For all you budding aerialists, I know when the circus bug bites it really bites, so it won’t be long before you’re thinking about buying your own silks or trapeze. Today I’m sharing where we buy our equipment and what to look for in each piece.

Spansets or slings are what you wrap around a beam to hang your apparatus. A three foot will wrap around most beams. If you are using a lyra I’d recommend getting a six foot as well unless you want to be right up against the beam.

We buy all our spansets from Sapsis Rigging. The also make spansets with steel inside – this is what we use to rig our equipment for class and rehearsal. You’ll want them rated for at least 5000 lbs.

A note on spansets and all rigging equipment – don’t cut off that ugly orange/purple tag. It tells you the rating (how large of a load it can carry) and is your warranty if the equipment breaks. Cut it off and the company will not replace it.

We buy swivels and carabiners from Amazon. I use these gold biners, a Black Diamond swivel and this rescue 8. Aerial Essentials also sells tons of hardware. I prefer screw gate biners over twist lock as they’re easier to unhook when you’re rigging in the air.

Our silks come from Aerial Fabric Acrobatics. When purchasing fabric you’ll want enough to go from the floor, to the ceiling, and back down to the floor with two or three feet of extra fabric on the ground. My red silks are 15 yards (which is about perfect for 18ft ceilings) and my white silks are 18. I usually end up trimming a few inches off the edge to make it a little thinner width-wise. I prefer non-stretch fabric. Stretch fabric is a little more bouncy, which is nice for drops but also synches tighter.

We just ordered a gorgeous trapeze from Spitfire Aerial and our lyras and chandelyra are from Brett Copes (tell him The Weird Sisters sent you). Brett not only makes custom equipment, but is a professional rigger, so if you’re interested in rigging your own equipment I’d definitely recommend his workshops.

Rosin: I use Easton dry rosin and Cramer grip spray.

Our ginormous freestanding rig is from Trapeze Rigging. Aerial Essentials also sell rigs. The poles on our rig are six ft long and it does magically fit into my little Scion XD.

My trap boots were made by Shannon Maguire and we buy lots of leotards from Dancewear Solutions & Nawty Fox.

You can find more information on how to properly rig, equipment ratings, tying silks, etc at Aerial Essentials.

Any questions?

It’s a beautiful thing to wake up to a big box of steel-enforced spansets and carabiners on my front porch. We get to rig our equipment in the new space this weekend and get to work putting the finishing touches on the syllabus for spring session. I am so excited to start teaching again and to be able to ride my bike (assuming spring plans on showing up at some point!) to work.

What’s making you happy on this lovely Friday?

Scully said, “I’m completely frustrated at my inability to get inverted from straddle back. Do you have any tips?”

Yes ma’am!

A straddle back or straddle-up as we call it, is when you flip upside down with your legs in a wide V. This can be one of the most challenging things when you’re starting to train as flipping both your legs over your head with even an ounce of grace takes a lot of ab strength.

It’s important condition the muscles you use to climb, flip, and drop while working through tricks. If you just try and invert over and over, you might get there, but working your abs on their own will make the process faster and help with other movement in the future.

Outside of doing crunches and parking it in boat pose for hours, one of the best ways to prep your abs for aerial is to practice the straddle without inverting.

Do a pull-up, raise your legs as high as possible in a V and lower down slowly. You can also do this in a swinging motion – stand between the silks, pull-up and with your legs together swing backwards and then up into V as high as you can. Repeat these moves in sets of 10.

Another way to work on your straddle-up is to have someone help you into position, rest in the straddle for 5-10 seconds, and then lower down as slowly as possible, legs wide.

Edit: As Lauren reminded me – work on your straddle-ups with bent arms, if your arms are straight you have a lot farther to go!

For conditioning at home I love P90X Ab Ripper X – it’s 15 minutes and over 300 core exercises. It’s as painful as it sounds, but it will build your ab strength FAST! (Here are some sexy dudes doing the workout on YouTube)

If you are able to hook one foot or even one toe you might be able to pull yourself into position, but remember, in the end you want to be straddling with straight legs. It’s easier to crunch into a ball to invert and then pop your legs out, but it’s a bad habit to get into!

