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Motivation
Hi Everyone
I am looking for some advice (and I am aware that this may include a "get your act together and stop whining"). I am struggling to find my pole mojo!
I love pole – it has made such a difference to my body, my priorities and my confidence. Unfortunately due to work I have had to move away from my home to live 100 miles away and this will be the case for the next year. I have a small flat which thankfully has room for a pole in it but it's fairly short. I can nearly touch the ceiling while standing on the floor. I still get home at weekends but it's a lot of travelling and I miss my husband and home terribly.
The point….I am really struggling to find any motivation to train. In my head I think "great – a flat to myself and a pole. That's plenty of time to train hard and learn new tricks." In reality I start but get demoralised quickly at how out of shape I am and give up quite quickly. I don't have any pole friends in the area and the local pole school doesn't cater for advanced students and isn't easy to get to.
I appreciate that what I really need to do is stop complaining and get my shorts out but there seems to be some sort of barrier between the motivation in my head and pole in my living room.
Just wondered if anyone had had this problem and how they overcame it? Any training tips that would help get me into shape again?
Thanks so much
x X x
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7 Replies
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I have this issue pretty badly, too- I keep thinking "I can do lots of stretching, get my splits, be healthier for it, too!" But I never do manage to do any stretching, since my tattoo has me off the pole for another week or so…
However, I've been trying hard to break through, and I've gone through this cycle a few times, so here are my tips:
– Don't beat yourself up! Seriously, the guilt trip you put on yourself will only demoralize you more.
-Instead of "I should pole," say to yourself "I WANT to pole!" It IS true, and will actually cause you to feel a little more motivated to do it… because you are acknowledging your feelings, and not the rules you've placed on yourself.
-Looking at the mammoth task that is training for an hour can be daunting, and doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun! So, just do a little dancing. Play around. Even if it is for 15 minutes, or 10 minutes, or even one song… just get yourself touching that pole!
-Remind yourself of how amazing and great you feel after a good workout- I know I get quite the endorphin high from it!
And, finally:
-Put pole in your head. Watch videos of moves you're working on, or moves you might want to work on! Watch videos of your pole idols, too, and marvel at how good they are, and remember why you wanted to do this in the first place! Write down some fun challenges to yourself, think about ways of getting that challening move you've been working on… all that stuff!
It is really hard to find motivation to do anything fun when you've had to move away from your family, your home. When you're feeling down, it's not easy to pick yourself up and give yourself permission to feel good again!
So, be gentle with yourself. It's alright if you've got a bit of a rut going on- it'll pass. Mine always have!
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Thank you so much. I wasn't expecting a reply so quickly. Your advice sounds great. I really appreciate it. I will definitely be giving everything you have said a go.
This is what I love about pole and in particular the studio veena site – there's always some friendly advice around.
Thank you again. I hope the tattoo heals up quickly.
x X x
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I totally agree, and you're totally welcome 🙂 It helps me to reiterate, too, since I've got myself a little motivation issue right now 😛
And the tattoo is going well! On to my second week! Just gotta wait till next friday or so… then, I shall tentatively start dancing again!
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I’ve found that watching the YouTube videos and even members here are a huge motivation to me. Especially when they have a similar body type. It gets me thinking that if they can do a certain move, so can I!
If you don’t have one already, find a pole role model. Watching them should encourage you.
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Just take it one day at a time. I like to think of training like writing a book. Every training session you write one page. That isn't much. But after one year you'll have over hundred pages (depending on how often you work out) – and that is, in fact, a small book. After two years you'll have a normal or even a large book. But what do you have to do for getting that book? Write one page at a time 🙂
Set yourself small goals for every session and every month. What would you like to have accomplished in one month? Then do your prep exercises for that every single training session. Even if I have a halfhearted session, as long as I did some strength exercises and prep work I feel that it got me a bit closer towards my goals.
Pick out some combos you'd like to learn that include moves you already know, write them down, and work on them during training.
And soon you'll have some new tricks and combos you can do very well and can be proud of 🙂
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Thank you so much everyone for the advice. It is fantastic. I love the book analogy. I feel much more motivated to get back to it – little and often.
If I can ever be of any help to anyone please let me know.
x X x
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I wanna thank the people who posted here also…I needed motivation advice too! I'm kind of amid a very long…exercise hiatus. I've never felt so unlike an athlete as I do now. My profile pic on this site is kicking me in the face for being a schlub. The pole has been staring at me for months but it just doesn't seem as fun as it used to. I was super motivated, finally started a paper journal, and then 3 days later just stopped.
Runemist, I think I'm going to try the "I WANT to pole" mantra. That should help! It's better than "can't you at least get off your ass and pole?? no? you're hopeless." =P
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