Circus artist in full time Circus Bachelor program, progress video and AMA!

amacias21

New member

Hello! Im an acrobat/dancer/circus artist in training at a school called Codarts Rotterdam in The Netherlands. I have always been quite interested in all the type of skills I can achieve with my body and been much into the bodyweight fitness world.

Im quite happy about what i achieved this month so I compiled it into a short video! All skills are bodyweight only and some often used in the bodyweight-fitness vocabulary.

This month I managed L-sit press from floor, some good planche improvement, press to 7-handstand, concentric split from floor and a couple acrobatic feats!

If you have any questions about how the circus world approaches training many of these skills or how being a circus artist in training looks like I would be happy to answer!

A little about me:
22 years, male, 76,5 kgs, 175 cm

How my 5 day week looks:

3 hours strength training/physical preparation
6 hours acrobatics
2 h handstands
2 hours dance acrobatics
3 hours modern dance
2 hours composition work
2 hours ballet
3 hours trampoline
1 h group acrobatics

Ya, its a lot of hours...

Diet:
Pescetarian.

Supplements:
D-vitamin
Omega 3
Magnesium
Iron
Creatine (on and off)
 
@prealiek Thanks! I used to do more pike stretching a few years back and then I would do loaded pike work. Exercises like one legged good mornings, and jefferson curls. Only around 2 times a week usually for about 3 sets 10 reps, since heavier loaded stretching has a greater impact and produces greater fatigue. I would also do some ballistic/crawling type pike work. Like straight legs, straight arms crawling, as well as straight legged walks where you bounce down in every step.
 
@amacias21 Very nice! Lots of neat skills here. I'd never even heard of a concentric split before, that's one of the coolest things I've ever seen and a new long term goal for me.

Oddly, the first question that came to mind is, why do you supplement Omega 3 as a pescetarian? Pescetarian, but don't actually eat much fish?
 
@splinter215 Thanks a lot! Im glad you found a new goal as well!

Basically cause ive heard many nutrition scientists talk about the benefits of omega 3 supplementation in high dosages even while being meat eaters. I eat pretty much always 500 g of salmon a week and thats all the fish i get in a week, so its not super low, but not particularly high either. I figured i would try it out, and been taking for a couple months now. Seems to be making some minor impact in my overall performance but its quite hard to gauge if it actually has a noticeable impact.
 
@amacias21 Sick work! You clearly do a lot of "skill" work. Do you consciously divide out strength work from skill work to keep from overtraining? How about flexibility? What frequency do you do skills, flexibility, and strength?

Also does your school have a dietitian? Do you actually track macros/nutrients? What's your go to plant based food for extra protein?

Thanks.
 
@rj786 Hey! Thanks a lot!

Generally speaking, if I do acrobatics/trampoline/dance etc my main focus is always on skill work, not that it does not practice or require strength, just that I dont aim for improving that quality per se. If I do strength work, I focus on acquiring strength, so yes, I do seperate!

Personally I like to do softer dynamic mobility in my warmups and some heavier loaded mobility work like twice a week!
So, theres two scenarios when it comes to my training. What I would like to do optimally, and what life (in this case mostly school) schedules for me.

Strength work, I prefer to only do like twice a week or so, cause a lot of what I do already practices a lot of strength attributes. At the moment it is more strength work though, due to the school schedule deciding for me.

Skill work is basically as much as possible if my body allows it without too big a risk of injury or overuse, and also until coordination stops working properly, then I move on to another skill or stop for then. Dont wanna practice bad patterns.

In general I lean a lot towards skill work mainly as it can give you all the qualities you could want from strength, flexibility work etc, in the end the categories become arbitrary cause your body has the most precise adaptation to exactly it is what youre doing. Then it simply comes down to your personal goals and what your body needs to remain healthy and strong. Conversely though, I am a fan of acquiring many of these bodyweight mobility positions and skills. Bridges, skin the cat, sissy squats, deep squat mobility, locomotion patterns, pistols etc. It just gives me more opportunities and freedom to play, while having a lower risk factor than acrobatics.

When it comes to overtraining, we simply just are constantly overtrained. Unfortunately a scientific perspective is not very strong within circus schools, but it is getting better slowly. Recovery and saying no are the names of the game for me at the moment.

We have a dietician and get educated in basic nutritional sciences, but it is very basic level. We do not track nutrients in school, but I personally sometimes sample an average day or week of eating on cronometer to see that what I eat would be sufficient. Would recommend doing at least once just to check!

I eat a lot of kidney beans! Love em. Also tofu every now and then! If you eat legumes, vegetables and some form of grain you pretty much have your protein needs covered.

Hope that answered your questions!
 
@amacias21 Somehow I love the idea of overtraining and being in constant physical pain. I'm just at this stage in life where I'm so sick of not being able to feel emotional pain I just need to feel physical pain. The tricky part is cannot risk injury because then there's no more pain/ pleasure. Also because I'm so afraid of injuries and trauma I don't progress much on my own. I just long for safety and structure.
 
@seangibbons My main specialisation is acro dance, so combining elements of acrobatics, modern dance, breakdance, capoeira and tricking. The schedule is generally too intense for me to dare add any extra work on my own time in other disciplines. I have been playing around a little bit with straps lately, and im really enjoying it! I also do trampoline 3 h a week!
 
@amacias21 Ok this is a little weird, but my 5 year olddaughter swears she wants to go to "clown school". Now I'm going to tell her she can get a circus degree for real and she is going to freak out.
 
@christianguy19 Oh my, thats amazing! Im really happy I made that dream a possible reality! See if you can find a youth circus group for her to attend to! Thats how most of us start! Its great fun, and can of course just be a nice activity to do!
 
@insearchofrationality Hey thanks! Yeah, its a fun move! Good party trick haha.

It only took me a couple of weeks, but that is coming from years of practicing isometric and eccentric split holds. Going up is a bit weird on the adductors, but it was more about finding the timing, balance and technique actually, rather than building up too much strength.
 
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