Amazon Under the Hoop - Delilah - Aerial Hoop Class

Hi everybody,
I haven’t been here for some time now because i moved to Berlin and had to get all my things in order so sorry for that…
This lesson is about a very simple and beautiful move – The under hoop amazon or in it’s more known name Delilah.

Not only that this move is relatively easy, it is very beautiful and if you are a beginner and don’t manage to go on the hoop yet by doing Pike (The Ball), you can use this move to start your way up.

Here is the video:

Show me your Delilah!

xxx
Emily

Aerial Hoop, Yoga and Rest

I have recently moved to Berlin. Because of the moving and all the things I had to take care of I didn't have time to practice my aerial hoop for almost 2 weeks.

I was really afraid that I will loose muscle tone so I decided to go ahead and try to do some yoga, because it was so easy to practice on the floor of my hotel room.

After doing some reading about yoga types (there are soooo many), I decided to do try Vinyasa. I thought it will be good for strength and flexibility.
This is the morning practice I started with:

When I finished it for the first time I felt like the "right" muscles are working.
After 2 days I added this online class in the evening:

I started to realize that I am actually building more muscles and getting more flexible.

When the 2 weeks were over, and I finally got settled in my beautiful apartment I want to my first practice and to my surprise I didn't loose any muscle tone. I was as good to go as I was before the 2 weeks of "resting".
Not only I was as strong as before, I had some new moves in mind, because resting gave me an opportunity to think, to create new moves in my head and to miss the hoop.

So there you go! Yoga helps you keep your strength and sometime it's good to change sport, maybe add something. Rest from your own sport can be good not only for your body, but also for your soul.

Namaste :)

Which Hoop is the Best for Me?

I’ve been asked many times questions like:

• “How do i know which hoop is right for me?”
• “What size hoop should i get?”
• “what is the difference between single and double point hoop?”
• “Can i hang a hoop in my house?”

So i decided to answer these questions and give all this information and than some.

• How do i know which hoop is right for me?

There are different types of hoops.

There are single point hoops like this hoop from Fire Toys:

Single Point Aerial Hoop

There are double point hoops like this hoop from Fire Toys:

Fire Toys Double Point Aerial Hoop

There are hoops that are thicker and there are hoops that are thinner and there are heavier and lighter hoops.

So… what is the difference?

The single point hoop will spin faster than the double point one.
On top of the double point hoop you can do different exercises than on the single point one, so it really depends on what you like, what you are used to, and what you are interested in.
You can choose a thicker or thinner hoop according to what is comfortable to you, bigger or smaller hands might be an issue here.
A heavy hoop will spin faster than a lighter hoop.

After you take all these factors under consideration, you are now one step closer in deciding which hoop is good for you.

• What size hoop should i get?

the simple answer to this question is – you measure.

But measure what?
well, you measure the height between your feet and your lower back.

You stand like in the photo bellow:

This height is the inner diameter of your hoop.

• Can i hang a hoop in my house?

Don’t hang your hoop yourself. You need to have a concrete ceiling or a concrete belt, you can’t hang your hoop of a regular building blocks ceiling.Hire somebody who knows how to do it – a professional, and ask an engineer’s advice – Don’t do it yourself!

So here you go, I hope I have helped you to get one step closer with your decision in which hoop you like.

If you have any edit suggestions or questions regarding this article, I will be more than happy to know.

XXX
Emily

Grand Split / Splits Away – Aerial Hoop Class for Beginners

The Grand Split is a beginner's move. It is a pose by itself but it is also a transition to a lot of other moves.

It is a relatively easy move, but the way you get in and out of it is very important.

I always teach this move on the 1st or 2nd lesson, because this is how my students start to understand not only the move itself but also how important it is to be smooth and to keep your movements clean.

In this video you can see how I get in and out of this position. See how I get out of the sitting position into the grand split, and how I come back into sitting position. I avoid extra movements or unnecessary touches, and I always remember to engage my shoulders and keep them down and very strong.

If you can't take your back leg to a split at the beginning, just point it down to the ground. Don't worry about it, in time you will manage to get your split on the ground, and this will help you to take your leg to the back and into the grand split.

Enjoy and please let me know what you think of it!

Emily Cage

Keeping Your Balance – Aerial Tutorial

The first thing I teach, after teaching How to Get on the Hoop, is how to keep your balance.

Finding your balance is very important both physically and mentally. You need to learn how to find your balance in each position on the hoop (as in life :) ) and so this is a good way to start.

Also, when you take 1-2 minutes to find your balance, you actually prepare yourself to start practice. It's like the mental process you go through when you warm up.

