Do you push your boundaries and try new things? Do you really know your potential? I rarely stray from my comfort zone. Last Saturday, I did something I didn’t know I had in me.
A friend of mine got tickets for a fun activity and invited my wife. However, Wonder Wife gave her spot to me. I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, trapeze lessons? I thought it’d be like a kid’s swing, only higher. I was hoping it included a safety net.
I was right about the safety net.
After detailed instructions (on the ground), each of us went up and in fact used a swing. Only we did it while hanging upside down by our legs. Twenty-feet above the ground. And then we did a back flip.
I can't believe it either.
Hello, safety net.
The feeling is that you are still, and the building is swinging around you. Timing is key. You have to do many different movements in precise moments and, simultaneously, follow the instructions shouted at you from below. At least, when you’re airborne, it seems that time slows down. And when you reach the point of weightlessness, it’s heaven.
It’s also a complete workout. I stretched for ten minutes before, and two days later, I still had completely sore shoulders, back, legs, arms, and neck. Trapeze is the most medieval abdominal exercise I’ve ever performed. Practice it regularly, and you will have rock hard abs.
On our fourth try, half of us had gotten cowbell. No, it has nothing to do with Will Ferrell, Christopher Walken, or Jenny Hansen. They instructors rang a cowbell every time someone had shown enough skills to do “the trick.” Three of us had qualified for the grand finale:
As they would say on Sportscenter, “Take a look from another angle”:
Can you say Woo-hoo? It is as exhilarating as it looks! You just need to follow two pieces of advice: don’t’ think, and don’t look down.
Seriously. Don’t.
I was so thrilled! The adrenaline rush is incredible. We were all giddy and cheering one another. We even signed up for more lessons. I was still smiling and comparing notes with my friends on the ride home.
That’s the “flying high” part. The “flying away” part also happened on Saturday, but it’s for another post. What a day.
Have you ever done something you didn’t know you were capable of doing? Have you tested your limits? Please share (I need ideas for what to do next 
).
Trapeze lessons sound like a blast! But it’s not so much out of my comfort level as it would be beyond my physical capabilities. Karen McFarland’s post today got me thinking about something else I’ve tried that’s an awesome rush – driving a NASCAR! I’ve done Richard Petty’s Driving Experience twice and it’s awesome! So there’s my suggestion.
Great suggestion, Jennette! It sounds amazing. I need to check out the Richard Petty’s activity.
I’d love to hear about your experience. May I suggest that you blog about it in the near future?
Okay, I’m TOTALLY JEALOUS!! This has been on my dream list for a long time! Funny you mentioned the workout you get because, I’ve always wondered how much of a total body workout it was. I knew it would be a great one but, just curious as to the extent. Looks like you’re a natural man!! So, how often are your lessons? Will you go once a week? I should’ve added a trapeze photo on my last blogpost! Well Done Man!!!!!
:)
Thanks, Molly! I am not very coordinated or agile. If I can do the trapeze, anyone can. Oh, I just signed up for one more lesson. Then we’ll see. There’s too much on my plate right now. Joining the circus would probably take a lot of my time
Wow, Fabio. I’m impressed! Sounds totally exhilarating, particularly because you stepped out of the c-zone.
One of my scariest feats was learning to “swim” (more like float and spastic doggie paddle
) in my twenties. I fought nausea my first few swimming lessons in a pool of toddlers and didn’t think I’d ever float without floaties. When we do something that scares or intimidates us, we learn what we’re capable of.
I couldn’t agree more with you, August. Kudos to you on facing your fears and learning how to swim.
I took a long time to learn to swim, but I still can’t tread water.
I wanna do that! How fun! I’m not sure my body would like it but I sure as heck would love to try. I was the kid who used to push the swing up as high as it would go and then jump off right at the peak just to feel that sensation of flying for the briefest of moments…before crashing to the ground lol. I was convinced one of those times I really would be able to fly. This sounds like it would be a lot safer and less painful. Kudos for doing something a bit scary and thrilling! What a rush!
You should try it, Melinda! It’s super safe, and the weightlessness and the long drop to the safety net are moments of magic.
Wow, that sounds like such a blast! I am scared of heights so the trapeze may not be for me. But I did get out of my comfort zone and face that fear once. I went to an amusement park up in Virginia with a group of friends. One of the “rides” was the Sky Flyer. The gist of it is that you are vertically strapped into a harness, then hoisted up about 150 ft. You pull the rip cord and swoosh – your free! Okay well not really free, but you do free fall for a moment or two and then swing out and back for a bit.
So my boyfriend at the time and I decided to do this. We got strapped in and up we went. I tried really hard to not look down while we were slowly being raised to the top. Instead I looked at him. Then I made the mistake of looking outward. I could see the tops of the trees and was eye level to some of the high points for roller coasters. At first it was awesome, but then it occurred to me that I was really, really high up. I totally covered my eyes at that point. They let us hang there for a few minutes, during which I got more comfortable. Then it was time. My boyfriend pulled the rip cord and held my hands so I couldn’t cover my face. It felt like we were floating and weightless. It was an amazing feeling. Then we were swinging up and back over the heads of our friends. It was a great experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
My friends all wanted to go sky diving after that. But I drew the line at that point. I’m not ready to jump out of a perfectly good plane just yet.
I’m happy you had the trapeze experience.
What a thrill, Jennifer! Is it similar to what they have at the Stratosphere in Vegas? I almost went there once.
I’ve got to try that!
Congrats, Fabio! I confess, I love this kind of stuff, having been a gymnast in my youth. Hurling myself through space doesn’t intimidate me — but tweetdeck? I practically break out in hives. With all the techie stuff I’ve had to learn for social networking on the Net, I am waaaay out of my comfort zone.
