During January and February, at Freestyle Fitness we usually have an influx of new students. We try to steer most of them to the beginner courses, but for many the beginner courses just don’t suit them, so they attend our timetabled mixed ability classes. And that’s fine with us, beginners are welcome to any of the sessions. But the reason we try to steer them into the beginner courses is, it takes more than one class to know if pole or aerial is for you!
Taking part in pole and aerial classes as a beginner isn’t like attending a general fitness class, like Zumba or Bodypump, you’re learning a totally new skill, and while everyone can learn, not everyone ‘gets it’ straight away and it usually takes a few sessions to work out if they’re for you or not. Some beginners walk through the door and can do everything in their first class first time, but they’re the exception not the rule. For most people the movements feel unnatural and weird. The disciplines are hard and it takes more than one class to realise that all the hard work is worth it.
You get burns and bruises and can ache for days after the first session. And it isn’t until you finally master a move you’ve been struggling with for a while that you realise just how rewarding the activities are.
Don’t be put off because you’ve struggled in your first class. I can guarantee you are not the hardest student we have ever had to teach. We have had lots of people that struggle with coordination, struggle with strength, aren’t flexible and find everything so painful they spend the whole of the class complaining about it. And some of those students have gone on to become instructors or win competitions and some have just continued to attend class and have fun slowly progressing their skills. Everyone starts as a beginner and everyone progresses at their own pace. We all have different weaknesses. The people you’re watching sail through all the moves involving coordination but they may struggle with strength moves and you may be struggling now but there will be skill that comes along that you master faster and easier than any of your class mates! Focus on your progression. Appreciate the things you can do and take the time to enjoy learning.
There is no correlation between how well someone did during their first class and how advanced and skilful they become. Neither pole or aerial classes are for everyone. But it usually takes more than one session to know if they’re for you, so give it a good chance, you’ll be surprised with what your body is capable of!
AerialEmma 