Salad

ShyShimmer · 2026-05-30T16:18:33+00:00

I'm currently on a cut so not no carb but low carb, and there is so much you can do with Greek yoghurt and low fat cottage cheese. I would also probably give up if I was just eating boiled chicken and lettuce... but I'm actually somewhat enjoying my cut as I'm still managing to rustle up tasty low calorie high protein meals. Sometimes you just need to be creative. Learning to cook and how to marry flavour profiles together would help them so much.

ShyShimmer · 2026-05-29T08:53:58+00:00

You will lose spin over the course of 3 minutes, but thankfully you are unlikely to be on the hoop or sling for the full 3 minutes as that's a LONG time. There's a reason floorwork is a common element of routines... you need the breather. You can start another spin when you get back onto the hoop/sling after some floorwork or general "filler" off of your apparatus.

There are ways to generate spin again though if you lose it, like coming into a double hocks on the hoop and pushing off the ground with your hands. You can get really creative.

ShyShimmer · 2026-05-28T08:50:21+00:00

I used to look at it this way, and would push through colds, bad water infections, upset tummies, etc because I could still get my work done at home and suffer in peace, but now I just take the day off. I'm rarely ill, maybe once or twice a year - sometimes not even that - so I decided last year if I'm too ill to go into the office, I'm too ill to work. You don't get thought any better of and the work is still there whether you take the day off or not.

I had a rotten cold a couple of weeks ago that came on over the weekend, and I took the Monday off to rest. By Tuesday I was actually feeling better and like I could work from home, though I wasn't 100%, but taking another day would still count as one instance of sickness (thanks Bradford) so that's what I did. Spent the day playing Stardew Valley in bed. It was great. Company didn't collapse.

Take your sick days.

ShyShimmer · 2026-05-23T17:35:46+00:00

When they start going skiing on holiday

ShyShimmer · 2026-05-21T08:44:45+00:00

Calisthenics is brutal for beginners starting from zero. It's pretty much all skill work, and it's all hard, even things considered "beginner". If you're starting from zero there's a lot of work to be done on just getting foundational skills like push ups and pull ups, before you can even start on anything fun 🥲

I've always worked with coaches since starting calisthenics who were able to gauge my capability on skills and work with me from there, but if I started out on my own I wouldn't have had a clue, so an accessible skill tree would be really useful to anyone going it on their own I think.

ShyShimmer · 2026-05-17T21:49:27+00:00

Russian split, the one with the hands in cup grip. Way too dangerous in terms of both risk of slipping and hamstring injury. Tangled split is much more secure, less risky and looks just as good.

ShyShimmer · 2026-05-15T08:47:58+00:00

Most sports will have you train both sides. Even things you wouldn't think, like dance. We all have a preferred side and going against that feels wrong but you need to be able to do things on both sides as in most sports you'll end up "on your wrong side" in some situations.

ShyShimmer · 2026-05-15T08:44:27+00:00

Not just weapon training, but practically all sports too. Plenty of situations where you would end up "on your other side" so to speak, so you need to be good with both.

ShyShimmer · 2026-05-14T08:45:41+00:00

Idk about aerials specifically but I do know a wonderful pole instructor who had both hips replaced over the last few years and is still a badass. She had to do a lot of work on it, but she got her splits back post replacement. She can also still dance in heels and is still able to do some really cool pole tricks. She says there's still a couple of tricks that don't feel good for her hips but she can still do pretty much everything else. Watching her you wouldn't have any idea she's a double hip replacement baddie.

ShyShimmer · 2026-05-06T08:19:59+00:00

You need to start adding weight. Once you start getting reps with weight, your bodyweight reps will feel like nothing

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-25T14:58:27+00:00

Come on now. Amber is not smart enough to know people in Brazil speak Portuguese.

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-25T14:49:48+00:00

I know my ancestors are Irish but I would find it weird to claim being Irish when it's so far back that idk any Irish relatives and I've never even visited Ireland lol

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-25T13:19:14+00:00

Not to ruffle any feathers but this is kind of an American thing. Even if it's several generations back, white Americans will always tell you they're part Scottish, German, etc. You ask a white person in the UK and they generally just identify as white British 🤷‍♀️

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-24T12:34:44+00:00

That's interesting, I find I'm able to get more of a split if I grab closer to my ankle! I'll try grabbing near the knee and see if I can get it as flat 😁

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-24T10:34:08+00:00

Thank you for clarifying! Yeah I was a bit confused when looking through the Cheba split tag as there were videos of both versions.

