[meaganoff]

Hey Nayana! Sorry it took so long to answer your questions…

For climing strength drills – just trying to climb is a good one. Also, holding on in a pole hold position and then tucking your legs up as many times as you can is good – then try pulling legs up in pike, just crunching in different ways. I try to do this on both sides (i.e. different hip & leg is on the inside and different arm is on top in the hold). Great ab work not only for climing but starting the motion for a controlled invert.

Grip – I just searched for Grip Exerciser on amazon.com – this is the one I got for Xmas: http://amzn.to/fUAcCF I got it in Blue, light tension, which is way harder than I thought! I keep it near the couch so I can grab it while I watch TV shows or surf the web. I started with whole hand grips, and now I'm starting on individual finger work (my pinky and ring fingers are vastly weaker than the others and I can feel it on the pole.)

You have great questions! You are going to be an awesome learner! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[meaganoff]

Wow, you guys pole a LOT!

Background seems to be important in how you progress; I've been told I progress really fast, but I was a gymnast from birth (both my parents are coaches) to about age 12 – mind you, a really crappy gymnast who could never do that well in comparison to my peers – but it was enough to build strength and body awareness that has helped me 15 years later in poling.

That said — lots of AMAZING polers like Natasha Wang don't come from a dance or gymnastics background; I don't think it's how long it takes to achieve what you want, just that you stick to it!

As for schedule. I started poling once a week in a studio class in Mar 2010, then when I got my own pole at home in Sept 2010, I would do one pole session in the studio and one at home, about between 1.5 – 2 hrs long, including stretching. Occasionally I would throw in a dance only session, no tricks. No set schedule, just when I felt like it.

Right now I'm doing one in-studio session and two strength training sessions a week; working up to two pole sessions and two strength sessions a week. Pole can be – especially in places with cold winters / slippy poles – really hard on the joints / tendons. At least, for me. So it's nice to lift / do resistance training as an alternative, so I can keep progressing without burning out.

I completely second Kobajo – My best advice for anyone is: listen to your body – it really will tell you how it wants to be worked and how often, if you can get in tune with it.

[meaganoff]

Thanks for the great ideas so far guys! I would love to hear more. 🙂

[meaganoff]

This is such a cool thread; I hadn't read it before today. I have been seriously stretching for the splits for a month as of yesterday; improved 2 inches on my right side and 3.5 inches on my left.

Now I am a total of 4 inches away on the right and 6 on the left. I think I am going to get them pretty soon, and since this was one of my new year's resolutions, and it is definitely not going to take all year, I thought, heck, I'll start measuring center splits too… 9.75 in off the ground! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_eek.gif Not so good, never been good at those… Oh well, I'll work on it!

The "Six Week" program is so poorly written that I have not been using all of it – though it really has helped reading everyone's "translations" on this forum. Also, I really want my splits with my hips squared as well as a "jazz split" (I had thought that terminology was used for something else entirely, fyi… I think these split variations and stretches all have multiple names, it's very confusing!)

I just used a measuring tape – never thought to take a picture! I will do so at my next "check-in" in two weeks…

[meaganoff]

Hey Nayana– so glad to have you here! SV is the most amazing resource, seriously.

Things I wish I would have known as a newbie:

– Veena really emphasizes this in the videos but it's worth a reminder: start anything you are not sure of on the ground to get the body position right. Then, do it close to the ground, and move up the pole as your comfort level increases.

 – My hands & thigh grip get sweaty when I try a new trick. I initially thought grip enhancer would be for "hard moves" only, but for me, I have found that it really helps to stick a new move so I can learn the body position without worrying about sliding off. Then, later, when I am not so nervous, and very comfortable with the position, I can do it just fine without grip enhancer since I am confident and not as sweaty. So it's not just for pros, it can helpful for everyone. Experiment and find out what works for you.

– Clean the HECK out of your new pole. When I got my new X-pole at home I thought it was just really slippy and I was super disappointed. Turns out I probably just didn't clean it well enough initially; I think there is some left over lubricant from the manufacturing process sometimes. it took me a long long time to get a really "clean" feeling on the pole. Try different things (alcohol, Clorox wipes, various household cleaners). Use it a lot, clean it a lot.

– Some practices you'll excel like crazy, some are a grind and you just have to get reps in. Hang in there!

– Start exercising your grip and wrist muscles now. Veena has some great videos for that, and also you can get a specific grip exerciser for cheap-ish from Amazon ($12)

– Capezio has a boy short in different cuts that sells for about $12 on Amazon, I recommend that as well

As for arm strength, I did not do any non-pole arm workouts until recently (as I am transitioning from Intermediate to Advanced moves, I am finding I need a little extra upper body strength).

