5 Things I've Learnt From Attending An Aerial Intensive With An Injury

I’ve just come back from a 5 day aerial intensive in Sligo, Ireland. I’ve done intensive training many times before, but this was a little different for a few reasons. The main reason being that I went with an injury. 

And I don’t mean I had a niggle in my shoulder, or some muscle soreness that’s a bit annoying but not really hindering much. I went with a full blown unrecovered injury. I was 4 and a half weeks out from badly spraining my right hand. I have ligament damage to my index finger, and I suspect to my middle finger too. The base of my knuckles feels more sensitive, and I don’t have full flexion of my wrist. I’m not able to properly take weight through my right hand, and it’s also still swollen.

So why did I even go…? I hear you asking. Because I had planned this particular aerial intensive as part of a funded period of development. Everything was booked including flights and accommodation, and to cancel it would mean rearranging training and reallocating the money. I basically couldn’t be bothered with that. I had already had 6 weeks of being unable to do any of the funded work because of injuries and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to learn from two of my favourite aerialists.

I made the decision to go, knowing I’d be limited on what I could actually do while I was there. I would have to set my ego aside, and focus on learning as much as I could by taking notes and videos. I knew I’d get an insane amount of value just from being there and so anything practical I could actually do would be a bonus. I had other reasons for going like meeting other aerialists, networking, and being in a different creative environment. 

Spins and Spirals was hands down one of the best intensives I’ve every been to. Not only are Jenny and Ash absolutely amazing coaches, the way they teach is so accessible, they shared so much amazing choreography, and it felt like such a safe environment to train with. 

But it was also a new experience for me because I was there with an injury. Although there were some moments where I was highly frustrated because I knew I could have learnt specific sequences there and then with two healthy hands, being there with an injury taught me some equally valuable lessons. And that’s what I want to share today.

1. It’s not a failure to sit and watch 

I find generally the world of aerial can be quite competitive, and FOMO is real. I was really worried that if I had to sit and watch I would either be the only person doing it, or I’d look like an incompetent idiot, or I’d be perceived as lazy… And many other catastrophizing thoughts around not being able to participate. But actually it was totally fine to pick and choose what I had a go at, and I didn’t feel bad when I could see choreography that was clearly not an option for me at this point.

When recovering from an injury it can be SO hard to meet your body where it’s at. You remember what you could do before you were hurt and you want to be straight back to that point. But I wasn’t even at the easing back into training stage, I was still in the middle of rehabbing. To train at all was a risk. And what I want is to be able to finish rehabbing and focus on recovery so I can perform all summer. So I sat and watched when I needed to, and it was fine. 

2. It’s so important to work within the limits of your injury 

This was one of the things I had concerns about. What if I pushed too hard and made things a million times worse? But it actually became clear to me pretty quickly what was within my capabilities and what was unsafe. I’m fortunate in that because I’ve been training for so long, and have experience with injuries, I am able to (most of the time) understand what my body is telling me. And especially when it comes to pain. 

There were certain things where my hand ached, but I knew it wasn’t causing damage. There were other things like holding ropes, were it was clear quite quickly that my hand couldn’t cope with being loaded in that way. So this meant that some bits of choreography I could play with and practice a lot, others I would try it once and that was it, and some things I chose note to try at all. 

3. You will end up trying new things as a result of working around the injury 

I am a right side dominant left spinner… Which means a lot of the time I do things on the wrong side while spinning in a direction that is working against my body. However my right hand is the one that’s out of commission, and so I was forced to do more with my left arm. I’m actually really happy I did this. 

My left arm is noticeably weaker than my right, and I don’t do anything about that. Now I have no choice, and the intensive was the start of this. I’m excited to have an actual reason to address this, and also grateful for my left arm taking more of the strain over the intensive. Some things were not possible for me because my left arm isn’t strong enough, but there were quite a few things I could do which felt great. It also meant I didn’t have to change the direction of my spin, although I may do this at some point. 

I’ll be pursuing more of the choreography we did that involved no hands as well, and try and find creative work arounds for my hand. I’m so happy to have so much more vocabulary and other creative ideas to execute this. 

4. Conditioning your body is so important 

Actually it’s THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. I was absolutely trashed by the end of the intensive, because by definition it is intensive training. But I hadn’t been training aerial beforehand, which I would have liked to simply so that my body was more prepared for what was coming. But I actually managed ok because I didn’t stop training. I have been training since I injured myself, so that while I might not be in my preferred level of condition for aerial, my body is still in good condition for hard training.

I’ve been lifting weights, training my core, doing interval training, finding ways of training my upper body that don’t impact my hand, as well as prioritising mobility. Because of how much I condition and strength train, and have done for years, I have a good base. The combination of those two things meant my body could handle the training I was able to do. I am so thankful that I put the time in before the intensive to prepare my body for it in this way. Had I gone from zero training to intensive training, I might have come back with more problems or injuries. 

5. It’s ok to pace yourself

I mentioned before how safe an environment I felt I was in, but it can still be easy to look at what everyone else is doing and push yourself more than you should. I learnt that I really had to be selfish, and only do what I knew would be ok. I had to not compare myself to others, put my ego aside, think about the plans I had beyond the intensive, and listen to my body. It was hard, but it was such a good lesson in slowing down. 

I’m very good at pushing myself hard when it comes to training, and it’s partly how I’ve achieved what I have as an adult. But that approach is not sustainable over the long run. I’m grateful for an experience where I could give myself permission to take a chill pill whenever I needed to. 

As quickly as it arrived, the intensive ended and I’m now back home. The thing that I’m most happy about is coming home with no additional injuries, and with my right hand a little sore but still in tact. What I’ve learnt about myself, my body, and my aerial practice has been invaluable. Massive thank you to Jenny and Ash for running such an amazing intensive, and shout out to the amazing group of aerialists I got to be part of for helping me through it.