StrangeFox
Forum Replies Created
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Thanks so much, Veena!! As always your advice is super helpful. 🙂 It’s hard for me to sit still, so it has been a huge lesson in patience for me to realize I need rest days and that I’m not going to nail a move the first, or even tenth try. I am going to try chair and hoop for my days off of the pole. I’m also doing your flexibility program.
Good news: looks like what I thought was a strain was probably just a muscle cramp as it seems to have healed up overnight, but that’s still a pretty good indication that I might be doing too much too fast. I do think I need to eat better as I seem to be getting a lot of muscle cramps lately. I’m training for long distance running, too, and I have not modified my diet at all to compensate. I’m going to take a rest day or two. I’m usually stronger after. 🙂
I can be bit of a show off at times, so pole has been teaching me to be humble…mainly through scrapes and bruises…lol!
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I think you’re smart not to try anything you’re not going to stick to or else the changes you see aren’t going to be permanent. 🙂 I personally don’t like crash diets, and I see ketosis marketed like that a lot because it’s so hard for most people to stick to. (Kudos to Polediva for sticking to it!) I LOVE pasta so I could never do it long term, either.
One thing I do to try and get my veggies in (I’m bad for this too!), is replace pasta noodles with veggies that have been “spiralized.” Veggies like zucchini and squash can be used to make noodles with a spiralizer and with all of the delicious sauce on top I can hardly tell the difference. That’s not to say it is a complete replacement for pasta, but it’s something I do every now and again for a change and it helps me feel a little healthier. It is a bit more work than pasta, but it’s also kind of fun. To cut back on wine I restrict wine consumption to one glass per day on the weekends, and I force myself to work out or do yoga before my wine so I’m not inclined to guzzle it. Of course…special occasions are excepted! 😉 You don’t have to do any of the above if it doesn’t work for you, but little, sustainable changes like this will help more than you think.
It would be awesome if you kept a diary of your progress! When you’re losing weight or toning up a little at a time it’s hard to see and easy to get discouraged. Also, I found keeping a food diary really helped me understand where I could improve my diet. Good luck on exams!
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I agree with emmasculator. I see no wobble in those vids – you look dang good! That said, I totally get having that one little area that just drives you crazy. LatinPoler gave you some excellent advice, and I agree with her about genes and how they’re impossible to beat. Not to sound discouraging but even when I was 16 and 20 lbs under weight I still had a booty and thick thighs. That’s how my mom is built, and my grandma, and nature decided I just couldn’t be different. Haha!
Distance running and cutting back on carbs has brought me the closest I have ever been to being happy with my build. Yeah, pole gets me sweaty, breathless, and sore but it’s not the same as a good long run for me. C25K made me fall in love with running because it started out easy and helped me gradually build up my endurance. I love putting my headphones in and tuning out the world. I use the time to listen to songs I want to dance to and daydream up routines. If you really, really hate running, you could try something like Zumba, aerobics/Pilates, kickboxing, or spin. I found for myself that strength training helped me tone up, but didn’t help me lose fat at all. It also made me hungrier so I snacked more and put on weight that definitely wasn’t muscle.
Also… totally with you on the wine, PoleAdventures. I did notice I lost a bunch of weight when I cut out my red wine but it just wasn’t worth it. 🙂
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Veena, you are amazing and I love your approach to pole! I’m sorry you had to deal with such pettiness. Kudos to you for putting all that behind you and going on to develop the greatest pole resource on the web. 🙂
One thing I’m feeling as a total beginner is that there seems to be a push to get all new polers “up to speed” as quickly as possible. I don’t know if that’s because there are now so many new moves to try, or because some studios fear students will get put off if they realize it takes months and sometimes years to develop the strength, coordination, and flexibility to do all of those cool tricks they see on YouTube.
The studio I go to teaches the sexy flow and trick portions as one, which I love. One of my goals is to slow down a bit and focus more on the sexy dance side of pole. I find even as a newbie I’m getting a bit wrapped up in that rush to learn one trick after another without bothering to master any of them. I also noticed that without mastery these moves look less than impressive when you throw them into your freestyle.
I love that pole is becoming more wide-spread and that there are tons of talented men and women posting their seriously impressive moves on Instagram and YouTube, but I agree that the dark side of that is that it seems to be warping everyone’s expectations of both themselves and other polers. Sometimes it feels like if you’re not hanging upside down and twisted into a pretzel you’re not being “impressive enough” and therefore not a legitimate pole dancer, which is really silly.