This balance that I bring on this tutorial is similar to the Navasana pose in yoga:

photo was taken from Wikipedia

You sit on your sitting bones, which is the lower part of your pelvis:

photo was taken from the website yoga.about.com

So here's the tutorial, please let me know what you think:

xxx
Emily Cage

The Ball – Pike – A beginner’s position

The Ball - Pike Mount - is a beginner's pose.

That was my nemesis when i just started learning aerial hoop.

The hardest thing with this position is that in life we are not used to make our abdominal muscles to work in this way, so please, don't get upset if this doesn't work for the first time.

Practice again and again, do only part of this exercise if you can't do all of it, and i promise you that in time you'll get there.

*This video contains annotations so the best way to see it is on full screen mode and not on i-pad, i-phone etc. because annotations need flash.

If you have any questions, i will be glad to answer!

 xxx

Emily Cage

Very Excited About Get Bent

Hi Guys,

Just dropped in to tell you that the new CD i ordered "Get Bent" by Fit & Bendy just got to my studio, can't wait to try it and tell you all about it!!

I will write a post about it soon.

Have a great week!

Emily

How to Get Stronger for Aerial Acrobatics - Post for Beginners

Hi everybody,

When I started learning aerial acrobatics I got very frustrated because I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't lift my body or my legs because my abs (Abdominal muscles) weren't strong enough and my biceps / triceps weren't strong enough and... I kept getting blisters on my hands. IT HURT!

I felt like I would never be strong enough, but I kept fighting. I kept trying to do what I could over and over again, and I won't lie - it took some time, but I got stronger. I did it on my own, and it worked.

As I got stronger, I started to understand what the main exercises are that made me stronger:
* First of all the warm-up - a good warm-up makes you more flexible and stronger. I added some strength exercises to the warm-up, and it made a lot of difference.
* Than there was the straddle, or trying to do the straddle.
My first teacher told me to try to do the straddle 10 times every time I practice, and this made my abs stronger, so even if I couldn't manage to do it perfectly, or even do it at all at the beginning, I still had a good practice and got stronger.
* Than there was the exercise that I've posted on this video at the end of this blog - it looks very simple, but try to do it 10 times, and you will feel your arm and your abs muscles. This is a very good practice for beginners.

So, in conclusion, if you are a beginner, most chances are that you need to get stronger. Don't be frustrated, this can be achieved through hard work and persistence, but I promise you that you'll get there!

 Go ahead and comment on this post.

xxx
Emily Cage

The Bridge - Aerial Tutorial

Hello everybody,

Today I would like to write about The Bridge. This movement probably has many names, but we call it here in my studio - The Bridge.

The bridge is a movement that looks very easy but it is a bit misleading. When you see it you think to yourself that you need to pull yourself up using your hands but no, you are suppose to PUSH yourself up using your abs and your back muscles. Your hands should help of course, but this is what holds you in this position, not what brings you there. This is why I wouldn't recommend a beginner to do this movement, but to someone that already has some strength, especially abs and back.

I would recommend first to try to do this movement just standing on the floor with straight legs, hold on to a banister at your waist height and do the whole movement. First sticking your bum out and than push your way up to curving your back as you hold the banister. When you want to come out of this, your bum leads the way. First you let your bum down, and than the rest of the body.

It is very important to keep your legs straight the whole time, because this is what keeps your stability.

Here is the tutorial for this movement, please write me and let me know how you call this in your country :)

All the best and have a great week!

Emily Cage

Semi Sidesplit - The Gazelle - Aerial Tutorial for Beginners

Hi everybody,

Today we are talking about the Semi Side Split - The Gazelle.

A lot of the moves we do in aerial have the beginners way of doing it and the advanced one. The advanced move is learned after you master the beginners move, and after you get stronger and feel comfortable in the beginners move.

The Gazelle is what comes before the full Side Split, or as some call it, The American Split, and it is also a very beautiful move by itself.
It is very important to master it before you move on to the full split, as it can be a bit weird to be upside down for the first time in this position, and it takes time until you feel comfortable in it.

It is also very important NOT to let go of the hoop before you did it a few times and before you feel really comfortable just being there.

If you don't have a full split, don't worry about it, you will still be able to do it, AS LONG AS YOU KEEP THE LEG THAT NEEDS TO BE STRAIGHT - STRAIGHT.

This is also the most important thing I have to say about this move, KEEP YOU LEG STRAIGHT.

Please do not try to do this on your own, get somebody to watch over you.

Hope you will like it, let me know.

Emily Cage
xxx

Link for this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STf0qLNA4Z4

The Bird - Aerial Hoop Online Class

Hi everybody,

So here is another post this week, as promised!

The Bird is one of the positions I love best, because it is relatively easy and it looks so good when it's done in the right way.

