Strength Training with Hypermobility

Service Description

Do your joints feel more like noodles than hinges? Are you (or your students) super bendy but struggling with strength or stability? This workshop is for aerialists, parents, and coaches who want to better understand how to train and support hypermobile bodies—on and off the apparatus. We’ll dive into what hypermobility and joint instability really mean, why they matter in aerial and everyday movement, and most importantly—how to build smart, safe, and sustainable strength. Expect a mix of practical exercises, useful tips, and “aha!” moments as we explore how to train bodies that are extra mobile without sacrificing control. Whether you’re managing your own hypermobility or coaching others, this workshop will help you shift from “floppy” to fierce—one muscle activation at a time. Prerequisites: Willingness to learn Monroe Hanson (they/them) is a nonbinary aerialist, figure skater, unicyclist, and circus performer. Monroe was introduced to circus at 9 years old when they started learning how to unicycle from a retired-clown PE teacher. Their aerial journey began in 2021 and they have been teaching beginning aerial silks and flexibility classes at The Last Carnival circus school in Lawrence, KS since 2023. Monroe is also an ice skating coach at Kansas City Ice Center, and a local activist with Trans Lawrence Coalition. Monroe specializes in helping individuals with hypermobile joints build strength and stability. Their favorite things about coaching circus and skating are: sharing their love for the activity, breaking down the "impossible" to meet students where they are at, and helping students achieve more than they ever thought they could.