Jules Léotard.

Did you know that Jules Léotard invented the Trapeze? I had no idea until a month ago. They of course appropriately named all tight fitting spandex outfits after him. The first Trapeze was created over a swimming pool, which is clever in terms of safety and quite frankly I would love to fly through the air over water. Water and the Trapeze, two of my absolute favorite things in this world.

I have had a lot of people ask me what the heck has been going on, since I have been posting so many videos and pictures of me learning to fly, that I thought I would just do the usual and blog about it.

I work for an awesome, exercise addicted, type A, powerhouse of a mom. She is always looking for adventure, is A self proclaimed thrill seeker, Former Gymnast, competitive college diver for Stanford, and who knows what else. She has been doing flips and dives practically since birth, and has traveled to almost every continent on this planet, which gives her a vast cultural education, and imagination for adventure. If there was any person in the world that could motivate me to eat healthy and try new things, its her.

So of course, being who she is, and having a bucket list to try almost every form of exercise imaginable, I wasn't surprised when she came home one day and told me about her newest adventure.

The Flying Trapeze.

Natalia at the time had this goal to lose all of the baby weight she gained while having kids, which is all of 20 lbs. Her being a five foot four frame and already a physically fit person however, proved it to be harder to lose then she liked. She got bored of the usual 2 hour weight/sprint training and Pilates routine and wanted to branch out. She had tried silks already, and was excited to try the trapeze.

Of course, She became addicted.

The first thing she told me, was that it was way harder then it looks. Its a total body workout, and uses your core more than anything. She then showed me her raw, blister filled hands, and I knew right then it must be pretty hardcore. Two weeks later, she signed me up for her morning class. I was terrified. Here I am, 50lbs over weight, although I had already lost 25, I was hesitant to try anything as extreme as this, in fear that my body, my back, and my soul just wasn't strong enough.

I of course went anyway, and loved every second of it.

Natalia was right. Trapeze is HARD. I have so much respect for Circus performers, even though I already hold them pretty high, I mean, they do crazy amazing things!

The first time you attend a trapeze class, they show you the first trick. Its called the Knee Hang trick. Not only do you practice the trick again and again, but you learn how to do a backflip off of the bar, and the two hour long class has you actually catching the trick at the end. Its incredible.

Learning the basics of the Knee Hang, and my first catch attempt. I sadly didn't get a video of the second attempt which was successful.

Anytime you have to chalk your hands and arms up you know you are in for some serious work.

tight clothing and Long socks are the usual attire. I still need to get a legitimate Léo. Man I love that guy.

The school is called Trapeze School of New York, or TSNY. Since its in Chicago its called the TSNY in Chicago. The staff is amazing and fun, and I look forward to the class every week. You can take individual classes for about $60 bucks a class, or you can join an Intensive Flying Workshop which lasts a couple of months, is a lot cheeper, and at the end of it, there is a show that the school puts on as a way to show off what everyone has learned. Most of the time, those who become addicted end up training to be a teacher, so they can fly for free and save a crap load of money. Hopefully I will get to that point. Although once I inevitably move back to Utah there will be no more trapeze. So I am soaking it up while I can! The school also has other locations in DC, NY of course, and LA. I think there are a couple more but I'm not sure.

Hopefully I will be Flying through the air on a Trapeze forever, but who knows. Meanwhile if anyone wants to come with me, I strongly encourage it! Its a blast, and you burn some serious calories. The School has this saying that says, "Forget fear. worry about the addiction." True statement.