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Just saying hello :)
Introducing myself here–so glad I found this site for tutorials/instruction! I found pole through a belly dance friend who is an instructor at an aerial fitness studio near me. Bellydance and weightlifting were my primary sources of fitness, but I decided to take a break from bellydance and performing. I’m not terribly flexible, so I thought it’d be nice to check out the more intense stretching classes the aerial fitness studio offered. As I figured it would, my curiosity got the better of me and at the encouragement of my instructor friend, I finally tried the Intro to Pole class one day six week ago. I have been smitten ever since.
I’ve purchased/installed an Xpole Xpert in my basement, and am committed to seeing how far I can progress long-term. My concern is trying to do too much, too soon. As a weightlifter for almost 16 years, I’m pretty strong and could invert/climb the pole since the first/2nd class. Last week (week 5), I tried my first intermediate class, and was able to shoulder mount both sides and go into inverted crucifix with minimal assistance. The problem was by the end of class, I was ready to bonk. I don’t want to go too fast, or burn out/injure myself because I think I’m strong enough to do something once. I think the trick is to be able to do it and not be absolutely destroyed for two days afterwards, correct?? I know there is a learning curve, and when getting used to new tricks/conditioning, you feel worse before you get better. I’m ok with that–I just want to make sure I’m not going too fast.
Looking forward to learning so much here!!
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3 Replies
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Hi and welcome!
I was a fast learner as well as I had also been lifting for years before finding pole. Since you feel tricks are physically reasonable to do, then I would suggest some conditioning. I know that for myself when I lifted, I didn’t target a lot of the smaller muscles that are important stabilizers when doing many pole moves. There’s a bunch in the conditioning section, I still do almost all of these even now! Remember unlike training for muscle growth were you lift heavy and use lower reps (at times at least) conditioning is about lower resistance and higher reps.
I also suggest making sure to go through the lessons in order so you develop the fundamentals. I see a lot of strong dancers skip these and I can tell when they dance, transitions get sloppy and they muscle moves. The lessons here are a progression so even if they seem easy take time to work on things like pole sits, holds and climbs. Watching all of the getting started lessons (first lesson in each section) will give you an idea on how to structure your pole sessions as well. Remember rest is super important!
PS I love watching bellydance and have done a TINY bit myself so feel free to share any videos with us, we like all kinds of dance here!
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Ah, thank you so much for your great response! You absolutely addressed the concerns I had about fundamentals. I appreciate you taking the time to answer me and welcome me to the group 🙂
I’ll definitely be sure to share some belly dance footage as I get some in the future!
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I have nothing to add, but I wanted to say welcome. So welcome!
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