[MeganJoan]

I agree with all of the above. Do not compromise her safety just because she unrealistic and stubborn.

I see no problem with agreeing to do private lessons with her to help her *work towards* the tricks she wants, and then do exactly that.

It may also be she’s been watching some professional stuff and we all know they make it all look so easy! I think telling her you won’t help her won’t actually discourage her, but showing her her own limitations might.

I say help her, but don’t compromise your own values or teaching methods (or anybody’s safety!) by teaching her moves beyond her own level just because she insists.

[MeganJoan]

Ooooo this looks really awesome! I have a TG at the moment that is not quite as great for my skin as brass but I want to keep at it so I have better transferability to chrome/SS. Was strongly considering getting a brass pole as well (for when I’m having super slipperly days) but this seems like a much better idea, especially because they’re the same price here. Really looking forward to hearing what they’re like!

[MeganJoan]

Both my current studio or my previous studio have 44.45mm and 38.1mm brass poles. Personally I prefer to use the 45s because I have a 45 TG at home. However, I have used the 38s a couple of times and I don’t mind them. The general consensus is that 45s are better for leg grip and 38s are better for hand grip but you can do all tricks on either.

The Australian Pole Championships are performed on 38s and I’m not sure about Miss Pole Dance Australia. I’ve stuck with 45 because I find it to be a happy medium between the different sizes. If you want brass though, and your options are 40 or 50 I’d go the 40 for sure.

[MeganJoan]

As said about use Tite Grip like an antiperspirant. I put it on 60 mins before and then rinse it off before I actually start poling. I use Might Grip while I am poling as it uses the moisture to create grip rather than trying to fight it. I don’t want dey hands, I want tacky hands! I am also blessed with dry skin on my legs so I use as it doesn’t interfere with my hand grip at all and I’ve also found that warming up in leg warmers helps a huge amount.

To give some background I’ve been polling for over 2 years and only recently got enough grip to do stuff like butterfly. I tried gloves but I really need thay skin contact with the pole to feel secure (although I know other who love their gloves!)

I had a chrome pole at home when I started and I knew I was battling back sweaty hands and lack of grip strength when I started. I pushed through but eventually moved cities and my new studio had brass instead oh stainless steel. Well! I could group better with my hands and my progress skyrocketed, even at home. I realised that when I couldn’t hold on at all I wasn’t progressing my grip strength (even though I trained it separately as well). I bought a TG pole for home and it was so much better. I felt more confident because do could actually do things, which meant I was progressing. I now feel confident that I could go back to chrome if I needed to and slip a lot less.

So my advice would be:
-Buy all the grip aids available and try every combo till you find a good one. I did. I have more grip aids then I don’t know to do with! You can check out websites for good comparisons, I like this table http://aerialamy.com/blog/grip-aids/
-If you can afford it buy a different finish pole. Try out brass or TG if you have a way to try any first. Brass is great for grippy sweaty skin but if it gets warm where you live it might get TOO grippy (it’ll take off my skin in summer if I’m not careful) so I went the TG.
-Train grip strength separately.

[MeganJoan]

I’ve heard that feedback from someone else as well so hopefully they will introduce more sizes soon. I know there are some new styles coming or next month so hopefully then our if not in the near future.

[MeganJoan]

I agreed with Chemgoddess1; I’ve been poling for ~2 years on and off and handstands freak me out. I’m so keen to get the, and work on handstands maybe 3-4 times a week and they STILL freak me out. Hell, regular butterfly or any sort of balancing away from the pole like that freaks me out!

More to the point, I’m at my third pole studio and this is the first time I’ve EVER worked on handstands. They just didn’t do it at my other studios. My instructor is lovely with them, she gives us options from people who can’t do the at all to people who can do them onto the pole, grab on and sit up then come back down the same way. She’s always understanding and encouraging. We have a woman in my class who HATES them. She’s strong enough to invert but her shoulders just nope right out of handstands so she has little confidence and needs a spot. I’ve never seen her be told she shouldn’t be in the class, only ever encouragement on how much she’s improving and tips on how to build her confidence more. Anything less than this I consider unacceptable.