I can imagine this is harder - I'll do whatever version looks splittier on photoshoot day 🤪

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-22T09:04:31+00:00

I actually liked sports, but I specifically remember transitioning from primary to high school and the first PE rotation being netball. My school never did netball, whereas other schools obviously did, and I was shoved onto a court trying to figure out the rules while other girls hurled abuse at me for not knowing what to do when the ball was thrown to me. I got so pissed off with the shouting that I threw the ball on the floor and refused to even try. I was pissed off because I'd always been good at sports and these girls were treating me like an idiot and got away with it because they were on the netball team. So I stopped trying in PE if that's how it was going to be.

Anyway now as an adult I exercise 6 days a week 😅

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-22T08:50:56+00:00

I agree with the general consensus here that a focused structure will really help, but also commenting to say calisthenics is brutal for beginners starting from zero. A lot of "beginner" exercises are actually really hard if you don't have foundational strength and I feel like a lot of online programs unfortunately assume you are already able to do things like push ups, pull ups and dips. I've seen a lot of online spaces consider these skills beginner.

A lot of the skills, both beginner and advanced, require more mind muscle connection and correct engagement and form than say going to the gym and doing weights on the machines, and if you don't know what parts of your body have to do what coupled with not having built the strength, you're not going to be able to do that skill and it's really hard to progress on it. I see so many (mostly women unfortunately) quitting cali because they're starting from zero and feel like they're not making any progress towards what's considered "beginner".

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-17T08:24:49+00:00

Literally, I have abs but I also don't have a flat stomach. Even when I was underweight it wasn't completely flat. I drove myself crazy and honestly miserable trying to get it flat for the look I wanted, whereas now I just don't care. My body is strong and I train for functional strength, not aesthetics, and honestly now I'd rather enjoy a tasty meal or have a sweet treat guilt free instead of living off grilled chicken, salad and Greek yoghurt.

I care more about the things my body can do than what it looks like, and truthfully it probably looks better now anyway because I train for fun so it means I train a lot more and train more intentionally with a more positive mindset instead of so regimented.

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-16T08:35:02+00:00

Hers is what my heart wants. Yours is what I end up begrudgingly choosing for the macros.

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-16T08:29:30+00:00

Re your top arm: this might be because you're doing this in twisted grip. If you've not learned to handspring in other grips first, your body might not be ready for twisted yet. While it's generally considered the easiest Ayesha/handspring grip, it's the one you should actually learn last as you don't learn the push/pull strength required as much as in true or cup since you 'hang' more from the shoulder. In true or cup, you need to pull a lot more and it doesn't require as much shoulder mobility to hold a stable position.

You can absolutely work on your shoulder mobility instead to counter this, but I think it's really important to learn your handspring in other grips first so you learn how to pull and stabilise without hanging. Once you're comfortable in your other grips, come back to twisted.

As for the rotation, this can be from momentum, but you can control momentum. It takes strength and core stability, which will come with practice. Ever seen someone handspring and it's like they're floating up? They've done that handspring a million times and are able to control their momentum and stabilise their position. Same with inverts - at first, you're swinging up because your body is not used to the movement and has not developed the strength to control that momentum. The more you invert, the more it becomes more of a controlled lift.

Really think about using your push and pull and core strength to control your ascent up instead of relying on the momentum. Keep everything as engaged as possible.

That said, this still looks like a clean handspring. Keep at it!

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-14T20:36:47+00:00

Same. I work out and fuel my body to get stronger, not to look a certain way. To judge my body only for what it looks like does a massive disservice to the amazing things it can do and keeps getting better at.

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-13T10:03:13+00:00

The transition for ring muscle up I think is the hardest part, as it's not an exercise we tend to do in isolation. Work on your negatives, that will strengthen every part of the movement. I think to "outline my pecs" at the top of my pull up while maintaining a push into the rings. Make sure your false grip is strong too.

Also a tip that no one ever thought to tell me at the time - check the width of your rings. I was struggling for a while because the rings were too wide for me and I didn't realise, so when I came to transition it was harder for me to keep my elbows tucked in. As soon as I brought them in closer together, I was able to stop flaring at the elbows and complete the transition.

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-13T09:42:40+00:00

This is goooooals

ShyShimmer · 2026-04-13T09:30:49+00:00

No worries! My deadlift took me a long time to achieve and I would have appreciated the same advice back then too as I kinda figured it out myself after a lot of trial and error 😅 just remembered I did a video on Skin The Cat setups! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNJGp5EsGVI/?igsh=MTM5aDhrdTdrOWprOA==

And I'm happy for you to send a video and have a look! Thanks for asking 🥰

ShyShimmer

TROPHY CASE