Staying fit can feel like a slog during snowy winters. Aerial fitness offers gym-goers a unique way to spice up their routine.
When clients walk into Fit to Fly LLC in Wilton, they may see an athletic figure posing in mid-air while hanging from what appear to be window curtains. Nearby, another person might be learning to hoist themselves off the ground.
Unlike traditional gyms filled with weight machines and dumbbells, Fit to Fly features aerial silks, hammocks, lyra hoops and trapeze bars hanging from the ceiling. The only traditional gym equipment is a lone weight bench in a corner.
Aerial fitness combines dance and acrobatics into a full-body workout using long silks, lyra hoops and trapeze bars.
At first glance, aerial fitness might seem impossible for the average person. However, business owner and aerial instructor Jackie Wydra says otherwise. Clients don’t need a background in gymnastics or calisthenic work to get their start, she said. They just need a desire to exercise.
“Most aerial fitness studios don’t cater to the pros,” she said. “I love teaching beginners. All of my introductory classes are designed for people with absolutely no experience.”
Wydra starts most clients with “floorials,” movements performed close to or on the ground. “This helps prepare their body for the activity,” she said, noting that many of her beginner clients haven’t exercised consistently. “Many clients are nervous at first and think they don’t have the necessary upper body strength.” The low-risk floorial poses and movements help ease their anxiety.
Wydra said the hardest part of aerial fitness for people is just walking in the door.
“In my introductory classes, I let clients test all three of the major pieces of equipment,” she said, referencing the silks, lyras and trapeze. “Most people end up gravitating to one or the other, but occasionally someone enjoys all three.” She said her favorites are the silks.
While taking part in a class, clients execute shapes and poses ranging from the hanging knee pose to the hip key shape. According to Wydra, each shape and pose falls into the beginner, intermediate or advanced category.
“It’s just fun,” she said. “It allows you to focus on moving your body and forget about everything else.”
While aerial fitness is still an unregulated industry, Wydra and her colleagues put a priority on safety. Crash pads are used at all times and instructors can adjust the height of the apparatus according to each client’s comfort and skill level.
“It’s a wonderful sport and we try to make it as safe as possible, but it has its risks,” she said.
Wydra recommends people not try aerial fitness at home or unsupervised. Because the studio also teaches children, she advises parents not to set up equipment at home. “I’m always concerned about silks getting wrapped around a child’s neck.”
Though Wydra loves teaching beginners, her intermediate classes are the most popular. “I usually have four to six clients, with six being the upper limit for what I like to have,” she said, adding that beyond six clients, it’s difficult to provide the necessary attention they require.
Classes are 60 minutes each and start with a 10- to 20-minute warm-up. The remaining time is spent working through skills, shapes, movements and poses. Advanced practitioners also work on sequences, which involve linking skills together, Wydra said.
Physical activity has always been a priority for Wydra. A former gymnast who also grew up riding horses, fitness instruction was a natural career fit for her. “Between horseback riding and gymnastics, I was always moving,” she said.
Before teaching aerial silks, Wydra worked as a veterinary technician and a phlebotomist. “I went to school for Animal Science with an equine focus as I wanted to ride horses,” she said. However, she found the long hours and demanding working conditions weren’t what she had envisioned, prompting her to pivot to fitness instruction.
“My first introduction to aerial silks was a Cirque du Soleil performance I saw back in the ’90s,” Wydra recalled. “I thought it looked like fun and appreciated that it combined artistry with strength.”
In 2016, she took an aerial silks class on a whim while visiting a friend in New York City, adding, “I was hooked from day one.”
Wydra completed an aerial fitness teaching certification course through New England Circus Arts based in Brattleboro, Vermont, and then started working as an instructor at Kama Fly Fitness, an aerial silks fitness studio in Manchester.
In 2020, she moved to Ducks In A Row Yoga at 9 Howard St. in Wilton to work as an instructor. Wydra wanted to help develop a community of aerial enthusiasts in a rural setting because it’s a niche activity in towns like Wilton. After four years, owner Mandy Barrick sold it to Wydra, who renamed it Fit to Fly.
Aside from instructing aerials, Wydra does traditional personal training at the studio. “I have clients use dumbbells, TRX straps and resistance bands while also focusing on calisthenics,” she said. “If people want to body build, this isn’t the place for that. It’s all functional movement.”
Fit to Fly also provides traditional yoga and aerial yoga classes. The studio is hosting an aerial hammock meditation session on Feb. 21. Wydra says it will involve 10 minutes of stretching and warming up, followed by 45 minutes of meditation in a hammock.
Wydra said that if someone is unsure about trying aerial fitness, they should just do it. “If it both scares and excites you, try it at least once. You never know when something will grab you and pull you in.”
She said she hopes to practice and teach aerial fitness until she’s 100 years old, as there is an endless combination of shapes and sequences to learn.
