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What do you do to strength train?
I was wondering what you guys do to strength train ???? do you follow veenas warm ups and conditioning? or do u just practice the moves over and over until u get them to build strength???? or do u have different methods..???? I am looking for ideas at home and debating on getting veenas lessons! tips please! how often do you train as well to gain strength fast?
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16 Replies
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I do Zumba for stamina building & cardio. Strength & conditioning, I have used Veena’s lessons for that & love them but I also use a lot of phone apps for my strength building & conditioning & other exercises. I alternate what I work on each week. I also have a pull up bar, resistance bands, exercise ball, hula hoop & 2 & 5 pound weights that I use as well. Finding the time to fit it all in is the challenge but in the am &/or before bed seems to work best even if you can only manage 10-15 minutes a few times a week, working out something is better than nothing 🙂
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i do yoga, but not so much for strength training. poling is my strength training. yoga is for my lungs, my mind, my heart, and physical BALANCE. poling, if not done on both sides can make a person have less strength on the opposite side.
just by practicing moves repeatedly and holding them longer each time as best you can will improve your strength. i think the veena lessons are well worth it. there is SO MUCH info in her lessons! not just poling, but foam roller stuff and resistance band stuff- stretching, warm ups, combos… well worth a membership. I've been to so many pole studios since moving out to LA (at least 7!!!) and i still utilize veena's lessons.
if you work out ALOT one day, then take the next day off. if your workouts are short i think its ok to workout daily. personally, i workout even if i am a little sore. i can tell when i am too sore to workout- my muscles will just be too crampy.
as an additional note: there are also free workouts on android phone aps, youtube and itunes- i don't actually do them, lol, i watch them and think about how they seem like good workouts. one i have on my phone is called "daily butt workout". i never do it- but some day…
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I do cardioX or kempo and lift weights and of course pole..lol..in the winter i drop the p90x stuff and opt to gp rollar blading at 3am for an hour and on sundays i take a 3 hour hike up a 90 degree incline..i also have 3 kids…7,5,4 🙂
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wow !!!!! thanks guys!!! I find it so hard right now being a student paying for extra kinds of classes .. right now i pay for classes at aradia fitness then am hoping to do studioveenas lessons and hoping that thats enough to get my goals! :S
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A lot of pole is strengthening in itself, but if you want more, remember than pole is the ability to control and lift your own body. I do multiple and various types of chin ups, dips, push ups, leg lifts, squats/lunges and combinations, and lots and lots of core work. I am also now working on flexibility (boy do I need this). Pick a bunch of exercises you really like, write them down, and go through them regularly, and you will get stronger 🙂
And I completely agree about poling on both sides 😀
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I can credit all the muscle development in my upper back and arms to the pole/yoga combo, I catch myself staring in the mirror all the time. 🙂
There's a great DVD by Rodney Yee, "Yoga Burn," where you do a full hour but go very, very slowly, almost painfully slow. So yeah, maybe you're just doing 3 down dogs, but you're holding them for minutes a time! That's a great way to use yoga for strength. He has a Core Cross Train one that I like a lot too, though I haven't done it in a while (ever since the weather got nice, I've been neglecting my DVDs – but not like I've been out exercising either! haha).
Oh and if budget and equipment is a worry, go to your pantry! Water bottles, sacks of flour or sugar, and canned goods can be used as weights. You'll feel like an idiot curling milk jugs in your living room but it works. 🙂 And you can often use a beach towel much like a resistance band, for example to loop around your pole and lean back and do rows.
Just be careful how much strength + pole you do in a row, you can overwork your muscles if you keep working the same groups with the same movements. Look on the internet for exercises that work particular muscles or muscle groups, and switch it up pretty frequently, so you're not just doing the same movements every time and giving yourself repetitive motion injuries.
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Sometimes Ill take time to just use my pole to condition. For example, climbing up and down a whole bunch of times really works out your arms and abs, or doing pole-ups, and such. I think Aerial Amy posted a video once upon a time upon conditioning for pole. I like this kind of workout because I like doing exercises using my own bodyweight as resistance, and I find it also trains things like grip 🙂
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Oh and things like knee hold side crunches and layback situps are also good
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There's lot of good info about strength training for pole, on this website: http://heartofpole.net/health-fitness-beauty/strength-training-faq.html
http://heartofpole.net/health-fitness-beauty/strength-training-faq.html#frequency
http://heartofpole.net/health-fitness-beauty/strength-training-faq.html#frequency
http://heartofpole.net/health-fitness-beauty/strength-training-faq.html#when
http://heartofpole.net/health-fitness-beauty/strength-training-faq.html#repsets
http://heartofpole.net/health-fitness-beauty/strength-training-faq.html#repsets
http://heartofpole.net/health-fitness-beauty/strength-training-faq.html#exercises
http://heartofpole.net/health-fitness-beauty/strength-training-faq.html#bulky
etc 🙂
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I’m not the best cross trainer ever but I do lift some weights to strengthen my rotator cuffs, different kinds of pull-ups & push-ups, ballet type leg lift exercises, balancing (headstand, forearm stand, handstand press-up), and I do core work like weighted sit-ups and lifting my straight legs in a big circle while hanging from the pull-up bar. Most of my time is spent on the actual pole though.
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thanks guys!! all awesome ideas
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If anyone is serious about gaining strength aside from doing pole, I highly, highly recommend checking out Stronglifts 5×5. It is a beginners lifting program for men and women that incorporates all of the main compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench press etc. You lift as heavy as you can (starting out with just the barbell), doing 5 sets of 5 reps 3x a week. You just need a gym membership or the available equipment. I was doing this for a few months and holy god did I get SO much stronger with pole a lot faster than just pole by itself. I was losing fat and getting leaner too. I had to stop though because I pulled a glute muscle at pole convention in Oona's workshop. I miss it so much can't wait to get back to lifting when my muscle heals.
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ETA: I totally didn't read the part where you said you were looking for ideas for home. Hmmm, that changes things. I'd say if you can get your hands on a pull up bar, that would be a great idea. The thing with strength training is that there is only so much weight you can work with before it gets too easy after a while. If you don't change things up a bit, you will plateau and your body will get used to lifting the same amount of weight, thus not getting stronger. So if you can't get to a gym I'd say your best bet is working with your own body weight doing push ups, pull ups and things others mentioned, as well as using the pole to condition.
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Thanks! yeah due to money restraints I figured I would make a program for myself at home, I have those bands, exercise ball, I have a chin up bar and a pole and little set of weights .. but they dont have large weights and i have 5 pound ankle ones too!! I know a lot about muscles and theoretically I can create my own work out plan… I was just wondering if people used just pole or if they seek other kinds of strength training instead… I am just gunna be starting soon, I just started the valentino brothers stretching dvds for splits.. i do one dvd each week cuz that was what was recommended….. though I am planning to get veenas lessons as well so I can improve faster.. I still feel like a beginner even though at my studio I am further along.. I want myself to feel more comfortable with dancing with strength and grace.. Problem is I know a few moves from different levels.. but i dont feel i have the strength or flexibility and I need to learn the dancing part… I am hoping veenas lessons help for all of that.. I really think If i start strength training that I will feel more comfortable once i learn way more moves too.. we will see!!! thanks guys!
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Crystal29, I do have lessons for all of those things https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif also if your looking for off pole training I just made a new video for core https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/51f0b2e8-f6d4-4b0c-909d-6f170ac37250
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