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Extremely Lost!
Hey everyone. I’m new to this site. I am 100% self-taught (I’ve never been to a fitness studio to learn). *Don’t Judge*, I used to be an exotic dancer, and I learned a lot of what I know from watching other dancers AND of course watching YouTube videos. I danced for about 6 months VERY on and off.
I learned an open V and quickly learned a Gemini after that. I can even switch legs while doing the Gemini.I quit exotic dancing. 3 days ago, I received a fitness pole for my birthday. For the past 2 days, I have been on the pole almost non-stop. The first time I tried a caterpillar, I achieved it.
However, there are other moves I feel like I SHOULD be able to do- but I can’t.
I try to do a half-bracket hold and can only hold myself up for maybe 2 seconds! Maybe it’s hand placement, maybe I’m just not strong enough? I tried a ”knee hold” and have no idea how I will ever be able to hold myself up. I am sore today and didn’t pole for long. I notice that I am becoming more flexible, but I don’t have great stamina. If I wanted to do an entire routine incorporating the tricks I know, I would be DEAD tired.
Have I pushed myself too far? Am I too focused on the advanced stuff? Am I trying too much too fast? I feel like I am becoming a pole-overachiever because I love pole-fitness so much. How can I build up strength so that I can perfect the half bracket hold and basic stuff better?
I LOVE pole-fitness. I want to become good enough so that I can teach it one day.Please HELP!
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9 Replies
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Don’t be so discouraged — poling takes TIME (a lot of time) to build up the strength, stamina, and of course doing things with the proper technique. Do some searching on here about injuries and you’ll quickly see how taking the time to build strength first is worth it. Doing the moves with the proper technique will pay off in the long run by protecting your body from injury. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif You *shouldn’t* be able to do all the tricks right off the bat. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
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girl are you in ny? sounds a lot like my story. when i first got my pole, i was on it everyday and i never warmed up or stretched afterward. my body started hurting but it wasn’t that ‘good workout’ kind of hurt, it was one which made it clear to me that i was overexerting myself and injuring certain parts of my body. it’s especially hard because i dance to the radio, so once i hear a good song i just start swinging on it. it was hard to get used to taking my time with stretching and stuff AND not trying to conquer every move i see myself doing in my head.
i’d like to consider myself a natural at poling. i actually achieved my first cross- knee release today https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif. i’ve been poling for almost 2 months, but avidly practiced exotic dance (everything minus the pole) for 2 years. as i started getting more into pole dance, i read a lot more about it and there were so many safety tips that i’m happy i found out about. for instance, kicking up into an invert is a no-no – and that’s exactly what i was doing! now i start off with pilates- style crunches as a part of the warmup to prep my core muscles, and my inverts are smooth and controlled. i also found out that i had the ‘death grip’ in the beginning (my inverts NEVER budged, and i couldn’t slide down). at one point i was strong enough for a shoulder mount, but i decided against it LIKE A WUSS lol, j/k; i wanted to make sure i was doing it properly and i STILL don’t know what i should expect so i’m not gonna mess with it.
lol, the point is: SLOW DOWN. i’ve had a few pole- related job opportunities present itself even BEFORE the pole arrived in the mail. no matter how good i thought i was, no matter how sure i was about knowing the dynamics of every move, or how passionate i was about this- i just wasn’t ready yet. and i was ready to settle for bullshit too. but now i’m just gonna chill… that CKR has me pretty excited https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
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The split bracket hold is very easy to tear muscles in your forearm if you do not do it properly. There is a thread started about 2 days ago by minicoopergrl talking about this hold. You should not have any weight on that bottom hand.
Knee hold? This is NOT an easy move and there are so many intermediates to work on prior to trying this.
There is a lot of strength needed for the majority of pole dancing. Give yourself the time to build that. I bet you can blow away 80% of the people here in body and floor work and transitions though!!
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You might wanna look into the lessons here. I have the lessons set up in order of difficulty and I also include strength training and stretches to help prevent injury. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
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Put the knee hold on the shelf for a while https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif You’ll probably want to master cupid/princess, side climb and both gemini and scorpio before even thinking about knee hold. I’ve been pole dancing nearly 3 years and still can’t do it. It really depends on the person, there isn’t a strict "order" of moves you should and shouldn’t be able to do. Veena’s lessons do give you a good idea of how to progress through though. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cool.gif
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https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif Everyone has been so nice and helpful. Yes, the more I think about it, the more I KNOW I could seriously benefit from Studio Veena’s online lessons.
I saw her tips about what to do on ”rest” days, and I definitely never really thought of working on transitions, floor work, etc. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif !
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You might wanna look into the lessons here. I have the lessons set up in order of difficulty and I also include strength training and stretches to help prevent injury. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
I was just about to say that LOL.
Don’t ever feel like you "should" be able to do anything because we’re all different. I’ve been poling well over a year and still don’t have a knee hold or a cross ankle release. LMAO! I know. It’s sad. But we all learn things at different rates and have different strengths and weaknesses. It’s always a good idea to slow down and review moves in their order of difficulty, starting from the beginning when you feel lost.
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I agree with everyone. I have been doing this on and off for like a year now and I have made very slow progress. There are some girls here that can do so much more than me in their first year, but I have to tell myself that they aren’t me and my body is different. I will be strong and ready when I am strong and ready. It’s perfectly fine to progress at your body’s rate and what is comfortable for you. Oh and like everyone is saying, this also helps avoid injuries https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
Have a shiny penny day! -
I agree with everyone. I have been doing this on and off for like a year now and I have made very slow progress. There are some girls here that can do so much more than me in their first year, but I have to tell myself that they aren’t me and my body is different. I will be strong and ready when I am strong and ready. It’s perfectly fine to progress at your body’s rate and what is comfortable for you. Oh and like everyone is saying, this also helps avoid injuries https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
Have a shiny penny day!So very true.
Some of us have started pole dancing overweight, with no background in anything (me!)
Then there are some who are already fit, already dancers, already have lots of strength… etc
We all start from different places.
https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
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