I’m always up for trying new and fun fitness classes. And now I’m a confirmed swinger. No, it’s not the kind of swinger you may be thinking of.
I tried Kara’s Trapeze Flow class and my broken down back and overstressed knees have been thanking me ever since.
But first things first: Get all those crazy visions of the Flying Wallendas or Cirque de Soleil performers out of your head. The “trapeze” is more a hammock swing suspended a few feet off the floor than circus contraption. It’s shaped like a cocoon and made of a silk-like material, with adjustable straps to slip your feet and hands through. It also supports 1,000 pounds, so none of this negative self-talk about busting through the swing and having the ceiling rain down on everyone (OK, that’s my negative self-talk, but you get the idea).
But truth be told, before I could flip, I fell. Yep, potential trapeze fitness enthusiasts out there, I lived through your worst nightmare.
While trying to swing my leg up, over and through the trapeze for the very first time, I lost my balance. (Hey, anyone read my blog from a few weeks ago? My balance problems are no joke.) We all had a good chuckle — including me — but I was none the worse for wear. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, I had plenty of help finally getting into the trapeze. And that’s when the fun really started …
Kara had us starting off with stretches for our calves, quads and glutes. After limbering up, we jumped into the hammocks (I kind of crawled in, but whatever) and inverted ourselves. You heard me right, head inches from the floor, and feet in the air.
It sounds scarier than it really is — Kara is an expert guide, there is always a mat under you and that hammock offers lots of support.
Once you get over the unusualness of the sensation, you start to feel the decompression in your spine. In order to move up and down and hold positions, you really have to engage your core (my abs and glutes were feeling the burn afterward). And with moves like Traction Jackson, Banana Man and Starfish, you can feel your whole body open up. Another thing I noticed: The more you take the trapeze class, the better you become (that’s me holding the Starfish pose; look at the difference in my flexibility — and confidence —from week one to week two).
Trapeze Flow is just one of the many specialty fitness classes offered at Flow Fitness. It’s like the monkey bars for adults. It’s fun, it’s different and it’s a great core and stretching workout — just what you need after taking more cardio-heavy classes like Flow Boot Camp or Tabata. I give it two thumbs (err, feet!) up!