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Inverts problems
Hi all,
I started getting depressed lately about my inverts. I pole for nearly 6 months (with 2-3 weeks off for two different period of times) and I started learning inverts around 3 months ago. I go to the studio for pole lessons 2-3 times a week, and add flexibility lessons and strength.
Two months ago my inverts were find and I even did an inverted crucifix out of the blue… without even planning it. Now I’m unable to hold myself during inverts, and sometimes unable to invert at all.
Girls at the studio are doing really good inverts, with v straddle… I’m unable to do that at all.
I also have a pole at home, but at home it’s even worse… I tried to train now, but couldn’t even lift myself from my right side – which is my stronger side.
I’m losing confidence and getting depressed :\I have no idea what to do and how to make my inverts stronger and more successful… I’d be happy to hear some advice. thank you!
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29 Replies
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I am doing pole dance for a year and a half and I don’t invert always and I can’t do de V straddle yet. Its is only a week, but it’s been a long time already. I also have a pole at home and it is worse too. I am afraid of training by myself, even having a good mattress in case of falling and my pole seems too slippery too.
I have a pole friend that began after than me and already does aerial inverts and she doesn’t have a pole. And I also got frustrated a while ago.
But my instructor gave me an advice: pole dancing is supposed to be fun and not to add another frustration in life. I just need to keep training and have a good time doing it. I practice inverts every week, from the ground, from standing and add the knee tucks in my practice. I can’t invert every time, but it doesn’t seems impossible anymore. Veena’s strength routine is going to help you for sure because it focus on muscles that you gonna need to invert.
There is no secret, we just need to train. It will happen eventually!!! -
Is it possible you are overtraining and wearing yourself out? Developing muscle strength takes exercise-time-and most importantly rest between workouts to develop. I believe Veena would attest to this advice as well. I learned this the hard way! Beginners should work on new material no more than a couple of days a week with 5-10 tries per session and then let your body rest recuperate and rebuild stronger:). If I had to choose one core exercise to do it would be all of the various plank variations. Once I could plank for 2 minutes with both hands and 1 minute on each side, I could invert. Good Luck:)
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Hey Mor Tom!
It sounds like you got into inverts very early into pole dancing- they require a lot of strength and skill to pull off properly without hurting yourself, and while some people can do it at 3 months, most don’t even start working on them till 6 months in.
That said, you mentioned you had them alright (hopefully with absolutely no jumping!), so I think this is a case of “lost move syndrome”!
If you search a bit around on the site, you’ll see that very many ladies, and guys, here have lost moves that they had solidly, even had them for YEARS, and then suddenly lost them! I even had that for a long time (sort of still do) with my cradle spin.
It sucks that the Basic Invert is the lost move, but… rest assured, it will come back!
Strength training the BI is usually a lot (and I mean a LOT) of core work! The side pole crunches in particular, but lots of other stuff can be used to help out. Planks I find really great for my core, and I also look up a lot of other core moves online, so you can see about those and find out which ones work best for you!
Also, for arm strength, just holding yourself up on the pole, doing pole climbs or other similar things.Just be patient. It’s not a race! There’s no need to compare yourself 🙂
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I agree it sounds like you are doing A LOT and possibly overtraining – even flexibility classes still work the muscles. It’s hard to take rest days and fight the urge to pole, etc. but your body will thank you for it. Often times I find I cme back much stronger after a day or so of rest and the trick I was working on comes much easier muscle wise the first couple of days after the off period. I’m sure you will get it back good luck!
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Inverts are not easy, and it’s very common for any move to come and go until you’ve become proficient. Please don’t rush it, take time to go through the lessons in order, this will help you build the strength, muscle memory and technique needed to progress. 💜
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Thank you all for your comments.
I just finished another pole training… And it hurts so badly below and behind my right shoulder.. It even hurts to breath :/
This is really depressing. I guess I should take a few steps back and work more on shoulder and core strength.
However, I did see that others in class are jumping into the invert (also the v straddle), and I was the only one who didn’t jump to it.
Are there exercises or something to release and ease the pain? -
sounds like you need to rest from inverts. you may have strained a muscle.
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The pain you are describing I had for about five weeks and just got over, I laid off of inverting and it went away but I am now scared to invert again for fear of reinjuring it. I’m at a loss as well as far as what to do about it, I tried doing pole holds again and while it is healed I still feel the strain in the muscle when that arm is the higher one. When it’s in the low position on the other side everything feels fine. Both of my pole teachers have had me inverting since my second class (I’ve been poling about five months now, more seriously for about two) so I think this might be part of the problem. My right side is strong but the left in my case just might not be up to it yet. I’ve been doing strength training on the side now, but I’m frustrated too because I can’t do pole holds on that side to strengthen it. Based on your post and hearing other stories this seems to be fairly common with inverting too early, I think.
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I strained a rhomboid early in my aerial years too. It was only on one side for me too. What helped for me was to avoid inverting with stacked hands. Since I was doing mostly silks, I was still able to invert and climb, but I had to keep centered between the fabric.
My point with that is you should take a break from inverting on pole, but you can build the necessary strength doing conditioning on a pull up bar. And then make sure you are working both sides evenly once you are healed.
