By Bec Zahra

AERIAL AND POLE STUDIOS ARE OPEN!!

The joy of studios reopening has been a long awaited for so many of us, and now the time has come! It’s so exciting, especially for those without home apparatus to play with, however often a quick return can lead to a quick injury. Below I’ve highlighted some quick tips for your return to form to help minimise the impact as we get ourselves back to where we left off!

1. WARM UP

Get that heart rate pumping. As our muscles soak up that oxygen you’ll start to feel ready to whip out those amazing tricks. Warm ups should include a mixture of dynamic (controlled through range) movements through all joints and areas of the body from head to toe. This should last for around 10-15minutes.

2. BREAK IT DOWN

STOP! DON’T GO STRAIGHT INTO COMBINATIONS JUST YET.
Whether you have been training for years at a professional level or are just starting out, it is crucial to break down each combo to its most fundamental steps. Train each individual pose and trick before blending them together. The risk of injury is high from either not being prepared enough to hold yourself up while you transition from one trick to another causing you to fall and hurt yourself, or adding pressure into your body when they may not be at peak condition. Take a breath, steph back, and break it down to basics.

3. HYDRATE

Make sure you are drinking water prior to, during, and after training. I don’t think I need to go in to details about all the good hydration does, and all the bad dehydration can do! Just do it, drink water! 

4. COOL DOWN

Did you know that when we work our body, we produce hydrogen ions and lactic acid this is useful for powerful ballistic movements of energy? As a result, you may feel great after training and the effects of pushing a little too hard may be masked in those early recovery stages. We tend to forget that those cute little hydrogen ions and lactic acid is yet to be metabolised, it’s all just hanging out going stagnant. If we do not aid our body in this process, the delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is going to hit you tenfold! Going for a gentle walk, or doing your warm up in reverse order can aid your recovery. Gentle low-range, low-impact exercises and low-level stretching can take your recovery to the next level

5. SLEEP!

You earned it! Try going to bed and relaxing an hour earlier than you normally would. You might even try putting your phone out of reach (or on aeroplane mode), turn off the TV and allow your body to reset with a deep recovery sleep. You may still wake up and feel like a bus has hit you… but you might avoid being broken by it!

And there you have it!
Happy training and I hope everyone has a fun & fabulous return back to Pole and Aerial fitness!