While the Frequently
Asked Questions page covers a lot of great information,
this section is meant to help you further prepare for trapeze
and make sure you have the best experience possible.
How to deal with soreness
Whenever you start a new exercise program
it is important to prepare yourself for soreness caused
by using new muscles. Always drink water before, during
and after class. Drinking enough water can significantly
reduce muscle fatigue and reduce post exercise soreness.
Wear warm clothes when it’s cool
at the school. Keeping your muscles warm greatly improves
flexibility, reduces stiffness and will allow you to put
your best effort into your time on the swing. Keep moving
between swings. If you want to make serious improvement
in every class then stretching and practicing moves is essential.
And it keeps your body a peak for the challenge.
Aspirin or ibuprofen after a hard work
out is a great idea, but only if these medications are safe
for you personally. If you know you can take these safely
then they are great for reducing the inflammation associated
with exercise.
Also you can ice sore muscles, take warm
bathes to warm up stiff muscles and rub muscles down with
Tiger Balm or other warming gel.
How to prepare for class
If it is your first class please show
up 15 minutes early to fill out a waiver. This way you can
be ready to go when class starts. Every one can prepare
for a good class by being well rested, eating light within
4 hours of the class, warming up and stretching out well
in advance of class.
Be sure the clothing you are wearing is
safe, comfortable and right for the weather you are flying
in. If you need to wear sun block, put it on before you
come to class. Make sure you have absolutely no cream, oil
or grease on your wrists and hands. This will make gripping
the bar safer and make catching you less slippery.
Bring water!!!! A towel, a hat, a light
snack and anything else that you like to have when you’re
going to exercize.
What to wear, etc
You want to wear clothes that are comfortable
for a wide range of exercise. Tights are great, sweats and
tee shirts are fine. Layering is a good idea so you can
stay warm between swings. Socks are fine ballet slippers
are better. Women want to consider if what they plan to
wear will work as well when you’re upside down. Floppy
clothes are a no no. They just get in the way.
Bring something to tie your hair back
securely and that will keep hair completely out of your
face.
If you wear glasses please wear a sport
croaky or other way of keeping them securely on your face.
Better to wear your contacts if you have them. If we think
your glasses may injure you we may ask you to remove them
for flying.
Ideas for other things you can do (i.e.
yoga)
Running, Yoga, rock climbing, aerobics
and calisthenics are all great for cross training. Core
strength and flexibility depends on doing a variety of exercises
and doing something almost every day. Ask us in person if
you want some ideas about what will support your body type
best.
What to do about blisters and rips
Blisters and rips are a common part of
the flying experience. If you get a blister the first time
you fly and don’t plan to do anything crazy with your
hands soon, just let it fade on it’s own. If you plan
to fly again soon you may want to drain, expose (cutting
away the detached skin), clean and dry the blister and get
it on the path to toughening as quickly as possible. If
you do blister during class be sure to point it out to an
instructor so we can assist you in caring for it.
There are definitely some blisters and
rips you don’t want to fly on. No matter how tough
you are, you don’t want to deepen a wound that will
keep you from flying sooner than later. Show your rip to
the staff. Let us help you take care of it. We may ask you
to call it a day. In time, if you fly a good deal, your
hands will toughen up. Be patient. In the mean time, consider
wearing grips.
Taking care of your shoulders
You want to keep the head of the humerus in the shoulder socket - otherwise
you are hanging on the little rotator cuff muscles that were never meant to
be hung on. If the humerus is in it's socket, then the muscles that attach
to the shoulder blade and spine can work properly, the lats can be used and
therefore the torso can be used.
Many professional flyers actually release the head of the humerus from the
socket in the back of their beat back to give them the illusion of more back
flexibility, and therefore more power. This is a good technique in the
short term, but can do real damage in the long term. A better solution is
to stretch out your shoulders and back.
A good exercise to improve your force out will help you also get to know how
your pelvic tilt and abdominal muscles work to help you tuck (or pike) your
feet up over your head. Lots of people try to do a force out without really
using their abs. Here is the exercise, but IF AT ANY TIME YOUR BACK WANTS
TO ARCH UP STOP THIS EXERCISE AS YOU MAY INJUR YOURSELF AND YOU WILL BE
TEACHING YOURSELF BAD HABITS.
Lie on the floor on your back with your arms straight over your head and
shoulder width apart. Hold onto someone's ankles or tuck your palms under
the edge of a sofa. Press your spine into the floor, focusing on the area
under your waist band. Lift your feet a few inches off the floor. Slowly
tuck your feet into your butt, then roll up on your back one vertebrae at a
time, being conscious of how the pelvis tilts up as you contract your
stomach muscles into the tuck. Roll up until your are up on your shoulders.
From here you can either 1. roll slowly back down to the first position
keeping your spine pressed into the floor. Go to the start position (feet a
few inches off the floor) and repeat without ever releasing your abs or
spine OR 2. force out your feet to the ceiling and lower them down to the
floor as slowly as possible, OR 3. if you are on a soft crash mat force
your feet up and out to the ceiling quickly to a straight body end-of-force
out position (your body will come down fast into the start position, which
is why you want a soft crash mat under you).
Hope this helps! For more info my sister and I started teaching a workshop
we call Physical Preparation and Injury Prevention for Aerialists - it's
about proper shoulder position, how to keep it and how to connect shoulder
position to abdominal strength and spinal support.
Grips are good if your hands are soft.
They do not guarantee that you will avoid blisters and rips,
but for the most part they can be helpful. Grips can be
made of sports tape (available for purchase at the TSNY Baltimore
store), buckskin and leather. Sport gloves are not allowed
on the rig. The head of staff for your class must approve
any grip you plan to wear. If we’re concerned that
your grip isn’t solid we will ask you to fly without.
We may have grips for sale in the store
or online. If not, you can find them pretty easily at a
gymnastics supply store. Better to get grips without a dowel
if possible. If you are not sure what grips are best for
you, ask an instructor to look at your hands and give suggestions.
