That Elusive Straddle-Back Inversion

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A straddle back inversion (AKA: Straddle Up, Straddle Inversion, V-Up...) is the holy grail for beginner aerialists. A display of strength, grace, and flexibility, it is the epitome of what we strive for as performers. But this is also one of those moves that tends to elude us, especially as beginners, as it requires extensive coordination and total body strength. And to make it look good, there are a million other things to consider such as technique, body position, extension, and flexibility.

First, for those who aren't aware, what exactly does a straddle-back inversion look like?


Samantha Aerialist Straddle Invert CrossBack
Me doing a Crossback Straddle Inversion with foot-locks.
Aerialist Straddle Inverted Silks
An Aerialist receiving instruction on doing  straddle inversion with open fabric.

Aerial Silks Straddle Invert
From Laura Witwer's amazing blog.

The image directly above^ shows a pretty perfect looking straddle inversion, with the fabric together. Pointed toes, straight legs, nice flexibility, high bottom, engaged lats/shoulders, and a smile!

 But how did she get there? To achieve a nice looking straddle invert like the one pictured above,  you need to start with a good foundation and build your way up. The muscle groups used in this particular move are, arms & grip, shoulders & lats, abdominal especially deep core muscles, and hip flexors. The two major groups being our abs and arms.

  • The movement starts with your hands gripping the fabric to one side, and your bent arms held close into your chest. (You can also start with straight arms, though this is much more advanced)
  • Next you make a clean sweeping motion with your legs into a straddle, bringing your bottom up high over your head.
  • As this happens you extend your arms, while keeping engaged in the shoulders, back, and core.
  • Extend your legs and point your toes!
  • Try not to swear too much!
Straddle-back progressions are used as a tool to not only build strength but to also build confidence. Inverting on the fabric with only your grip strength holding you up is a huge mental challenge for beginners and a lot of the time a barrier between them and where they want to be.   The progressions I use for myself and my students are:

KNOT Progressions
  1. Start in a knot. This will give you the confidence to invert safely even if your grip-strength is not-quite-there. Make sure the knot rests low on your back. To start, put your hands on the fabric in front of your face and push against it, using this as leverage to engage your deep abdominals and start lifting your legs. Int he beginning I usually recommend starting with "froggy legs", as I call them, this makes it easier to lift them up. Finally lift that bottom up high and extend your legs out straight making sure your feet are pointed and your knees aren't bent. From here, bend your legs again to the froggy shape, and slowly lower them back to the ground (or hanging for more of a challenge).
  2. Make the knot a bit higher. Do exactly as above, only on your way down keep your legs straight and engaged, bringing them to touch towards the bottom.
  3. Try inverting and coming down with your legs straight the entire time. Open to your straddle in the inverted position, and touch your feet together at the bottom.
GRIP Progressions (From the Ground)

  1. Hold the silk on one side of your body, close to your chest, with your arms bent. Grip position is usually a matter of preference. Bend your knees and lift them as high towards your chest as you can. Slowly lower your legs down. This is not a full straddle inversion, but an exercise you can do to help you build the core and upper body strength needed.
  2. Start as above. Lift your legs up in the frog position while pushing your bottom up nice and high in the air. Slowly extend your arms to a straight position, keep your shoulders engaged and away from your ears. Once inverted, extend the legs and point the toes. To come down, go back to your frog position and slowly lower your legs, returning your arms to a bent position close to your chest.
  3. Invert using your frog position, and come back to start position with straight legs.
  4. Invert and come down using straight legs the entire time. Once again opening to your straddle while you invert, and closing your legs to touch near the bottom.
Grip Progressions (In the Air)

  1. Exact same progressions as above, only you are in the air on the fabric and not on the ground. Make sure to have someone spot you while you practice for the first time.
  2. Straight arm, straight leg straddle ( I am still working on this myself)

