-
Help
-
As your grip strength increases you will squeeze less to hold on. It comes with time and practice. If you want to see the difference in pole diameters, you can look at my album. I love 45's and 38's. 🙂
https://www.studioveena.com/photos/view_album/4ee3f549-75cc-4e73-97b3-4f300ac37250
-
http://www.rei.com/skuimage/787691/220also using one of these can help with grip strength
-
I love my skinny poles but i think as a beginner most of the moves SHOULD be ok on a 50mm pole also. I think the most important thing is conditioning! the fun stuff comes later once you've built some strength.
Don't be disheartened! I had to repeat the beginners course twice when i first started poling (which is pretty unheard of, most girls pass first time) and i was so unfit i couldnt even make it the whole way through the warmup! Now, 20 months later I can shoulder mount and do all sorts of fun things.
Make sure you keep it fun- don't focus on the negatives 😀 so you can do a fireman! great! make it the very best fireman you can, then maybe try a back hook! practice the pole walk etc, make little routines.
i think veena's classes are fantastic but i personally also need guidance in a class setting so maybe if you start taking some lessons at a studio in conjunction with home poling chez veena's it might really help your form at least as a beginner!
good luck!
-
This is such an interesting subject and I'm glad to hear there is someone else who is frustrated! I LOVE all the support that everyone gives on this site. I am not sure if you live in an area where you can take a class but I know that helps a lot. I have a pole at home and take a class a few days a week. I have been doing this for 3 months and feel like I can't do anything! I watch all these user videos and wonder how long it took these people to learn to do what they do. I am overweight by about 50lbs so I know that holds me back. But, I have always been very strong. Even so, I go to class and there will be a new student who jumps in and does inverts right away or masters a spin the first time???!!!!!! It just amazes me. Everyone learns at a different level and I just keep plugging away. I'm sitting here this morning getting ready to move and paint a new house, etc. and I know I'm going to be missing a lot of classes until we're settled. I'm worrying about losing the progress I've made but life happens. I am not going to give up because I love this and want to learn the beautiful are of doing it well. I love MemphisKitten's suggestion of learning 2 moves per week. I think that's a great idea without overdoing it. Also, if you don't have Veena's lessons definitely sign up. She is so clear in her lessons that there is no room for error. Stay on this website and let us all help answer questions and keep you motivated! Good luck and keep us posted!!
-
One other thing you mentioned is your hands hurting. OMG! Mine ache so bad sometimes I thought I was getting arthritis! There are muscles everywhere and they are all getting a workout. I purchased a Gripmaster. It's a hand/finger exercising device for people who play guitar and other sports for strengthening fingers and hands. I use that every day, 50 times on each hand. It sits in the console of my car and I just use it while I'm sitting at a traffic light. Mindless activity but I think it has helped. I also read someone else saying to take days off in between workouts and that's really good advice. Like I said earlier, I've only been doing this for 3 months. I find that when I can't get to class for a few days the stuff we were learning at the last class is much easier to do. Let those muscles rest or it's just too much on your body. We should stay in touch and keep each other motivated. Keep me posted.
-
Ladies, keep in mind there are NO MUSCLES whatsoever in your fingers. It’s tendons doing the work in the tips of your fingers, where muscles do the work around the palm of your hand and the base of your fingers. This is part of why we see so many hand and finger injuries with pole. To strengthen your grip you have to strengthen tendon which is a different process from strengthening muscle. It’s very easy to push those tendons too far and wind up with serious hand injuries.
Be patient with training your hands. It’s a lot more slow and difficult of a process than just doing some pushups to get your arms strong.
Grip devices are a good place to start. Look into the squeezers they give to patients recovering from carpal tunnel surgery as those are specifically meant to increase tendon strength (which is weakened by the carpal tunnel from the pressure being exerted on the tendons of your fingers where they meet at your wrist)
Log in to reply.