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iFLY and you should too!





Good morning and welcome to 2017. How did you do with your healthy habits over the holidays? I did okay food-wise, but definitely indulged a bit too much in the fermented beverage department...and I don't mean kombucha! I also kind of wimped out on workouts while we were in Florida. I didn't go the the gym at all, but did manage to at least do some core workouts and Essentrics. I think physically and mentally I needed a bit of a break, and I definitely took one, getting more sleep than usual too!

So, how did you spend New Year's Day?

We went to iFLY for indoor skydiving!

I have to admit, I woke up yesterday, with a food and drink hangover, and started to regret booking this adventure for us. Even by 3pm when we left the house to go, I was feeling pretty rotten and wondered if the whole thing wasn't a big mistake. But no way I was going to cancel, the girls were so excited, and I love how fearless they are!

So off we went.

After we got there, signed in, and signed the waivers, we were told to go upstairs, relax and watch others having their turns, until our instructor called our names. At this point I really started to get nervous, not because it looked dangerous or scary, but because I realized that when you do it, you have an audience. Ugh, this brought back all the anxiety of being an uncoordinated kid at a school with very competitive athletics programs. Immediately, I worried I was going to make a big fool out of myself.

Technique is important for this, but I was relieved to discover that I had 3 advantages over others with this: (1) I am short (the really tall dude in our group, who also probably lacked core strength was a total disaster); (2) I am strong; and (3) I have good kinesthetic awareness (i.e. I have a good sense of what my body is doing in space...only due to 20+ years of fitness training!).

Our instructor had us watch a 5 minute instructional video and explained the basic technique. Then we suited up and waited until our turn in the wind tunnel.  Then it was go time. At this point I really started to wonder if I was going to regret it!! Adam went first, and probably because he has the strongest abs on the planet, he was a rock star at it. I was next and did just fine, much better than I thought I would do! The girls also did well, especially Little A. Neither of the girls were scared at all, though Little A and I declined the instructor's offer to do the Fly to the top of the tunnel option (for an extra $10), but both Adam and Big A did!!

The girls had a blast and I am really proud of all of us for, not only trying something really fun, but also doing so well at it (the instructor only offers you the fly to the top option, if your level of skill is good enough, and we all were good enough!).

I definitely recommend iFLY if you are looking for a unique experience. Kids as young as 4 can do it. Its just not appropriate if you are pregnant, over 230lbs, or have back/neck/shoulder injuries.  Also, its darn expensive, so not something you will likely be able to do on a regular basis.

Quite possibly the best thing about it for me was that I finally found something where being short is an advantage!

Happy 2017, have a great day!

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