How to make Aerials a little bit easier...... it is possible I promise!

Jesse Baird from Studio 10 turns things upside down at AerialFit !

I remember being 5 or 6 and going with my mum to the Marconi Club for aerobics every week. I was supposed to sit up the back with the other kids, but my legend of a mama let me join in with her, as long as we stayed in the corner out of everyone’s way. I don’t remember much from the class, but I do remember feeling incredible energy & joy. To this day it is one of my fondest memories, which is remarkable considering I hardly remember it at all. That’s why when Josh came to me asking if we could put on an 80’s aerobics class, I said yes, even though it doesn’t really fit our studio brand. I knew that it would bring so much light & laughter that we absolutely had to run it! For two weeks after the class, I heard so many stories from everyone who attended. Apparently the atmosphere was like a grand final footy game: absolutely electric! This class will make a guest appearance every now & then on the schedule, if you need any convincing, here are some reviews from its debut. It can only get better! Josh’s class was easily the happiest hour of my day! I couldn’t stop smiling! If I was to describe the class to someone, I’d tell them to expect an hour of positive vibes, high energy, amazing tracks, and a lot of fluro. It’s so much fun that you (almost) forget you’re working out, ‘till you realise at the end that your 80s themed eyeshadow is no longer where it used to be. There was such a great buzz to the class. Everyone was in such high spirits and it made for such a great time. I’d also say that it doesn’t matter if you haven’t tried aerobics before, it really does cater to everyone. Over all; loved it! Daniela M Josh’s class was an eclectic mix of everything great about the 80’s - fast-paced dance combos that were both fun and workout based, moves that channeled authentic 80’s movies and musicals, aerobics mixed with classic pilates moves and a bangin’ playlist to sweat to! I loved every minute and couldn’t stop singing along :) Emily M I had such an amazing time! The music was good and the dance moves were easy to learn. I would recommend to everyone who wants a fun workout but still challenging enough! I can’t wait for the next class! Angela T

A honest, and sometimes funny recount of one woman's journey with Cancer, showing us just how important events like the Biggest Morning Tea really are.

How one student found confidence, love and acceptance of herself through Aerials.

In March we took inspiration from nature & focused on letting go of anything was wasnt serving us well. Take a look at some of the inspiring throughts from our community.

Have you met Kat? I bet you would’ve seen her at the studio! Perhaps you saw her re-writing the stars in last years fundraiser performance. If you haven’t met her yet, I bet you’ve heard her laughing through her aerial class or groaning her way through barre & pilates. Her story really interests me, because it just goes to show how versatile barre & pilates is at improving your skills in other sports or areas. Here’s her story: I love sport and have been reasonably fit throughout my life. I enjoy choosing sports that are unique and require different skills and technique. In 2017, my sister and I stumbled upon AerialFit. I was excited to try aerials and test out my fitness levels. I have always loved cardio, but soon realised that my stamina in the air was lacking. I also discovered that I had limited strength, especially in my abs and arms. It took me a whole term of silks to learn how to climb properly. My first routine in silks proved I definitely didn’t have the skill of a Cirque du Soleil performer, nor was I very graceful. Through the last couple of years I have gained so much from aerials: strength, fitness, flow, stamina and friendship. Although I have made a lot of progress, I have also learnt a lot about my strengths and weaknesses. My core strength in particular is still a work in progress. I believed for so long that I utilised these muscles well, but I quickly learnt that I wasn’t great at isolating or contracting them at the right moments. I began studio classes, including Barre and Pilates, which are challenging (in a great way). Again these classes require such different muscles and skill. Both of these studio classes have guided me on how to use my core muscles. I have gained so much strength and understanding about my core (and other muscles I haven’t used in other sports). Barre and Pilates has made a huge difference to my abilities in aerials. My climbs, inverts, stamina and tricks have improved greatly. Now, they can’t keep me away from AerialFit!

Have you always looked at other clients in the air & thought ‘they make it look easy’? Can confirm- it’s not! With practice, patience & apparently pilates, you will get there! This is Rachel’s story, our lovely studio member & Hammock student. I started hammock mid October of 2017 and I was a total newbie! Other than the videos I saw on Instagram of aerialists and thinking how beautiful and graceful they looked up in the silks, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. My only inkling of how difficult hammock would be was two aerial yoga classes. Naively I thought, 'this probably won't be too bad.' Yeah... boy was I about to eat my words. Despite thinking I was in decent shape, (at the time I was doing body pump, body attack and HIIT classes at the gym 3-4 times a week and vinyasa yoga at the studio once a week), nothing prepared me for how difficult and different hammock was going to be. It took me 5 weeks to be able to do one 'up and over' and a couple more months after that to be able to do it almost consistently. My core was weak and my upper body strength, lacking. Fast forward to August last year, in my 4th term of hammock, and gone was my unused gym membership by that point. I was bored of the large, impersonal and cold atmosphere of the gym. So instead I decided to do 3 classes a week at the studio and thus began my foray into barre and Pilates. In conjunction with my hammock classes the difference I saw was huge! Now I'm not taking away from the strength that I managed to build from doing hammock alone, however the gains from adding barre and Pilates into my routine was striking. Not only had I gained more core and upper body strength, I also had more control. Through barre and Pilates, I learned how to engage the muscles I needed to perform tricks. I also had more flexibility! I went from one class a week, to three and now I'm pretty much at the studio 4-5 days a week doing 1-2 classes each day. Despite how painful and hard the classes can be, I always leave feeling stronger than when I first arrived. The classes are always fun, engaging and dynamic. I'm definitely looking forward to even more gains this year!