[Fleur]

Dear Caramel,

You are such a beautiful and amazing person. I will miss you dearly. You were always the one encouraging others and giving them positive support. You were always the one reminding us why we are here if things got rowdy in the chat room. You had such a postive effect on the site and friday chat will not be the same without your smiling face to greet us. I can only hope that you have finally found peace and comfort. You were a sweet, beautiful, and talented person. I wish I had had more time with you.

Love always,

Fleur

[Fleur]

That does sound like a bummer https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif I can understand why the studio would not want you to use grip aids, it is a pain to clean off the pole and not everyone likes the feel of it but at the same time I know some of my students have sweaty hands and struggle with grip. We only use rubbing alcohol at my studio, although there is no rule that you can’t use grip aid we prefer not to, I have one lady in particular who uses gloves in class because of her grip issues, this may be a good option for you?

On another note, be aware that having dry skin can work against you. I lotion my entire body religiously every day (yes you read that right). I shower at night so most of it is rubbed off by the time I get on the pole the next day and it never causes problems for me but keeps my skin from feeling like paper (which slides!). Also, being sweaty is part of grip, if you are too dry you won’t be able to grip either!

Fleur

[Fleur]

Great job to everyone working on this move! It requires good ab strength and the ability to air-invert on both sides (ecellent workout!). I call it the scissor climb and originally copied it off of Jenyne Butterfly’s World Finals video (watch her do it, it’s effortless!) but she calls it something else…I should ask her for the correct name. I believe this climb comes from aerial silks climbing method.

[Fleur]

Your arms should not be above your head for a body spiral! You should have your arms bent so that you are holding, not hanging, as you spin around with your armpit tucked into the pole. It isn’t until you get the strength and grip on that inside arm that you will be able to release the outside hand and bring it down.

[Fleur]

I personally do not post on SV to get rated so I wouldn’t have any problem with removing that option. I post to share my mistakes, successes, and progress and to share what I love with others https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif I like having comments because I am always looking for constructive criticism but I really don’t care about the rating. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif

Fleur

[Fleur]

I agree, I dont enjoy videos when there are a ton of tricks but no transitions (aka dancing!). It’s impressive, sure, but not BEAUTIFUL! And I love watching beautiful routines https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[Fleur]

Hmm, I would say you start noticing a loss in strength after about a month (just a guess from my experience) but don’t worry, muscles have memory! It will take less time to regain strength than it took to get it in the first place https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

Fleur

[Fleur]

I think it says something about the quality of newscasting when this is on CNN…the media is such a joke.

[Fleur]

Begginers usually have a more twisted grip like the one you show in the first picture because a) you get more friction on the wrist (pole burn!) and so it feels like a safer grip and b)if you death grip the pole while doing a spin, even if you start with a neutral grip (2nd pic) your wrist will end up curved around the pole, which beginners also tend to do.

As you build strength, your grip will come to a more neutral postion as in the second picture. This is preferable for a couple reasons: it shows you are relying on the strength of your hand grip to control a pole spin/move instead of relying on the skin friction of your wrist to hold you on the pole and the more neutral position means less torque on your joint tendonds and ligaments since you are more in line.

If you can use a neutral grip do so, it is easier on your wrists!

Fleur

[Fleur]

I definitly grew up in a naked house. I think Europeans are less concerned with this, seems to me Americans are more puritanical about the naked body. I grew up with three sisters and although we don’t get naked when our father is around, being naked around our mom or seeing her naked is nothing at all, nobody even blinks. Similarly, my dad has no problem getting naked in his house (yes, even now that we are all grown up) but obviously we look away! Nonetheless, nakedness is not considered a big deal at all in my family, I think because we don’t associate nakedness with sex so it isn’t awkward. This might be cultural, I think Americans do associate nakedness with sex and there is no concept of getting naked for any other reason. To me the whole idea that it’s inappropriate or somehow sick or wrong to see your parent (either sex) naked is kind of silly, it’s not like there is a sexual connotation. Obviously it’s awkward and none of us seek it out! But it’s no big deal if it happens.

[Fleur]

This is a great post, I think a lot of beginners want to do this move because, I must admit/agree, it looks so cool!!!

BUT, bear in mind the reverse grab (or dislocator) is NOT a beginner spin! I would adivse you to practice the chair spin a great deal and focus on strengthening your lats (under the armpits) until you feel like you can do a chair spin practically one handed. There is a lot of torque and weight involved in the reverse grab and without proper muscle control you can seriously injure your shoulder. Please be very careful, make strength training a priority, and don’t get ahead of yourself! If your chair spin doesn’t feel smooth and easy, you should not be trying the reverse grab.

As Veena always says: shoulders back and down ladies, back and down…

Fleur

[Fleur]

I would looooooove to meet some of the ladies on the site who live in the area https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif AND you will get to meet Veena!!! Please come!!! Carpool!

[Fleur]

Hi,

I know only a little bit about S factor and have not taken a class with then, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Really, it all depends what you’re looking for, as far as I understand, S factor is more focused on the art of sensual dance than the sport of pole fitness. My suggestion would be to take a few S factor classes to dip your feet in and get some basic instruction and then if you are looking for more technical guidance, Veena’s lessons are an excellent progression from there. Enjoy! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

Fleur

[Fleur]

I’m sorry to read you’re feeling down Foxy https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif I read your blog a while back and thought it was a completely ridiculous situation because a) you have the right to your opinion (which also means they can’t fire you for it…but they could come up with some other reason I suppose) and b) the blog was completely unrelated to your professional life and thus should never have been brought up at your work place. It sounds to me like you’re really stressed out. There are few things that come to mind that may or may not be helpful to you:
-Set aside some time every day, maybe only 10 minutes, to do some deep breathing, yoga, whatever works to relax you and give you some "me" time.
-at work, if speaking to your manager about lessening your hours is not an option, make sure to take breaks every hour to walk around and stretch. It’s amazing what taking these little breaks can do for your mind and body.
-set aside some time every week to spend with your family. Go see a movie, go have a picnic in the park, something that is unrelated to anything else that brings you stress.
-Perhaps seeing a doctor or therapist may help you deal with your anxiety and stress. Constant, low level stress is the worst for your health.
-eat healthy. Taking care of your body is important especially right now when you feel overwhelmed, getting sick would only add to your troubles.
-Vent away!

I hope you find something that works and helps you, hugs https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

Fleur

[Fleur]

A little more info for all the ladies out there who are afraid of "bulking up" because of strength training:

From Physiology of Sport and Exercise, 4th ed. (an excellent book if you want to learn more about exercise physiology)

"For many years, strength gains were assumed to result directly from increases in muscle size (hypertrophy)…women experience similar, or even greater, percentage increases in strength compared with men who participate in the same training program, but women do not experience as much hypertrophy…neural factors make their greatest contribution during the first 8-10 weeks of training. Hypertrophy contributes little during the initial weeks of training…"

What I’m trying to say is you don’t need to worry that you will ever be as big as a man. Your muscles will probably gain strength and tone and a bit of size but they tend to hit a limit beyond which you will get stronger but not bigger. Personally, I saw my biggest change in muscle size in the first 3 months of pole dancing but after that I did not get bigger despite continuing to get stronger.

Also, don’t worry about building bulk if you are using a 15lb weights! That is not a heavy weight (despite it feeling heavy https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif )!

I’m sharing this information because I used to be afraid of this same thing until I learned a bit more about it https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif

Fleur