If it were me I’d be speaking to somebody higher up about the safety issue Verticali mentioned as well as her general conduct. Comparing students (especially in order to put one of them down) is never acceptable and goes far beyond a demonstration.

[MeganJoan]

Yeah, it’s a tricky one. I got my boyfriend to watch me trying to get into the pose and I also got him to film me so that I could have a look as well, and neither of us can figure out exactly what’s causing the problem.

I plan on buying yoga blocks sometime soon so once I get the I’ll give the passive option a go. For now I’ll just keep working on my back and shoulders through the exercises I can do and keep progressing that way.

[MeganJoan]

I honestly can’t even really explain it, but I think it’s because my arms are too short in proportion to my torso…

When I put my hands on my lower ribs as where yours are placed I can’t have my forearms at a right angle to the floor while still having the soft part of my elbow on the floor. I can’t move my hands further up my chest because my shoulders just can’t bend that far and still load bear (I struggle to hold my weight on this angle in the first place, my wrists twist in and it hurts them).

I also find it really hard to put my head back because it puts pressure on my wrists so much.
Is there a particular way that’s best to get in and out of this pose? I honestly can’t tell if I’m just not getting into it well or if I just don’t have the right proportions/strength for it.

I am completely sure this isn’t a back flexibility issue, maybe it’s a shoulder flex issue? I’m hypermobile in my shoulders (as well as my knees, elbows, and hips) while the muscles are not that flexible, so perhaps that’s causing a problem?

[MeganJoan]

Oooo part 2, awesome!

Thanks for the advice 😀 I do have what I affectionately refer to as t-rex proportions. I have short arms and although I’m 5’10 I have quite short legs for my height and a long torso and super long neck. Sooooo it might take a lot of work to get my feet on my head (if ever) but I will keep on at it! 🙂

[MeganJoan]

I definitely recommend getting the book rather than relying on descriptions giving by others. As I’m super impatient I got the ebook from Kindle Store and read it on the Kindle app on my phone.

I def need to get my hands on that dvd! Is it one you can watch as you stretch in real time? That sort of thing really helps me with motivation.

[MeganJoan]

I’ve owners two 45 poles (one in chrome and my current is TG) but also used 50 and 38 at studios. I definitely recommend 45. I find it’s a good compromise between being good for smaller hands while still good for leg grips. It also means if you find yourself using 38s or 50s in studios or comps then it’s less of an adjustment either direction.

[MeganJoan]

If you go to the very beginner of this thread it talks about a book and how amazing it is. There’s lots of posts from people about how it instantly improved their flex. It is truly incredible, as shown in the photos. Can hardly believe it.

[MeganJoan]

I follow a lot of professional polers on Facebook and I do still find them inspiring. They remind me that so many regular woman have reached those heights so I can keep on trucking and I can get that next invert.

I find Pole Art the most inspiring because of the focus on dance and emotion. I also love watching people at my own level, but I mostly come here for that. Although i have just got instagram (which I intended to be mostly for pole but has a lot of kittens photos right now!) and I want to follow pole dancers of all skill levels.

One of the things I find most inspiring is actually seeing the flexibility of others. I’m trying really hard to work on my flex at the moment. I’ll be having surgery soon so I think knowing I’ll be out of action for a while is one reason I’m willing myself to get right into flex.

[MeganJoan]

Whoops, meant to say it isn’t completely straight!

[MeganJoan]

Sooooo I just bought and read this book and wow! Tried it out during my stretching just now and then difference was massive. Here’s a photo of my usual wax stretch using conventional methods on the top vs resistance stretching in the middle and on the bottom.
I know my leg is completely straight in the second two pictures but I’d never had to deal with having a boob in the way or trying to figure out how to hold my leg that far down! I felt like the inability to fit my leg anywhere was holding me back more than my actual flex. It was ridiculous!