Aerial Silks

Let's face it, exercising can be really boring if we let it. I remember a four month stretch where I was doing the same 30 minute Jillian Michaels workout DVD (her 30 Day Shred) roughly 5 times a week. After a couple weeks, once I figured out how to do all of the moves, it tended to get a bit tedious (albeit still extremely difficult). It got even worse once I was able to talk along with her word for word throughout the video (granted, a bit more breathlessly than she does), much like I do with my friend Kim's answering machine. On top of that, after I would finish the DVD, I would go for a run on a treadmill in my apartment's fitness center while watching a Free-on-Demand episode of Psych. I was almost always the only person in there, on the same treadmill, and it was usually at night. Even worse, when there was someone in there, it was never someone interesting or distractingly handsome, but rather someone that wanted to watch news or some other program that was equally boring.

Needless to say, I had some difficulty maintaining my enthusiasm working out due to how uninteresting and monotonous my routine had become. Then I started branching out.

I decided that rather than work out one day, I would take a bike ride over to the mall for dinner. Now, considering where I lived at the time (at an intersection of 2 major highways and nestled in some valleys and hills), it ended up not being the most successful outing, but it sure was interesting! Shortly after that, a few friends and I make the trek out to Fredericksburg to hike up Enchanted Rock. I genuinely enjoyed  that. I got to climb up big rocks and jump over small creeks. The view was spectacular and the company even better.

This is when I realized just how much fun fitness could be! It doesn't have to be personal trainers and DVDs! It doesn't even have to be regimented! It just has to be active! Shortly after our hike up Enchanted Rock, I moved back to my hometown, and my friends and I have been trying new activities to keep us moving ever since.

First, I started rock-climbing, thanks to Hannah and Kirsten. After that, Maddy taught us all how to slack-line. We've gone ice skating, swimming, biking, and swing dancing. Most recently, though, Hannah and I have started taking some particularly interesting classes that we heard about on Groupon: aerial silks.

Aerial silks is a type of performance art where you perform aerial acrobatics while hanging from a suspended fabric. Basically, it is what all of those circus performers are doing when they're hanging in the air on a giant ribbon. Think, Cirque du Soleil.

Here I am doing a variation of the "tear drop."

Of course, I've only had two classes and have very little upper body strength, so I can't do anything near as cool as Cirque du Soleil. In fact, I can barely get off the ground. Hannah, on the other hand, is showing everyone up with her awesome upper body strength and natural flexibility (granted, she has about 8 classes on me... but I'm pretty sure she showed everyone up her first class as well).

Isn't she such a natural?

Each week, they teach us the basics of climbing the silk and have us do some exercises to strengthen our core. Then, the fun parts start when they teach us some poses.

Soon, they'll be adding more aerial classes, such as something involving a hoop and an aerial yoga class! 


What activities do you participate in to stay fit? Have you ever tried aerial silks? Ever had a particular desire to join up with circus folk?