Today, most of us have a bit more time at home on our hands than we are used to. Whether you want to bulk up the special skills section of your résumé or just want to try something new, Playbill is here to serve!

For artists, the 2014 revival of Pippin put high-level circus front and center, but extraordinary circus skills—from aerial work to juggling, handstands to hula hooping—have become increasingly common in productions on Broadway and beyond. With reality talent competitions like So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Got Talent, and World of Dance, audiences expect to be just as wowed at the theatre as on their couch. And that means performers have been asked to diversify their skills and up their game.

And while not all circus disciplines can be learned at home, many of the basics can. First step: conditioning. A number of circus studios currently offer virtual strength and conditioning classes and, yes, they can differ from an average gym workout. The goal is functional movement, never “decorator muscles” and “the exercises are about strength in movement, as well as specific movement pathways that might be used when doing acrobatics, inversions (handstands / headstands), or aerials,” says Serenity Smith Forchion, founder and producing director of New England Center for Circus Arts…

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