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Body Types and Pole tricks
Do you ever feel that maybe because your body type is the reason why you can't do certian pole tricks or combos. I been thinking about this lately, I am wicked strong ( able to iron x, do almost anytype of planche, and table top very well) but I am not able to do twisted grip dead lifts and I am starting to think it has to do with my body type.
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34 Replies
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Absolutely! I am a huge believer that not every trick is for every body. ESPECIALLY, when you're talking about twisted grips. Twisted grip requires a huge amount of shoulder strength and flexibility, and even when done properly still puts a lot of strain on some really small muscles.
If you can iron X though, I'd say you're one bad-ass poler anyway so I wouldn't spend too much time or energy dreaming of moves that are not meant to be. 🙂
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I agree dustbunny! I’m not even capable of twisted grip because it requires such shoulder flexibility.
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Shoulder flexibility can be gained though – you want to be overly flexible if you're doing twisted grip and you also need to be able to twist it enough around. Try also playing with the height of your TG.
Also will mention that TG is only on way of doing things – everything done TG can be done true grip (aka chinese grip, cup grip.) Cup grip is better because you can keep your shoulder aligned better.
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I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do iron x. I could probably dead lift tg as I have unnaturally bendy shoulders. My chiropractor and his tech/my PT are always telling me they’ve been doing this job a long time and they’re freaked out by the ROM in my shoulders that I have without trying. The more I work with upper body conditioning though, the farther away I get. I’ve lost serious muscle mass in the past two months and have no idea why.
So being half Russian, I expected to inherit the Russian gumbi genes. And I kinda did in my shoulders. Legs, not so much….I was watching Miss Pole Russia and almost all of the girls had hyper extended knees and did something ridiculously bendy like spatchcock, lying dove, or marchenko…the runner up was probably previously a gymnast. She had an amazing set of power moves.
In the end I’m afraid that I’ll never be able to do super duper strength moves like the iron x because while I grow abs like they’re oranges, upper body muscle does not…happen. I’m hoping later down the road when I’m officially done growing (I’m 20 and grew another inch this year…I don’t care how tall I get as long as my feet are done growing |: ) my muscles will decide they’re mature enough to bulk up. But right now it’s a lost cause. I can, and will, be focusing a ton on flexibility moves. And I’m excited to excel in that area :3
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I have a really strong Iron X and I’m close to a true grip deadlift, but I can never quite get there… I think body shape definitely plays a role there… Those lifts will be a lot harder for those who are taller or those who carry a lot of weight in the lower body… I am petite but I have a very small upper body and slim shoulders with wide hips and bigger thighs. The body type most conducive to pole, I think, would be short and petite, broad shouldered with slim hips
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Of course, it’s not that tall ladies or pear shapes CAN’T do those tricks, but they will have to train a little harder because of the weight distribution!
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Of course, it’s not that tall ladies or pear shapes CAN’T do those tricks, but they will have to train a little harder because of the weight distribution!
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Finding balance points when folded in half are very difficult for me; my "fold point" gives me 42" of leg and 26" of upper body.
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I agree also that body type plays a part.. I’m on 5’7 but I look like a giant when I get pics with the “pole stars” and even most intructors I’ve had.. so for any lifts my feet have to go a lot higher in the air to get past my head.. haha
I think anyone can do almost anything… I just think it takes some people a hell of a lot more effort to get there
As far as the deadlift goes…. are u in a twisted grip when u lower to your iron x?? if that’s not the grip u have that might be ypur problem….. also I would make sure u are lowering and raising back up.. don’t just stall at the x and drop out of it……… if you continue to lower and raise back up till u can lower all the way to the ground..well there’s your lift…….
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I am in TG when I lower into my iron x and I have a very bad habit of dropping out of it, I need to start bring myself back to the pole more with the iron x
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Well look on the bright side then….. its probably less of a body type issue and more of a practice thing!!
If your not solid in bringing yourself back to the pole from the top of the move that’s why your not going to be able to deadlift
Easy right?? Haha….. I wish it was just as easy to explain the moves as to do them! My brain gets it… my body just does not!
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With my wide hip bone and lean legs, I actually don’t see how I can grip the pole with my thighs like in a plank position. If I cross my legs, I think it would be possible, but I have seen some that can grip real close to the pelvis, knees side by side and hands free. Is this something that someone with my body structure just can’t do?
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I take it as you have a prominent thigh gap. That should make a difference of course, if it’s impossible is hard to say without seeing. A thicker pole should ease it, but otherwise just cross your ankles, most need to do that to feel safe even without having a big gap.
