The Day 2 Feels

What to Expect After Your First Silks Class by Laura Morton

Let me guess, the last time you flipped upside down like that was on a playground as a kid?! The monkey-bars, the tire swing, the fireman pole. You were revved with energy and fearlessness. Your muscles were used to this! Resilient and ready for anything to come, like a pint-sized Ninja Warrior.

Chances are, you don’t ‘ninja-warrior’ as much anymore and you might be feeling some things. So, let’s talk about what’s normal to come up, why it is happening, and what to do about it.  

Stiff fingers & hands

You just gripped for your life like a newborn koala. Unless you climb things in your spare time, your fingers, hands, and forearms are not used to that and it could create inflammation in your joints, leaving you with a feeling of stiffness.

The remedies:

• Stretch your fingers and wrists by pulling them back one at a time for a gentle stretch.

• Move them more – shake, play air piano, do jazz hands.

• Contrast therapy: Place your hands in cold water for 1-minute to reduce inflammation, then place them in warm/hot water for 1-minute to relax the muscles. Repeat as necessary, then stretch.

Muscle Soreness

You know the burn, but why is it in so many goshdarn places?! Well, silks is nearly a full body workout from your pointed (or grasping) toes to your smile muscles. You balanced, gripped, and pulled your body in unusual ways which called on your abdominals, shoulders, and arms to deliver their best work. 

Pushing your muscles to their limits means slight micro-tearing of the fibres, which is necessary to rebuild stronger and to be more capable of taking that load on again in the future. Yay, strengthening! 

Soreness is also a result of loitering lactic acid in your muscles. While ‘silking-it-up’, lactic acid was being made and used as a form of energy to power your muscles. When too much is made it loiters and causes the burning sensation. 

The remedies:

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• Drink water to flush your muscles and lube up your joints

• Post-workout, have a protein snack to kickstart the rebuilding process

• Massage the sore away. Out with the lactic acid, in with the oxygen. 

• Relax in an epsom salt bath.  The magnesium in the salts feed your muscles to rebuild and strengthen. 

Feeling of Excitement

This side effect often presents itself as a feeling of expansion in your chest, butterflies in your stomach, and a giddy heart. Fear is in there too somewhere, but like all good tales, the butterflies are built to soar (pun not intended ;) ) and they carry you through.

That feeling of being excited and inspired, like you felt as a kid in the park, fuels you through the growing pains. Sure, you might be sore and have doubts, but if you are giddy and wide-eyed, you best check yourself in for a month of classes so you can explore this newfound excitement and see where it brings you. 

Spoiler alert!! 

You’ll likely make new friends, feel stronger, and become inspired. 

Now it’s time for you to harness your monkey-bar, ninja-warrior self and come fly with us! 

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