-
Teaching Pole Fitness to Men?
I have several questions! Do any Veeners out there have experience teaching pole to men? I know guys naturally have more upper body strength, but otherwise, are there any moves that are more difficult for guys, or do you find there are moves that must be taught differently to men?
Also, for those of you that teach, do you have a "no men" policy or do you allow men in certain classes? or have you not ever had guys interested and therefore not ever had to make a designation either way?
I've been teaching Beginning/Intermediate pole out of a Zumba studio for about a year and I've had a few male students here and there take my classes. It's never been a big deal because my class size is so small that the only other students in the class came as a group with the man, and were therefore not uncomfortable having a man in class. My class size is growing though and I've had guys ask if they're allowed. I've also asked a few of my female students if they'd be uncomfortable having guys in class. All so far have said they'd be fine with it, but think other women might not be fine with it. I'm a little worried that most of my female students would say the exact same thing even if they were not comfortable in a co-ed class. So I'm just trying to decide if I should designate my classes as women only, or allow men, or maybe designate one class a week as co-ed.
-
11 Replies
-
And I should have asked directly to the Veener Men: Do you find you have to approach any moves differently than women do? What are you most interested in learning?
-
This was just asked in a group I am in. Guys are going to tend to want to learn more of the Chinese style of pole as opposed to the sexy side. Depending on the style of your studio this can be an issue.
-
Thanks Chem, that makes sense. So far when guys ask I recomend they take my Pole Tricks class which focuses on holds, climbs, inversion prep, and basic inversions like handstands, CKR, and jasmine, ect. We don't do any choreo in the pole tricks class. But the last guy who came to Pole Tricks had some trouble with a pole sit, and I wasn't sure if male anatomy made that one harder or impractical for men, or what.
My Level 1 and 2 classes focus on basic holds and spins for the first half of class, and then the other half incorporates those into a short routine. My biz image/branding so far is geared towards women, but even though I have choreo in my Level 1 and 2 classes, I focus more on the physicality of pole than the spiritual or sensual aspects. I pretty much just treat it like any other form of dance.
-
At my studio we have one 6 week beginner/adv beginner series class that caters to total beginners or people pretty new to pole – it's also a great class if you are a bit shy – it sets your foundation and helps with your confidence. It is the more sensual of our classes and is just women. Then all the rest of our drop in 1.5 hour Pole classes are co-ed – these are all multi level – from beginner to advanced. We have 2 regular male pole students at the studio and everyone loves them – it works well for us. Our tag line is One Studio for "Every" Body! We also have a Male Pole instructor – it's fun https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
-
The ones I've gone to that include men tend to focus more on the pole conditioning/fitness side of things, and less the "sexy" parts. One class was no tricks at all, purely pole pull-ups, crunches, ab-work, lunges, squats, etc.. and was completely asexual. When I teach mixed classes, I start out that way, then throw in optional add-ons that can 'sexy it up'. For example, if you're doing the standing side-crunch (where you stand next to the pole, hook your inside knee @ hip height, then lean out & back to do obliques); that's totally just a crunch, until you tell them to go all the way over & add a sexy trace-up. You may just have to sneak the guys into being sexy! 🙂
-
So far in the few classes and workshops I've taken, I don't seem to recall any real difference in the manner in which pole technique was explained or taught for me being male versus the females in the same class. How I approach pole technique is governed by my limitations of stretch and hip flexibility more than strength.
I do feel it's important, for men as well, to work on their freestyle so pole elements they learn can seamlessly start to integrate and flow together. Note, I have never taken a floor work class but wouldn't mind doing so at some point.
-
Sorry about the big font size …. 🙂 Unintentional.
-
Hi,
Some differences I've noticed (I'm making gross generalizations, sorry men):
Men may feel insecure in mixed classes, espcecially if they are new and the women do better than them.
Men tend to try to advance more quickly then women (to prove themselves?) , and sometimes act recklessly. We see that a lot in stretching lessons where new men always try to force the stretch, and in pole – they are the only ones to crush.
Men will typically be stronger and not as flexible as your average women. This means they will sometimes compensate for lack technique with their strength (just as women compensate with flexibility). It's important to notice when your students do that, although it is easy to get carried away with how fast they are advancing. Men can get injured from using incorrect technique as well.
Continuing with my previous point – while new male students may be very strong, they may not have the level of coordination and body awareness that is required to perform complex pole tricks. Also – their body may not be prepared for that kind of physical stress (joints etc…). While they may be bored with beginner level classes, they still need them.
Maybe, as others wrote, it's a good idea to create beginner level classes targeted for men.Our dance teacher always says the men in the studio dance more sexy than all the women put together! 😀 LOL!
Regarding how I feel about mixed classes:
While I think that it is a good thing that more men get into pole, I am a bit uncomfortable with mixed classes.
I am not poling for the workout. For me, pole is a very hard emotional journy – I struggle with my body image, I struggle with my social anxiety and I struggle with my sexuality. I always say that for me, every dance is a small war against myself.
I have this invisible shield that I carry around with me all the time. With metal spikes and stuff. And in order to win my small wars, I have to be able to take off that shield and let go during class.
The fact that when I started poling I was working only with women really helped me do that. I find that places with mixed crowds (i.e – gyms) tend to have a different environment. Not as supportive. Men compete one against the other, everyone is trying to impress the opposite sex. They become a meat market.
In this kind of environment, it's really hard to take off the shield.
-
"I find that places with mixed crowds (i.e – gyms) tend to have a different environment. Not as supportive. Men compete one against the other, everyone is trying to impress the opposite sex. They become a meat market. "
This is so not true at my studio. Men start in a male-only class but they integrate at the high intermediate level. However, our strength training, flexibility sessions, and open pole times are all co-ed. We have 4 regualr male students. Three of them do co-ed classes and several of them are typically at open pole. They are always helping each other out and the girls in lower levels (not co-ed levels) are always asking them for tips. While the guys may be a little competitive with each other, it is a healthy competition and they realize that each has their own strengths. Also, our girls get really excited when they get a move that the guys have been struggling with.
-
@RikkiL Yes, we also have several men and we don't have the problems I described. I don't know what causes this in gyms. Maybe the fact that there are much more men there? Maybe a different crowd? I don't know.
-
We have a man in our pole class. it works out just fine. 🙂
Log in to reply.