-
Training regimen
Hello everyone! I’m a advanced beginner/intermediate pole dancer looking to get stronger, but I don’t know exactly know how to train for pole dancing. What does your training regimen consist of? How often do you train?
-
3 Replies
-
Hello! I am probably around the same level you are at this point. I pole 2-3 times a week at home and I am not set to any certain days. I kind of let my body tell me what days it wants to pole. I also have a Total Gym that I use here and there to break up the strength building part of it and to give my muscles something else to do. When I do pole, I do some warm up dancing…then practice tricks…then back to dancing and stretching at the end. Time goes by so fast, so I usually spend 1-2 hours in my pole room. Happy Poling! 🙂
-
Hey there!
I’m also around a similar level, and generally do all of my workout and dancing at home.
My current schedule is running three days a week, and pole three days a week- I do my best to make sure I have two rest days, because that’s super important! I don’t get stronger without rest days.
Running aside (it’s my main leg workout, and all my cardio workout, but it’s fairly straightforward), my pole workouts consist of warm up dancing, which is grounded at this point (I don’t want to stress any of my muscles or joints before they’re warm, so I stick to floorwork, general dancing, and very, very easy tricks). Then, I will transition to working on my chosen trick for that time- right now, I’m working on the Apprentice, or Thigh rest. I will do about five to ten on each side, holding for as long as possible, and trying to get my foot as high as possible. I take short breaks in between each couple of attempts, to have water, and consider what it is I’m doing right or wrong.
Then I do my strength training. Right now, I’m working a lot on my core, and trying to bring my upper body into it as well. So, I’ve found a lot of great workout videos around the internet (Veena has some great ones here on the website, too!), and if I don’t feel like those, I’ll just do my own routine, making sure to get all the muscles I can think of at the time!
Then I work on my flexibility, as I would love to increase that this year, and perhaps achieve my splits sometime in the next few years.
I do have dumbbell weights, but they aren’t much. 5-7 lbs is all I’m using right now. They’re mostly just for my arm workouts.The pole itself can be a huge help in increasing strength, not just by learning tricks, but as an apparatus to facilitate certain movements. You can check out the Ab Challenge we have hanging around here- the exercises Veena came up with for it are actually put up on Youtube, so you can see them without a subscription.
Hopefully that helps!
-
I am intermediate – advanced. I use Veena’s hardcore warmup and pole strength routine two to three times a week to really hit the core and upper body to build that strength. Consistency is key, and I can definitely see clear results with my body growing stronger over time. Some of those days I do some pole tricks I’m training (or just really like) in between the warmup and the pole strength routine. I try to have at least one day if not two where all I do is pole only for my workout. This is my FUN time where I just do whatever I want. It consists of setting good music and freestyling for quite a while and finding new movements and combos that flow for me naturally. Then I’ll find myself working pole tricks on and off between freestyling until my arms and core are so tired I can’t even invert anymore. I’m always amazed during these sessions what I can actually do, and really keeps my morale high and motivates me. Functional training is really good for you, which is why I pole to get stronger for pole, and use Veena’s pole strength routine where I’m lifting my own body weight against gravity rather than lifting weights and doing holds and movements that translate very literally over into poling. (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_training) I always stretch a little bit, even if I don’t have time to do full on flexibility training (which I don’t do enough). I do Cleo’s Rockin’ Legs and Abs three to four days a week to hit my legs, core again, and some good splits stretches. I really like the video and find it effective, but she does not hold the stretches as long as I’d like. If there were one thing I would change about my pole training, it would be to add more flexibility training. I’m pretty flexible, but as you advance in pole, you’ll find that some of the more advanced moves cannot even be gotten into until you’ve attained a certain level of flexibility in your back, shoulders, or hips, or that you really need a vertical and/or center over split for a move to look good. I would also say that a strong flexy body makes very basic movements look way more impressive as well. It’s so key.
Log in to reply.