MIDLAND, TX (KWES) - Do you want to burn off some calories but switch your workouts to something more up in the air? Vertices Fitness in Midland can give you some tools if you want to try aerial fitness.
Mary Katherine Armstrong may weld by night, but by day, she's an aerialist. She's 18-years-old and she's already done close to 7 competitions in just four years.
"I love it because I'm always learning something new," said Armstrong. "I don't judge my strength levels or fitness levels by how much I can run or lift."
From hanging by silk, to using the lyra and even pole, each is a full body workout that requires strength. You'll usually start from beginner level, but you can eventually climb the pole to aerial success.
"You have to use your legs to hold you up, your arms and your core to lift you," said Armstrong. "You feel it everywhere because you have to stay up on there so basically, you use everything."
But her go-to is the pole, a sport she wants future generations to become interested in for the aerial arts. Because she hopes that one day, it's a sport they'll be competing in the Olympics.
"We always try to encourage to bring kids in," said Armstrong. "Because it's a pole, people have this stigma that it's not a sport or a hardcore sport. But I've been training for a long time. I want people to get more interested in it to get it to be an Olympic-level sport."
If you want to feel those muscles burn, now you can sweat off those calories while soaring through great heights. Vertices Fitness has classes Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and a class on Sunday. You can walk in but you can reserve a spot online by their website here.
