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No grip?
https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_heart1.gif We always have a lot of new dancers joining the site, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to share some pointers for those having trouble with grip! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_heart1.gif
There are many reasons why you may be slipping when pole dancing; skin type, pole finish, climate and level of strength are the most common…..Here are some of my tips for improving grip……..
WARM UP:
One of the biggest reasons for the "no grip, all slip" issue is simple and easy to fix! Your body AND pole are not warm! I designed this Warm Up https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/80540840-b88a-11df-856f-001b214581be to do BOTH. Once you have finished the warm up, your body be ready to dance and your pole will be ready to use as well!!! This warm up has fixed many slippery pole problems!
MOISTURIZE:
If you have dry skin use a non greasy/oily lotion a few hours before (not right before) poling or the night before. I have a large pole space with high ceilings and a tall pole, so sometimes the pole and room doesn't warm up enough in the winter. I'll use some itac2 on my knee pits or other P.O.C's but not my hands, when the room is just too cold and my skin is dry.
CLIMATE CONTROL:
If you live in a warm humid climate or if you tend to sweat lot, use a fan in your pole room. Dry Hands or pole gloves can help with the dreaded sweaty hands. Use 2 towels, one for wiping your body and one for wiping the pole. If you live where is cold, try using a space heater to heat the room before you dance. A humidifier can help if the air is really dry. Still, for most, the Basic warm up will be enough to get the pole and your body warm, as long as your room isn't crazy cold!
STRENGTHEN:
Poor grip can be an issue for beginners because Strength Training is needed. While skin contact is helpful, its also important to use the muscles to hold positions on the pole! The Pole Strength Routine https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4db64418-c354-4da5-aa23-464c0ac37250 is perfect for strengthening all of the major muscle groups, including the legs which are needed to do pole sits. Here is a link to a Hand Strengthening exercise that can be done anytime or any place! https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/b9b362ac-b880-11df-856f-001b214581be
Veeners, what are some of your favorite tips or tricks?
I hope you find this helpful https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_heart1.gif
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26 Replies
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great tips! i've used both a humidifier and a space heater in the winter. and now i have a pole in the living room and can imagine poling by the fireplace. ahhh!
another helpful grip aid, at least for me, is to pole right after a shower. the skin is warm and grippy then.
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i love this post Veena! so many new polers get frustrated and don't know how to remedy their slippy issues.
i think you've made a ton of great points. i hope there's a way to make this a sticky post!
i just posted a grip aid review that i hope is useful– instead of just describing my personal experiences with specific grip aids, i had my students and friends test them out, asked people all over the US what they thought of different products– and then organized the results by your pole environment and skin type to make it more helpful, since we all know that what works for one person may not work for another. i'm planning to add to it with all the products that i know of, so i hope that it helps some people out!!
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Ah yes, after a shower would be good too!
Thanks for posting the blog review amy!https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif
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I"ve tired a bunch of grip aids, and generally have found most work well for the body, but not the hands as sweat tends to come right through (itac is espedially bad for that) a solution I have found, (and yes it sounds rather dumb) is that your hands are sweating because they are hot, so have a bucket of ice water available, when your hands get overheated and start to get wet dip them in the ice water for about a min, whipe them off and your good to go. sounds simple, but if your hands arn't hot, their not going to sweat.
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I have some sweaty hand issues and I absolutely love Tite Grip. It’s just an antiperspirant, so it doesn’t add any tackiness, but wow did it work to stop the sweat. During my recent public performance, my nervousness was causing a lot of sweating. Four applications of Tite Grip later, and I honestly believe my hands were incapable of sweating. For adding some stickiness to nail a hard split grip move, iTac2 on top of the Tite Grip works wonderfully!
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Tite Grip II – Lavender is the holy grail of holy grails with grip aids for sweaty hands and feet. It applies completely colorless, no more orange!! It smells like perfect lavender, no more spearmint!! No more transfer on the pole!!! It lasts through sweat and requires less reapplying. So say
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Oops hit send too early! Silly phone. Back to Tite Grip II – Lavender, so say you reapplied 4-6x during practice, you only need 1-2. Best part, no more chalky buildup on your hands!!! It works on all contact points as well.
I’ve been using the new formula since early Sept, as with a few close friends and more recently, a few pole stars, and we all LOVE LOVE LOVE the new formula. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the original Tite Grip more than the other grip aids. But this? Even better. My grip is actually much stronger now and I never slip. I also still use the white distilled vinegar trick.
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@heathalynne – thanks, i'm going to have to try that tite grip lavender! (i have regular tite grip and i hate the orange color and smell) https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif
it's funny how different things work for different people. when i tried the distilled white vinegar, it was one of the worst (most slippery) practices i had.
and, i just discovered something – for me, my grip is best when i am not very warm (though i do make sure to stretch my arms and shoulders), and the pole has not been warmed up (in other words, start out working on tricks that require good grip before doing anything else on the pole) – which is the opposite of what i thought. i also use a little itac2 on my contact points and hands. but sometimes, nothing works! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_evil.gif
@upandover – i'm going to try that ice water!
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I just went and ordered all the samples and I am going to experiment to see what works best for me! I also tried the vinegar and found myself to be even more slippery! So far I have only tried dry hands- it works for about a trick or two, then I need to reapply right away and I dont like the dry chalky feeling it gives me. Weird, I get dry and have experienced blisters on my palm- but can still sweat and slip through it right away too! I cant wait for all the goodys to arrive and see what works best for me. I also have a sweaty foot that drives me wild! lol
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@paulette – lol about your sweaty foot! i don't like dry hands, either – it seems too chemically harsh. i couldn't get it off my hands even washing with soap – plus, it leaves a residue on the pole. let me know which products you like! we live in similar climates and both had the same result with the vinegar… currently i use itac (sometimes with tite grip), but sometimes i wonder if it just makes things worse (like sweat is just pouring out of my hands, it's wierd!!) https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif
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Thanks for the recommendation of the new Tite Grip formula! I’ll be looking into that! 🙂
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i love tite grip, too for my sweaty hands. so i definitly will have to try tite grip II.
does anyone now where you can buy it? couldn´t find it anywhere …
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PaulettePoles I'm curious, where did you order those samples?
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I am sooo happy! Got a few of my samples in.. I also ordered the itac pole cleaner from Bad Kitty- really hesiatated because of the price. I am SO glad I did. My titanium pole has been so incredibly slick for me. I have been so frustrated cause I cant do even half of the moves I do at the studio at home on this pole- One clean w the itac pole cleaner and I was sticking like crazy! I also got my mighty grip sample. LUV it! I was about ready to sell this pole! I bought the 45mm titanium- then ended up using 50mm brass at the studio (luv). Now I see hope for us. 🙂
@ Emotioncatcher- I bought my tite grip samples here:
http://www.tite-grip.com/buynow.html
I havent gotten them yet, so I cant say how it compares to mighty grip yet (for me)
I also didnt see anything about tite grip 2 lavendar but would also love to try it if anyone has a link….
I cant wait to try the tite grip on my feet as well!.
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thanks paulette, but i´m only looking for the new tite grip, the tite grip II lavender (like you^^)
it´s strange that they don´t sell it on their own homepage …
i already have the normal tite grip and bought it on ebay, because they shipped to germany for free
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