Flying Lessons (Invite Only)

[Noedig]

"No, no. Stop..." He said, trying to stop him from over-working himself. "It appears your teachers before me have been pressuring you. Please, don't expect me to expect you to be disappointing if that's the case, so no need to over-exert yourself. I just wanted you to flap your wings, not as hard as you can. When you achieve maintaining flight in mid-air for 3 minutes, it's not going to be a quick, because it's a simple but long process. I just need to see how you're flapping your wings, so don't worry about lifting off... we'll get there. Now, take a slow deep breath through the nose, and exhale slowly out through the mouth. Make that breathing three times before you begin, then keep breathing like that while flapping your wings casually, not exhaustively. Now... Begin."

[AlextheAngel]

Alex immediately stopped and allowed himself to land, before listening carefully to what Gale said. "Oh! Sorry." He said, before taking in three deep breaths just as he had instructed. In through his nose, and out his mouth. Once that was finished, the boy's heart rate slowed a bit, and he began to feel a little calmer. After a moment, he began to carefully flap his wings, though it was noticeable that something was a bit off... his wings seemed a lot weaker, since they were still not fully developed.

[Noedig]

Gale Storm already noticed the boy's wing immaturity, he wanted the kid to notice that what the other teachers seemed to have not understood.

"As you may have noticed, your wings are not fully developed." He said. "But that's good, because you can still make them even better. With my training, it'll make your wing's muscle become stronger as it is still growing-- and your whole body as well, because without most of your body in great shape-- especially your heart, your wings wouldn't manage to stay in the air for a long time. This training will let you try things like your very own Sonic Boom or what the Wonderbolts could do with great capability."

[AlextheAngel]

Alex gave a rather curt nod at the explanation, before getting rather excited at the last bit. "That sounds so cool!" He said with a grin, bouncing a bit on his toes.

[Noedig]

"It is." He said. "Now, keep doing this for the next four minutes. We're going to do something else after that."

[AlextheAngel]

"Yes, sir." The child replied, before continuing to flap his wings, the rush of air causing a few leaves to fly up from the dirt and dance around them. Eventually, the muscle aches in the boy's wings began to subside, and he was a lot more calm once the four minute mark passed.

[Noedig]

"Good. Now stop flapping." He said. "Next, you're going to do as many push-ups with your arms as many times as possible. When that's done you'll do sit-ups, then finally pull-ups. When we have the numbers on every thing you do here, I'll finally figure out what you'll be doing for the next few weeks. Begin."

[AlextheAngel]

Alex nodded and immediately got to the ground and began doing push-ups. After about fifteen, he began to slow down a bit, and after about twenty, the muscles in the child's arms were burning so much that he was unable continue. "That's... twenty..." He panted, his heart hammering within his chest. "Okay... sit-ups next, you said?"

[Noedig]

"Correct. Breathe slowly for 10 seconds, then do your sit-ups." He said. "Put your hands behind your head, make sure your elbows are behind your head, and keep your face up... you're going to raise yourself halfway, not all the way. Begin."

[AlextheAngel]

"Okay." Alex said. He breathed slowly for about ten seconds, before lying down on the grass, putting his hands behind his head. He lifted himself up once with relative ease, keeping his face up and his elbows behind his head. This time, the boy stopped after thirty sit-ups, before getting back up and gently rubbing the soreness away from his abdomen. He looked around for a moment. "Where are we going to do the pull-ups?" He asked.

[Noedig]

"Good question!" Gale Storm said. He lifted himself off the ground up a few feet away and show our his fore-hooves to like him hold on to it. "Here it is. You're going to hang on to my hooves with your hands cupped over the side of my hooves, and make sure your knees are bent squarely while you pull yourself up. Breathe slowly for ten seconds again and then begin."

[AlextheAngel]

"Ah! Okay, then." Alex said, taking another ten seconds to breath slowly, before grasping onto Gale's hooves and beginning his pull-ups. For a moment, he wondered if Gale would actually be able to hold his weight on only his hooves... then again, he knew how strong his uncle was, and Alex was rather small. Due to the boy's arms already being a bit tired from the push-ups, he had to stop after thirteen pull-ups, before dropping back down to the ground and rubbing the soreness from one of his arms. "That's... all I can do... for now." He panted.

[Noedig]

"Wonderful." He said. "You have forty-five seconds for break, so start flapping your wings and breathe slowly for that amount of time, because it'll be time for your wing exercise routine. After that, we'll be finished with the whole exercise for today. When this is done, I'm going to explain to you what you will be doing for the next few weeks, which is all the time I have for break." He then stomped gently. "Now, make use of your break while you still have it."

