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Grip Issue
I am a DVD/Self taught pole enthusiast…I have an X-Pole (2in)…A friend asked if I would show her what I know and I agreed. I would say I dance at an Int/Adv level (I can lunchbox, bow-n-arrow, extended butterfly, gemini/scorpio). My friend had never attempted any pole work prior to our play-date. I figured I would show her a firefly aka fireman aka basic spin first. Her grip was correct (her thumb stayed away from her fingers throughout the spin), her legs were correct (I explained that no weight was to be in her legs…all in the hands). Her positioning was completely correct. She did not "jump" into the spin, her momentum was good and forward. The only thing wrong was the speed at which she slid down the pole. It looked as if someone had poured grease over pole before she did her spin. I thought perhaps she was nervous and had sweaty hands so I offered her some of my grip aid (dry hands)…no difference. I then had her stand facing the pole, place one hand slightly above the other with elbows bent at 90 degrees, told her to squeeze the dickens out of the pole and attempt to hold her own weight…she immediately slid down the pole FAST. My friend is 5’2 but her hands are about the same size as mine (I’m 5’7), mayhaps it’s the size of the pole, maybe she needs to use a 1 3/4"? Or could it really be her hand, wrist, and forearm strength (when she squeezed the pole her knuckles turned white so I know she gave it her all). She is a little overweight and was very discouraged at not being able to accomplish the spin…attributing it to her weight. I feel terrible because she was really hoping to start a new fitness routine to gain some self-confidence and I think she took the whole thing really hard…HELP! I told her not to give up and if we keep trying and be patient that the strength will come. Does anyone have any advice? Is there something I’m missing?
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5 Replies
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Eh. She’s probably just got weak hands. In my class, there was one girl who had a hand grip issue, and the instructor had her hang in baseball grip with legs up for a very large portion of the end of class each time. At first the girl got calouses, and then she got strong. Her left hand grip was still absolute doody, so I really do think it was an issue of strength. I am a super mega fatty, but I didn’t have any grip issues, so you can tell her that being overweight is probably not the deal.
Another thing.. I think people are different types of oily…. Whenever my husband gets on the pole, I cannot for the life of me hold onto the pole- but it doesn’t appear greasy to the touch, and he can hold on fine with it. But I have to alcohol the pole before I have any hopes of holding on. So maybe a good cleaning between people? I figure it’s the same as windex working for some people and making other people fly off the pole.
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Yup..Amcut is right she probably just needs more strength and do try cleaning the pole with other choices. One thing… its not a good Idea to use grip aids for spins. That can tear up your hands and that would be painful https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cry.gif Don’t let her get discouraged she could work on a half spin for a while and also transitions and some holds too. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif
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I sit in traffic a lot on my job. I bought two hand squeezers at the Sports Authority. Every red light, ten reps with the right hand, ten reps with the left. I’ve got one sitting right by the gear shifter in the Honda.
Check out Samsara Pole Studio’s video on hand printing kinesthesics. I have to admit I thought this whole idea was nutty when I first saw it–but it really works. She steps you through this mental sequence of pressing your hand into the the wall–or the pole. You imagine more of your skin "flowing" into the wall or the pole to get more "fleshy" part into the grip area. This is an exercise that many Pilates and Anatomy/Kinesthesics therapists practitioners use with their patients. I’m not sure how it works–but it may just heighten awareness of your surface area on the palm of the hand and help you think better about hand placement.
It’s a workout, too. After ten minutes of "pressing your hand into the wall," you are out of breath!
Joel
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Hello
I’ve had a pole for 6 weeks and I have the exact same problem. I’ve realized that’s the reason I used to slip straight down was that I was a bit overweight and plain just too heavy for my own grip. After 6 weeks my hands have taken a lot of blistering and healing and now have started to become hardened and I can do one armed spins fine. also I found hanging off the pole really helped and so did attempting to climb it.Ive become a lot stronger! hope your friend improves!
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Thank you everyone for your good advice! Hopefully I can convince her to give it another whirl and stick with it!
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