“I Did It” is a feature on I’m Skinny, Now What? where I will tackle a new workout or diet and give you my opinion. Wish me luck, because I don’t like changing my routine.
So this is the story all about how my life got twist-turned upside down. Literally.
I like a little bit of thrill in my life. I love roller coasters and water slides. I love that ride at the amusement park that where it slowly takes you all the way up only to drop you. I even did an “I Did It” last fall for the sole purpose of flying through the air.
So when my friend and co-worker, Willa, asked me to join her and another friend, Kim, in an Amazon Deal for an aerials class, I didn’t hesitate.
What I Learned
As I expected, aerials was so much fun…and so much work. Your body is the only resistance you have. If you’re like me and haven’t done much resistance training, it will be difficult. I was fortunate enough to have an amazing instructor.
Meet Kiebpoli. She is possibly the most patient person alive. Several of the women in my first class had done aerials before. They were climbing up the ropes and silks with complete ease. They looked amazing as they’d tie themselves up in knots only to roll out of it a couple feet above ground.
We were all there to learn something different. I was there to just learn the basics, which included climbs and inverts. As someone who doesn’t spend most of her time upside down, the thought of doing it was slightly daunting. Seeing is one thing; doing is another.
I was able to do the warm-ups, which involved me dead-hanging from the silks and lifting my knees to my chest. Yay, me!
Inverts were another story. To do that, I had to hold onto the silks and flip backward into a spread eagle. I’ve never been able to do a jumping spread eagle, even when I was a dancer. I always blamed my sizable posterior for this. Then I met people with bigger butts than mine who could rival the girls in cheerleading competitions. Welp. Suffice to say, after a several attempts, it was on to something else.
The sequence I enjoyed the most involved the hammock (a knot tied near the bottom of the silks). You don’t sit in the hammock but lean your hips into it and flip backward with your legs spread, toes pointed. From there you can do all kinds of poses. That one, I got the hang of.
In my second class, Kiebpoli showed me how to do more with the hammock invert. I was able to knot myself in the silks and sit up into a spread eagle. That was a lot of fun.
Because my phone was acting a donkey, I was only able to get photos and video of my first class. Below you’ll see my friend Kim, who’s been doing aerials for more than a year now, taking instruction from Kiebpoli on a new sequence.
Verdict
I absolutely recommend this. There’s a beauty in the artistry when a sequence is completed. Prepare for achy muscles, though. My shoulders and upper arms were sore for a few days after the first class. The second class, though didn’t cause as much discomfort. But epsom salt baths will become your new best friend.
If you’re in New York, you can take one of the several classes Kiebpoli teaches each week. I know I’m going back to work on my climbs and standing inverts.
Editor’s note: I fixed the spelling of aerials throughout.
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