaults. Vaulting involves running
01:40down a padded or carpeted runway, hurtling onto a springboard, and then springing yourself
01:45onto the vault. You have to run very fast and literally explode off the board in order to
01:50get enough height and momentum.
01:56All right. First hand spring vaults. Not bad. How'd I do? Not bad at all. Great stuff.
02:03Ready to move on to the next challenge. Your 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. It's a beginner
02:21move but it looks very complex. And once I had that down, I felt ready to jump to the high
02:27bar.
02:28But a couple of swings were more than enough for me. Very nice. How do they do this?
02:34Okay. So as you can see, the bars are not my strong suit. They're rough on the arms, rough
02:39on the hips, and rough on the hands. But I'm very glad I tried it.
02:43Your third challenge is the balance beam. Balance beam is all about balance.
02:49It's also very much about core strength. Not 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. A few jumps, some toe elevations, and a couple of turns.
03:04And when I felt comfortable enough, I tried doing a handstand. Starting on the low beam
03:09and 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.
03:26Next beam.
03:30I fell off many times.
03:33It's alright.
03:34Overshot it.
03:36But eventually, I stuck that too.
03:38Made it.
03:39Made it.
03:40And the dismount.
03:43Okay. Round 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, which you'll see across all of the gymnastics events.
04:11Wow.
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.
04:17Kick 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.
04:38I think I need water.
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.
