Not always a superstar….

I really appreciate this Veena. It’s very reassuring to see someone who is generally very physically fit still be human. I definitely struggle with feelings of inadequacy too often. This is encouraging for me.

I think that it is only possible to be “100%” all of the time when someone has 100% of their time to dedicate to all aspects of flexibility and pole, etc. I am constantly yo-yo’ing with my strength. Sometimes I exercise 3 days a week, and other times I can go for 3 or more weeks without touching the pole, or weights. I enjoy it when I can do it, and I enjoy the time I take off as well. I am a huge believer in the balance of life.

Thanks a lot Veena! I also share the same feeling. The fact of having a really slow progress with the pole and overall body strength and flexibility sometimes makes me want to give up, we tend to compare ourselves with others that have less time poling, or those who have a stronger body, etc. This is such a motivational topic, very appropiate for my situation, having to work full time and being a mom/wife, the little time left for the pole brings out a bit of frustration compared to the expectations I have of myself as a poler.

Hi everyone… My whole life I have loved all types of dancing, but when I really decided to get into pole fitness, it was only 2 years ago. I spent almost an entire year just doing weightlifting/cardio/flexibility, while only doing beginner pole moves at work and practicing at home. I chose to do this first to kind of prepare my body (I had injured my knees,ribs,shoulders previously). I feel that was a good way for me to prepare, but it was so difficult to have to wait so long to do all the exciting inverts/splits, etc. I feel like I have come a long way, and people like all of you are really inspiring! I feel tired and sore some days, and I feel like just being lazy…. but then I will watch something on this site or on YouTube, and then I make myself do something (at least one pole move, or flexibility). I feel that helps to keep me motivated. I remember when I watched my first Felix Cane video, and I remember thinking “I can’t wait to try that, but how in the world will I do it” while watching the Jade Split. It has taken almost a year, but I have almost got it!!! I am so glad to have found this site with such kind and helpful people. Thank you all so much!

This is a great post, thanks for sharing! I to have come a long way but still feel like I have more bad days than good but it is usually pretty insignificant in the bigger picture. Actually the longer breaks served me well and helped my body I think. There were some things I couldn’t do as well or anymore after a few months of not really being physical besides a few spotty pole days but I re-learned quick and actually gained some flexibility.

I just look at the past year and few months that I have been doing pole or anything really physical since my injuries from about 10 years ago in the army. I have come along way in strength, flexibility, and confidence the last year and I try to not focus on the set backs from here to there, just look at the whole picture and how far you’ve come since you started (true for anything in life). Even though I have set backs and loose certain things when I don’t practice regularly, I am in better shape then ever. The United States Army couldn’t even do this to me! True story 🙂

The one thing that pole has done for me is push me to get better. It is the one thing that I have kept working at event though my progress is not where I thought it would be. I thought I would have my splits and clean inverts but I don’t. However, I am learning to slow my body down and be graceful and feminine. I’ve never been graceful and I have never had any dance classes so I am literally starting at ground zero but I see progress every time I practice. I had a vision of what I wanted to look like, but I am realizing we all dance differently and no matter how hard we imitate two dances will never be the same.

Just checking in as a pole teacher and regular performer to say that I absolutely do not train 100% perfectly 100% of the time either, not even close! This is something I repeat often to anyone I hear talking about some part of their body they’re particularly unhappy with, often the stomach when I hear “I just want a flat stomach/six pack!” There’s been times when I’ve had a visible 6 pack just because of the level I was training at to achieve a certain goal, not because I was training for a six pack. But damn, when I’m in that kind of shape I can see puffiness and loss of definition the next day if I had one bad meal. It’s not possible to sustain that kind of shape permanently, but I think it’s easy for us to forget that when we see videos of pole athletes who are only posting videos when they’re in training form for a competition etc. and we don’t see the in-between.

I’ve been trying to keep in mind how far I’ve come when I’m struggling with a move, especially one that I know will not come quickly or easily. Lately, I’ve been trying to work towards Iron X and deadlifting into my handspring position, mostly by kicking up and trying to descend in slow negatives. It feels like I’m not progressing noticeably at all. So, I try to put in perspective by remembering a time when I couldn’t kick up into handspring at all. It was probably a year that I was trying to do that unsuccessfully.