Any other questions??

Alright, I did it! I made a slightly embarrassing, but informative (I hope!) video blog. And while I didn’t enjoy doing multiple takes and listening to my voice over and over, I’m kinda into this video thing!

If you’re not a video watcher, here’s a rundown of the questions and answers:

Carrie  said, “I think my big thing right now is trusting myself that if I make the leap to full-time freelancing that I won’t fall flat on my face and have to beg my boss for my job back. I know my personality is a go-getter one, but I still have these insecurities and fears. Did you face any of these thoughts? If so, how did you overcome the insecurities and face your fears of being your own boss?“

• My biggest fear was not failure, but staying at the same job for 20 years and regretting not taking the chance
• I prepared by building up my savings, making sure I had clients booked two months out, and creating multiple streams of income

Sarah said, “Where did you find clients initially? Obviously now that you’re more established, people probably come to you a bit more, but in the beginning, how did you go about getting your clients?“

• I used my blog to promote a cheap design deal
• Then used those designs to create my portfolio
• You can use Twitter and Facebook to let everyone know you’re looking to build your portfolio and will design on the cheap

Erin said, “Did you save up money before quitting? How much?“

• I saved about eight months worth, though six should be enough to be comfortable
• Create a budget to figure out how much you spend each month (mint.com)

Amie said, “Did you adjust your freelance rates when transitioning from part time freelance to full time?“

• After two months of promoting the design deal I raised my rates by about $50
• One I decided to leave my job (about a year before) I raised my rates to what they would be if I were to work without a 9 to 5 job
• Use your budget to figure out how much you need to make each month to pay your bills and then balance that with how many clients you can work for in a week to figure out an hourly rate. Also consider the amount of experience you have and what type of clients you want to work with.

Hadley said, “How long did you train before making this leap? I am currently training and taking classes four days a week (about seven hours a week) in trapeze and silks. My trapeze skills are coming along rapidly, but silks are more humbling… While I LOVE my day job (I am so very fortunate), I would like to someday (soonish… is two years an unreasonable time frame?) perform?“

• You can perform as soon as you feel ready – I started after a year
• Create a video and post it on Youtube, Facebook, your own website to show your skills
• Tell everyone you meet what you do and you never know where you’ll find a gig

I hope you all enjoyed my little video! Feel free to leave comments & more questions. I’ll be answering another round in a couple weeks. Don’t forget to subscribe to my Youtube Channel – I’m thinking I’ll start doing some video tutorials as well :)

Photo by Spilt Sugar

Paola said, “I love your aerial posts! I’ve been taking an aerial fabrics class for about 8 months now and I’m seriously considering performing for the first time. Could you write about your process for putting together a performance (choreography, costumes, etc.)?”

Thanks for your question! I’m happy to share some insight into creating an aerial routine.

Choose your music first

To create a routine that flows with your music it’s best to start with a song first instead of choosing tricks and then trying to fit them with a song. Listen to the track a few times and note where there are slower parts for transitions/resting poses and sections with more movement for drops, then decide which tricks should go where.

Then choose your tricks

Use only tricks you are able to do smoothly every single time. If you’re only able to land a trick 80% of the time, don’t count on it working the night of the show. You want to be completely confident with your movements, so you can focus on what your face is doing and playing to the crowd.

Make sure it flows

Group tricks together by the height at which you’ll perform them. Don’t climb to the top, drop, climb back up, and drop over and over again – you will be out of energy before you’re halfway through the routine. I like to start with a couple tricks at the top, then a drop, a couple tricks at the middle/bottom, and then climb to the top and drop again for a finale.

Smooth out the transitions

Your routine doesn’t have to be trick after trick after trick – in fact, if all you do is climb and pose it gets a bit boring. Use leg/arm/body movements during transitions to make your routine more dynamic while also giving you a minute to rest and catch your breath.

