It’s that time of year again.

We’ve glutted ourselves on every carb within reach during the past few months, and now, with the holidays firmly behind us, many of us are looking to get out of the shameful spiral into morbid obesity. We’re looking to get our eating back on track and get our butts to the gym.

It’s in that spirit, we bring you, our readers, our New Year’s Health and Fitness issue, in which physical trainer Joe Catania offers helpful hints to keep your motivation steady throughout the year, writer Rick Andreoli tackles his childhood fears to highlight a brand new Cirque du Soleil- inspired fitness regimen and Jeff Katz reveals just how many calories you might be sucking up through a straw. So, buckle up and get ready to be thinspired!

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The Man on
the Flying Trapeze

by Richard Andreoli

The things he’ll do for IN Los Angeles magazine—writer Richard Andreoli faces his childhood fears to scope out Absolution’s aerial fitness classes.

I grew up dreaming I’d become Robin, Batman’s teenage sidekick. Then one day, while hanging upside down from a tree branch, I slipped and crashed in a painful heap. My illustrious crime-fighting career ended with a crippling dose of fear, but that never stopped me from dreaming. Never.

So with a mixture of excitement and nervousness, I entered Absolution in West Hollywood for its Aerial Fitness class. Here Aloysia Gavre, a former Cirque du Soleil aerialist, teaches students how to safely perform the tricks and tumbles that amaze audiences everywhere. She’s small, thin, but powerfully built, and as she introduces herself, I relax. Somewhat.

“The circus is great because it embraces all of our uniqueness,” Gavre says with a warm smile. “Your body dictates what feels best and will help ease you in that direction.” I nod while sizing up the seven other students and worrying I’ll make a fool of myself. As if reading my mind, Gavre adds, “It’s not competitive. You’ll notice tonight, everybody supports each other.” We’ll see about that.

With few students and two instructors, including Elizabeth Newton and cover model Sagiv Ben, there’s plenty of one-on-one supervision. First comes a cardio warm up, abdominals and balances using an exercise ball, then advanced stretching with 20-pound bags to ease us into positions. Gavre is encouraging but firm, not letting me give up when a move becomes difficult. Soon the uncomfortable feelings subside and I grow amazed with what my body can accomplish once I stop thinking, “I can’t.”

But make no mistake, this is a challenging, anaerobic, strength-training workout. It’s also designed for varying fitness levels, from the guy who’s never visited a gym to the theater major dreaming of joining the circus; the school even hosts a showcase so interested students can perform for friends and family. In many ways it’s also familiar, connecting with fitness practices like dance, yoga and Pilates.

“Cirque du Soleil makes their new artists take a Pilates course to prevent injury, or for injury recovery,” says Gavre, who worked on Quidam and O. “I became the Pilates coach on tour and took courses in each city we visited. I [learned] different ways to teach and motivate people, and how to bring Pilates to another level through circus arts. What I liked about Absolution was their commitment to the mind-body connection, and that this was a safe, encouraging atmosphere.”

There it is again: that non-judgmental talk. But before I can form a cynical thought, Gavre brings me to the waist-high trapeze, I swing my legs up ... and immediately flip over and onto the ground. I wait for it, but no one laughs, so I stand up again.

“Move slowly, thoughtfully,” Gavre advises, making it clear that I’m not giving up. I take hold of the bar, inhale and lift my legs to a 90-degree angle. This time I listen to Gavre’s instructions, contract my abs and control the momentum, easily bending my legs between my face and the bar into what’s called a “pike.” My legs then hook on the bar and I hang upside down for the first time since I was 6 years old.

From there I use the exercise ball and trapezes to perform contortionist bends, handstands and elegant poses while balancing on one foot. Even the highest trapeze, with its crash pad underneath, though intimidating, doesn’t seem impossible any longer. I even want to work on the aerial tissues—that fabric draping down from the ceiling—but first Gavre and Ben help me into a partnered “Bird’s Nest.”

I carefully swing my body around and soon find myself hanging upside down from Ben’s hands for one exhilarating, unbelievable minute. Cheers of support rise up from the other students, and as I see myself suspended in mid-air I realize my dream of being Robin didn’t actually die, it just took flight in a whole new direction.