Am I the only one that has gone to every Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas and thought, “Dang those girls hanging from the fabric and flying across the room are fit”? Didn’t think so. And after only 1.5 hours of working on silks at Aerial Fitness Orange County I now know why. As I mentioned before one of my pastimes is trying any new or different fitness trends or activity. Aerial fitness is one that has been on my radar since it surfaced for non-performers to try as a workout and it was definitely worth the wait. Good thing I liked it enough to not be upset at our instructor seeing that I am still sore 4 days later. Two of my dancer friends and myself were fortunate enough to get a private lesson from owner, Doug Schulein, in their aerial warehouse in Costa Mesa. One at a time (and how did I get nominated to go first for each “trick”?) he took us to the silks and taught us how to lock in our feet to secure our grip and pull up through the knees to reach the top of the silks. Contrary to popular belief, it is really the abdominal muscles that gets you up to the ceiling, not the arms. My abs learned that quite quickly as it was time to kick them back into gear post twins. I promise after this pain I will no longer ignore you abs, swear. Following the basic workings of the silks he immediately introduced “tricks”. Tricks can be virtually anything but since we are all dancers he was able to throw a few upside down tricks, handstands and splits. To up the ante we even spun around in these positions as if we had an audience. By the way, where was our audience? This was impressive stuff!

To our surprise there was even more things you can do on the silks other than just the beautiful and intricate tricks. Doug also gave us a lesson in a full body workout that can be done hanging from the silks. Doing sit-ups hanging from the silks is no easy fete. Don’t believe me? He is waiting for you…….. For people like me who tire of the traditional physically challenging workouts, this new form of creative fitness is a great alternative. It was mentally and physically challenging as well as fun. If you get a chance to go with friends, that is what I recommend. It is amazing to see what it looks like once you are working the silks and hanging upside down in artistic poses. Plus, then you have someone to take some impressive pics like the ones in this post.   Interested to give it a go? Here is the skinny (and believe me, he WILL make you skinny doing this consistently): Aerial Fitness Orange County offers several classes with various levels. They have beginner, intermediate and performance levels for silks, trapeze, hoop, and even acrobatic yoga as you see here. They do drop-ins ($45), class packages, 12 week programs and unlimited monthly memberships. Private lessons are even available upon request. If you are a business they also do performances at private events. Take a look at these stunning photos from their private event at the USS Iowa this past weekend helping raise funds for Veterans.   Time permitting I would love to do more classes and master this craft. Please go check it out and drop us a comment or two on what you thought! It is summer after all in OC which means lots of time in our bikinis friends.

For more information you can reach Aerial Fitness Orange County at (949) 631-5587 or get more information at www.aerial-fitness.com.

  *All entries I list for businesses are not funded or recruited but rather my own personal opinion on a great place to check out and enhance your life with fun and fitness.