Circus Training Latest Craze For Fitness Fanatics

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- You don't have to run away and join the circus to get your chance to hang from ribbons and jump through hoops.

More and more places are now offering circus training as the latest fitness trend, CBS2's Mary Calvi reported.

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The best advantage of training in circus techniques? It works the whole body.

Heather Valles is a mother of two young boys, and through this training, shes moved her body more than she's ever imagined.

"I can see myself progressing and mastering tricks that I couldn't do three months ago and seeing how my body has changed," Valles said. "I just feel that I can accomplish things and looking baok is so rewarding to see where I've come from to where I am now."

Trainers say mastering these workouts requires the use of every muscle in the body.

"On the treadmill it gets very static and it's hard to continue doing that, but with this you're always learning something different, you're always doing something different. It's awesome," participant Lauren McLeod said. "Anytime you take any pictures or tell anyone you're doing this it's shock and awe."

The excitement of doing a move you never imagined you could does gets people to come back for more.

"I love to come to circus class and in fact on days when I can't because I have work commitments, I get actually angry. This is the first workout in my life that I've never not wanted to come to," participant Kelly Maglia said.

Don't be intimidated, either. These circus exercises, ranging from acrobatics, aerial arts and trapeze, straps, and contortion techniques, are suitable for people of any fitness level, with any body type.