[Koidragon]

Listen to your body, it will tell you what you need. If you are feeling too sore or twinges, then slow it down. I personally am an advocate of big workout sessions, as long as you are eating and sleeping well, and getting rest days – but I have worked this out for myself with trial and error. 🙂 I go to the studio 3 times a week, for a fairly intensive 3 hours each session (combination of pole and lyra). I have a complete rest day from pole in between, but do light other stuff. This has worked for me – but I come from a background of doing weight training and martial arts every day.

[Koidragon]

There is an old anecdote (and actual psychological thing) that is it human nature to move away from what we fear rather than towards what is good for us. That is, fear is a natural reactor within us psychologically, and we have to fight ourselves a little to take steps towards things that might well be good for us, that might open up wonderful doors, because of fear. By the sounds of it though, you already know what you are going to do 🙂 🙂

[Koidragon]

Do it – you already said you are unhappy in your job. Risks are scary, but if they weren't everyone would take them… haha. 🙂

Jokes aside, there is an old method I use to make decisions with – and because of this method, I have travelled the world. lived in multiple countries and have had incredible experiences.

Think of the worst possible outcome of staying, and the best possible outcome of staying. Then the worst possible outcome of moving, and the best possible outcome of moving. If the best possible outcome of action (moving) is worth the risk of the worst, then do it.

My general thoughts though are, I would prefer to take action and fail, having tried and learnt something new, than to do nothing and experience nothing in the process.

Well done! 🙂

 

[Koidragon]

You have to do it more than once – actually, a lot more than once. 🙂 It will take some getting used to, but it seems to train your body to get used to the movement I guess… But yes, even myself – I have noticed I don't get car sick anymore.

[Koidragon]

I don't like 'health' foods either. You can have burgers and macaroni and cheese and all of that, in moderation, with better ingredients than comes out of a packet. Make a burger yourself with whole meal bread, lean beef, and add lots of vegies and salad in it as well. Make the mac and cheese with rigatoni pasta and a white sauce with some real cheese, not the weird fake stuff that comes out of a tin 🙂 Try this – eat low sugar, balanced food for the week, then one meal every week – only one, eat whatever your heart desires. Cheat meals are really important, both for physical and psychological reasons 🙂

Cutting bread (and compex carbs) doesn't work for everyone, it never worked for me. But just be aware of when you are eating them – complex carbs are a slower burning fuel, so eating them early in the day will be better than at dinner before bed.

[Koidragon]

Cheers Vixen, same to you 🙂

Well, you look to be training a good amount, and eating real foods, it may be to a point with you where you need to really individualize your food intake. Making everything yourself is a fantastic start, but with the regular exercise you are doing, you may find you aren't getting enough calories in, or in the right way. Over the next couple of days, write down everything you eat – no cheating! – and if you like, email it to me. I can have a look and see whether there is anything easy to pin point. 🙂 You have already made some fantastic gains, so it might be that you have plateau'd (don't we all hate that word) and you need to shake it up a bit.

CloSmo, I would say at the moment you aren't eating or exercising enough – very tough with an injury I know! 🙂 But the biggest thing that will help you is fixing up your food intake, especially if you are injured as you might have to take it easy for a little while. It isn't always about cutting food down – eating more 'good' food, more often, and a variety of it, will do a lot more than eating small portions of high sugar content food.

I am very pro-resistance work, and would suggest that even over cardio – but then, that is what has worked for me 🙂 For me, the biggest results go – diet, resistance/weight training, cardio, in that order.

 

[Koidragon]

I am sorry to hear that your community is falling apart. 🙁

There are a few different ways to help with plateaus – they won't work for everyone, but here are some that have worked for me (in various things, not just pole)

– take a break. I know this sounds strange, but if you are doing pole every day, then your body may be too fatigued, and you need rest. Taking say 3 days off to just sleep and lounge around can do wonders.

– start something physical but slightly different. Swimming is a great one, or something like martial arts, hoop or silks – working slightly different muscles (and their stabilizers) will give the main muscles you are working a bit of a kick.

– Change your focus. This only has to be temporary – if you are primarily focusing on say, strength gains, spend say 4 weeks creating a routine that is purely about music interpretation, or doing certain things on the beat. Find a song you absolutely love, and focus on creating something that isn't about tricks, but rather beauty.

– Work the opposite muscles. This is key to major strength gains – you need to work the muscles on the other side of the ones you want.

🙂

 

[Koidragon]

Unfortunately Vixen, bodies plateau – well done on the gains you have made, but yes, there comes a time where just portion control isn't enough 🙂

What is your eating like now? How much are you exercising?

[Koidragon]

Hi ladies

CloSmo – I see you are currently exercising – how much exactly? Looking at your diet, my initial reaction is that you are not eating enough, especially not enough protein, and you are having sugar in almost every meal (fruit, soft drink, fruit toast, spread, muesli bar, yoghurt – assuming it isn't pure greek style that is). Sugar is a killer when it comes to dieting alas, and while fruit is good for you, you aren't balancing it out with proteins (other than the little bit in yoghurt and milk) and vegetables. Also, I agree with Pankake, get more snacks in – eat more often. Can you look at changing a snack – eat some raw carrots, green beans, and a hard boiled egg – or something like that. Have some hummus in there, also some lean meats. All your carbs are in complex or sugars, try get vegetables in and increase it. Get some tuna or sardines into your diet if you can – you also don't have any good oils going in that I can see. The frozen meals you can buy are incredibly high in sodium usually. I can see you are paying good attention to portion control, and well done, but if the type of food you are putting in isn't able to give you usable energy, then your body will hold onto what it can and store it.

Also,  try to eat a bigger lunch and breakfast (or more snacks during the day) and a smaller dinner. You want your energy to be there to be used, not sitting in your body to sleep on 🙂

I am definitely the same – when I am at the 'high end of my weight' vs the 'low end' (I also love this terminology). I went through a body sculpting phase, and also times where I have had to 'lean down' for competitions to be under a specific weight. Those times for me though, I had to eat like food was going to run out. I am not a naturally small person by any means, so I had to create a stronger metabolism for myself by fueling. I can tell you what I ate for when I was competing if you like, but each person is different.

Stop worrying about kilos – trust me, if you are now looking at pole or anything strength based, the weight aspect will be variable as you build muscle (which will eat away at the fat) but is much heavier. I am 'heavy' for my size and appearance – most people don't believe my when I tell them what I actually weight, but it is because I have dense muscle – I had to stop worrying about the scales a long time ago, and now if I want to keep track of anything, I use a tape measure.

[Koidragon]

Quirky, everyone I know who has started spinning pole actually finds a decrease in motion sickness in other aspects of life over a little time – we were actually just talking about it the other day in the studio. You should try it 🙂

[Koidragon]

Quirky Quirky Qwirky… you are missing the opportunity in front of you! Get him in some little spangly shorts, take him to your studio and get him to have a go on the pole himself (ok, maybe not the shorts). Imagine – a husband-wife doubles team… matching outfits, cheering crowds… 😛

I just had a pole put up as a surprise from my partner, and he hasn't been able to get off it – shoulder mounts and flags – what an opportunity for him to use his man-strength.

Or… the gun range. Whatever works 🙂

 

[Koidragon]

Here is a post thread about the differences 🙂

https://www.studioveena.com/forums/view/265

 

[Koidragon]

Spin and static are both incredibly enjoyable, and progression in one helps the other. Having the option to swap between is a huge bonus. If you are in a situation where you can upgrade, go for it.

[Koidragon]

Good one me… I meant brass bridge, not jasmine. Sorry Sassylina 🙂

[Koidragon]

Crap – *short arms 🙂