Sahil: Ok this one is a bit random but I just have to know that if you had to pick any ONE of these surfaces to tumble on for the rest of your life, which would it be and why: Sprung floor, Rod floor, Air Trak, Tumble Trak, or Trampoline?
I would have to say the Air Trak! I choose this because it doesn’t hurt my body, I fly high, and it doesn’t throw my tumbling back how a tumble track, trampoline, and rod floor do. In Japan when I lived there, we found a gymnastics center that had one and I loved it! It was worth the forty-five minute bike ride to get there! My second choice would be a spring floor, because I’m old school like that!
Sahil: Good choice! The Tumble Trak always freaks me out a little since I have to control my power and yeah you really have to watch your angles. Now I know you did cheer for a bit, so from a coach’s perspective, what differences do you see in cheer tumbling, and what advice would you give to cheerleaders in general, if any?
The first difference in cheer tumbling is that cheerleaders do a lot of standing tricks and tucks/fulls from a back handspring (gymnasts do more of standing tumbling as drills to improve tumbling…they also do a lot of standing tricks on balance beam), cheerleaders also land their tumbling passes with the arms down by their sides
I know this because my first week at University of Nevada, Reno my coach (she scared me) would yell at me to get my arms down because I was so use to putting them up tumbling the gymnastics way with pretty fingers. Also, cheerleaders usually aren’t able to get as many running steps in before their tumbling pass due to less space.
So my advice to cheerleaders would be to do A LOT of leg strength with jumping/running drills and squat jumps to get a stronger take off for standing tumbling. They should also do a million handstand pops, handstand snap downs, and tumbling from their knee to get more powerful tumbling and push off their hands.
Also, cheerleaders need to squeeze! It’s very noticeable when someone has loose, bent legs in their tumbling…yuck! Get them straight! The last thing would be for cheerleaders to pull their chests up more as they land. This will make their flip appear higher.
Sahil: That is definitely good advice – not squeezing is one of my pet peeves as well. Now pain is often part of our sport due to its risky nature, and it seems you’ve suffered your fair share of injuries. I was wondering if you could tell us what you did to bounce back from those knee surgeries? Can you give us any specific conditioning exercises or stretches that helped you recover faster?
That darn knee! While I was recovering from both surgeries, I did a ton of crunches, sit ups and chin ups. Any strength you can do to keep the rest of your body strong without hurting your knee is great. I also swung a lot of bars…I improved!
As for the exercises, follow what the physical therapist says…they really know what they are talking about. I still do my PT exercises 3 or 4 times a week! The foam roller also helps too massaging the outside of the thigh…I think it’s called the IT band. Usually strengthening the calves, quads, butt, and hamstring helps as well as stretching your hamstrings with a pike stretch, splits…etc.
I have always been told to stop though when I feel any pain while doing the PT exercises. Maybe I’ll do a video of my knee exercises one day, because it would be near my bedtime if I wrote out every exercise lol!
Sahil: No worries, I understand. I’m sure we all would love to see that video. Speaking of which, I watched (creeped) a whole bunch of videos on your YouTube channel, and was delighted to see that you’ve still got the skills! How many times a week do you still train, and what advice do you have for older athletes that want to keep training?
Thanks for checking out some videos and thanks for the compliment! Being a stuntwoman, I have to stay in shape and be ready to flip on set if I get that call since some of the stunt jobs I have had involve gymnastics. For us older folks, basics are VERY important on every event and strength/flexibility.
Here are some: Casts and kips in a row on bars, kicks, handstands, runs, stretch jumps, run and punch on beam, handstand walks, cartwheels in a row, run hurdle run out of it, round offs, handstand pops, round off back handspring from the knee, standing back handsprings (three in a row), R.Off > BHS from a power hurdle and one step, front handspring punch, front tuck stepping down from a block and punching into it. There are more but that should give everyone a good idea.
Then, when you’re ready to do the bigger skills, use the pit and mats – save your body and maybe do just a couple on the regular surface. Also, try and train for a shorter amount of time, but with more frequency throughout the week. I can’t handle 5 hour workouts anymore (unless I’m getting paid…ha!) I do a little something usually 6 days a week or sometimes 4 or 5 once in a while. I always do my hollow body rocks, side plank or something like it, and superman holds around every other day. I also try and do chin ups and leg lifts every other day also.
I also do cardio, intense 10-30 minute sessions either running the stairs, biking or elliptical at LA Fitness. I also make sure to do a lot of handstands during the week and press handstands. I also train doing kicks and stunt fighting, boxing with my stunt buddies. I always try and mix it up! My sisters think I am crazy for always wanting to exercise! I do have some days where I watch tv all day though! I love my soap opera!
Sahil: I guess every gal is into soaps in one way or another haha. So to end off on a light-hearted note, give us your one guilty pleasure food that you could eat non-stop (Personally, I’m a sucker for pizza. Any day, any time, I could always go for a slice… or six)
I love cheese! Anything with a lot of cheese especially cheese enchiladas. I also have a sweet tooth. I eat a square or two of dark chocolate everyday. Occasionally, I like a good piece of cheese cake. I have actually wanted to have funnel cake for like a few years now… I really need to go to a fair soon!
Sahil: Oh funnel cakes are fantastic! I highly recommend having them at least once in your lifetime and with a partner. And I want to take this moment to thank you for playing along and doing this interview. I learnt a lot myself, and truly enjoyed reading about your story and experiences as I’m sure others will too. Do you have any last words before we (sadly) come to an end?
It was a pleasure! My last words are to believe that you can do it, something is always better than nothing, and you’re never too old to achieve what you’ve always wanted to achieve!
So there you have it. Isn’t she truly inspirational?
Now if you have any questions for coach Meggin, post them in the comment section below and I’m sure she’ll get back to you. Also, don’t forget to support her by sharing this interview with your friends and subscribing to her YouTube channel. Until next time, train hard and keep tumbling!