But when I first started, my arms got massively strong just from working spins on the pole and learning to climb. But again, Veena has a whole strength section in her video lessons as well.

Welcome, hope to see you around often!

[meaganoff]

I keep missing the challenges because I get busy or sick! So I hafta do this one. Think I’m gonna Dexter it up…

[meaganoff]

I completely agree with katk. Paradoxical though it may seem, the best way to make stretching better is to do it more.

Veena’s ideas are awesome too, books and TV shows can help distract you while you do it (I haven’t tried wine yet…good call…LOL!)

Lastly, get a buddy. There are a couple Bendy Buddy sessions that have been setup here by Veeners, which I would like to do but just don’t fit into my schedule right now.

But fortunately the hubs started Brazilian Jui Jitsu which requires some flexibility too, so now we stretch together and nag each other about stretching when we’re apart.

I always kind of hated it as well. But I’m learning to love it – or least get used to it.

Lastly, my pole teacher recommends Hot Yoga / Bikram Yoga. I’m going to try it in the new year… I’ll report back!

[meaganoff]

Just wanted to throw my two cents in.

My Xjoint spun completely past the hole (but just past it) – for the record it had never made noises or felt loose or unsafe. I decided to do something about it today. I did not have a metal rod for the "knocking method" recommended by X-Pole so I had an idea that I thought might work and it did..

I used those grippy cloths you get at the super market for opening twist lid cans – they are little cloths with a slight plastic coating, they are about $0.99 for 2, and an adjustable wrench.

(This is actually the method Empy mentioned earlier in the thread but I thought the visual might help.)

I put one cloth on the pole, one on the X-joint, and held the pole steady with my hand while I twisted the X-joint with the wrench (see photo). This got me most of the way there.

Then I swallowed my pride (lol – I would much rather be super woman and fix everything myself) and had my husband come hold the pole with two hands and I twisted the wrench with two hands, and then we got the hole perfectly lined up again.

Loosened the x-joint, popped it off, put it back in, and then retightened.

This time I twisted one, then the other, and then again like I had before.. except I repeated the process until the hex key actually bowed… and then I even tried some more. I really really tightened those guys since apparently, based on the comments in this thread, there is no such thing as overtightening.

Pole’s back up and feels as solid as ever. I will report back if there is any more spinning, or with any tips on routine maintenance. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[meaganoff]

But If a standardized system is in place… There is nothing to stop you from going outside of it.

Do something NOT endorsed by the standardized system! Having standards doesn’t stop you from doing that. But it DOES help people who want to approach pole as a sport. I don’t see why it can’t be done in a sport-like approach as well as a "pageant" approach (with looser or different rules.)

I guess I don’t understand why the two can’t co-exist.

[meaganoff]

hey guys– been working on a post for a few days (in between having a crazy work week), so I’m a little behind and a few points are redundant – someone mentioned using synchronized swimming as a template – I will check it out! – but I mention the same thing below with gymnastics… But I thought it better to post the whole thing in its entirety than try and go back and fix it… I will just get more behind! Ok, here goes:

==

A couple of thoughts from someone who is a former low-level competitive gymnast (and the daughter of two national level gymnastics coaches – my mom is a judge as well):

On the gymnastics side, there are a couple of schools of thought… It is mostly an amateur sport, highlighted at the Olympics. And I know they have gone to a new judging style at that level.

But in any case, at club competitions of all levels, it just about the sport. The outfits are all basically standardized – everyone on the team has the same leotard, and from team to team all that varies is the colors and maybe sleeve length.

Lower level comps are compulsory, and then upper levels are "optionals" – meaning using your own choreography and music.

There is no component for personality or appearance. The scores are based on: difficulty of tricks / skills, and then how well those tricks are executed. Deductions are very very VERY specific.

In fact, if you go to the website NAWGJ – National Association of Women’s Gymnastic Judges – you’ll see that judges have to TEST to become judges. My mom has had to test many times to either keep her standing as a judge or move up and judge higher levels. You have to know how many tenths of a point you can deduct for flexed feet, bent knees, lack of split, etc etc, on every move. It’s pretty intense.

And I want to mention, this is just "artistic gymnastics" – there is also rhythmic gymnastics, acro-sport, power tumbling, etc etc, all with different scoring systems. When I was growing up, I even remember they tried to do "Professional" Gymnastic shows with popular songs and costumes (not sure if that is still around)

Now, I’m not saying pole HAS to be JUST like gymnastics, not at all!! But I think there are similarities and the pole world could use it as a template, and pick and choose and modify from there.

