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Hope for Over 40
I bought a pole last year and have been half heartedly trying some of the beginner moves I find on YouTube. I am 46 this year and while I know pole is great for every fitness level and age, am I realistic to think I can be any good at this and not just moderately ok?
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30 Replies
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Honestly? With that attitude, you could be 20 and strong and flexy and get nowhere 😉
Pole is hard. But it’s amazing in that anyone, if they work at it, can get to do things that are absurdly cool and which they would have never imagined.
I know polers who started around your age and who are miles better than me (31) (ok that means nothing as I am a beginner, but they are actually advanced and really quite good). Two of them had no sporty past.
Starting at 46 with no background in dance or gymnastics means it will be very hard to get some things down. You might never have the pointed feet of someone who did ballet since they were 4. The flexibility and core control of a gymnast. But you can definitely become as good as any 20yo who starts without a specific dance/gymnastics background.Replace the “half-heartedly” with a “passionately”, and you can get to anywhere you want 🙂
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Well thats comforting and encouraging, thanks. I do have a ballet background. I danced for 12 years before I got married and started a family. I have 6 kids from 23 – 10 and its time to do something for myself. I am in good shape, (not great shape) so I hope I can make some progress by the end of summer. I hate to have bought this $800 pole for nothing! Thanks again for the encouragement.
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6 kids, respect! And with a ballet background, for many things you will need to remind your body how to do things rather than learn from scratch.
Try to figure out some clear goals of pole things you want to achieve, and then figure out what the steps for getting there are. It will make training in a consistent way easier, more fun, and seeing yourself achieve goals will make everything more rewarding.And remember to train safe, and to make sure you are treating your body right. Pole is a lot of effort, and the potential for injury is proportional, I am sure you know this from ballet. Do all the research needed before trying something new, and if you train at home, make sure you have the strength and flexibility required before trying something new 🙂
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Welcome! Using Youtube to teach yourself can be frustrating because what some people consider beginner is truly not! So you might feel hopeless because you’re trying to do things that you’re not ready for. If you’d like to learn at home the lessons here are perfect. I would say check out the 30 day take off program, this will help you build strength and flexibility. 💜
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Its the StudioVeena videos I was using on YouTube. I started the 30 day start program 3 days ago. Im wondering about sweaty pole and hands?
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I replied to your sweaty hands question on the lesson you posted to. Check your email for replies to lesson questions ðŸ˜Å
Many people like the product dry hands.
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Heck yeah! Thats exactly what I was wondering!I have renewed vigor! Thanks so much for that encouraging little video!
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I’m 44. Restarted pole aged 42. You might find this thread interesting https://www.studioveena.com/forums/view/534f2546-1450-43f1-808f-22d60a9aa0eb
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Thanks, what an amazingly inspirational thread. I dont feel like Im out of my element anymore. Im only a few days in but so full of excitement. I cant wait to have abs finally!
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Helol I’ll be 50 this year and just started pole in November! I love it and started noticing by arms are getting some real definition….now I’m waiting for the definition to move south to my abs and butt lol. If I’m not mistaken Greta Pontarelli started at 60 or 62 to help with osteoporosis and look at her..what an amazing woman who gave me inspiration. Good luck and know there are people like me, older than you,giving it our best so YOU CAN DO THIS!
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Pam u are correct abt Greta (I a proud to know her personally — inspirational without a doubt… and folks, I guarantee you she’s 100% human just like us…). And Iain — best response anyone could kick this thread off with.
One more thing I’ll say to hopefully inspire/motivate you, specifically as a mom, & 6 times around!!! Wow! I daresay you are more likely to make some solid progress and go pretty far with pole. Strength is key, as is body awareness. As an instructor for 5 years now, as well as a mom of 2, I can tell you it is an interesting thing to observe the moms vs non-moms take on pole, regardless even of fitness/flex/dance background. Now I won’t say that this applies 100% of the time necessarily, but it sure does seem like most of the time it’s a trend I witness: there’s a certain strength capacity and pain tolerance threshold that women who have had children seem to cross, as well as a certain sense of being in touch with your body, that may not be quite there if you haven’t had the experience of being pregnant and delivering a child. I say this sort of even including myself: I’m pretty certain if I had taken on pole 10 or more years prior to when I first started, I would not have had nearly the levels of success that I have had having started this post child-bearing. Again, not necessarily an unexceptional truth, but overall moms tend to be crazy tough — oh, and maybe a little (or a LOT?!) More motivated too. Especially compared to the averag woman, as I have observed. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to be a mother to be awesome at pole, duh. But I just say all this because I’m always impressed by what I see from the same women who 1st walked in to the studio writing themselves off as NOT having much hope with pole, on account of being unfit moms… and months/years later their progress is amazing.
So honey, get ready you might blow all our minds and yours come 6 months or a year from now… Nevermind yearS! But again, as mentioned above, the discipline is also essential: passionately, not half-heartedly.
Sorry for the long tirade. Enjoy the pole ride sister!
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I started poling last August (2014) at age 46. I’ve since turned 47. I pole at my little neighborhood pole studio once a week (where most of the polers are in their 20’s)and at home3-4 times a week with StudioVeena.com. Studio Veena lessons have given me the most bang for my buck and the best conditioning and instruction (though my neighborhood pole studio is great…here’s a shout-out to Tucson Pole Fitness.whoop.whoop.)
It seems to have taken me about twice as long as my 20-something peers to progress from beginner to intermediate in spite of that I have been an exerciser most of my life, though not sporty or athletic. I just chalked it up to my age. Which is fine. Everyone is different in progress. And I am definitely progressing.
For the first 3-4 months I had to remind myself of what I CAN DO rather than let my mind focus on what I couldn’t do and how much the tennis elbow I got was slowing me down and hurting. Geez. I’m glad the tennis elbow thing finally went away. That sucked.
You just gotta be smart and listen to your body. Give it enough rest. Feed it like an athlete. Be persistent. Focus on what you CAN do. Keep conditioning. Have fun! Poling has been a wonderful inspiring developmental journey. I love it and I hope you will too. 😀
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I want to encourage those folks over 40. At 56 (last year) I achieved my very first pull up ever! Yes, you can do it. I have long skinny arms (no muscle to speak of) but after 4 months of twice per week training I made it. I knew if I wanted to get better at pole I had to get stronger in the upper body. You can do it too! Be kind to your body and don’t overdo or you will have to heal from shoulder injuries. (Been there and done that-no fun)! I bought the Perfect Pull Up Bar from Wal-mart for $20. It has a bar you can lower and adjust according to your ability. Best investment ever other than my pole:)
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Woooww.. I can’t pull up yet. Great motivation for me..
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Yes! You can achieve/accomplish. I started at almost 50 and am now 59 yrs old. I haven’t achieved all that others my age or older have, however, I am doing things I NEVER thought possible. Veena’s lessons are a big part of my pole journey. I still use them to date. I have couple studios I attend, take workshops often, etc. I have cross trained with boot camp classes and still cross train. Having a pole at home is very helpful. I’m not on it as often as I’d like, but often enough to get practice and work out. Greta is an inspiration, however, there are many more of us who achieve and inspire each other at non-champion levels It does take time, practice, patience, etc. Your pole journey will be your own, don’t make it into someone else’s. Welcome and keep us posted!
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