Hi GiedreB, I am taking lessons at a studio once a week while simultaneously doing Veena’s 30-day programme (I recently completed the Nailed-It Caterpillar programme, and currently midway through the Shouldermount programme), so I might be able to chip in some thoughts about your queries.
Q: So my main concern is won’t I overtrain if I do the program and also go to class?
A: To quote Veena, not if you do your best to allow for rest. (:
Q: How should I structurise my weekly practice?
A: Similar to StrangeFox, I have also scheduled the strength-training, conditioning and flexibility days to the days when I have my studio lessons, while also making sure that the studio lesson day also falls between (active) rest days. Although these decisions may stretch the 30-day programme window, I always make sure that rest and recovery take priority over the completion of the programme. Other personal considerations include:
→ I usually carry out Veena’s lessons in the morning so that my body is sufficiently rested by the time I have my evening class.
→ I usually try to fulfil the (maximum) repetitions specified by Veena in her programs; but if I have a lesson that day and and I feel the upper limit cannot be achieved without over-tiring my muscles, I will do fewer repetitions (e.g. challenging practices such as shouldermount/dismount). But I will keep tabs of my overall repetitions completed so that I can strive to add to it the next time it comes up in the 30-day programme training regime.
→ I will also look through the entire 30-day programme (or at least the lessons for the following week) so that I can plan ahead and align the training days with my studio days.
→ Another thing that I do is to also give myself extra rest day(s), particularly if my studio lessons that day have been rather intense, before I continue with the strength/flexibility-training lessons from any of Veena’s 30-day programme.
From past injuries, I have learned that the key is to train consistently, and not until the body feels uncomfortably sore. Personally, I have used almost all of the 30-day programmes (e.g. Take Off, Flexy, Invert and Caterpillar) more than once now, and words cannot express how grateful and appreciative I am for these lessons. (: For me, at least, Veena’s 30-day programmes have definitely helped me nailed many dreams moves at first attempt; these include tricks such as the Outside Leg Hang/Gemini, Allegra, Superman, Brass Monkey, just to name a few.
Just like you and StrangeFox, I reached my plateau really quickly when I attended only studio lessons, but Veena’s programmes helped immensely; not only did I gained strength, but I also learned proper muscle engagement and techniques to safely execute (scary!) foundation moves such as Invert, Caterpillar and Shouldermount.
Hope these help, and good luck on your pole journey! ♥ï¸