What I feel like is going on in the pole world is people will register for a comp, and will have no idea, sometimes up to week before, whether it is the equivalent of an Artistic Gymnastic meet, or a Rhythmic Gymnastic meet, or Power tumbling. They don’t even know what goes into the comp, let alone how they should prepare or how they should feel about the judges.

So here’s an idea for a path to some clarity:

PHASE 1 – Applied to high level pole competitions that are already in place – state, regional, national, and international
1. An independent, centralized organization of Pole Fitness Judges (let’s just call them PFJ for short) standardizes moves / move names (I know PFA is working on this already – yay!). This is not to say there can’t be variations but it will give some structure regarding levels of difficulty and how to score.
2. PFJ then assigns point values and difficulty levels.
3. PFJ (alone or in collaboration with other organizations) derive a few styles of competition
-? This may include but is of course not limited to:
? Artistic pole – like Artistic Gymnastic, focusing on tricks, skills, dance, and choreography but NOT appearance or costumes
? "Polesque" or Theatrical pole – Includes costumes and focuses on storytelling, acting, and original concepts
-? This way pole competitions can specify and be immediately recognized as a certain type of competition and what the judging will be like, regardless of the club / person / group holding the competition. (It should be noted that I think people can have whatever kind of competition they want, it doesn’t have to fit in the rules, but they wouldn’t get to use the PFJ logo which I would think would be a draw – people like knowing what to expect)

PHASE 2
1. PFJ provides some level designations – for example, levels 1 – 5 or 1 – 10, and specifies what tricks must and cannot be used at each level. Each level can have a regional, national, and international champion, if desired. This way more people can get involved without having to be international elite athletes.
——

Basically, PFJ would take the burden of the structure of a competition off the shoulders of the person holding, it so they could focus on venue, marketing, perks for competitors, making it as nice as possible… ALL the other concerns that people have stated. The would no longer have to worry about the judging scale, and making sure judges are qualified.

Okay, that outline is just something I did for fun, not meant to say that’s what should or needs to happen… But it’s a possible (if loooong) path I worked out for myself and thought you guys might like to read.

I’m just considering this whole thread fun / food for thought for the time being. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[meaganoff]

Finally I have a pole at home, and I have an idea for this one!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif YAY!! Plus it’ll help me start putting routines together… WOOT!!

[meaganoff]

This whole discussion is very interesting to me… I’ll just pass on what my hubby (admittedly new – together for almost 4 years, but just married one month on Monday) says on the subject – with some context…

I actually quit my corporate job for a little while to be a dancer (note: I don’t really advertise this to my folks, but I don’t mind telling most people, especially polers or burlesquers) and he thought this was the coolest thing in the world. A) Because, after my boss being a jerk to me for so long, I just gave him my resignation and left ten days later, and started earning money stripping, and he was so proud of me for standing up for myself in this way, and B) because of (not in spite of) the fact that other men were lusting after me, and he could sit there and think, "oh my god, that’s my girlfriend – she’s so hot!!"

And he read some blogs from other strippers and sex worker’s boyfriends / husbands at that time, and we both read Candy Girl by Diablo Cody, and my hub’s take on it is, based on his reaction and others he read: you’re okay with it, or you’re not (meaning the husband or signif other.) He doesn’t feel it is a learned behavior. And that doesn’t mean you can’t talk about it or compromise or work out rules, but you probably won’t get more comfortable with it. So it’s important to be honest, and think of a worthy compromise, and understand how it fits into your relationship.

BUT, that said, I am reading on this thread that some ladies’ S.O.’s did become more comfortable with time… so who knows, maybe my DH doesn’t know what he’s talking about. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

It definitely reminds me of discussions about monogamy vs. non-monogamy on Dan Savage in his column and podcast– I know it’s not to that level, but the issues about jealousy are rooted in the same place, so it might help to listen to Dan – plus he’s so funny and awesome, I love him!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif Maybe you could even call or write him?!?! His podcast is TOTALLY one of the highlights of my week… I would geek out if I heard a poler on there!!!

[meaganoff]

So I forgot today is my birthday…. Oops. I will most likely be having dinner with my hubby so I stretched on my own yesterday! Have fun gals, see you next week!

[meaganoff]

Hadn’t seen these sites in the mix yet:

http://fitnessclubwear.com/index.html
http://musotica.com/hotpants.html#page1&sortdefault0

Anyone know if they are any good? The outfits are cuuuuuute.

[meaganoff]

See ya Thursday, Classy and Tig!