33barbwire
Forum Replies Created
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(sweet, I didn’t know the link would actually post the pic – thought it would just be the link WOO!)
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https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/ef/65/a7/ef65a77c16526b2390208374954a7894.jpg
Please look at this pic because that’s my first response.
First, the number of “quotation marks” that this “lady” uses to list “every pole term” makes me want to puke.
Second, I will always swear that pole has made me a better feminist, because it helped me overcome growing up in a slut-shaming and sex-shaming culture, both of which are DEFINITELY forms of violence against women. (Never mind overcoming the hangups I used to have about strippers, etc.)
I could go on, but I know I’m preaching to the choir here. What makes me sad about this article is it reinforces the realization I made that people hate being wrong – and they hate being wrong SO MUCH that they’ll straight up refuse to listen to facts that contradict their precious opinions. Don’t try to tell me “Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions, opinions aren’t right or wrong.” When your opinions are based on ignorance, your opinions are wrong. If you have done some research about something, and decide you just don’t agree with it, that’s a valid opinion because at least you know what you’re disagreeing with. This woman is a crappy feminist who, like Lula Geddes said, is probably just getting her 15 seconds of click-bait fame.
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Thanks so much, y’all!
Xpole’s instructor program has a fantastic reputation, but I haven’t done it myself. I ended up with Spin City because they had an online option and travel expenses really limited what training program I could do.
My rundown of SC online:
What I liked:
1. Demo videos of each move, as well as video slide shows
2. Handbook is pretty well writtenWhat I hope they change:
1. They tell you to take charge of your own education – ok, fine. But when you’re assigned a mentor, you’d think they would occasionally check on you to see if/how you’re progressing. All of my correspondence was because *I* initiated contact. This just hasn’t sat right with me since one of the biggest points they stress in text is to check in with your students to make sure they understand.
2. Some of the criteria had conflicting or unclear descriptions that took me a few rounds of emails to get clarified.Other things to keep in mind:
1. You NEED to have access to some kind of studio setting to take your practical assessment, which for me was recording a video of me teaching a class. I feel they did not make this explicit in the beginning (like before buying the course), and could have made my certification very difficult. Maybe they thought this was a given, but you know what they say about making assumptions.
2. My course was dated 2015, so some of my points might have been addressed in 2016 or 2017 versions.If you’re pretty good with independent study and can organize tasks on your own, you should be fine. I spent LOTS of time going over each video, each page of the handbook, and was really thorough in studying. I like that it was at-your-own-pace, since I had a lot of life stuff happen this year that made my study time take a few months longer than it could have been.
I still have my eye on getting certified by elevatED someday, as that has some of the best reviews of all the different programs I looked at. They also have a pretty good social media presence, so you can get a feel for how their courses might be by looking through their posts.
Overall, Spin City is pretty good and I’ll probably also get my Intermediate certification through them, in time.
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@briwi THANK YOU FOR POSTING!!
I was gonna say something similar, and you have a nice diagram that goes with it. I’ll add that the same connective tissue structure in men is criss-crossed, rather than just vertical like women’s are. This further reinforces their skin structure, making the chances of appearance of cellulite really slim (ha, pun).
What’s sad and frustrating for me is this most of this thread is predicated on the idea that cellulite is a bad thing that we’re supposed to be ashamed of, and try to hide it or eradicate it.
NO.
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/cellulite-used-to-be-chill
^^ THIS ARTICLE is the best thing I ever found about cellulite and after thinking about it for a while, I don’t really worry about mine anymore (and damn do I have a lot). If you’re strapped for time, here are the main takeaways (I’m simplifying, so read the whole article):
1. There are oil paintings that are hundreds of years old of naked women who have cellulite. Cellulite is not some new thing that we have because of not “eating clean.”
2. It’s a secondary sex characteristic, like boobs. Just like most women grow boobs of whatever size, most show some cellulite to whatever degree.
3. The concern and shame and wish to eradicate cellulite is manufactured by the beauty industry, and this manufactured fear started after 1900.
Manufactured. By the beauty industry. Recently. Led by the same man who founded L’Oreal ($$$$$). I assure you I’m not wearing a tinfoil hat. If you truly hate your cellulite, think about why you actually feel that way – is it because of ads you’re used to seeing? Did a medical professional tell you to worry about it? Did someone close to you say something shitty?
I am all onboard with a campaign to normalize cellulite. If the Kardashians can make “thigh brow” a thing, we’ve got this in the bag. If anyone else wants to seriously talk about some kind of #cellulite thing, hit me up!
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Good luck!!! I’d love to hear how it goes!
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DanZinDuck – gorgeous picture! I saw one video review of X-Stage Lite that sounded like it’s a little noisy. When you’re walking on it or doing spins do the platform pieces make a clanking sound?
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Thanks Phoenix! It looks easier than I thought. Cutting something so pretty (and $$$$) sounds so sad – maybe I’ll just make sure to get an extension when I get mine. 🙂
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Thank you, Hellcat!
