[Rachel Osborne]

I dunno: I’m not an expert, I’m not advanced or practiced at freestyle but thanks to encouragement from this site have been trying… I often hear music and get very excited imagining a dance to it, but get bogged down trying to choreo and lose the freestyle element. Or if I freestyle I just prance about and forget to do the moves I wanted!

I have ‘go-to’ combos that I usually end up doing and they tend to appear in every dance but I try to make them fit the music so my best, most dramatic sequence will go in the crescendo or drama bit, a slow climb into swan then CAR will go in the slow bit, then I put some other stuff in that trys to tell a story – like starting tucked up in a ball on the floor and then cradle spinning up, if it’s a introverted song, or strutting, kicking, sashaying hips and doing sexy floor work if it’s an extroverted/sexy song, and trying to make fully extended shapes on the beat and hold them for 2 spins round. But it’s currently a bit of a muddle and I’m in my head too much thinking ‘what next?’

It’s hard! Hence trying to pick your brains!
I did find the Veena ‘tips to make a routine’ really helpful. I feel very vulnerable and a lot of performance anxiety about freestyle but when I get into it – usually the second or third take – it can feel amazing.

[Rachel Osborne]

Day 11 abs pretty fierce!
Did lower body work out too.
Now want foam roller love…

[Rachel Osborne]

Middle splits straddle and turn out.
Back getting less flexi as I become older.
Super flexi hamstrings and shoulders mean I can fake it quite a lot!
Doing Veena lower body and mid splits workout/stretches 3x week and trying to find time for Lina’s awesome back bend vid too.

[Rachel Osborne]

No the 12 year old is a rising ballet star and nothing to do with pole and a different person – but just so ethereal so I popped her in the thread too. I like getting ideas from ballet, figure skating, all sorts. 🙂

[Rachel Osborne]

And a fairy off the pole.
She’s 12 holy moly so inspiring
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QVI5MbJRtYI
🙂

[Rachel Osborne]

Sorry that turned into an essay!
Thanks again everyone.

[Rachel Osborne]

Pole cat diva – your post rang a bell

‘I’m feeling very tired and my shoulder and upper back are so achy everyday. My endurance during running has gone downhill ever since i got back to pole 3 months ago…’

This was me, plus daily headaches and now I’ve got a thread going about overtraining injury and having to take time off pole. https://www.studioveena.com/forums/view/53e56f6c-99c4-4890-ab29-1e6f0a9aa0eb#bottom

Might be the aches checked by a chiro or physio in case they are tendonitis or similar which, if you continue to train through it can lead to catastrophic tearing and months off exercise.

I think I caught mine in time and got great advice from SV but don’t be like me and hurt yourself with chronic overtraining!

[Rachel Osborne]

Thanks Veena!! I have definitely taken the REST message on board!
My schedule was too heavy; I will post it as a warning to others who might be at risk of chronic overtraining injury.

A problem (but also a joy, lol) was I am signed up at 3 different studios. So sometimes I might have split/twisted grip class at one place then go to next class at different place and find teacher doing similar.

Until injured I did…

Wednesday day off
Thursday 1.5 hours advanced yoga
Friday 1 hr ballet barre inc some cardio and weights
Saturday – 1 hr acro pole (inverts/tricks) at one studio then straight into 1 hr pole fit other studio
Sunday – 2 hour pole jam at third studio
Monday – advanced/ intermediate pole 1 hour or 1:1 trick practice – more crazy stuff
Tuesday – pole flow or acro pole class

In addition I was playing and free styling on my own pole. I fitted all this in whilst my boy was at morning play therapy.

It was a very heavy schedule but I really loved it because time at studios was/is my whole social life – husband works late and our child has special needs so requires a lot of focus/play therapy/ lifting and carrying! Pole was not just delighting me but also making me strong enough to easily manage a tall, strong 3.8 year old having an autistic meltdown safely.

Going to review it but meanwhile use time off to continue ab challenge lower body and stretching/ foam rolling and hopefully this will help once I’m back on pole.

[Rachel Osborne]

Oops wrong pixie! Thanks PolePixi – you have a great day too 🙂

[Rachel Osborne]

Thanks PolePixie – missing our jam time too! We had such a blast last week! You have a great day too x

[Rachel Osborne]

Thanks again everyone.
It’s VERY hard for me to rest but I’ve cancelled all studio classes this week and am applying heaps of body lotion after morning shower so I cannot get on my pole! Lol.

It’s reassuring to hear that you think strength won’t be affected after a week off: strength is something I really have to focus on as I’m hypermobile and injury- prone. It’s kind of ironic that I’ve now got a strength-overtraining injury because usually injuries hit me through being too supple and not strong enough.

Re ibruprofen – last injury was acute – 2 sprained ribs and chiro had me on 800mg x 3 for a week because the inflammation was very bad.

Because this is chronic he said take low dose at bedtime if needed but not high doses and to stay off it generally as he was concerned I’d use it to mask pain and carry on training.

So everyone’s advice was spot-on!
Thanks again x

[Rachel Osborne]

Can you contact x pole for advice?
If me, I’d put it in a light but solid shell wheeled suitcase, bubble wrap the pole and dome inside their cases, then pack styrofoam or similar super-light packaging material around it tightly so it doesn’t move inside. And suck up an extra baggage charge.

Having seen baggage handlers fling stuff about I wouldn’t check it in just in its case: a damaged pole is a dangerous pole.

[Rachel Osborne]

Thank you K8milly 🙂 hope you are on the mend!

[Rachel Osborne]

Still doing it too!

[Rachel Osborne]

Yes, generally fine as long as set up right under a stud etc. What kind of pole you setting up?