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Yes, crossing your ankles can help, also keep in mind that just like with Pole Sits and other Plank type moves you can tip one hip locking the legs into place. You’ll find more tips for this in the lessons. 🙂
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I am skinny and have a ton of difficulty with thigh grips, too. Climbing is also painful because I’m basically gripping the pole with my bones. Ouch!
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Thigh holds are a struggle for me as well…the thing that helps is sort of turning the feet towards each other as WELL as crossing them. And squeezing like your life depended on it lol well, when it comes to CAR it kinda does….truly I don’t use a lot of plank moves cuz of skinny legs. I’m sure they’d get better if I worked on them though. Pole sits I eventually got flexible enough I can tuck that crossed foot behind the pole and that locks me in, or tilting to the side helps. For the life of me tilting to the side does not help in planks I don’t know why
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I’m short waisted and feel like it really hinders my allegra. I used to think my short waist was holding me back with twisted ballerina but I can do it now. I’m hoping to prove this theory wrong by getting a nice allegra too.
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Long legged/tall: feel like I got my allegra unfairly early but my extended butterfly is still an uphill battle. Not even so much because of strength than of balance. 6ft + wingspan is a lot of limb to totter around in the air. I feel like a confused spider
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Pheonix your twisted ballerina is so gorgeous now I never would have thought that was one you struggled with 😳
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Thank you Lucca 🙂
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I’m as well not the long-waisted type so I can relate to the troubles with twisting around the pole. The more short waisted, the more you have to bend forward in a twisted ballerina before you grab your foot. Skinny poles are better for this.
Phoenix – This is what is great with flexibility, it can sometimes compensate for the problems we get due to body type issues. Your allegra will also get easier as you get more and more flexy.
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msusagi, i think i am doing the move you mean in my profile pic? it took me a long time to get the necessary muscle & grip for this – i do have quite meaty thighs but more of it is muscle now wooop (actually getting to like the look of my legs now, they are starting to resemble dancers legs!! =P )
CAR came quite easy to me (in march 2014) i wanted it so bad and practiced a lot but when i first tried the bent knees at that time i thought no way in hell can i keep gripping if i uncross my legs!!! it was so scary, i could feel myself slip straight away…
i only discovered i could bend my legs within the last few weeks hehe (oct 2014)!! also, i had only ever seen my teacher do this with her hands on the pole above her head (like crescent moon ):http://auto.img.v4.skyrock.net/2936/78372936/pics/3000795989_1_5_aVMq05IR.jpg
and she said the pushing up into your hips was how you locked into place – so it was a real shock to me that i could do it no-handed and still stay on!! (in fact, my rubbish shoulder ROM means its actually harder for me to do it with my hands ON the pole haaha…)
Your body will always surprise you with what it is capable of; if you trust, believe, and work for it =)
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Any tips or modified climbs for skinny-legged people? When I climb I barely use my legs for support because gripping hurts too much. Is this just the nature of the beast and just learn to deal with it? Side climbs are easier for me.
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In my experience, this is simply the nature of the beast. Few, if ANY people put “weight” or fat to their shins, thus leaving the shin bone directly under the skin, for almost every person anywhere. Climbing, for me, is and has usually been a painful thing! And I’m certainly not “skinny legged” by any stretch.
Best thing I can recommend is to do what you can, practice up to your pain threshold, and it will become tolerable, eventually. Your body adapts, but only if you give it reason to!
If using a lot of your upper body strength to climb works for you, however, perhaps this could become part of your style- I’ve found that creative ways of getting around problems makes way for even more beautiful forms of expression! -
When I first started pole, I was very concerned about my skinny thighs and not being able to to leg holds very easily. It isn’t even that my legs are SO skinny, it is that I have quite a large gap between them (it is due to bone structure and build). While it does present physical challenges, I think the worst challenge was overcoming the voice in my head that would say I couldn’t do something because of my lack of inner thigh (like advanced plank, CAR , superman, etc). It turns out I can do them all just fine- I do cross my legs and have to have everything very engaged in a superflex!
The only thing I truly cannot do is a pole sit without my legs crossed in some way. We had this move in class where you do a straight on pole sit and then swing your feet forward and backward (like a kid swinging their dangling feet from a chair) and I just could not do that unless I was holding myself up entirely with my hands!
I find that in pole something can seem impossible one day, or at least VERY painful, but once the mind and body come together and know what to do, suddenly the movement quits hurting and becomes so much easier.
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