BTW – The Flying Fabio would be a great name for a trapeze artist
Gymnast, dancer. It’s a small leap (LOL) to trapeze artist!
Oh, and what about the Fabulous Flying Fabio?
That sounds like a complete blast! Kudos for stepping out of your comfort zone
Thanks, Raelyn! The “don’t think” part comes into play here
Ooh, I love this Fabio! You on the flying through the air on a trapeze! That was amazing!
I would love to do something like that. I have a little thrill seeking side of my personality.
So what happened to Wonder Wife? I hope nothing happened to her.
See Fabio, you are always the Rock Star! Kudos is right for taking the leap, the high leap!
Wonder Wife just thought she’d get dizzy. She was right, by the way. I’m glad that we had to wait our turn every time; it gave me time to recover from each flip.
But, next to your dragster races, it is nothing
Oh, man, that looks awesome. I’m not as adventurous as I used to be, but I’d definitely be up for that–with the safety net, of course. Back in the day, my big adventures were mostly underground, crawling through caves. You can join the circus now…and write about it
I’m the opposite: I’ve never been adventurous. I just started trying these things recently. Crawling through caves,
huh? Do you mean spelunking? That’s cool!
I’m petrified of heights so this is precisely something I’d love to try. The tamest thing I’ve done in my attempt to conquer my fear of heights is rock wall climbing, but I’ve also done ropes courses, ziplines, and climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia. I’d recommend all of those
Come on, Marcy, just going to Australia would qualify as a great adventure. But climbing the bridge? That sounds
amazing! I need to add this to my list
This is totally on my bucket list. It looks like so much fun! When I was a kid, I would swing around and around on the bar at recess. I was so good I could go all the way around without hands. Not so much anymore, but hey, maybe!
Will we be seeing you perform with Cirque du Soleil anytime soon? You were awesome!
I was actually surprised that I was able to do it. I’m not very athletic. The real artists there were real strong.
Oh, wow that looks so cool! I don’t think I could ever do it, though. I have a serious fear of letting go, especially when up high in the air. I did, however, go rock climbing at a gym inside and that was fun. But there is no way I could try it outside. My fear of falling is too great for that. I can’t wait to hear what the away was!
Emma, that’s why you shouldn’t look down
Your eyes are on the bar most of the time, anyway. Rock climbing sounds cool. I know a place. I’ll try it sometime.
way beyond my abilities but sounds like fun. I wonder if they have something like that here? hmmm i’ll have to check – it would make a great gift for my kids.
It’s a great gift. Two teenage girls were in our group and they told their mother it was the best Christmas gift ever.
That is so exciting, Fabio. Have always wanted to try it!
You totally should, Debra! We can start a trapeze troupe
Oh my God. I would love to try this. But I have this fear of falling……guess I’ll just stick to the tornado chasing, snark diving, and soon to be ranching
Great post! I am so jealous.
What the hell is snark diving? Is that a fish I’ve never heard of? Where do you go to snark dive? Totally curious now!
LOL…ditto.
Kristy and Tameri, trust you two to have a good laugh! Explanation, other than I am a wally, is below
Is that shark diving? Both snark and shark diving sound dangerous
Glad you stopped by, Donna!
Lol, yeah, yeah. Snark? It should be shark. See, this is what happens when you split a thumbnail and try to type on your Blackberry (and don’t re-read before you hit submit)
That is so incredible, Fabio! It looks scary as all get-out, but super fun. I’m so glad you got experience that. What a rush!
That’s the thing: it’s an experience that I thought I’d never have. I’m so glad I tried it!
Oh my gosh, you did awesome! What a wonderful feeling that must have been! My husband and I recently did the ropes challenge course together with a zip line at the end and it was fantastic. I had done one before when I was in high school, but this time was really neat because I did it with my husband:)
Oh, yeah, Wonder Wife did the rope challenge thing too. She was so excited. I’ve got to try it.
Since we take turns taking care of the kids, I don’t think Wonder Wife and I will be doing that together anytime soon.
If it involves heights or falling, I’m probably going to stay safely in my comfort zone. Gonna have to think about your question though. I think I’m turning into a chicken in my old age. But way to go, Fabio! It looks like you had a great time…and loved the videos!
Try something else, then, Kristy! You and Karen can rent a racecar for the afternnon. It doesn’t involve heights (hopefully)
I have a gift card for trapeze lessons that I’ve been hanging onto for a really long time. I know it will be awesome–your post is another proof. I just need to get around to doing it.
But I won’t look down when I do!
You’re gonna love it, Coleen! Don’t look down and don’t think
I so want to try it! I am an adrenaline-rush junkie who loves to try new things – anything physical.
Let me know where is this place.
Angela, this is EmeraldCityTrapeze.com in SoDo Seattle. Give it a try!
Whoa! Impressive. You’re a natural, Fabio. You even fell into the net like a pro.
Where do I sign up? I want to do that! What a fabulous experience Fabio. I’m so excited for you. Now you have that in your memory banks to pull from when you write! Yay!
LOL. Yeah, Debra, it was “research”
Writers have the best excuses…
Good for you Fabio, but I’d no doubt be sick if I tried it.
I got pretty dizzy, Julie. But it was worth it
Pingback: ROW80 Update 7 + Grammar Song « Fabio Bueno
I WANT to do this!! How fun and you did fantastic! Maybe I should include this in WritersButt. hahaha!
Ginger, this is one intense workout
Congrats on creating the WritersButt movement!
Pingback: Flying Away « Fabio Bueno
Pingback: The RedHots: 2012 Recap – So Hot and So Not | Marcia Richards