May 08, 2023 / by Kay / In services

These 3 things help you train safe and smart

Circus training fires up muscles in areas of your body which may have been unused since childhood – and when they wake up, they’ll let you know!

Aches are common after training sessions, it’s the pains that you want to avoid.

We’re not into the ‘no pain, no gain’ approach. We’re all about training safely so that we can carry on doing that well into our old age…and we want the same for you, too.

Three top ways to train smart are:

• ‘Strength flexibility’
• Conditioning
• Manual therapies

Include ‘strength flexibility’ in your programme

Extending your range of motion is fabulous but it carries its own risks in circus arts. If you don’t have the strength to support your body weight, there’s a possibility that you will over-extend and rip something. Who wants to be out of training because of an injury? No one.

So our flexibility class on Tuesdays is focused on working both agonist and antagonist muscles. Muscles work in pairs in a pulling motion (they can’t push). As one muscle contracts, the other muscle relaxes or lengthens. The muscle which is contracting is building strength to support the muscle which is stretching and lengthening.

Prepare your body for the conditions you apply

Conditioning is more than simply building strength in areas that you use for your favourite circus arts. It’s also habituation – getting your body accustomed to the conditions that you are working in.

It’s different to learning aerial or acrobatic techniques themselves. There is deliberate overloading of the necessary muscles by increasing intensity, duration and frequency. You can do this in conditioning class, or in your own home-based programme.

Conditioning aims to improve your body’s ability to perform certain movements, to reduce the incidence and severity of injuries. Specificity is important – you get physiological adaptations specific to the muscle groups where you need greater strength and endurance to achieve better performance of techniques.

In this way, your body becomes conditioned to your requirements and you find it easier to perform your techniques and tricks well.

If you want some expert input, talk to us! Our Targeted Training programme is free of charge. We can devise a programme for you to try at home, and mentor you to achieve whatever goals you might have.

Look after your body

Sometimes your body needs extra support. Manual therapies such as physio, chiropractic, osteopathy and massage can do wonders to avoid or recover from injury. They can help your body’s systems to align so that your movements run smoothly and without friction or blockages.

That’s why Ashley Taylor has joined us. Ashley is certified to practice a multitude of modalities, and has a deep understanding of the strains we place on our bodies, thanks to her background in karate and competitive sports including swimming, tennis and football.

As well as being a licensed massage therapist in America, which requires a minimum 1,000 hours of study, she is a certified personal trainer, TRX suspension trainer, Pilates teacher and Barre instructor.

Depending on your specific needs, she may apply a variety of techniques including:

• Relaxation and settling overactive areas
• Stimulating underutilised areas
• Myofascial release
• Deep tissue massage
• Joint capsule release ¬– creating pain-free space for misaligned joints to find balance
• Assisted stretching and mobility
• Pre & post-natal pregnancy massage
• Integrated Pilates
• Tools assisted massage – Hypervolt Therapy
• Thai foot massage
• Thai yoga floor massage

Ashley says: “My background helped establish a strong foundation in fundamental movements that led me to formalised training and a blended skill set in fitness and various manual therapies

“I’ve helped folks from a variety of backgrounds and ages including kids, seniors, performance athletes, active adults, people pre & post operation rehabilitation, folks with acute muscular injuries, nerve impingement, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, restricted movement, chronic conditions (MS, arthritis, diabetes, scoliosis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, etc), stressed and repetitive use related issues.

We’ve created a therapy room upstairs and you can book appointments with Ashley here. She’s available on Wednesdays from 4pm-9pm.