How long does it take to learn aerial straps?

Short answer: There is no single number. It depends on where your body starts, how often you train, and whether someone corrects your technique. Count in months, not weeks: a position like the flag is built on months of shoulder and core work.

What changes your timeline

1. Your starting point. Straps need a grip you know and trust, stable shoulders and a solid hollow body. If you can hold a hollow body on the floor for 30 to 45 seconds, you start from a good place.
2. How often you train. Straps reward frequency more than intensity. Three short sessions a week take you further than one long session from time to time.
3. The order you follow. If you learn tricks in the order you see them on Instagram, you lose time. Your body is not ready for them yet.
4. Feedback. Small errors in shoulder position or body shape are almost impossible to feel from the inside. With no one to correct you, you repeat them.

The steps you will go through

1. Choose your grip. You get comfortable hanging, adjusting your grip, and controlling small movements.
2. Basic static positions. The meathook and skin the cat teach you to organise your bodyweight through your arms.
3. Spins. You learn to control rotation.
4. Simple swings. You learn how your body moves once there is momentum.
5. Inversions and flags. They come once your shoulders and your hollow body are solid.
6. Dynamic combinations. You link movements only when the steps before are solid.

Read next: How to learn aerial straps: a complete beginner's guide

How long for a first trick?

A meathook can take you 2 weeks to learn, or 3 months. It really depends on your background and on how much you train.

We have seen people learn the flare to flag in 1 month. We have seen others learn it in 3 years.

It depends on how often you train, on the time you spend with your coach, on what you do in your training, and on which coach guides you.

Two examples from our members

Nevine could not do a flare. Nevine learned the flare to flag in 1 month.

Torrie had never held a flag. In 2 months, Torrie went from 0 seconds to a 10-second flag.

How to go faster without getting hurt

Do not skip steps. Skipping steps does not just slow you down. It is the most common cause of plateaus and injuries on straps.

Get feedback early. It is easier to fix a position in your first months than after a year of repeating it.

Start with the free Straps Starter Kit

The Straps Starter Kit is free. You get:

• 8 detailed movement analyses, to learn the fundamentals the right way
• 3 complete programs, to get you to the movements you want
• A 28-day program to get you started on straps

It is 100% free, with instant access.

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