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Thank you all!
I took a few days of completely rest, but I’m not sure I feel any better and starting to get worried. Sneezing is so painful… even when I breath I feel pain.
I told that to one of my trainers, and all she said was she doesn’t think it’s a muscle and I should go to an Osteopath…
I’m confused and stressed since I don’t know what the problem is or if I should really go to the Osteopathy side.. or maybe some other doctor.. I’d be glad to hear advices. -
A strained muscle can sometimes take a while to heal, sometimes months. Besides that it may also be a dislocated rib or costochondritis. Sometimes ribs have to be manipulated back into place. Any of these kind of conditions would need medical help and more than a few days rest. Sorry you’re still feeling pain. I dealt with pain earlier when I was learning to invert. I would not be able to hardly breathe, cough, laugh, or sneeze and it was painful moving. For me, I kept dislocating ribs and had inflammation between my ribs. My body was not strong enough to support inverting. I had to start inverting and do strengthening and conditioning.
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Had to “stop ” inverting not “start”…
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For now I’m stoping working on inverts for sure. Even if I want – it’s impossible for me.
I have an appointment for an Orthopedist tomorrow. I will update with results. -
Yes, it’s best to find out what’s going on before you invert. It’s probably something that can heal with a few weeks rest and maybe work on conditioning later. Hope your appointment goes well and you get some answers. Don’t worry, you will be back to inverting soon and will probably come back even stronger once you are healed.
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So the orthopedist said its only the muscle that was hurt and I should rest for at least a week and rather even two weeks.
She prescribed me muscle pain killers (ortoton) and put some kinesio tape on my back 🙂Thank you all for the answers and support!!
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Yay! I’m glad it’s nothing too serious. Hope you get to feeling better. Just take it slow and gradual when you go back to poling. 🙂
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I have also been there! Healing thoughts to you!!
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Thank you!!!
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Once you are ready to start again taking a look at this lesson will be helpful! https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/52f7165d-3484-4ffa-afa9-13de0a9aa0eb
Feel better sooooooon!
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Some time have passed and I was feeling better. Didn’t do training for almost two months and started getting back only with flexibility and strength trainings.
But with the first pole lesson.. And the 4th invert.. The pain came back.
I’m really worried and really depressed. I’m about to start physiotherapy next week.
I feel really bad and I’m really afraid that I will not be able to pole dance at all.. Does anyone know if this is a possibility I have to face? I was trying to ask my trainer, but didn’t get a real answer from her. -
Disclaimer: Not a health care professional.
Honestly, it just doesn’t sound like the muscles are strong enough to do the move. You weren’t training for a couple of months, so the injury healed. But how much strengthening happened in that span of time? Maybe not that much, since you mentioned you have (just?) started getting back to flexibility and strength training. I don’t know that you can necessarily go back to the move that injured you in the first place without having done more strengthening and conditioning to prepare for that move. No pain = no more injury, but it doesn’t really meant that you are ready for that same move. In fact you may have also lost some strength if you have not done anything at all in the past two months.
I’m glad you’re going to a physio, they should be able to tell you how to strengthen the muscles without causing further injury. The back muscles are often overlooked when it comes to strength training exercises (especially it’s not a vanity muscle – not like biceps or abs!) so you’ll need to think about strengthening the back specifically. Then also think about how much weight/resistance are you using when you do strength training? Especially for people who don’t weight train a lot, 12-15 lb dumbbell rows might seem like a heavy weight. But compare that to body weight – the muscles are asked to carry a lot more load in an invert than it’s used to, even with that “heavy” weight training session.
You seem to be very stressed out and anxious about not being able to pole at all, ever, as the prospect of having to stop something you really love (and have started becoming quite good at, I imagine) can be really anxiety-inducing. However, a strong and healthy body should be the #1 priority, so I’d stop thinking about this problem as “What if I can never invert?” to “How can I adequately prep my body for strong, secure, and injury-free poling?” Take it slow, focus on strength and conditioning, so you can progress w/o more trips to the physio. This is more than just pole – if you can’t breathe or cough or sneeze without being in a lot of pain, your health and well-being is at stake, and your body is telling you to slow down.
Finally, I’m wondering if your instructor is not well-versed on body mechanics, especially correct muscle engagement etc. when performing a move. If you have the option for a private lesson w/ someone with a good reputation for that, they may be able to correct any mistakes in your invert that’s causing the muscle strains and injuries. The video Veena linked 2 months ago has a really good bit at the end on the common mistakes for inverts: one of them is jerking down (not able to hold the weight at the top of the invert) which strains the back and bangs up your ribs. That could be what’s happening to you, but you can’t spot it while you’re doing the move yourself!
Take care of your body, rest up, and get back into it slowly!
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Lots of people have mentioned many great tips so I won’t repeat them but I will add that poling does not depend on inverting. You can dance and express yourself beautifully workout ever going upside down. ☺ 💖
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I was just about to say that very thing ⬆ï¸â¬†ï¸
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Tiger Balm helps me with sore muscles btw.
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When you are able to pole again you might not want to invert for a few months . There’s so many other things to work on that will gradually build your strength .
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