A new aerial fitness studio has opened in Lynn, offering a completely different way of keeping fit.
Aerial Fitness & Fun is run by Sharon Wheeler, who has more than eight years’ experience of teaching aerial skills.
The studio, based on the Hardwick Industrial Estate, offers a variety of classes, from aerial hoop, silk ropes and pole fitness classes and opened at the beginning of 2023.
It also offers sessions exclusively for children and teenagers, as well as home education sessions.
Sharon encourages anybody to try out her classes or a taster session, no matter what their ability is.
“I have taster sessions available, I’ve had three of four now and I’m going to keep putting them on and you can see them on Facebook or Instagram,” said Sharon.
“So come along to a taster session, bring a friend, we can have a little go on the hoops, silks and pole so you get an idea of each apparatus.”
Sharon, who is fully qualified, insured and DBS-checked, reassured those who may want to give aerial fitness a go, but are hesitant in trying.
“Come along, everybody pretty much is going to be in the same boat as you. If they’re worried about starting a class that’s already running, taster sessions are available,” said Sharon.
As well as classes, Aerial Fitness & Fun also offers school holiday workshops, which have already proven to be popular.
Sharon also offers weekend sessions for the likes of birthday and hen parties and also offers hammock relaxation classes on Friday evenings.
She said: “I’ve never wanted to go to a gym really. For fitness, I started off with martial arts, then I wanted to do something different.
“So I had a go and discovered that my love as a child of hanging upside down on climbing frames at the park you can do as a grown up, without being silly and looking daft in the park!”
The next taster session is on Saturday, April 22 at 11am.
Prices for children’s classes start at £6.50 per session and adult classes at £12.
Sharon offers pay-as-you-go options for classes, or there are options to purchase blocks of classes.
For more information, visit Aerial Fitness & Fun’s Facebook or instagram page: @aerialfitnessandfun.
Lynn News reporter Lucy Carter was invited by Sharon to try out a taster session. This is what she thought…
I’ve never tried doing any kind of aerial fitness before, but was really keen to try out something different.
For context, I wouldn’t say I’m particularly flexible and I would say I don’t have the best upper body strength. I also hold a reputation for being quite clumsy. So I didn’t hold any high expectations of myself that I’d be able to manage to do some of the amazing things that Sharon was doing.
However, I left the session feeling entirely surprised and accomplished.
On arrival, I filled out a health and safety form and got into the studio where Sharon explained to me what we’d be doing and the types of classes she offers.
I got to try out a bit of everything, which was great. We started off on the hoop, which was elevated in the air.
What I thought was brilliant was that everything was taken in step by step approaches. I went from just sitting on the hoop, then adjusting my legs slightly, to gradually being able to support my entire body on the hoop.
We then moved onto the silks, where I found it a little bit more challenging to get from standing up to sitting down.
While taking part in this, I could feel my muscles working in my arms, core and legs.
I found that the session didn’t feel like a standard boring workout and that I was exercising without realising that I was.
Overall, I’d really recommend giving this a go to anybody, no matter what your physical ability is. Not only is Sharon really friendly and easygoing, but also supportive and doesn’t put any pressure on anyone in her classes to push themselves out of their comfort zones without their say-so.
