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Empyrean, I had someone suggest trying to get into the move kinda similarly to you but doing the pike from an inverted crucifix, as if you were going to do the superman that way. I found trying that way meant that the pole was too far back along my thighs (ie. closer to crotch than knees) so I'm trying to envisage where you end up from in piking from the shoulder mount – I don't suppose you have a vid of it?

 

Charley, every time I think I've figured out what I'm doing wrong with this move, I try it again and have just the same problems! I am determined to get it and you're waaaaaaaaaaay more advanced than me so I have full faith that you'll get there!!

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I agree with Pauletter about the dynamic stretches before the workout and static ones at the end – this is something that comes up quite often in discussions of running too (my other hobby). There's plenty of info out there on types of dynamic stretches that are good to do but ones I favour for pole are things like shoulder rolls, leg swings in various directions, hip and body rolls, gentle squats…I personally get the heebie jeebies when people do static stretches before their body is warm as I think that's an invitation for snapping stuff! Part of that for me could be that I'm finding that as I get older, I need more warming in my body to deal with the demands of my physical activities.

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Ooh and hear about Amy's trying as she is my guru:)

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Charley, this is the first move I've become so completely obsessed with as I'm convinced it's a technique thing for me rather than something I need to build up to! I watched youtube clips over and over again the other day when I was practicing it at home – I can tell you the things I noticed that I should be doing (rather than what I am actually doing;p) if that would be any help? I'm still unsure if what I am doing is completely right but it wasn't till I tried it with the true grip rather than a split grip that I managed to get my butt in the right position, plus I had to make sure my chest was close to the pole and my arms spread really far apart. I'm unsure if this is the "proper" way to do it though 'cos I notice that both the PDD lady and Skittles in her clip pull further away from the pole so it ends up against the calf rather than just above the knee, which is what the other people I've watched do it seem to have (and I'm yet to try straightening the front leg to test how I do it). I'm looking forward to hearing how Veena's further practices go!

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I tried it again today in class and had much more luck using the true grip rather than the other grips – for some reason this gave me more room for butt manoeuvring so I managed to get that up and even extended the back leg! Next step, working on getting both legs extended:) But maybe in a few days time – the bruises upon bruises are looking epic…mind you, it's my birthday tomorrow and nailing a new move would be some kind of sweet present to myself;p

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Awesome, thx for the vid Veena! Doing it from the cupid seems like it would bypass one of the problems we've been having (I'm sure we'll find more;p) so I'll def give that a try. Presumably it's doable with a split grip rather than the true grip with the same method? I kinda want to give the true grip a try but I've not really done much with it before. I'd seen Skittles' vid using it but I usually watch her clips and think pretty much anything she does is beyond my reach:)

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Thanks for the tips folks. I've been trying it with the split grip (it was that clip Empyrean that got me interested in doing the move in the first place! She gets into it so beautifully) because, for some reason, even though I'm fine getting into twisted grip from the ground, I struggle getting my wrist/hand in the right place once I'm up the pole right-side up! 

 

Chem, I have done reverse ayeshas before but not for ages. When I did them though, it felt more like a hang and balance rather than a push and pop (which is what this one seems like it would be but maybe I was doing them wrong at the time?

 

What we seem to be having problems with especially is figuring out where exactly the pole should be placed on the leg when bracing to flip over and so until we can get the idea of that, things are kinda stalled!

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Oh my goodness! To think, I was pleased with myself to discover I could do an elbowstand press the other day – completely supplanted now! I wonder how long she'd been training for…

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Best of luck! I don't even know who Howard Stern  is but if he's in the usual mould of the "nasty" judge, I'm sure he'd deserve any stilettos that come his way;p

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Rhythmic gymnastics tend to be all kinds of flexi – I think one of the girls in the intl pole comp that's coming up was a former rhythmic gymnast?

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True true amy – I was thinking more in terms of mental tricks for keeping the legs straight rather than the actual lift itself:) That's def abs!

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Maybe focus on really pointing your toes and this might help you maintain the tension in your legs? And think of the pointing as being a whole leg experience too, if that makes sense?! For me, pointing toes starts with the foot but it's also about maintaining strength through your knee then up the quad and hammy and even extending up into your glutes. At least I say this safely from the comfort of my couch, stretching out my leg as I type this – hopefully I am actually doing what I say when I'm on the pole too!!

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I'm a bit like Glitter in that I haven't got kids but I do have stretchmarks, saggy skin, and cellulite! I find that the more I wore short shorts for pole, the less self conscious I became as I realised noone was going to hassle me about it. When I decided I needed side skin bare for a recent show, I made myself wear crop tops to pole class for weeks beforehand (I normally wear singlets), just to get used to the sight of my stomach out and about and it made me much less worried about it on the actual day. 

 

We've all got our own imperfections and though sometimes I feel a bit down that I'm not tiny like a lot of the girls I see dancing in RL and online, I'm proud of what my body can do and how it responds to training.

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I don't think either of the studios I go to have been using a new cleaner but I should probs check. We don't have quite the ease of access to other applying products that other countries do so I don't think that will be it. It is a bit weird that it's mostly affecting my ankles and not any other points other than hands (eg thighs or inner arms) but I just can't think what else it could be if it's not the grip. I was trying to go without using it for a while, just to be sure and I'd made it from last Fri till today but we had an expected workshop with some of the awesome Aussie girls who are over to perform on the weekend and I needed the grip. If noone else has had probs with it though, it's probably not the grip I'm thinking…

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I'm sorry about it too Amy 'cos I've been loving me some sweet success with using Tite Grip! I haven't been using it on my ankles but I tend to rub my hands up and down the pole after I've applied grip to them(I do the same when I have Mighty Grip on my hands, which I've been using for way longer) to add a bit more tackiness and so I thought that it may be my ankles contacting the pole when I climb that was doing it. I have no idea why it would only affect a small area on my hands but a large area on my ankles, which is why I'm not entirely convinced it's the Tite Grip (which is why I thought I'd see if it had happened to anyone else therefore is a feasible possibility), but I'm not sure what else it could be in those specific areas. I've only been using the pink original stuff.