Exercises to do at home or at the gym to build strength/Flexibility

  • PULL UPS BABY. Build your grip and upper body strength by doing lots and lots of pull ups.
  • MORE CORE. Make sure you are doing a variety of core exercises and not just crunches. This way you will target the entire abdomen and obliques. You want to focus on the lower deep abdominals used for lifting the legs.
  • WORK those hip flexors! Do your leg lifts, individually and together. These are the ones I outlined in my at-home conditioning video. These start to work all those tiny stabilizer muscles that just may help you lift your legs up that last little bit.
  • GRIP. It might be worth investing in a grip trainer. There are tons of youtube videos on improving your grip. Look 'em up!
  • STRADDLE stretch series! Do the series from my conditioning video including the middle stretch with back straight, side to side, and the frog stretch. Also any stretch that opens your hips and works your hamstrings will help you improve as well.
  • PLOW POSE! The yoga move called the "Plow" is a great way to get your body used to the straddle inversion movements. Try it with both hands down by your side and straight up above your head. Try it with straight legs and try opening to a straddle. Come in and out of the pose slowly and controlled.
Plow Yoga Pose Aerialist Straddle Back


Things to be aware of as you practice:

  • DO NOT whip your head back to get momentum to invert. This is terrible for your neck and back, and frankly makes me dizzy.
  • DO NOT jump into the straddle inversion every time. It doesn't work the right muscles when you rely on momentum. And when you get to the air, you will have nothing to jump from.
  • DO NOT kick your fabric out of the way when you go to invert in the air. This looks terrible and is a bad habit. Sweep your legs to the side gracefully.
  • DO NOT sink into your shoulders or let your bottom sag. Keep the shoulders engaged and away from your ears. keep your abs tight and lifting your bottom UP UP UP.
  • DO NOT use your feet to grab and push the fabric to get you into position. That is another hard habit to break.
  • DO NOT take a back beat before you invert. It is tempting but lazy. Once again momentum in this case prevents us from building the correct muscles and good technique.
  • DO NOT try to practice when you are fatigued. You do not want your grip to fail when you are inverted and land on your head!
  • DO point your toes and extend and engage your whole legs.
  • DO stay hydrated and stop often to rest.
  • DO have someone spot you when you are first learning.
  • DO check out the list of resources I have posted below. Lot's of articles and videos of getting that elusive straddle back inversion!
Rain from Paper Doll Militia Demonstrates good technique and progressions

Laura Witwer's blog post 

XOSarah's blog post 

SkyLab Studio's blog post

Jill with Aerial Physique demos beginner straddle invert in the knot.


Have fun inverting!

Samantha







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Buying your own Aerial Silks

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SO! You're in love! You tried a few classes and now you can't get enough. It's all you think about, it's all you dream of. I understand! You have decided to invest in your own set, but you aren't sure where to start. What material? What rigging supplies? What do you NEED to know?
(PS: I HIGHLY encourage you to click on all of the hyperlinks in this article as you read through. They hold an abundance of information beyond what I am outlining here. )

Firstly let me say a few things..

1. Aerial Silks can be DANGEROUS. NEVER EVER EVER practice alone. EVER. Practice low to the ground or with THICK MATTS. Have someone spot you for tricks you have never tried before. DO NOT learn moves from the internet. That's how you become paralyzed.  If you like a move you've seen, talk to an experienced aerialist about how to safely learn the move.

2. Tying from trees. Trees are unpredictable. It is impossible to tell the health of a tree or tree branch by simply looking at it. There could be rot or insect infestation on the inside that will weaken the tree's integrity making it unsafe for aerial silks. You may have seen me tie to trees before and I only do it if the branch has healthy looking leaves and bark, and I only use it for light conditioning and static poses (the branch I sometimes rig to is 1.5 feet thick)... A good question to ask yourself is "Do I trust this branch to hold up a small car?". If not, best to leave it alone. Otherwise that branch could break sending you straight to the ground with a broken neck and crushed pelvis or worse. Tie to a tree at YOUR OWN RISK.

