[RoseMay]

I have a lot of stretching dvds, including this one. I hate to say it but that's the only one I never really use. I don't like the order of the exercises, my muscles get cold while following it, and I don't feel that it would improve my flexibility if I did it more often.

I judge stretching routines on whether I can do the splits after following it one time or not (I got my first splits 6 months ago, I just need some stretching to get into them). Veenas routine, Aletheas dvds and the Valentino Brothers dvds all get me into the splits – the Bespun one does not.

Now this dvd doesn't intend to be splits specific, they do more of a whole body stretching. But with only 15 exercises in total, for me no body part really gets stretched ..

[RoseMay]

The heels are resting on the blocks. He's sitting on his knees between the blocks, then places one foot on the block to the side and then the other.

Hope this helps 🙂

[RoseMay]

Hi, I never tried an oversplit middle split – only front splits.

1) I think it would be difficult to roll the foam roller under the leg when you are in the split, because you already need a good oversplit to do that. I usually place the roller under the ankle and then I either roll it down to my calf while I get into the split or I slide the back leg into the split position.

2) In the Valentino Brothers dvds they use yoga blocks on both sides for their middle split oversplits. The blocks are already placed in the needed distance and then they get into position. But I think it's okay to do both legs seperately on a foam roller as well, as long as you do both sides 🙂

[RoseMay]

Yay, congratz https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif This is a big step. All inverted combos look so much better when they start with a nice controlled invert 🙂

[RoseMay]

Hi there, you might find this thread an interesting read 🙂

https://www.studioveena.com/forums/view/is_there_something_wrong_with_me_20110309053759

I wouldn't worry too much about learning all those difficult things, that will come in time. Pretty executed beginner moves always look better than sloppy intermediate/advanced moves 🙂

What helps me to not get discouraged is to think about my progress during an entire month and not on a day to day basis. I also record every one of my practices (not sure if you can do that in your studio) and at the end of the month I make a "best of" video for that month. Even if I didn't learn lots of new things, but I can usually see a difference in the way I perform the things I already knew before. They look more fluid, have more extension, or I learned new transitions in and out of them …. and that's what I count as progress as well 🙂

If you're, like you said, in a performance based studio it might be a bit difficult for you to take it that slow and to not compare yourself to others though 🙁

[RoseMay]

Oh wow, but yes, that definately helps, thanks! 🙂

I'm gonna try it on the hands only at first anyway, to see how/if it works.

[RoseMay]

Thank you gummypia for this explanation! 🙂

You sound knowledgable, so I'm just gonna ask (or maybe someone else knows something): If I wanted to use a aluminium product on other parts of my body (e.g. the stomach or legs) – do I need to pay attention to anything? I read on that perspirex page that you shouldn't use it on more than 10 % of your skin, because the body needs to sweat. And now I'm trying to figure out how much 10 % of my skin would be https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

[RoseMay]

That sounds interesting. I researched such antitranspirants in some forums and they seem to work for some people. They only have to apply it once a week or so and they don't sweat at all.

For someone whose whole body is covered in sweat in summer (like me^^) this might be very helpful. Tite grip works for me on other body parts too but this might become a bit expensive over time. I'm willing to give these kinda products a try.

PaulettePoles, I found a list of the different german products on wikipedia. Here's the one from the english wikipedia:

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperhidrosis sufferers need a much higher concentration (12% or higher), sold under such brand names as Drysol,sunsola, Maxim, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odaban, CertainDri, B+Drier, Chlorhydrol, Anhydrol Forte and Driclor."

[RoseMay]

Veena says something general about each section in the "getting started" videos. There you find information on how often you can/should do the exercises in that section 🙂

Apart from that it all depends on how much time you have and how often you want to work on something and what your training priorities are.

In general I like doing strengthening or flexibility training after a pole workout. Sometimes I do light conditioning exercises as a warmup. When I don't pole that day I usually do foam rolling and flexibility training. Maybe that helps a bit. But if you follow Veenas directions there isn't much you can do wrong 🙂

[RoseMay]

Well when you do certain combinations you either need to switch the hand positions up (e.g. when you're inverting after a spin your hands are already in the different position and you can't just switch them back to the normal inverted grip, you just slide the top hand down a bit) or maybe they need the different grip for an aerial move they are doing after inverting (e.g. having a different hand the top hand in an inverted split grip).

That's two reasons I can think of. Other than that maybe it's just personal preference …

[RoseMay]

Ah okay, so waiting until you can do a tuck invert, like it is suggested in this sticky thread here: https://www.studioveena.com/forums/view/Am_I_ready_for_an_inversion_2009-05-31_170937

is a bit overcautious? That's the thread I used as reference to teach myself.

(I always thought that sweep with the leg was okay as long as you're strong enough to do it the "right" way)

[RoseMay]

There are also some instructional dvds out there that tell you to kick into inverts – and also demonstrate it this way, that looks hilarious in an aerial invert …

@shona: Good for you for going back to work on strengthening 🙂

I also don't know an average, that depends on so many things. When I learned to invert I just tried to do 10 knee raises on each side after each practice … after a while I worked on combining the knee raise with a tuck invert. Then after a few weeks my feet were suddenly ON the pole after the knee raise. Then I thought: Okay, I think I'm strong enough now https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

[RoseMay]

To make sure that you're not just kicking up work on tilting the body backwards after the knee raise (tuck invert) or try to do the basic invert starting on your toes. Also, you can never do enough strengthening exercises for controlled inverts anyway. Once you work on the chopper you'll be happy that you learned how to invert in a controlled way 🙂

btw that kicking into invert video looks really scary/dangerous  https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_eek.gif

[RoseMay]

I think they don't sell these Routine dvds anymore … at least I couldn't find them on their page https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif

[RoseMay]

I heard somewhere that you should be able to stand in the middle and turn around with straight arms without hitting something. But you also need to take the joist structure into account – you probably won't be able to set the pole up just where you want it to be https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

I got a cupboard next to my pole – it's 3 feet away. To the other sides I have more room. I can do most things … but if I straighten my legs in certain moves I kick the cupboard https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif (I'm 5'9'') On static mode it's okay I just do things in the direction that I know I won't kick it – but on spinning mode it's a problem. I only extend the poses at certain times during the rotation, or I pull the leg in when passing the cupboard.

My next obstacle is a window, that's 4.5 feet away and I very rarely kick it. Certain inverted moves I can't extend in that direction though.

So you can work around certain obstacles. And if you also go to a studio you have the opportunity to dance without these restrictions anyway … so it's not that bad. And to work on strength a small room is definately enough 🙂

My biggest problem with having a small pole room is the floor work. I just don't have enough room and kick all the time into furniture (especially with my 6.5" heels on https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_eek.gif )