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Thanks Tiffany! And congrats on your inversion!
I have yet to learn cross knee release. I’m not sure when my studio teaches that one, but it’s a gorgeous looking move. I think I’m going to look it up here on SV. 🙂
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I can relate to that. I’m a beginner too, and I’m having issues with death grip. At first I couldn’t even do a simple pole slide (I’d end up doing a negative). I found practicing my pole holds/slides and getting more comfortable with my spins really helped me. It does take a lot of time, and I still rip the skin off of my wrist in the studio when I’m learning a new spin I’m nervous about. So you are not alone!
Do you have small hands by any chance? I do, and found it much easier to spin without death gripping on a 40mm pole. If you have the option of using a thinner pole, I know that helped me get my back hook spin.
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Thanks Hazi411 and AlisonDawn!
And congrats AlisonDawn! It totally is a wicked awesome feeling to get upside down for the first time! And it wasn’t as frightening or disorienting as I imagined it would be which is a bonus. Loved your ballerina, by the way. Looks so beautiful! 🙂
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That is frustrating! So sorry you’re stuck waiting on the extension and they’re out of stock! Sending you lots of positive vibes. Maybe you can order from the X-Pole Canada website? I’m not sure if that will work.
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Thanks Veena! I do want to do your 30 days to invert program. I think that will help a lot with getting the strength to hook my ankle and not my foot! 😀 I might not be letting myself lean back enough when I bring my leg up. Watching my video I can see I’m so close to getting my ankle up there!
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Thanks! I don’t have facebook, but I might get it just to join the group. 😉 I have a video of me getting upside down that I was thinking of sharing but…to be honest it’s pretty brutal! I’m hooking with the inside of my foot and pulling myself into position, which probably means I should hold off on inverting for now and keep conditioning. Haha! I think it’ll be another couple of weeks of conditioning before I can get them to look pretty, and not like I’m a drunk sloth. It’s tempting to keep inverting over and over but I don’t think that’s going to help me build strength the same way knee tucks and side pole holds will.
We were told not to kick into an invert in class, but the instructor said it’s OK to step and swing the outside leg upwards (in a controlled manner), but when I do it, it feels kind of like cheating. I’m so paranoid about kicking into my invert that I deliberately hold back when I swing my leg upwards.
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Thanks Veena! The conditioning in your lessons helped me get there!
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Don’t worry – you’ll be able to get your pole up. If I can install it in my 82″ basement, you can install it in your 87.5″ room. You may just need a little extra help/equipment from X-Pole. 😉 I looked through past discussions and there seem to be a few people on Studio Veena who’ve had the same issue. X-Poles are pretty accommodating.
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Hmm… I’m not sure! My ceilings are a bit lower than yours and I had to use the 500mm and the 250mm (along with the A pole), and when I turned my pole so that the dome was tight against the ceiling the 100mm line was just visible beneath the adjuster. Those extensions are pretty pricey so it might be best to wait to hear back from xpole. They should reply on Monday, and the order likely won’t ship until Monday, either. 🙂 I know it’s painful!
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Augh! You’re so close! XD I feel ya! That was a painful week while I was waiting for my B pole replacement! My replacement B pole didn’t arrive until Monday and I was stuck waiting over the weekend. I’ve never wanted Monday to come so badly! But when your B pole gets here you’re going to be soooo excited. It’s worth the wait. You’re gonna love your xpert. 🙂
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Hey Autumn Gypsy – I had the same issue. My ceilings in my pole room are about 6’9″. I wound up purchasing the 500mm extension and used that instead of the B pole. I was super disappointed that I had to wait for the 500mm B pole replacement…I was biting my nails!
If you’re not sure which extension you need to purchase, you can email the height of your ceiling to xpole customer service and they’ll get back to you (usually within 24 hours) and let you know which you should purchase. Better yet, if there is another room in your place with a higher ceiling and you can comfortably install your xpert there, I would highly recommend it. I didn’t think the low ceiling would be much of an issue, and it isn’t for spins, conditioning, and floor work, but it sucks for climbs! I’ve hit my head on the ceiling a few times and all I can really get is one or two climbs in.
Best of luck!