3. Rigging is COMPLICATED. There are so many things to take into account.  Is all of your equipment rated appropriately? Is the structure you want to rig to safe and structurally sound? Is it legal to rig where you want to? Will you be putting other people in danger? Will you be damaging property? Do you need to have insurance? Do you need a structural engineer to check things over? Please do some research before rigging just anywhere.

4. Dynamic movement generates FORCE. Check out this video for how a 150 lb. aerialist generates 900 LBS in a matter of seconds. Swinging, sliding, pulling, spinning, and dropping all generate large amounts of force that need to be taken into account.

5. I am going to say a good generally rule is that if you don't have a 100% safe place to rig, someone who knows proper spotting techniques with you, and you have poor endurance or technique on the silks... best to practice a bit more before you commit to purchasing a pair. Ultimately it is your decision, these are just my own opinions based on research and experience (of which I am still gaining plenty of!)

BUYING YOUR SILKS

Firstly, I am going to say: avoid eBay, amazon, or cheap fabric stores online or brick & mortar. Only buy Aerial silks from reputable vendors with experience in providing and testing fabric made specifically for this purpose. You will spend more money this way, but you will have the peace of mind that comes with a properly tested product. www.aerialessentials.com is a great resource for purchasing Aerial silks, they have plenty to choose from and decent prices, though they are in the US so remember currency conversion and shipping. www.jugglegear.com is a Canadian vendor for circus apparatuses, however I personally did not like their fabric. That being said, other aerialists use and love their fabric. You can do some research into which vendors you feel comfortable purchasing from, but always look up reviews, shipping costs, and product descriptions before you commit.

Types of fabric:

Tricot

Tricot fabric is a good fabric for beginners. It usually has little to SOME stretch which makes it easier to climb.

Interlock

Interlock fabric has medium to HIGH stretch that cushions drops but is much more difficult to climb.



These fabrics come in a variety of widths from 60" to over 100" wide. Anything under 75" is generally recommended for children. Over that width is based completely on personal or artistic preference.

Length is determined on your space. You would calculate your space height, multiply that by 2, and you have the minimum length needed for your fabric, (as it is folded in half when rigged).

Color and shine is personal preference. I do not personally like a fabric that is too shiny as I find gripping is harder. I also like darker colors that easier to keep clean.

Fabric "grippiness" is often something that comes up, however grippiness is less determined by type of fabric and more by environment. Humidity, moisture on the fabric and your skin, temperature... etc all play a part in how easy it is to grip the fabric. Cold & dry = slippery fabric. You can purchase rosin or grip aids at almost any aerial vendor, and they are generally cheap. Avoid chalk on the fabric. I personally use water on my hands when I need it, but I do love using rosin for longer training sessions in drier atmospheres.

Hardware

Pretty much all of the reputable Aerial fabric sellers will also carry various hardware options. steel or aluminium is fine. For the most part, depending on your rigging set up, you will need two carabiners, a swivel, a spanset or webbing, a descender (friction device) and possibly pulleys, ropes, beam clamps and maybe more. The most important thing when buying rigging hardware, especially from anywhere other than a specialized vendor, is the kN (kilonewton) rating. kN is a measurement of FORCE and in this context reveals the hardware's breaking strength. 100 kG's of force is approximately equal to 1 kilonewton. A person who weighs 120 lbs can EASILY create 1000 lbs of force, or,  4.5 kN. As good safety measure (a safety ratio of 10:1) I personally do not purchase equipment that is rated less than 10 kN, this gives my equipment a weight limit of about 220 lbs with a safety ratio of 10:1.


An interesting tidbit:
"For a 220 (~0.98kN) pound aerialist to do something on a silks setup that would cause them to produce 2,200lbs (9.78kN) of force on the fabrics, that performer would experience the equivalent of 10g's of force - more than enough to cause blackout and possibly internal injuries before the equipment would give away." -Chris Clark
"For a 140 pound (~0.62kN) person to produce the same 2,200lbs (9.78kN) of force on the fabrics, that performer would experience the equivalent of 15.66g's of force - more than a fighter pilot experiences during an ejection - before reaching the breaking point on the fabric. It should be noted that the military will only allow pilot's to experience such eject force twice before grounding them permanently." -Chris Clark

Aerial Fabric & Hardware Safety & Care

So your hardware may come with care instructions and it may not. Swivels may be sealed or may need graphite added to them. All hardware should be inspected regularly for stress or damage. Damaged and old hardware should be retired/destroyed and replaced. Never purchase used hardware.

