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When is it time to leave the studio?
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This is an interesting thread. I felt compelled to reply to it as I am one of those who “advance fast” in other people’s eyes in the studio. Many of them don’t realize that what they see is the result of hard work at home. Yes, I have some gymnastics, dance and martial arts background but not until I started pole dancing did I realize that this sport is the most challeging I have ever done and so my progression in it needs careful structure, planning, pinpointing my weaknesses and working on them.Know your body, focus on the abilities you want to develop, break down the moves in progressions and work on them. Give it time and focus and see what you ACHIEVE, not what you FAIL at. Fail only means that it’s something you are not ready for YET,but will be in time. Do some research and get the best workouts for every need.Do not only look for them from pole expert but also from other athletes. There are many good one out there that you can learn from. Way too often I see people trying over and over again to do the same move when they are totally unprepared for it or doing simple things wrong. The classic example is pushups. 99% do them wrong so they never develop the strength they are looking for so it doesn’t matter how many they do, they do not progress. It doesn’t really matter if you go to the studio or not. Too much depends on you alone. Everybody is different and unique and so is everybody’s pole story π As I read somewhere recently – the only 2 things you need to succeed at something is to begin and never stop so never give up!:)
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Yup I agree!! One of the biggest struggles many instructor deals with (in studio or online) is getting students to understand the importance of progression! Honestly, I feel like social media, IG for example and even some online teaching tools don’t focus enough on progression. Sadly these are wildly popular and many new dancers and even teachers, have no clue that skipping over fundamentals is often why a student can’t progress. Randomly learning tricks can work for some but it’s just not appropriate most. I also see many dancers pushing themselves into moves their bodies aren’t ready for.
I take pride in doing my best to provide lessons that guide both students and teachers toward progression and not just tricks. All the fame in the world doesn’t provide those aspects.
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Yes Veena, and that’s why I am here. Progression, transitions and aesthetics are the key! As the example for how much effort and time it all takes I can say that I “nailed” your “back hook to invert” comboo in a couple of days but making it look pretty and effortless took 4 months!! I like how you break everything down, how you explain everything in detail and list prep exercises with all the muscles involved. You have a clear structure and progressions on each level. I do your workouts for conditioning and flexibility every day. Without you I wouldn’t be where I am now and I see myself using this website and your advice for the years to come. Can’t thank you enough!
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EbonyPoleArtist – your “boss like” response (lol – I love that!) is much appreciated and I’m glad to hear the perspective of a pole instructor. π The level I’ve moved to is a level that is designed to be repeated multiple times and because of that we get a wide variety of skill levels in class. Before entering a new level we do have to demonstrate that we are comfortable with pre-requisite moves.
When I first joined the class I felt challenged but in a good way. Now I feel like the class I’m in has evolved and left me behind. I’m still able to get into the moves, but not as beautifully as my classmates can. Part of the reason I’ve been so frustrated is because I have been trying to do something about this plateau. I’ve been conditioning, and working on my flexibility, but I’m not seeing much progress. It might well be that I’m not focused enough, which is why I like your idea of picking one or two things to work on.
Sp4c3Warrior – all I have to say to your post is: YES. What you’re saying was actually so relevant to me last week. I’ve recently stopped seeing progress in my front splits and decided to talk to one of the instructors about it. Turns out when I’ve been stretching for my splits I’ve been doing it with my weight over my front leg, so I’ve been stretching my hamstrings and putting pressure on my joint capsule instead of lengthening my hip flexors. A slight adjustment fixed that and I’ll hopefully start to see some progress in my front splits again soon. I also advanced quickly, and that’s because I’ve worked at it. Now I’ve stopped seeing progress, which is super frustrating when you’re used to being on top of your game. Perhaps it’s time to change things up?
Veena – I love my current studio and the teachers there, but I sometimes felt like I was being asked to go from 0 to 100. A lot of the other girls were OK with it, but I needed more of a foundation. That’s why I came on here, and that’s why I have stayed. I’ve looked at other resources, and they’re OK to get ideas for combos and things, but none of them offer the same level of instruction, or attention to injury prevention as SV does. Thank you so much for continuing to provide this incredible resource. Γ°ΕΈββ’
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StrangeFox – Thank you!I see what you mean. You are saying you have been working out and conditioning and are not seeing much progress. I don’t know what you have been doing but I know that there are huge misconceptions about strength conditioning and even more about flexibility training.I find that GMB fitness and Gymnastic Bodies have good points about both. Check also out EasyFlexibility, Resistance Stretching, Essentrics and Pliability concepts. You don’t have to buy and follow their entire programs cause it will cost you a fortune, just pick some good pieces of advice here and there and incorporate them in your own workouts. Also, if you feel like you can’t stop comparing yourself with others and feel bad about it, maybe it’s time for you to leave the studio for a while.
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