I’m good about making sure to stretch my forearms and also do a bunch of wrist circles both directions in my warmup. But I’m suuuuper guilty of not going through Veena’s conditioning videos. To me they’re like math homework – super important, but they’re not exciting like tricks, it’s not like weightlifting where you can measure progress by adding more weight, and nobody’s *making* me do them, lol. I know, BAD STUDENT. But since my body has proof that I need to be doing them, I’m working on getting wise about doing them. Now to track down my resistance band…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSZWSQSSEjE
Here’s a video of the main stretches I do for my forearms. My staple ones are at 4:40, 5:45, and also the one that looks like the page from BodyBuilding.com that you linked.
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Thanks for the clarification, y’all. I remember what you mean now. I try that grip most of the time, and I struggle with my lower hand in split grip no matter what I do. On one side, I can barely take my feet off the floor. And regarding overgripping on a 50mm YESSSSS I DO THAT OOPS – I know I do, it’s just so difficult to not do it, even though I’m so much stronger than I used to be. 🙁
I went through a period last summer where my forearms/wrists were achy so often that I *swore* I was developing carpal tunnel or something, but eventually believed the soreness was just my wrists recovering and getting conditioned to the frequency of my pole practices. Maybe I did have an injury? Still though, I love the tricks that require split grip, so I hope I get both sides strong enough pretty soon. And also upgrade to a 45mm when I can.
Hellcat – good luck with finding the right brace!
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So they’re 10′ tall…what can you do if you want to set this up indoors and it needs to fit under a 9′ ceiling?
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Following because I was also thinking of this recently. Like, what might be better as an option to bring with me to different places and not worry about suitable ceilings for regular X-Poles?
Is one significantly easier to assemble or more stable than the other?
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Moonflower – can you explain gun grip?
That’s awesome you went to a sports therapist and they set you right!
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Finally coming back to this after listening to a few more Pole Parlour episodes. Hellcat and Veena, thanks for your input! I’m definitely looking forward to learning more about the history of pole. As it starts becoming more and more common I hope some pole historians start popping out of the woodwork. At the very least, I’ll try to compile what I can on a casual basis.
I’m also crazy excited for this to come out!
http://www.fistfulofsteeldocumentary.com/
Also, are there any pole/aerial magazines that anyone here just raves about?
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I’m also in the “no babies ever, no thank you” camp. Nothing about parenthood appeals to me, but if I do get the urge to try to go positively impact a kid’s life, yes there are a lot of places I know to go volunteer, and my friends’ kids are basically sort of nephews to me. Like Hellcat and a few others have experienced in groups, I’m one of the only women in my workplace who isn’t currently pregnant or had a baby in the last two years. When the coworkers get together for lunch or something, without fail the women’s group conversation turns into swapping horror stories about pregnancy, childbirth, newborn stuff, and toddler stuff. A couple times I’ve tried to expand the conversation to at least include furbabies (I pick up my dog’s poop, clean up the occasional vomit, cuddle her, get kisses, etc. – sounds like a baby to me!), and I’ve been shut down from that at least once. So there are zero things I can contribute in a group conversation like that, and end up just trying to leave it.
There is a feeling of being left out, and because I share an office room with all men, I’d like to connect with the women when I can, but they don’t seem to want to talk about much else (unless I can manage to catch somebody in a one on one conversation). Fine. This part I can deal with and just not be all that social at work. What is hurtful and makes me angry is what these people have said to me when I say I’m *never* having kids.
“You’ll change your mind.” – Yep, your stories where you complain about how your kid is such a little shit are really making me see the light.
“Well, they say there’s no birth control that’s 100%.” – WHY DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A THREAT?? Why do you sound like you’re trying to jinx me?
“Well, *maybe*.” – This was a person who *corrected* me when I said *never*. Apparently my choice and my phrasing of it are subject to editing. Who knew?
I know this isn’t all parents. Clearly these are just some assholes and WOW do they leave an awful taste in my mouth! I have plenty of friends who are parents who get that it’s a choice, they understand my choice, and know better than to push me. A lot of parents I know seem perfectly happy and fulfilled with their choice to have a family. I also know a few who seem miserable but afraid to admit it, and some who straight up say, “Don’t have kids. I shouldn’t have had kids. It was a mistake.”
But, I haven’t yet met a single non-parent who regrets their decision to not have children.
If you choose to have kids, don’t let social circles or a “ticking biological clock” or “Who will take care of me when I’m old?” be factors in that decision. Do it because you want to train someone their whole life to be a good person who will try to make the world a better place, and still keep your sense of self while you’re at it.
Veena and everyone, thank you for your insight. This topic struck a nerve for me, so please forgive the rant if it comes off venomous in some spots. I’m kinda burnt from my coworkers, ha.
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I’ve been dying to go to Brass Ovaries! I’m moving back to Texas in a few months, so hopefully I’ll make a trip to Austin every so often to visit. Congrats on passing a level and having someone close to you doing it with you!