Fabric should be kept in a cool and dry place that is away from direct sunlight. UV rays can & will discolor and damage your fabric. Air them out regularly, and keep scented products away from them. If you spot large holes in your fabric it might be time to replace. (Holes may affect the structural integrity of your fabric). Be careful not to snag your silks on sharp objects like ungroomed or long nails, jewelry, zippers, buttons, embellishments, branches, tree bark etc.


I think that is everything I wanted to talk about, but if you have more questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Samantha












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9 Tips To Improve Your Aerial Performance

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HEY! I've MOVED! Check out this post and more at my new website, AerFit.ca !!!


I have not done a ton of performance yet. I would love to do more but I have a hard time feeling "ready". I know the only way to get better at performing is to take every opportunity to do so! With that in mind I wanted to look into what exactly I could do to improve my performances. After some research and talking with other aerialists I've come up with 9 elements of performing that I think are great to keep top of mind and that will potentially improve the performance.


Aerialist Aerial Silks Circus Tips Performance




1. Engagement of feet (pointed or flexed or combination)

Floppy feet just don't look that great. I prefer a point myself, but have seen the use of flexed feet for aesthetic/choreographic purposes and it worked. A pointed foot lengthens the leg and creates an unbroken line that leads the gaze one way or another and is very pleasing to the eye. Either way, do something with that damn foot!

2. Variation in movement speed (pauses)

An act performed at one speed either feels rushed or boring. Obviously as I said, there are choreographic exceptions, however I have yet to find a good example of one. If you move through your entire routine too fast, the audience never gets a chance to appreciate any one trick or move. Too slow, and you risk losing the interest of the audience. Try varying your speed, moving slow and deliberate when it counts, and employing speed and power to grab the attention of your audience. I personally have a tendency to rush through moves, thinking I am pausing enough but looking at recordings of myself and getting feedback, I am moving too fast. This is something to be aware of!

3. Audience engagement / perceived engagement 

This is a big one for me. Depending on the theme of your act, you might be flirting with the audience, or creeping them out.. maybe you are looking someone dead in the eye.. or maybe you are smiling innocently. Either way look towards them, and engage in some way. If you grimace or have a neutral face the whole time the audience will feel disconnected and probably think you aren't enjoying yourself!

4. Demonstration of Flexibility & strength

People love this. Show them how hard you've trained while making it look easy. Throw a splits or deep backbend in there somewhere, hang upside down, do a drop or two, pull yourself up using only your arms. These demonstrations always wow the audience.

5. Music choice/ musicality of performance 

Music choice is very important. Sometimes we have a say in the music and sometimes we don't, but whatever the music is it is important to pay attention to the qualities of the song and use them in your performance. When the song slows down, reflect that in your movements. When the song speeds up, you speed up. And when the song builds to a crescendo, that is a perfect place to build a drop sequence. 

6. Deliberate movement / transitional awareness

This is one of the number one weaknesses I see in beginner Aerialists, myself included. We go through the motions of each trick and all of the transitions are ugly or rushed. The secret to great performance is making each transition look like a trick in itself. This way the audience never suspects when you are in transition and the whole act becomes smoother and more deliberate. One way of doing this is to practice pausing in each transition and posing as if it is a trick on its own.

7. Variation in acsending/ descending 

If you ascend and descend the apparatus several times in the same fashion, your audience may lose interest. Try making each accent and descent different in your act and see how it changes the quality of your performance.

