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Pregnant and pole dance
Hi, I have been pole dancing on and off for about 3 years give or take a few months. I am at intermediate to almost advanced level. I had an injury to my groan muscle a year back and it set me back on splits a lot so any pole trick with splits in it right now is impossible. But I am proud to say I almost have my front splits back again 🙂 though my middle ones are still very non existent still. When I am not practicing pole I try to do a little bit off exercise everyday, crunches, cardio, stretching, weight lifting.
I recently became pregnant and have recently been getting serious about pole again too. I rather not quit now that I’m getting back into it. I at most have been away from pole for 3 months at a time. But usually upon going back it doesn’t take long for me to get back into doing the harder tricks.
So what moves are safe to do and what are not? For how long can I do moves? When should I stop pole? What could I do alternatively?
To get an idea of some of the harder tricks I can currently do here is a list with the ones I can think of off the top of my head:
Superman
Rainbow
gemini
inverted crucifix
inverted v
pole drop (I cant think of the name of the drop….)
(still a work in progress) Yogini
Remi sit
cupid…. I can’t think of any more for right now even though I know there are more than that but it gives you an idea.
I am currently 7 weeks in.
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4 Replies
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Hey there!
Well, first of all, congrats on your pregnancy! I hope that everything goes well, and that it’s an exciting and loving time!
For exercise while pregnant… well, there are a lot of weird stigmas around that. Back in the “Lady and the Tramp” days (Disney movie, was set in 1909) women weren’t even allowed to walk around, play with their dogs, or pretty much do anything else. If you had the money, you had a maid that took care of EVERYTHING. Seriously! And I think some of that old way of thinking still hangs around.
However, it is NOT 1909, and we can move away from it if we like!
So, first of all, I highly recommend checking out the Girls Gone Strong website- they have a lot of information about strength training and pregnancy. Most of them have all done it themselves! And, while pole dancing isn’t exactly the same as your traditional weighted squat, it has some pretty similar properties.
Otherwise, I know a few people around here did pole through their pregnancies, and were quite happy to do so. This includes inverting while pregnant.As for “When you should stop” and all that, I think it really depends on your body. Eventually, you will be with a very large child, and it will likely be very uncomfortable for you to invert, or to achieve certain movements. Probably then, you can cut back to things that are more comfortable. At some point, you may want to remain grounded- or, you may not, and just stay upright. Or, you might want to just invert all the time and who cares what other people say?
In all, it’s about you, and your body. You get to decide what you are able to do, and what is comfortable for you! Slowly bringing your training back a bit as your body changes can be a good thing, and it can keep you strong and healthy, but still comfortable and happy.And, don’t be afraid to talk with your doctor about what they suggest… and if you feel they may be using some very old ideas about pregnancy and fitness, maybe discuss that with them, too.
There may also be people in your life who are judgmental, who feel that you are not treating your body (or your baby) right by continuing to exercise through pregnancy. There may be people who feel that you are doing damage, or that you are acting in a very inappropriate way by continuing to dance and enjoy your exercise while also carrying a baby.
Please don’t listen to those people.Do what YOU feel is best, for YOU! You’re the only one who lives in that body (and the only one who is growing that baby!), so you’re the one who has the ultimate say about what you can and cannot do.
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Hi, congrats, that’s very exciting!!
First, I will say most Dr.’s have no idea what we do in pole dance and we can’t treat it like just another exercise IF we’re dealing with more advanced pole work. I’ve been a certified personal trainer for almost 15 yrs now and have trained with weights through all 4 of my pregnancies and I also pole danced through my 4th. I can tell you pole is NOT like other workouts. So you can’t say, “just keep training how you were”! I never suggest STARTING pole if you are pregnant, you can continue, but within reason. Now is not the time to learn new things that put you outside of you’re abilities. However, poling is still very possible if you understand what is safe and what is not.
I DON’T suggest doing inverts after first trimester, whether on the floor or on the pole (I didn’t invert in my 2nd trimester) inverted positions are sometimes used to help breech babies turn, and you don’t want a baby who isn’t breech to turn! Inverts change our blood flow and this will affect the baby and could make you light headed too. If you suffer from abdominal separation (diastase recti) the stress of inverting will cause more separation of the abdominals…not what you want! There are other ways to train the abdominals while expecting.
You can still MAINTAIN flexibility while pregnant but trying to gain isn’t the best idea because of the hormone relaxin, this becomes more of an issue later in pregnancy but depending on the woman can affect them more or less. This hormone can cause you to over stretch. Avoid deep back bends and don’t lay on the back for extended periods of time after the 2nd trimester, this can slow blood supply to the baby because the uterus can compress a major blood vessel (vena cava).
I would not work on moves that require heavy low back extension, pressure on the knees (like the Remi sit) or anything that you are not 100% comfortable with, don’t do drops!!! Don’t over heat, drink water and breathe! You’ll find more info on pregnancy in my Veena method, I would suggest taking a peek. 🙂 https://www.studioveena.com/methods/letter
So anyway….. Staying active is super important and yes, you can still workout and pole but a reasonable trainer would never suggest clients train to the point of profusely sweating or focus on gaining strength or flexibility, it’s just not the time for that. It is your body, but you’re not the only one using it right now! 🙂
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Very interested to heat views on this, I poled as normal (being cautious of moves where I could fall) during first trimester if pregnancy then really scaled it down after that. Spent the second half of pregnancy worrying that id harmed my baby after I read that inversions could reduce blood flow to baby – I think it was in relation to yoga. My son was born strong as an ox and is a happy, wilful 21 month old. However, I’m not sure what ill do if there’s a next time and would be interested to hear what advice others were given
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I am a 40 year old studio owner who just gave birth to my first child in November. I poled throughout my pregnancy up until 2 days before I was induced ( because of high blood pressure, age. And gestational diabetes.)
I am convinced that FOR ME keeping active was the best thing I could have done. I know by blood testing that teaching a class lowered my blood sugar and pressure SIGNIFICANTLY. I scaled things back but I was still doing handstands and inversions (with a spotter for safety) till 37 weeks.
My baby and I are both fine!I know a lot of people are concerned with inversions while pregnant. The one thing that I felt (for myself) was unsafe was anything on the spinning pole. I would still do spins on my static pole, however,(for me) I was uncomfortable with the lateral forces subjected to my body with a spinning pole.
Again, I think you need to do your own research and listen to your body. We’re I to do it again, I would have stopped one handed spins around the second trimester. Because of the relaxin in my system my shoulders did not hold up too well with what I was asking of them.
Good luck!
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