Your First Aerial Silks Class – How to Prepare and What to Expect

If you’re thinking about your first aerial silks class and you’re not sure what to expect – this text is for you. Whether you already have a class booked or you’re only just considering trying aerial acrobatics, it helps to know what the beginning really looks like. And what makes it easier to get into it without frustration.

Your first contact with aerial silks rarely looks like what you see on social media. Instead of smooth, flowing tricks, it’s more about learning how to grip the fabric, control the material, and hold on for a few seconds longer. This is the stage that often decides whether you’ll feel like coming back for another class.

Aerial silks – what it is and what the beginning looks like

What exactly are aerial silks? It’s a form of aerial acrobatics where you train on a long piece of fabric suspended from the ceiling. An aerial silk offers huge possibilities, but at the start it requires learning the basics.

In your first classes, you learn how to grip the fabric and perform the most basic movements on the silks. You also begin to understand how to engage the right parts of the body, so you’re not relying entirely on arm strength. At first, the movements won’t feel smooth, and your body may tense up quite quickly. Over time, though, movement starts to feel more natural, and fewer things require full concentration on every detail.

Choosing a studio – what to check before your first class

Where you start has a big impact on your overall experience. Well-led classes give you a sense of control and safety, while poorly chosen ones can be discouraging from the start.

In practice, there is a huge difference between studios where the instructor explains movement clearly and responds to mistakes, and those where they simply demonstrate a trick and move on. With aerial silks, this is especially important, because your body needs guidance to understand completely new movement patterns.

Pay attention to the conditions in the studio. Crash mats under each station and properly maintained equipment designed for aerial acrobatics should be standard. Group size also matters – if the class is too crowded, it’s much harder to work calmly and receive corrections.

What to wear for aerial training – what actually works

The right outfit for aerial training protects your skin and doesn’t get in the way of movement. From our experience, long leggings and a fitted top that covers the underarms work best. The fabric used in aerial silks can cause friction burns, especially in the beginning. Covering more of the body helps reduce this and lets you focus on the training itself.

A common mistake is wearing loose clothing or short shorts. The fabric shifts, more skin is exposed, and this can lead to chafing. For comfort and safety, it’s also a good idea to remove jewellery and tie your hair back.
Your first class is usually not as scary as many people expect. You train close to the ground and focus on the basics. You’ll try your first climbs, simple transitions, and beginner aerial silk poses that help you build body awareness and control.

At the beginning, the real challenge is usually handling several things at once. You need to coordinate your body, your grip, and the way the fabric wraps. At first, it can be difficult to combine all of that into one controlled, fluid movement. On top of that, your hands need time to get used to the fabric, and your grip often won’t feel very secure yet.

Do you need to prepare physically?

You don’t need any sports background to start. Beginner classes are designed so that you can enter the discipline from zero.

That said, if your body hasn’t had much contact with this kind of effort before, the first classes may feel more demanding. Basic arm and back strength, along with a bit of shoulder mobility, can make the transition into aerial training a little easier. In the beginning, you’ll mostly feel the effort in body parts that weren’t used much before. It’s completely normal to feel soreness in places that haven’t been regularly activated until now.

If you already have experience in activities such as pole dance or aerial hoop, the entry point will usually feel a little easier. Your body already knows some of the movement patterns, and certain physical habits are already in place.

When is it worth training on aerial silks at home?

At the beginning, it’s better to focus on classes. Once you know the basics, you can consider training outside the studio. Having your own aerial silks at that stage gives you the chance to repeat climbs and work on specific elements at your own pace, without the pressure of a group.

At that point, it’s worth learning what types of fabric are available and how they differ from one another. Before choosing your own silks, it helps to understand how a given fabric behaves during training and what you can expect from it.

Aerial silks for children vs adult training

Aerial silks for children are becoming more and more popular, but adult training looks different. Children tend to move more freely and analyse less. Adults, on the other hand, often hold more tension in the body, and the mind can become blocked. You can usually see this even in simple movements and first climbs. The need for full control can slow down learning a little. On the other hand, adults often find it easier to understand technique and consciously correct mistakes. 

Aerial silks – is it right for you?

If after your first class your head feels full, your arms are tired, and you’re thinking it was harder than it looked – that usually means everything is going exactly as it should. That’s what the beginning of aerial silks often looks like.

It’s not about getting everything right straight away. It’s more about whether you feel like trying again. For many people, the breakthrough comes sooner than expected. One thing starts to work, then another – and that’s the moment when training stops feeling like a struggle and starts becoming something genuinely satisfying.