8. Emotional involvement/ passion

This one is kind of similar to audience engagement but it's more internally focused. Don't be a robot up there. If your act has a theme, try to embody that theme in your movements and facial expressions. If it is a sad act, show the audience with your movements that you are sad. You can tell when a performer is passionate about what they are doing or when they are just going through the motions. A good exercise that I learned at a performance workshop is to pick a short sequence; then, write down a happy or sad or scary moment in your life and meditate on that moment/event/emotion. Next, embodying that emotion, perform your sequence. Try it several times with different emotions.

9. Long lines/ unbroken lines

This kind of also goes with the engagement of feet. The main point here is to be aware of your lines. What kind of aesthetic do you want for your act? Watch your bent elbows and wrists, your bent knees etc and keep in mind that those will break up lines. In general it is probably best practice to engage with long lines and pointed toes. straight legs, straight arms etc. There are many exceptions, but it is important to be deliberate in whatever you choose.


What other elements do you think make up a good performance?

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Muscle Anatomy: Endurance, Power, Flexibility

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I truly believe that a good knowledge and understanding of how your body works will determine how well you train. It will contribute to injury prevention as well as gains in endurance, strength, power, and flexibility. Endurance is how long your muscles/body can be at work. Strength is the amount of work your muscles can do. Power is a combination of strength, force, and speed . Flexibility is the ability to lengthen your muscles to their full extent. Aerialists need to train their body for all of these abilities in order to become successful. I will write posts on training each of these aspects and more, but let's first take a look at how the muscle does these things.

There are a few different types of muscle, however the muscle we will be talking about today is skeletal muscle.  Skeletal muscle is a striated muscle tissue that is controlled by the somatic nervous system, meaning that we voluntarily control our skeletal muscles (unlike the heart which is a muscle controlled by the autonomic nervous system). The muscle tissue is made up of several components that form together as muscle cells, or fibres. One of the ways in which to classify muscle fibres is on their "twitch" speed. This is basically how fast the muscle can create ATP (adenosine triphosphate, muscle energy) from various resources (nutrients such as carbs, fat, etc) . There are two ways that muscles can produce ATP; Aerobic (with oxygen) and Anaerobic (without oxygen). Our cells prefer to create ATP with the presence of oxygen to fuel metabolism, however the increased intensity of exercise will use oxygen faster than our bodies can deliver it, thus increasing the need for other resources. Unlike Aerobic metabolism, anaerobic metabolism is not sustainable for long periods of time and the muscles become fatigued and produce chemical waste (lactic acid) which causes that burning sensation during intense exercise.

So, fast twitch muscles use mainly Anaerobic metabolism, while slow twitch muscles use mainly Aerobic metabolism. Everyone has approximately a 50/50 split of fast and slow twitch muscle fibres. If you are naturally good at sprinting vs long distance running, you may have slightly more fast twitch muscles. Fast twitch would be preferable for athletes who need quick bursts of power but do not need the endurance, while slow twitch muscles would be preferred by athletes who need to endure long periods of muscle contraction but may not need their muscles to contract quickly. In aerial arts we use a good combination of both slow and fast twitch muscle fibres.
Muscle Anatomy Aerial Dance Flexibility

So, now you understand how muscle fibres use different methods to create energy, and how that type of method can be applied in different athletic settings. But how exactly does a muscle contract?

Your brain sends a signal to the nerves in your muscles to contract. There are tension generating cells within your muscle fibres that cause the contraction. Contracting a muscle can be isometric (producing tension without changing in size) or isotonic (producing tension and changing in size). An example of isometric contraction would be holding a plank position. You are creating muscle tension to hold yourself up, but your muscles are neither shortening or lengthening. Isotonic contraction would be when you move from holding a plank to doing a pushup, and your muscles start to lengthen and shorten to create that movement in your body. 