Duo routines

When working with a partner, especially if you are performing a synchronized routine, choose music with words and dynamic changes. If your song sounds mostly the same all the way through you will get lost more easily and have to watch each other – no bueno!

Costumes

For silks you want to avoid anything that may snag the fabric – buttons, zippers, sequins and glitter are all out, so I like to pile on the accessories when I’m able to on trapeze and lyra. Fabrics with shimmer and bold patterns always look excellent since you’ll be a fair distance from your audience. Make sure to choose something that is comfortable and covers all your bits properly when you flip upside down – I always keep Topstick in my makeup bag just in case!

I find lots of basics on Dance Wear Solutions and eBay. If you’re looking for unitards, Nawty Fox unis are most comfortable. ASOS has cool looking unitards and we find good stuff on sale all the time. Cheryl is a master at finding old dance costumes at the thrift store – our steampunk costumes were made entirely from thrift and craft store pieces.

And lastly, no matter what happens – the fabric gets stuck, you run out of energy, your headband falls off – practice keeping a smile on your face (or whatever emotion fits with your performance.) There’s nothing that ruins a routine more than an aerialist that looks concerned, tired or bored.

Here are a few brilliant routines for inspiration Watch not only the types of tricks they perform, but also their movement between tricks – how are they turning a list of movements into a performance? Also, listen to what the audience gets excited by – it’s not always the most complicated or death-defying move. A big split or spinning is often enough to elicit a reaction.

Amanda Crockett’s awkward trapeze >>> (great example of turning a performance into an entire act) Duo lyra >>> (their tricks aren’t super difficult, but the synchronicity and crispness of movement makes it so impressive) Elena Marina on silks >>> (beautiful and slow, utilizing the tails of the silks to add movement)

Any questions?

(If any of you do perform you best be sending me your links so I can see your aerial skills!)

(My first time on silks – I assure you I did not put that foot lock on in the air!)

Mia asked a question on Twitter today and since I haven’t prepared a post I thought I’d share a few tips for climbing aerial silks.

I’ve been taking silks for almost a month (1-3x/week) and I have yet to climb successfully, can’t bring my knees to my chest, but I can get to that point. Any training I can do outside of class to get better/tips?

So, for those of you that haven’t been in the air yet, the basic movement for climbing is…wrap one leg around the fabric, then pull up as you crunch your knees toward your chest. Then speedily clamp your free foot on top of the silks wrapped across your climbing foot and stand up.

To do this you’re utilizing your arms to pull yourself up, your abs to bring your knees up and your thighs to stand. So you need to work on each of those areas to be a smooth and successful climber.

PULL: Many beginners have the same problem I did at my first class and start off with zero upper body strength. Arm strength is crucial to practicing aerial because it allows your mind to be free to focus on what the rest of your body is doing instead of “I can’t hold on! I’m losing my grip! I’m slipping!” Instead of dangling in the air trying to get your feet into position, hold the fabric right in front of you making sure to keep your arms bent and locked into your chest. Once your able to hold yourself in place for a few seconds you can see what your legs and feet are doing. These exercises will help build badass arms.

CRUNCH: The second issue lots of students run into is not being able to bring their knees up high enough, so when stand up they’ve only moved a few inches or not at all. Bringing your knees up is all abs, so I recommend purchasing a pull-up bar for pikes (you’ll conveniently be able to work on your arms as well.) V-ups and boat pose are also really helpful to be able to lift your legs with ease. And when in class, try hanging (arms bent into your chest) and work on bringing your knees up, holding it and slowly lowering down.

CLAMP: Once you have the fabric sandwiched between your feet, you should be able to stand on it, leaving your arms fairly free to move about. But you may find that every time you go to clamp down the silks have slipped off your foot. Making sure to keep your wrapped foot flexed will allow you to climb without re-wrapping each time. This takes some practice because the second you realize you’re slipping your feet are the first thing to go, but if you focus on keeping them flexed, you’ll be able to stand in the air and take a few breaths to get your strength back and keep climbing.