[AlextheAngel]

Alex nodded and once again began breathing slowly, trying to slow his racing heart while also flapping his wings. "If you don't mind me asking..." He child said, trying to make himself more relaxed. "Why the exercises that strengthen the arms? I thought that flying was only using the wings?"

[Noedig]

"Because..." Gale Storm said to him, spreading his wings forward then down, and stretched out his hind legs to straighten himself like a table. He was going to do the wing push-ups. "... I was getting your wings warmed up."

Already having his fore hooves planted on the ground, he put his wings over the side of his forelegs and then raised his forelegs with his left hoof under his right elbow. His right hoof was planted under his chin... It's like he's completely relaxed, even though this looks so exhausting to maintain. He then did the push-ups with his wings. He was just looking at Alex with a straight face, doing his push-ups like it's nothing. "Having to do daily exercise at my extraordinary age, I could do a whole lot more than you think I could do..." He told him, still doing the push-ups without breaking a sweat. "You could do the same, but that's a choice you'll have to make. For now, I'm getting you warmed up for the easy bit, since you're still a child." He stopped the push-ups and stood back up. "Now... do the same thing I did, I'll try to correct your positioning if you're doing any of it wrong."

[AlextheAngel]

Alex nodded in understanding, while curiously watching as Gale began to easily do wing push-ups as if they were nothing... and the boy silently yearned for the day to come when he could do that as well. But then when Gale told him to do it, the boy blinked in surprise. "I... I don't know... Last time I tried, it didn't end well." He said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He had tried doing wing push-ups once before, and fell flat on his face.

[Noedig]

" 'You can't fly if you don't try.' " Gale Storm quoted. "Simple, true words of my father Moss. In fact, a lot of things he said was in rhymes, somewhat like Zecora for some reason... Anyway, point being; You can't make progress without doing it. It doesn't matter if you could do one push-up or none, it's the effort that counts. So don't discourage yourself whenever you fail, because failing is a part of life in order to move forward. I'm here for you, so... try and do what I did."

[AlextheAngel]

Alex bit his lip nervously, before sighing and giving a nod. "Okay..." He said, before getting back onto the ground, holding himself up with his arms, shaking a bit from the strain. He placed the tips of his wings on the ground, and slowly started to shift his weight from his arms to his wings. However, he was unable to hold himself up for long, and the boy's wings gave out after only a few seconds. Luckily, he caught himself on his arms before his face could hit the ground. "I... think my wings might be... a tad too weak."

[Noedig]

"Don't worry, Alex." Gale said to him, patting him on the back gently. "This is what I'm here for."

He then moved back a bit. "Alright, I've got my results, Alex." He said to him. "We're finished with the physical examination. Now, I'm still open to answer any of your questions that you may have in mind. If you have any, shoot. It's a good time to learn from a flyer like me."

[AlextheAngel]

Alex sighed and dusted his hands off on his pants, before massaging the soreness out of one of his arms. He thought for a moment, planning to ask serious questions rather than joking around like he had the first time. "How much will I actually have to exercise? Not that I mind it at all, I just want to know how much I should without physically overworking myself."

[Noedig]

"You should exercise six days a week; The first, third, and fifth days are cardio days, which is an exercise that improves for your blood flow,  and the second, fourth, and sixth days are strength, which will strengthen your body. The seventh day will be your resting day-- meaning no exercise, and then you repeat the process."

He then continued further explaining how long he should perform them. "For you, since you're just starting at a young age, you can exercise a lot easier than adults trying to be fit, since you're lighter and more energetic... so, we'd do a warm-up for ten minutes, and then proceed to exercise for thirty minutes... so, forty minutes per exercising day. We can begin tomorrow, so that we can use this day as a checkpoint for resting. Sound good?"

[AlextheAngel]

Alex nodded in understanding, smiling a bit. "Sounds great!" He said, still feeling excited despite the slight soreness in his body. He knew that he might be sore in the morning, but hopefully it will begin to fade once he gets more used to exercising. "So... are we done for today?"

[Noedig]

"We can still talk about this, if you want." Gale replied. "We can do that inside."

[AlextheAngel]

Alex nodded and strolled back up to the porch of the large house, before opening the front door. As excited as the child was that he would be getting proper training, he often began thinking ahead to when he would be able to fly on his own. While it was quite clear to him that it would take some time, it still didn't hurt to daydream.

Zed was in the kitchen, planning to pour a few beverages to bring out to the pair before he heard the door open. "Oh! Finished already?" He called. "You guys thirsty? It's pretty hot out there."

[Noedig]

"I wouldn't mind to quench my thirst." Gale Storm responded. "So, yes please."