There are sensory receptors in your muscle fibres called muscle spindles. The spindles run parallel with the muscle fibre, and are in charge of telling your body what position your muscle is currently in. Is it shortened? Is it lengthened? Your spindles send this information to your brain via your nervous system. This information helps you determine where exactly your body is in space. The spindles also play an important role in muscle flexibility, as they activate motoneurons that contract the muscle in order to resist muscle stretch to prevent injury. If you are not a very flexible person, this means that your muscle spindles are trying to protect your muscle by not allowing it to lengthen in a stretch reflex. You can condition the spindles to allow lengthening through chronic stretching, thus increasing your flexibility. Some people are naturally more flexible than others and some people must work for it.
Muscle Anatomy Aerial Strength

As I mentioned earlier in this post, your muscles need to produce ATP, or, energy.  You need to provide your muscles with the appropriate fuel (food!) in order to make this happen. Carbohydrates are the body's preferred source of energy, (and your brain's ONLY source!) . Carbs are broken down into glucose which is further used to produce ATP. This is especially important in Anaerobic metabolism when there is no oxygen present. 

Diets such as the Atkins diet are founded on the idea that without many carbs for your body to use as fuel, your cells must turn to create energy from fats (ketosis) , however this process is less efficient at creating adequate energy, and can mess with your metabolism creating a whole host of problems. 

Healthy carbs are essential in everyone's diet. Potatoes (baked or steamed), raw veggies like carrots,  green peas, bananas and other fresh fruits, and whole grains are all great examples of healthy carbs that provide your body with lots of fuel for being active. It is also very important to eat healthy fats in moderation such as avocado, nuts and seeds, etc. And for rebuilding that fatigued muscle? Protein! You can get more than enough protein from eating plants such as nuts and seeds, legumes, grains, and vegetables. If you want to throw some healthy animal protein, try omega-3 rich fish such as salmon. I don't personally advocate eating other animal proteins as many studies have linked consuming meat (especially red/processed meat) with cancer and other diseases. Not to mention the ethics of current meat production (environmental destruction, world hunger, hormones, antibiotics, mistreatment of animals etc).

I hope this article has given you a thorough understanding of the muscle, how it works, and gets you to start thinking about how you can train smarter. 


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Aerial Conditioning at Home

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Edit:

I have since changed my views on flexibility conditioning. You can read more about that here. I will leave this video up for the strength conditioning but I will be writing a guide on conditioning for aerial arts at home.


----


I made this video for my students so that they had a general idea of how to condition their bodies for Aerial Dance while at home, in between classes.



These are suggestions, but obviously it is important to consult with your doctor before taking on any training program. 

Some important notes on training at home:

1) Drink lots of water. It is easy to forget about this in a comfortable setting like your house! Stay hydrated!

2) If anything hurts, STOP. Obviously exercise can cause some discomfort, but you should be able to tell normal muscle fatigue or discomfort from stretching ..and actual pain. If you experience dizziness, light-headedness, or shortness of breath- stop and rest. If it persists along with other symptoms like chest pain or pain down the arm it's time to visit an emergency room.

3) It helps to have something cushiony under you like a yoga mat or thick carpet.

4) Do all of the suggested reps and sets! Don't give in to the temptation of longer rest periods or improper technique because you are alone! (That being said, refer back to note #2)

5) After training try to ingest some sort of protein within 30 minutes after your workout. Also remember to take adequate rest between workouts. These along with staying hydrated will contribute to a quicker muscle recovery time.

One thing I didn't add to the video was WARMING UP. This is the MOST IMPORTANT THING. You should do some cardio or dynamic warm-up exercises to increase your internal body temperature. This has been proven to prevent injury and lead to a more effective work-out. I generally try to warm-up for 15-20 minutes before doing any conditioning. You could do an aerobic workout from the 80's! You could jog for 20 minutes! However you do it, just get your heart pumping and your muscles contracting!

Also Pull-Ups.... lot's of pull ups. Invest in a door-frame pull-up bar, go to a local park with monkey bars, use the assisted pull up machine at your gym. 

There are also multiple resources on my resource page that you can use for training at home. I suggest you take a look!!




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Improve Your Body Awareness

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HEY! I've moved!! Check out this post and more at my new website, AerFit.ca !!!



