My workout: ‘Going to circus school is like being a child again’

I first took my daughter to circus school when she was three. I wasn’t a coffee-morning mum and I was looking for active things to do with her. We used to go together: she’d walk on the tight-wire and I’d hold her hand. But then she turned four and the tutors said if I wanted to keep doing it, I’d have to go to adult classes. So I did. That was eight years ago.

Going to Belfast Circus School is like being a child again. It has a creativity that I don’t think any other exercise class offers. One week you might focus on juggling; the next you can be doing beginner’s trapeze or unicycling. That’s part of the joy: you can sample everything and do things you wouldn’t normally choose.

My favourite piece of apparatus is the silks – long chunks of red and green silk that hang from the ceiling to the floor. They are beautiful; they billow and flow. I could never climb a rope as a kid, but now I can climb a silk and do moves within it. One move called the Cleopatra involves climbing up and wrapping the silks around you in such a way that you are suspended horizontally by your stomach, then you drop two feet before being caught by the silks. I remember seeing someone do it in my first week and thinking: what’s going on over there? Eventually you’re doing it and you think, bloody hell, it’s me!

Circus is a social class. You rely on each other. You might be doing double trapeze and be hanging from your partner, or doing acrobatics and building a pyramid by standing on one another’s shoulders or thighs. You build a lot of trust in each other.

I’ve always kept fit. At one stage I was going to the gym six or seven times a week, doing aerobics, body pump, running on a treadmill like a hamster in a wheel, all that jazz. But thanks to circus I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. It’s more creative, graceful and beautiful than anything I’ve done before. The workout is a bonus.

My weekend workout

How often do you do circus? Twice a week.
Go-to pre-class meal? Spaghetti bolognese. You need to eat beforehand – classes are two hours long.
Least favourite skill? Juggling. I’m terrible at it.

Five ways to get started

1 Wear something you can move in. Avoid leggings or tops with zips – these can get caught on the apparatus. And some disciplines, like trapeze, can be sore on skin, so layers are a good idea.

2 Circus involves partner and group work. At the end of a class, you might be massaging someone’s shoulders and you don’t know their name. You have to surrender your personal space at the door.

3 No one learns to juggle without dropping things, and the same goes for physical skills. It can take years to learn a new trick. You have to have a willingness to fail. Persist, and over time you will develop the skill and strength you need.

4 To juggle with three balls, throw one into the air. When it reaches its highest point, throw the next ball, and so on when that one reaches its peak. Follow this pattern, keeping the balls moving in a criss-cross pattern.

5 There are more circus schools than you may imagine, and the majority offer workshops or weekly classes for beginners. Look online to find one near you.

Anita Woods, circus performer

Essential kit

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