Aerial warm-ups were the hot topic this week in the blog-o-sphere. What are the essentials for a good warm-up? (chocolate, red wine, Vampire Diaries) Do you really even NEED a warm-up? (yes)  How long should it last? (depends) What should it include? (again, depends) What should you wear? (tiara) These are the pressing questions of our times, people! Come with me.

Why Warm Up, Anyway?

Well, you can certainly skip it if pulled muscles, ruptured discs, and spontaneous combustion sound like a good time to you. BUT, if you’re someone who would prefer to reduce the risk of injury (and spontaneous combustion), you would to well to do some sort of movement prep before you work in the air – it will lube up your joints, get blood flowing to your muscles, and (most importantly) alert you to “creaky” areas you’ll need to be aware of during your training.

What to Include in a Proper Aerial Warm Up

Depends. Warming up for a show where you’re about to ask your muscles to go at full throttle for 6 minutes is really different from a warm-up before an aerial class, where you’re likely to do an aerial warm-up and progress more slowly through your moves. Today, I’ll focus on the latter. A good pre-class warm-up usually includes:

1. Raising your core body temperature. If I don’t see a glisten of sweat on your brow, you’re probably not as warm as you need to be. Jumping jacks, jogging or marching in place, dancing, or this clip from “The Vampire Diaries” will all raise your temperature.
2. Taking your body through it’s anticipated range of motion. Arm/shoulder/neck circles, rolling your spine up and down, shaking out fingers and wrists, up-dog, down-dog, inch-worms, electric slide, you get the picture.

That’s it! Notice I did NOT say “deep stretching” – click here to find out why.

Why It’s Not My Job to Make Sure Your Body is Ready for Training

WHAT?! But I’m the teacher! This can’t be right! Oh, but it is, Dear Dangler. Your body is your responsibility, and you know it better than I ever will! My warmup will be wildly different from your warmup, and Jane’s warmup, and Lucy’s warmup – see where I’m going here? As a physical person, you must get to know what YOUR body needs, and not rely on someone else to tell you. Do you have previously injured bits that need your attention? Working through some PT? Body feeling tight and grumpy? Your body may need a little extra preparation, even after a group warmup.

If you’re not sure how to get started, here’s a good dynamic warm-up from Cirque Physio that I like – it’s a great place to start. You can also ask your instructor for tips on what you should do before your class begins (even if your coach includes a floor warmup, because remember – one size does NOT fit all in this case). It’s your body – love it, protect it, and get to know it, because if it wears out, where are you going to live? Love and pull-ups, Laura

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