Lately I have had a huge interest in anatomy, physiology, and physical training in the context of circus, and I suppose fitness in general. Body awareness is one of the most important aspects of becoming an Aerialist. Someone with little to no fitness ( or creative movement) training or experience will not have a good awareness of their own body; where it sits and moves in space, how to understand direction in regards to movement, and their own limitations regarding strength, flexibility and endurance. This puts this person at a disadvantage as they are more likely to injure themselves, or get frustrated with movements they don't understand or are unable to achieve.  I have placed a lot of importance on developing my own body awareness, and also to support my students in this task as well.

There are a few things that make the task of improving body awareness a bit more difficult as an aspiring aerialist...

You invert a lot
Someone not used to inverting is going to get very disoriented when they are upside down. Left is right, right is left, down is up, up is down! They might not know where to look, or what sensations to expect. They might end up feeling dizzy or nauseas or light-headed as the blood rushes to their brain. They might feel tingling in the extremities as the blood leaves these areas. When your head is facing the floor and you have this unknown thing supposedly supporting your weight, it is hard to trust and let go. Not only that, but you are in a room full of people you probably don't know very well, and now your shirt is flying up, your face is getting all red and gravity doesn't flatter anyone in that way. There is A LOT to think about.

You spin a lot
Spinning is either super fun, or really horrible and terrifying. Do you close your eyes? Keep them open? Different positions make you spin faster and some slow you down. If you aren't sure what to expect the sensation can be dizzying. Nausea is common...

Heights
Fear of heights is extremely common and for Aerialists this is no exception. You must learn a new trick or wrap, climb up to sometimes dizzying heights, and remember to wrap correctly while simultaneously holding on for dear life, and trying not to look down.

Luckily as a beginner, you will find you get a lot of support and patience when it comes to the above things. No teacher will make you climb to heights you are uncomfortable with before you are ready, or spin if you are feeling sick, and they will spot you and support you when getting used to being inverted. And, as you learn about and start to work with all of those muscles you have forgotten about ( or didn't know existed)  you will gain confidence in your ability to fly.


 So how do you improve your body awareness?
  • Move as much as you can. Practice moving every. single. day. There is no wrong way to move... dance, do aerial conditioning, run, walk, cartwheel, swim, jump rope, play tag.
  • Watch yourself in a mirror. Move your body in front of a mirror and watch yourself closely. Watch the different parts of your body, paying attention to connectedness in movement,  extension, rotation, alignment etc...
  • Record yourself on video. Choreograph a little dance to a song and video tape yourself. Notice how maybe your movements look different to how they felt. Notice how much space you take up.
  • Get a good coach. A good coach will be there to spot you, to remind you of your alignment and technique, and to teach you how to be aware of your body as you move.
  • Listen to your body. Drink when you are thirsty, eat when you are hungry, rest when you are sore, take care when you feel pain. Honour what your body tells you!
  • Know your body. Learn the names of the muscles and bones. Learn the vocabulary of movement. What is does lateral mean? How does external rotation feel or look different from internal rotation? Below I have outlines the major muscle groups used in aerial ars that you should focus heavily on when training your body awareness.

Core

Core, core, and more core! Your core is a large group of muscles that you use for trunk flexion and extension, balance and stabilization, posture support, and for holding all of your precious organs in place. You will find dramatic improvements in your performance, posture, and injury prevention when you train your core adequately. The core consists of your abdominals, your obliques, your glutes, and I would even say your Latissimus Dorsi and the erector muscles that support your spine.


Muscle Groups Aerial Training Circus Body Awareness


Hip Flexors

The Hip Flexor muscles are exactly what they sound like, a group of muscles that support the flexion and extension of the hips and legs. Strong and flexible hip flexors mean improved inversions, fluid movements with the legs, stability in the hips, protection of the knee joints and lumbar spine, and better splits. The hip flexor group consists of the illiopsoas (sometimes referred to as psoas for short), the adductor muscles of the inner thigh, the tensor fasciae, among other small stabilizing muscles.