Although this position is taught to beginners, it is actually hard to do and looks better when you get stronger and in more control of your body and the hoop, but it is very good to practice on it when you're a beginner, because getting into it and getting out of it makes good practice for your muscles.

**This position can be hard on your shoulders, so when you try to do it for the first time, don't put your arms too close to each other.

Let me know what you think!

xxx
Emily

How To Get On the Hoop for the Very First Time

Hi everybody,

I'm sorry for my absent in the last week, I was working very hard, trying to set my things for my great trip that I'm planning, so this week I will treat you with 2 posts!

I was asked about getting on the hoop for the very first time, so i made a video for beginners that have never been on anything that is aerial, or for people that doesn't have the strength to hold themselves up with their arms.

In this video you need to put the hoop very low, as low as your hips or waist.
Please be sure to always practice with mattress. Take your time and do everything very slowly.
I know that things look very easy when you see them on videos, but it takes an effort when you do it for the first 2,3,4 times, and this is the way it suppose to be.

Please let me know what you think of it, and how was it.

If you can't see the embedded video, you can CLICK HERE. 

xxx
Emily Cage

 

Warm-Up for aerial acrobatics - Beginners

Hi everybody,

I was asked to make a warm-up and stretches video - so i did :)

Warm-up is very important before starting to practice. It prepares your body and soul. It warms your muscles and it prepares you for all the stretches and the exercise you are going to do, and it also prevents injuries. So let's say it's not only important, it is inseparable from the practice.

This warm-up is for beginners, for people who just now starting to train and want to improve their flexibility.
On this video everything looks a bit faster than in life. Warm-up should take you about 20-30 min.

I know how difficult it is to start, so PLEASE try not to get frustrated if you can't do something or can't reach your knees, toes etc. IT WILL GET BETTER IN TIME - this much I can promise.

When i do my warm-up, i add strengthening exercises, i will put those on a different video.
Some say that it is better to do the strengthening exercises at the beginning of the practice, and some say that it is better to do it at the end. I think that if you are a beginner, it is better to do the strengthening exercises at the end, because you will ran out of juice very fast if you do those at the beginning of the practice...

So here it is, hope you'll enjoy it!

If you can't see the embedded video CLICK HERE to see it.

I also found this wonderful flexibility yoga video:

If you can't see the embedded yoga video CLICK HERE to see it.
 
I hope that these videos will help you, and please let me know if you have any questions.

The next video I will post will be the one to teach you how to go on the hoop for the first time ever, so be sure to come back :)

Have a great weekend!
 Emily Cage

How and where to grab the hoop

Hi everybody!

I have decided to make a series of posts about safety that I will post from time to time.

Safety is number 1 when you are dealing with aerial, so I think that it should be an inseparable part of my blog.
This time I will be talking about grabbing the hoop (this lesson is also good for trapeze grab).

The right way to grab the hoop with your hand, will be to put 4 fingers on the bar, and the thumb on the opposite side, right against the 4 fingers.

This grip is different than what we usually do, and I have noticed that this grip doesn't come naturally to most people, but this is VERY IMPORTANT!

This grip is safe because your thumb is closing on your fingers.

*Pole dancers tend to grab their pole with all their fingers at the same side of the pole, and because many pole dancers are used to that grab, they need to give extra attention not to grab this way the aerial apparatus.

So this will be the WRONG WAY:

And this will be the RIGHT WAY:

You put the hoop at the center of your palm, so you don't hang from your fingers but from your whole hand.

*          *          *          *          *

Now let's talk about the hoop, where should you grab the hoop?

Here is a short video about where you should grab the hoop:

 

If you can't see the embedded link, just click here to watch the video

 Of course there are always exceptions, and there are moves that requires to grab the hoop at the lower points, but this video is for the main positions

This is also for beginners who tend to prefer to grab the hoop at the lower points so that they can lean on the hoop instead of pulling themselves up.

If you have any questions i'll be more than glad to answer.

xxx

Emily Cage

Upside Down Straddle - Online Class

Hi everybody!

This week's online class is The Upside Down Straddle.
The Upside Down Straddle is a very move when doing aerial of all kinds.
We use this move to go on an element, but we also use it as a shift between moves (especially on silks and pole dance).
The Upside Down Straddle has some levels of difficulty (as i show on the video). If you are a beginner, you might find it hard to get into the position right away, so the best way is to find a way to put both legs on the bar first (doing The Ball), put you hands on the bar between your knees and slowly get into the position you want to end up in. This will help you understand where you want to end up.

The location of the hands in The Upside Down Straddle is different than The Ball position. This time your hands are holding the bar next to each other and between your legs.

