AIR Aerial Fitness Gets Us Flying Towards a Fit Physique

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We're forever searching for new ways to feel the burn, so when we found out about AIR Aerial Fitness' workout you didn't have to twist our in-need-of-toning arms to give the trendy class a whirl. Celebrities like Vanessa Hudgens, the Kardashian clan, and Gwyneth Paltrow have all reaped the body-strengthening benefits of this exercise style, which combines yoga, ballet, and pilates techniques with hanging silk loops both as a means of resistance and a tool to get you into strength-building poses in mid-air. And how can we ever forget Pink's aerial performance at the 2010 Grammys?

Walking into our first class, we had illusions of grandeur—impressively dangling like a pro in some bendy pose or another. But as the 50-minute workout kicked into gear (be warned, things move fast!), we soon realized things might not go as planned. After a quick warm up to loosen up our muscles, our teacher led us into moves that used the silks to get us into lunges, push-ups, and other more familiar exercises. Using the fabric forced us to work on our balance and added resistance, making these moves feel extra challenging (but in a good way—let's DO this!).

30 minutes in, we were definitely getting our sweat on but we had yet to live out our Cirque du Soleil fantasies. Luckily the last stretch of class was devoted to learning some simple tricks. While initially some poses seemed impossible (gravity, you guys), our fearless instructor made sure we nailed them by the end of class. She even allowed for a few minutes to take pictures of our moves for social media bragging.

Our final word? You'll give your arms and abs an especially intense butt-kicking but the reward is addictive! Even with our super-sore muscles the next day, we couldn't wait for our next chance to fly.

AIR offers classes Monday through Sunday. Check the schedule here for class times, which may change on a weekly basis.