Is There Something Similar To Slacklining (Skill Improvement)?

If you’ve given slacklining a shot and don’t think it’s for you or haven’t even given it a try yet you may have hesitations regarding your ability to do it. This is especially true if you’ve watched a few videos and thought that there’s no way you can balance yourself on a 1″ or 2″ wide piece of cloth like that!

Perhaps you’re thinking of trying an alternative instead and giving up slacklining.

Slacklining is a fairly unique activity when you think about it. There really aren’t alternatives that you can say are direct substitutes although tightrope walking is probably the closest.

Who has ever joined a tightwalking club though? Is that even a thing?

Before you give up on slacklining, let’s a take a look at why you might consider giving it up and what you can do to have fun with it while improving the necessary skills you require.

Reasons for quitting slacklining

Slacklining can be challenging to get good at and your first thought might be to quit. Thus there are several reasons why you may possibly look for a slacklining alternative:

• You’ve tried slacklining and can’t seem to figure it out.
• You can’t get your balance or aren’t flexible enough.
• You can’t find something else comparable to do in the winter.
• You don’t have access to a slackline or to suitable trees.

If you’re having trouble getting started with slacklining because of these or other reasons, let’s take a look and discuss some activities you can do in the meantime to improve your skills and give slacklining a chance.

You’ve tried slacklining and can’t seem to figure it out

Perhaps you need to take a step or two back. If you feel it’s your current skill or fitness level holding you back from successful slacklining, you may consider a few other options first to get started.

Alternative: Consider yoga classes to help you improve both your balance and flexibility. While you can improve both with slacklining, if you find you aren’t picking it up quickly enough and are getting frustrated consider yoga classes to help improve both, perhaps in conjunction with slacklining.

Stretching can also help you with your flexibility which can come in handy if you get good enough with slacklining that you want to try tricks as you progress.

You can’t get your balance or aren’t flexible enough

Slacklining requires a number of skills and over time you can improve each one. But what if you’re not at a level where you feel comfortable or confident enough in your skills to begin with?

Balance is often the skill that gets mentioned the most as you’ll notice right away if you keep trying to climb on the line and just can’t do it. Before you give up slacklining, take a step back and work on your balance in another way(s).

Alternative: You don’t need a slackline to start the process of slacklining and see if it’s for you while improving the skills needed. Balance is a key aspect of slacklining but you don’t need a slackline to practice it.

Way to improve your balance: Tai Chi, standing on one leg, yoga, pilates, heel to toe walk, back leg raises, knee curl, toe stand squats, lunges and side steps, among others.

Short of getting a home slackline kit you can set up in your home, you can also balance on a railing (safely) or on a log (see below) or on a set of steps or some other similar location.

You can’t find something else comparable to do in the winter

The good news is that you can in fact slackline in the winter if you so choose. While it’s certainly going be different if you live in a very cold wintry environment, slacklining is about challenging yourself and this would certainly present a challenge wouldn’t it?

If you’re used to slacklining barefoot and in shorts and a t-shirt, doing it in a winter coat and boots might be quite the challenge. Plus, it’ll help you keep your slacklining skills fresh and current while others are taking the winter off.

Alternative: If you aren’t willing to give outdoor slacklining in winter a try, look for a local option that takes it indoors. There are indoor slackline facilities – often co-located with indoor rock climbing – that can offer you the opportunity to slackline when weather isn’t permitting.

Or you can buy an indoor slacklining kit and set it up inside your house.

You don’t have access to a slackline or suitable trees

One downside to slacklining is that it generally requires the use of two stable trees. If you live in a condo or a house with no trees to use, what can you do? You also of course need a slackline and if you don’t have the trees, you probably won’t invest in the slackline, right?

You might live in an area where setting up a slackline on public grounds is frowned upon. So your options to find a couple of trees to set up your slackline are limited.

Perhaps you’d rather start slacklining somewhat privately on your own while you get comfortable and confident with your skills, too.

What to do?

Alternative: Other than considering an indoor slacklining option at a commercial venue as suggested above, you can also consider purchasing an indoor slackline kit for your home like the one shown below in the video. They come at a variety of price points from cheaper ones to get you started to more expensive and sturdier options for hardcore slackliners who want to keep practicing year round.

If you have the skills and motivation you can also set up a more permanent slackline in your backyard even without trees.