[michaelaarghh]

I haven’t done it, but was thinking about it because my chrome pole rusted. I’m interested in what people have to say about that if anyone’s had it done.
Most poles at playgrounds, on trains, handrails etc are powder coated! If they’re funky colours (yellow, blue etc) then they’re powder coated – so you can get some idea of how grippy they are.

[michaelaarghh]

Pussycat poles only used to offer permanent options, so I never considered purchasing one from them, and x-pole were much better suited to my needs.
However, one of the studios at the studio I go to use Pussycat Poles and they’re great! They spin really fast though… (can also be locked out, they just spin faster than other poles I’ve used)

[michaelaarghh]

I got my handspring the other week after working on it for almost two years!! That was a huge victory for me, especially after coming back from a broken wrist! After having so much time off I’ve lost a lot of strength and moves that were once easy for me (caterpillar etc) are now really difficult, so it feels so good to accomplish a new move!

BabyDragon – the EG Ayesha is seriously impressive – well done!!
Love this idea for a thread!

[michaelaarghh]

I think for most transition moves you need the short version because there’s the gap between your knee and the pole.

I think the long version is prettier, but the short version is a lot more versatile. the short version also hurts a lot more…but I have just come to accept almost everything in pole hurts haha.

[michaelaarghh]

My chrome pole rusted too. Xpole suggested I upgrade to brass , which I did and that is also now showing signs of rust. (And brass isn’t supposed to rust so I’m skeptical that it’s solid brass like they claim)
If you search the forums here so many people have experienced rusting, which I really think xpole should advise of. I’ve spent over $1000 on my poles so it’s very disappointing.
I wouldnt sand my pole, but I was considering powder coating

[michaelaarghh]

I had this issue and it was the top adapter grinding against the top dome. I had an xpole technician come out and confirm this. He fixed it by slipping some washers over the top adapter, before attaching the top dome and that fixed it!

[michaelaarghh]

It really does suck!
I was really lucky, I didn’t have to get surgery, as the bones didn’t move out of place. I am so thankful for that, because like you say – recovery would have been so much longer. I am so sorry that your break was so bad that you needed plates and screws!
When you say you started putting weight on it, what do you mean by this?
The orthopaedic specialist said it will be three months post-cast until I can flex my hand backwards (as in handstand wrist position) and put weight on it. She said my range of motion will be limited at first, but with physio rehab it will be back to normal.
Are you able to use like “baseball grip” type movements on the pole? And how long did it take you until you were strong enough to do that?

It’s just so frustrating to have progressed so much in the past year and now be set back heaps 🙁

[michaelaarghh]

Wondering how you’re going with your arm frenchhornprof?
I fell from a ragdoll spin at the beginning of the month and broke my wrist 🙁
I have tried to keep up with physical activity since I broke it, and worked on leg flexibility. I get my cast off in mid-January. The orthopaedic doctor at the hospital told me it would be three months post-cast until I could do any activities that put stress on my arm in a flexed position (so that eliminates most “push/pull” pole movements and handstands wahhhh!)

[michaelaarghh]

They probably used TG, because Twisted grip is very common here in Australia. split grip wouldn’t work because you’re in front of the pole, not to the side. cup grip would work, and was probably the alternative given 🙂

[michaelaarghh]

Veena, the hitch kick is just a kicking motion with the legs, with your arms in the TG position. You’re not kicking into an invert or kicking into any other move…. the kick is the move itself. A lot of the time the hitch kick is taken into a slide on the floor.

msusagi, you shouldn’t have any pain at all… and your arm shouldn’t be under any strain. If you’re feeling pain you should let your teacher know so that they can correct your form if it’s out, or come up with a more hand position for you 🙂

[michaelaarghh]

Ahhh yeah maybe that is it, I can’t get my centre of balance in it because of where my hips are.
Didn’t even think about that. I’ll try bringing my feet to a D and see if that makes it easier!
Thanks guys!

[michaelaarghh]

Everyone has some awesome advice in here, so I’m not going to say too much because it will just repeat what everyone else has said.
But it does sound like a strength issue – training negatives or increasing the distance of you from the floor (using a bench or a wall) is an amazing way to train to build the strength to be able to do the exercise.
(Conversely if you’re pro and are awesome at push ups elevating the feet onto a bench will make the exercise harder)

That ‘lumpy muscle’ nonsense sounds like broscience. What does that even mean??? I would ignore that advice.

Also just wanted to add in (which I don’t think has been added in) is that push ups are actually more of a chest exercise than people realise (in fact it’s mostly chest). So it’s not that weird that polers (who have a lot of back strength) may not necessarily be able to do push ups if they’re not training the reverse muscle groups.

[michaelaarghh]

We use metho (methylated spirits) on our poles. Gets them nice and clean and strips any excess grip aids 🙂

[michaelaarghh]

My shoulders roll forward from having really bad posture for most of my life. When I started pole and my instructors would tell me “down and back” it was really hard for me to remember that when doing moves…but it is SO IMPORTANT.

I think with beginners (especially if you have bad posture) it becomes even more important because you have a complete lack of body awareness. (‘you’ generally, not you specifically!)
Practice rolling your shoulders back, so you get the feeling of that, and then work on rolling them back and “pinching” the shoulder blades… that is “down and back” and is super important for engaging all the correct back muscles.
I now instinctively engage the shoulders (down and back) before even touching the pole, and this has helped so much wtih my posture and my rounded shoulders.

If you lift yourself or perform any weight bearing exercise without the proper form you’re much more likely to injure yourself! (as you’ve found out!)
Plus it’s a lot easier if you’re using the bigger back muscles to lift, rather than stressing out the small shoulder ones and potentially putting stress on the skeleton.

[michaelaarghh]

There’s no need to get defensive, Tasha, the comments are for anyone who comes across this and is having difficulties with it. We’re all just trying to help each other out.
Maybe you don’t care if you’re doing the move right, but I care if I am.