Getting the hang of circus skills at Circomedia in Bristol

I never harboured ambitions to run away with the circus but acrobats on the trapeze always had a certain glamour, more so with the runaway success of the Cirque de Soleil. Now, thanks to an American craze, circus skills are fast becoming the latest way to keep fit with the likes of Tom Cruise, Hugh Jackman and supermodel Gisele reportedly fans.

Enthusiasts, who swing, jump, flip and fly through the air, say working out on the trapeze builds muscle strength, stamina, balance and co-ordination. Then there's the mind thing.

Mike Wright, head of aerial at Circomedia, which has sites in St Paul's and Kingswood, said: "You have to overcome any fear of heights and you need the mental ability to challenge yourself."

After a warm-up and stretching session, my first challenge was to show I could hold my own weight when hanging on the bar. I was slightly worried I would have to do a chin-up to prove this but thankfully not. Hanging from the bar I passed this test and was allowed to progress to the trapeze.

I was pleased to see that of the three trapezes suspended from the ceilings of the building I was directed to the lowest one, although it was still a good few feet off the ground.

A large cushioned mat was also placed underneath; "we call that a landing mat rather than a crash mat," Mike added helpfully.

I gripped the bar and then tucked my feet through as I was instructed to extend my legs back towards my head. It's a position only small child and the uber-flexible can achieve with any sort of grace and I felt like I had the elegance of a baby elephant. But once this stage was out of the way I wrapped my knees over the bar and allowed my hands to let go. From here hanging upside down I felt like I was five-years-old again. In one swing I launched myself into a seated position on the bar and I was ready to start learning some skills.

Mike, who teaches an average of 25 students a week as well, took me through a series of moves, each one involving hanging suspended by some part of my body while I tried to extend my limbs as much as possible.

I was quite surprised at how safe I felt, particularly in one move where I had to roll on my stomach while gripping onto one side of the trapeze rope with the side of my knee.

I was also amazed at how tiring it was and how much I had to use my stomach and core muscles to hold my body up and to try and make the moves look as controlled as possible.

After a short break I was eager to get straight back up on the trapeze to try a standing move. Mike gave a demonstration of what I was going to do, a move called the lamp-post.

It would involve standing on the trapeze, letting go of one hand and with small balletic movements leaning backwards. Easier said than done.

I hoisted myself back onto the swing and got into a standing position, where the crash, sorry landing mat, suddenly looked a lot further away. I then turned my body to the side, leaned against one of the ropes and extended an arm out into space.

In my head I looked graceful and there must be something about the rush of blood to the head that meant I was giddily laughing like a madwoman as I swung about.

The following day my hands and the backs of my knees were sore from where I had been gripping onto the bar. Muscles in my arms and chest, that had probably not been used for some time, also ached and continued to do so several days later.

I genuinely felt like I'd had a good work-out and exercised many different parts of my body as well as having to engage the brain to concentrate on what I had to do next.

Most of all the work-out was fun and I felt so free swinging on the bar - it was a definite improvement on the gym. In fact for my next trick I might even try a flying trapeze lesson.

Circomedia offer a range of workshops and evening classes. For more information visit www.circomedia.com or phone William Pritchard on 0117 947 7288.