On this video I put 2 levels of difficulty. I know The Upside Down Straddle can be a bit hard to learn for beginners but don't give up. It is a very good workout for your abs (even just trying to get into it) and a very important move in aerial.
I also use it as an aerial workout by doing sets of 10s going up and down slowly.

So here it is, hope you will enjoy it and please if you have any questions - don't hesitate.

Emily

If you read this blog on smart phone you might not be able to see the video embedded here so here is

a link for the video

What do I wear for an aerial lesson / training and why

Many of my students ask me what to wear for a lesson and why.
The best thing to wear for an aerial lesson or a practice is a leotard and tights. Never wear Lycra though.
Lycra is very slippery and that is why it is very dangerous. One of the most frighting things happened to me during one of my shows, when i found out that my tights were VERY slippery and i couldn't catch myself or hang on to the hoop with my legs (This is a good lesson also, to always try your costume with your aerial apparatus before the show).

Why do we wear leotard and tights? Why not a track suit? or just a shirt with some shorts?

Well, leotard and tights are tight to your body, and actually give you the best protection. If you will wear shorts you will most likely to get burns from the hoop. The same will happen with loose pants.
Besides the protection, if you are upside down and you are wearing a loose T-shirt, it can fall over your face, and you don't want this to happen to you.

What about your feet?
We usually train barefoot, this is the best way to catch the apparatus with your toes and fingers.
Always remember to take good care of your feet, wash them and clean them when and if you are sharing mattress with other people.
You can always put some ankle supports to protect your feet from the pain (i will post a link to ankles support at the end of this post).

Here is a great and a very funny video blog that I found about cloths for training and performing called:

The Great Boobie Caper – Aerial Necklines in Training & Performance

 

Here are some photos of what I wear when i practice

 

Here is the link i promised for ankles support

 

Enjoy and please let me know what you think of it. 

xxx
Emily

Inspiration for the day

From time to time you tell yourself "ahhhhh i will never be able to do this".

Most of the time YOU ARE WRONG!

I find myself saying that, in many occasions, when i really want someone to tell me "You can do it!"

Well, i'm here to tell you that you CAN do it. You can do anything you set your mind on doing, and this are not just words.

A lot of our time we act according to social conventions, and this makes us put ourselves boundaries that there is no reason to put them other than the fact that someone else on some newspaper / talk show / internet told us that we should put.

I find myself fighting a lot with the way i look, how old i am, what is the "right" thing to be and behave, but at the end of the day, i try to take all of these boundaries and put them in a little place up my brain and to acknowledge that they are there, but now it's time to shut them up and start do what i want to do, really want to do.

When i finish every practice i can't help but thinking if i'm tired because i'm not good enough / strong enough / flexible enough and so many other doubts, but then i remind myself that i'm doing it for the FUN of that, for the good feeling in that practice. I'm not on a race to anywhere; i'm not in hurry.

I should respect my body, enjoy it and take a GOOD care of it.

Criticism is good.

When i need some criticism, i turn to the RIGHT people, the people who understand the profession but also UNDERSTAND me. Criticism can hurt but it can also make you GROW and become BETTER.

But anyway, i always keep this video (it's a facebook link) to remind me that there is anything i can do if i set my mind on it, and give myself enough time:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200545947794836&set=vb.307551552600363&type=2&theater

All my love,

Emily

The Ball - A beginner's position

Hi there,

So here we go, the first video is online and i'm very excited!

For the first video i picked The Ball position.  It's a beginner's position.

That was my nemesis when i just started learning aerial hoop.

The hardest thing with this position is that in life we are not used to make our abdominal muscles to work in this way, so please, don't get upset if this doesn't work for the first time.

Practice again and again, do only part of this exercise if you can't do all of it, and i promise you that in time you'll get there.

*This video contains annotations so the best way to see it is on full screen mode and not on i-pad, i-phone etc. because annotations need flash.

If you can't see the video on the blog, here is a link:

http://youtu.be/T5aWer0SCos

If you have any questions, i will be glad to answer!

Kisses,

Emily Cage

Welcome!

Hi there and welcome to my "Fly Fit - Aerial Hoop Classes" blog.
My name is Emily Cage and i'm an aerial hoop artist, an aerial hoop teacher and a visual arts performer.
When i started learning aerial acrobatics i soon understood that aerial hoop it the aerial apparatus i enjoy the most.
As i started focusing on it, i realized that in my country (Israel) there were not many aerial hoop teachers, as aerial hoop was a side thing next to the 'oh so amazing' silks.
Well, i didn't feel that way and was forced to study from videos of shows on you tube, books i bought but never a good "How To".

So, i decided to make a "How To" for all the people out there that would like to learn.

I see aerial acrobatics as a beautiful and amazing way to get in fit, to try something new, to widen your horizons and to actually fly.

So come on and join me, lets have some fun!