STAND: Squats …having powerful thighs is the best way to be a speedy climber. The more leg strength you use to climb, the more arm strength you’ll have left when you get to the top and want to bust out some fly tricks. Start adding squats into your workout routine and not only will you be better on the silks, you’ll also end up with one fine lookin’ ass :)

One of the main things I tell me students when they’re losing strength and starting to flail about is to stop, find a resting pose in the air and take a few second to collect themselves. There are so many factors that go into keeping you from falling that it’s easy to come down, but if you can stand for a second and regroup you might be able to climb higher than you thought.

Good luck Mia!

Anyone else have a question??

After my last aerial exercise post, Sara requested I write about my arm workout. My main exercise is climbing & holding myself in the air along with P90X cardio 4-5 times a week. I know that most of you don’t have 20 ft ceilings at home, so here are my favorite arm exercises you can do with dumbbells and your own body weight.

Now, I know it’s popular for exercises to be “fun and easy!” and “just 10 minutes a day!” But here’s the thing – you don’t get badass arms (or abs or buns) from an easy workout. You get them from pushing yourself, lifting the max, and sweating like a pig.

So here you go – nine exercises to get toned, buff aerial arms…

1. 90 degree press | shoulders: Hold one arm out in front of you, one out to the side, weights facing down. Raise both arms, lower and then switch positions.

2. Bicep curls | biceps: Stand up straight, arms down palms facing forward. Slowly curl one arm at a time up to your chest and back down, alternating arms. You should be using big weights for this one.

3. Tricep dips |triceps: No weights needed. Place your hands behind you on a chair, with knees bent, dip down until your arms are at a 90 degree angle and then, using only your arms, push yourself back up. If you can do more than 10 easily, straight your legs or put your feet up on a chair.

4. Overhead tricep extension | triceps, shoulders: Hold a weight in one hand behind your head, extend your arm straight up and back down.

5. Reverse curl with side press | biceps, shoulders, forearms: Bend your elbows and bring the weights to your shoulders, palms facing out. Press the weights out and then down. Then raise the weights back up and into your shoulders.

6. Tricep Kickback | back, triceps: Bend your knees, hinge at the waist and extend your arms back while squeezing your shoulder blades together. Make sure to keep your back straight and move the lower part of your arm while your elbows stay in place.

7. Side push-up | triceps, obliques: Lay on your left side, put your left hand on your right shoulder or rib cage. Place your right hand on the ground in front of your left shoulder. Press with your right hang to lift your torso off the floor, lower down slowly.

8. Push-ups | biceps, shoulders, abs, back: No half push-ups here! Three regular push-ups will benefit you more than 10 on your knees. Add in a push up to your yoga routine when moving from plank to downward dog. Make sure your back is straight and squeeze those abs! Push-ups are the gateway to pull-ups.

9. Pull-ups | triceps, biceps, shoulders: I know you don’t want to hear this, but if you want aerial arms without getting into the air, pull-ups are the way to do it. With hands facing away from you (works your triceps and shoulders), pull-up and then SLOWLY lower down. Repeat the same movement with hands facing toward you, working your biceps. You could even do some straight leg raises while you’re hanging out up there :)

If you can’t pull up at all, jump up and hold as long as you can. If you can do 10 easily then start with straight arms, knees bent hanging below the bar. This is my favorite doorway pull-up bar, but if your house has giant moldings liked mine, this one works great too.

A few more tips

Find the right size weights. If you want to build muscle then you should not be able to do more than 10 reps/set with your weights. The first 5 should be easy-ish and 6-10 should be difficult. If you’re going over 10 reps per set without any issue then you need to up your weight. I usually lift 5 and keep 10 nearby.

To build muscle you need protein Try to eat or drink protein within one hour of working out. I put a scoop of chocolate protein powder + 8oz of almond milk (and sometimes a banana) in my blender and drink that after my workouts. My brother, who is super into Cross Fit & we call Muscle Man, said he drinks chocolate milk after his workouts.

