Building Strength for Aerial Skills: Effective Exercises and Training Techniques
If you're an aerialist, then you know the importance of strength training. Aerial arts, including pole dancing, hoop, trapeze, and aerial silk, are all fantastic ways to improve your strength, flexibility, and overall body awareness. But these activities can also be quite demanding, requiring considerable upper body and core strength. Hence, strength training plays a crucial role in developing the necessary physical capabilities for these advanced aerial skills. This article aims to provide effective exercises and training techniques tailored to help aerial enthusiasts improve their strength and prepare for advanced skills.
Understand Your Strength Needs
Before diving into the exercises, let's briefly discuss the strength needs for aerial arts. Aerial skills require both static and dynamic strength. Static strength refers to your ability to hold a particular pose, while dynamic strength involves the power needed to move between poses smoothly. Strength training for aerial skills must target both these areas to ensure you're well-rounded and prepared for your aerial journey. They not only help with achieving poses, they also build confidence, stamina and stability, which leads to less injuries and falls.
It is tempting to skip all the foundational parts, but trust me, from someone who was avoiding them for ages, they are very important if you want to progress fast. My advice is to try and enjoy that journey as much as the flow and other fun parts of aerial training. In the words of Mr Miyagi in Karate Kid “chop wood, carry water”. No matter how accomplished we are, how wise or successful, there will always be mundane things we have to do because they're part of life.
Exercises for Building Strength
1. Pull-Ups
Pull-ups are excellent for building upper body strength. They mainly target your lats, but also work your biceps, trapezius, and rhomboids. To perform a pull-up, grab onto a pull-up bar with both hands shoulder-width apart and pull your body up until your chin is above the bar. Lower yourself down slowly. If you find traditional pull-ups challenging, you can start with assisted pull-ups or negative pull-ups.
2. Planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for developing core strength. They engage the entire core and can be adapted to various difficulty levels. Start in a push-up position but with your forearms on the ground. Ensure your body forms a straight line from your head to your heels. Hold this position for as long as you can, while keeping your core engaged.
3. Handstand Push-Ups or Pike Presses
Handstand push-ups are fantastic for working your shoulders and improving balance. They also help simulate the inverted positions common in aerial arts. Start against a wall to ensure safety as you develop the necessary strength and balance. Pike presses tend to be the easier version as you get into a pike (or downward dog) position and press up and down to work on your lats and shoulder strength.
4. Hollow Body Holds
Not quite a hollow hold as these are performed on the ground.
This exercise is essential for aerialists as it builds core strength and trains body tension, vital for maintaining positions while in the air. Lie flat on your back, press your lower back into the floor, lift your shoulders and legs off the ground, and hold this position.
Training Techniques for Aerialists
1. Progressive Overload
Progressive overload is a concept in strength training where you gradually increase the amount of stress placed on the body during exercise. This can be achieved by increasing the weight, repetitions, or reducing rest time between sets. This technique is crucial for continual strength gains.
2. Cross-Training
To avoid overuse injuries and ensure well-rounded fitness, it's essential to engage in activities other than aerial arts. Cross-training could include yoga for flexibility, weight lifting for strength, or cardio exercises for endurance.
3. Regular Flexibility Training
While strength is critical, so is flexibility. Regular stretching will help to prevent injuries and enable you to perform a wider range of movements in the air. A mixture of static stretches, dynamic stretches, and yoga poses should be a part of your training regime.
4. Consistency
Consistency is key in any training program. Regular, consistent workouts will yield better results than infrequent, high-intensity ones.
5. Rest and Recovery
Don't neglect rest and recovery. Your muscles need time to heal and grow stronger. Incorporate rest days into your training schedule, and consider activities like Yoga or foam rolling for active recovery. Aerial is very taxing on the nervous system as well and it is important to prevent burnout by taking mandatory rest days.
By incorporating these exercises and training techniques into your routine, you'll be well on your way to building the strength necessary for advanced aerial skills. Remember, the journey of an aerialist is a marathon, not a sprint, and it's essential to listen to your body and progress at your own pace.
