Do you want to start aerial sports? Great decision! You have heard rumors about both being difficult and you feel confused? Been there, done that. Are silks the most difficult of them all? Or is it pole? So many questions. Lucky you, we are here to answer them all. 😊
We all come from the same family
Whichever you choose all three (pole, silks, and hoop) are a great full-body workout. Training for all of them will increase your strength and stamina. You will find yourself building strong upper body and core muscles. And of course increase your flexibility and improve your balance.
Same family means similarities. There are similarities between them. For example, some of the pole dancing tricks can be transferred to aerial hoop and/or silks and vice versa. Some of the tricks, like for instance “Allegra”, have the same name, and are executed almost the same way. Cool right?
Same family, different perspectives
Strength. Let us be honest here. If you start from scratch with no dancing or training background probably it is better to start from pole. The basic argument behind that is that you start from the ground. Pole can be a good way to introduce yourself to aerial fitness because it is the best way to activate your body and start building your muscles.
Silks require greater strength and stamina since everything happens up in the air. Yes, it is great to fly, but in order to climb and invert your body is required a bit more strength than spinning and doing pole moves starting from the ground. Of course, all are physically demanding but I think you get my point here. Since you have to pull up and hold on your whole body with silks, it is understandable why they, most of the time, require more upper body strength.
Perspective. Yes, silks are hanging from the ceiling, so you see the world from a different perspective than from the pole which is attached to the ground. Both are vertical apparatuses. The difference here is that silks move while pole does not. Well, it spins but it is attached to the ground no matter what.
Furthermore, silks conform around your body. With the pole it is completely the opposite. When you approach the pole, it remains where it is. You have to adjust your body to perform the tricks, whereas the silks adjust themselves to you. That is one of the reasons that some moves might be executed similarly for silks and pole, but it feels very different.
It is all about attitude
Wrapping it up, we hope we shed some light on your dilemma from where to start. Normally we would suggest to someone to start from pole, move to hoop and then, as a final step transfer to silks. But this can be subjective as every person is different. A good suggestion could also be to go to trial classes to find out by yourself which one is a better fit for you. Which one do you enjoy and motivates you the most? Remember you can always start from one and mix it/ or leave it for another. The most important thing here is to have fun while training!
So what will it be? Book a trial class now.