Adventures in Aerial Fitness

I was reminded once again this week how much fun it is to try new things! For my birthday a few weeks ago, my good friend, Sarah got me two things: an aerial fitness class and a pole dancing class. She is the friend that I signed up for kickball without telling her and we always end up doing random things together and having a blast.

Last night, we attended our first aerial fitness class. If you don’t know what this is, check out the place we went here.

You all know by now that I don’t exactly consider myself athletic or coordinated in any way and when I walked into the class and saw girls flipping and spinning on the silks, I pretty much decided I was going to fall on my face at some point.

Since we were beginners, they taught the basic climbs and poses, which looked challenging on their own. I don’t have much upper body strength and this type of exercise really relies on that. When it was our turn to try, we all surprised ourselves by how quickly we caught on. It definitely wasn’t easy, but we got better every time we tried, which is really encouraging.

The last thing we learned was how to wrap our arms in the silk and hang upside down. I might have done gymnastics for about a week when I was a kid and I had no idea how I was going to flip my body upside down. Sarah went first and after a few tries, she had it! I tried next and to my amazement, I did it on the first try! We were unstoppable after that, cheering each other on and helping each other perfect the pose. It was an absolute blast and one of the best arm workouts I’ve had in my life. We are definitely going to make it a regular thing so we can learn more.

There was a time not too long ago when I never would have tried this. I would’ve been too scared of not being good at it, afraid of making a fool out of myself. I’m so glad I got over that. I love trying new things like this and the feeling of doing something I was scared of doesn’t compare to anything else. 

Last night was a good reminder that I really can do anything I put my mind to. I walked into that class thinking I would fall on my face and there was no way I was flipping upside down, but I walked out feeling like a rock star because I did it all because I tried! It’s amazing what you accomplish when you jump in and try.

Today, my arms are sore but it feels great! If you’ve never tried this, I highly recommend it. Next week is pole dancing….oh boy!