Hip Flexors Aerialist Training CIrcus


Arms & Grip

Obviously upper body and grip strength are a huge part of training in Aerial arts, but honestly a lot of it comes as we progress. I only recently started heavily focusing on training my upper body apart from doing Aerial as I feel I have hit a personal plateau in my training. However, as a beginner, you will find that you develop quite quickly just by conditioning on the apparatus. Training these areas separately never hurts though! Muscles to focus on: Biceps & Triceps,  forearm & wrist flexors, finger & grip. You need upper body strength in order to climb, suspend yourself for any length of time, pull yourself up, and grip the fabric.

Shoulder Muscles Aerial Training Circus




Shoulders & Back

Shoulders or a severely underrated and often ignored part of Aerial Arts and, being as complicated and mobile as they are, are very susceptible to injury. I am only going to briefly describe them here but I will do an entire post soon on proper shoulder alignment, as well as ways to improve shoulder strength and flexibility. You use your shoulder strength and mobility to rotate and maneuver your arm in relation to your torso, but also for any pulling or pushing or lifting motions you might do. Your back is also a huge part of any pulling or pushing motions which are very common in circus arts, especially pulling/climbing in Aerial. This group of muscles includes your deltoid, trapezius, pectoralis minor, lattisimus dorsi, among others.

Back Muscles Aerialist Circus Training






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Aerial Dance

13:09 Unknown 0 Comments

Aerial Silks Dance Aeriaist
I just wanted a place I could talk about and organize all of my thoughts and inner dialogue and study surrounding Aerial Arts.

I was first introduced to Aerial Dance in 2012. A friend inspired me to make a summer bucket list, a list of new things I wanted to try/experience over the summer. They included things like, picnic on the beach, take a dance class, visit the art gallery etc... and for some reason I included on that list, take an Aerial Silks class. I don't even remember the first time I saw someone perform on Aerial Silks.. or why it intrigued me so much. I guess I have always had an affinity for creative movement, having taken several different styles of dance during high school, and having loved performing from an early age...

Aerial Straddle Back Inversion Aerialist

So I went to a local circus school ( I was living in Toronto so all I had to do was throw a rock in any direction..) and discovered a few things:

1) I was in terrible shape. Okay, I was pretty average for someone who biked and walked around but didn't go to the gym or have any specific fitness goals. I had potential, though it was well hidden. I could barely hang on the silks for more than a few seconds. I was easily bruised and burned. I got winded after only being up there for a minute or two.

2) I LOVE a challenge. Yes it's hard. Circus anything is HARD. Difficult. Challenging, physically and mentally. It's painful. It twists and pinches and burns and squeezes in places you had forgotten existed. The next day you are so sore you can hardly breathe. But... each progression gets easier and easier.. and then you achieve something new that you weren't able to do before... and the gates open up and you are proud and your self-esteem and confidence are the highest they have ever been. It's an amazing feeling..

3) I found my new passion. After the first class, I was hooked. I wanted more. I dreamed about it, fantasized. I consumed every video/article/book I could get my hands on. I wanted to know every trick, every transition, I wanted to get stronger and more flexible. I knew it, this would be something that sticks with me.

Aerial Silks Splits Flexibility

On and off since then I have trained and studied under various coaches. Each coach was completely different from the next with different teaching styles and background. I like to think I picked what I liked best about each coach and absorbed that and left the rest. I gained some meaningful coaching experience starting first co-coaching and moving on to running my own classes. I was instructing a small group of women twice a week, just for the summer, on beginner Aerial Silks. But, I know I have a lot to learn, and there is a lot of myself I want to improve. I want to be a better Aerialist. I want to broaden my range of skills. I want to master the basics. I want to acquire more performing experience. I want to train under more and different coaches. I want to become stronger and more flexible. I also want to be a better coach. After this summer beginner workshop I am putting on, I am going to focus more on myself. On improving my skill set . More on that later.




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