Don’t forget to stretch! My right shoulder becomes very unhappy and sore if I don’t stretch before and after my workouts. I start with arm circles, pull each arm across my chest to get a stretch near my scapula, and then putt each arm behind my head like the overhead tricep extension sans weight and pull on my elbow.

And lastly, adding a little cardio a few times a week will help your new muscles stand out even more!

Click here for more Workin’ Out posts

It’s been a while since I posted an aerial exercise and this is one of the simplest, but surprisingly difficult ones. It’s sort of like boat pose, but since you aren’t able to lean back, you have to use the tops of your thighs to lift your legs.

Sit with your back against a wall, legs out in a V, and slowly lift your legs a couple feet off the ground. If you aren’t able to lift your legs scoot your butt away from the wall until you can. Make sure to keep your back straight and put as little pressure on your hands as possible – lift with your thighs.

You should be able to do 5-10 reps in this position. If you’re going over 10 scoot back so you’re entire back is flat against the wall and lift your legs higher.  At the end of each set I like to hold my legs up in the V for about 20 seconds to maximize the burn. You can also take your hands off the floor or make the V wider to make it even more difficult.

If you can’t lift your legs on the first try, don’t worry, it takes a bit of practice!

+ Rehearsing a new duo lyra routine. It’s so pretty with lots of spinning – can’t wait to show you guys!

+ Serious lip stain addiction. I always have 4-5 Just Bitten stains in my bag at one time.

+ New skully sweater from Gypsy Warrior

+ New leo (and the palest lady in town)

+ Coming home to a very spazzy Piglet

I spent Saturday night drinking Joan Collins at the local comedy club. Previously, my only experience with live comedy had been at an amateur night while on a super lame date, so I didn’t have high expectations. I felt more hopeful when we showed up and the place was packed. The show ended up being an improve battle with a bunch of different games and audience participation. It was HILARIOUS. By the time the show was over my sides were hurting from laughing so much and we even stayed for the late night show where the performers pretty much drink and do whatever improv they want.

On Sunday Cheryl and I decided to expand our circus abilities by taking an acro class. I, being the smallest of the group, had the terrifying privileged of climbing on top of a six person pyramid, which then crawled forward as I held on for dear life! After class we did a super quick aerial practice. The next morning I woke up with sore everything, which is a rare occurrence, so I know I worked hard.

I received an email recently from Tara who signed up for her first trapeze class and had a few questions. She said, “I have just purchased my first session of classes for beginner trapeze and I’d love to know your tips for a first-ever class…Mostly I feel weird about what I’m supposed to wear ;)”

I’ve heard from a few other people who have picked up the circus bug and signed up for classes, so I thought I’d post the info in case others might find it helpful.

I recommend wearing snug fitting clothing that covers under your arms and the backs of your legs. I usually wear leggings and a tee or tank (something that isn’t cut too low so you don’t fall out when you flip upside down) and then bring a sweatshirt and leg warmers in case you need a little extra protection from the ropes. You could also wear leggings and a leotard  – I buy most of mine here >>>

If you’re not big on working out (I wasn’t at all when I started), your first class might be a little rough, depending on what tricks they teach. You can start working on building upper body strength with pull-ups or push-ups. (Make sure you do those pull-ups with your palms facing AWAY from your face as that’s how you’ll grip the trap and it works slightly different muscles) For core strength work on boat pose or crunches and a little flexibility will be helpful too!

Do get discouraged if you struggle with the tricks. Aerial is a HUGE challenge and it took me weeks to be able to just get on the trap in one smooth motion. My beginner students always struggle a lot during the first classes, but after a few weeks they’re all kicking major butt.

My motto has always been, If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. Go into class with a brave and determined attitude and remember, even if it takes a while, every time you touch the apparatus you’re building muscle and getting a little closer to completing the trick.

I don’t have a FAQ on the site just yet, so if you have any questions feel free to email me about aerial, web design or whatever is on your mind! xosillygrrl at gmail.com