The studio is closed for whole week?? What are we going to do??

Well, don’t fret too much. While Cari and the rest of our wonderful Lotus staff are giving the studio a deep clean and performing regular maintenance to make sure our equipment stays as perfect and safe as we have come to expect, we don’t need to lose all our progress from 2017. In fact, it turns out you can still work out at home in a pinch. Here are a few tips for home workouts.

If you have an apparatus at home, use it! I neglect my home pole way more than I mean to. This break is a great opportunity to work on some conditioning, and revisit moves or choreo you loved from your classes this year. However, there are a few important things to remember before you hop on your aerial rig at home.

1. Just like in the studio, DO A WARM-UP!! Do not skip your warmup. Ever. If you can’t think of what to do, you can find some great videos on youtube, or just try to remember what you usually do at the beginning of class. I usually start at the top and work my way down (neck rolls, chest roll, hip circles, etc.) and make sure to really focus in on all my joints. We use our wrists and shoulders a lot in aerial arts, so don’t neglect them!
2. Try a freestyle! To make sure you and your apparatus are ready, try a nice easy freestyle or three. I usually like to give myself a prompt as well, such as focusing on circles or threading. Don’t work on tricks at this point, just dance it out.
3. Conditioning! Do some nice, clean reps of inverts, climbs, and whatever else your apparatus requires.
4. Work on those tricks! I usually pick two or three tricks to really focus on for the day, and try to make them all within the same group (e.g. back-bendy moves). Work on the move itself, then experiment with ways into and out of the trick so you can combine it into other movements.
5. Just like your warm-up, do not forget to COOL DOWN! I usually try to do at least one cooling freestyle, followed by some light stretching and a savasana.

If you don’t have an apparatus at home, or you’re away, there are still tons of ways you can keep your activity level up while we are on vacation. Work on your cardio with some free dancing, jogging, biking, hiking, or swimming! Get your stretch on with a nice flexibility training session! Have fun playing Frisbee with your family! Just try to get at least an hour of elevated heart rate several times per week, just like if the studio were still open. No matter what you’re doing, though, a warm up and cool down are always recommended. Especially if you’re doing any sort of stretching.

Intrepid instructor Allison Sipes also recommends using household items such as a chair to work out and get some strength training in! “You can do tricep dips, push-ups, planks, fan kicks over the chair, all kinds of stuff!” she says. Again, there are some great ideas online, such as this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOIu1eEZeYA

We know there’s just no substitute for working out at Lotus. But while you’re away, keep up your motivation and get amped for returning to your beautiful studio in just a few days. See you in the air!