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New to pole – how to get past the sensitive skin areas when trying new pole moves
Hey everyone,
I’m new here and really excited about pole. I started taking classes about 2 months ago and just bought my own pole for home.I signed up for Veenas lessons (which are great by the way), but I have a question… Some of the beginner moves, such as the pole sit, use the inside of the thighs as a point of contact. I tend to have a bit of fat in that area, and moves using the inside of the thighs just make it feel like my skin is being pulled and it hurts enough that I can’t hold the position.
I have particularly sensitive skin, and I’m obviously new and need more practice, but I imagine this is something many people have trouble with. Does this sensitivity just go away, are there any tricks for dealing with this? I have the same issue with any of the moves where the underarm area is also used.
Just hoping maybe someone had some tips! 🙂
Thanks!
Rachael -
11 Replies
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Arnica! The pole dancer’s heroin! Use uh…the black and blue balm. It’s from Hawaii, but it’s worth the purchase. You can purchase Arnica gels from walmart or walgreens, but I felt like the gel never did anything for me. Creams and balms worked best.
Also, take an iron supplement, drink atleast half a gallon of water everyday, and ice then heat the bruise. It helps circulate the blood, which leads to faster healing.
And a little fat is a good thing. Believe it or not it cushions for more advanced holds later (teddy and yogini for example)
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First, WELCOME, this is a great place for your pole journey.
Others will give input, as far as I can tell, it just gets better over time and as your skin gets used to it. It's not just because you have a bit of fat, as you say, it was all very painful for me and I'm on the thin side. Pole sit, cross ankle/cross knee release, superman, etc. were all painful. Of course was not working on them at same time. Had to learn pole sit and move up on tricks/holds. My husband laughs at me when I do Superman now because he remembers when I used to hop off and jump up and down holding inside of my thighs in pain when I was learning it 🙂
Part of the pole journey is each new things starts with it's own pain/discomfort again. The new one for me was Teddy. BUT it's all worth it when it's accomplished!!!
Keep us posted on your progress https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif
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Totally normal and has nothing to do with having fat or not! Many moves will be painful to the skin at first (pole sit is usually the worst for beginners). You will get used to it as 1) you learn to engage the proper muscles to hold yourself in place and build strength so you aren't relying on that skin as much and 2) as your skin toughens up a little. Some areas/holds don't take long to get over the burn, but it's not unusual for a new trick to take a few weeks or even months to stop burning!
Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot you can do. We have a saying at our studio… No Pain No Pole Gain :p
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Ohhh superman is the worst pain ever. I practice this all the time n it never gets less painful. Yet teddy and yogini have never really bothered me :/. Hope one day I can do Superman pain free 🙂
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Agree: with Arnica – I was prescribed that for some cosmetic enhancements, and LOVE that I can buy ‘industrial’ strength at the spa boutique counter – just walking in and asking. Either creme or pill for- pills I would suggest if you have to get rid of a big bruise for a wedding or special event.
I hated my thighs before poling, now I love that I respect my thighs and their growing strength (they’ll modify the shape & size depending on the moves practiced frequently.
Frequent practice – everything in life needs tolerance build up. And if you don’t practice for a while- you might get bruised all over again.
Every body has different pain tolerance. Sometimes I can practice over & over- sometimes after 2 tries I need/want to take a break.
Listen to your body. You can get hurt with any new form of exercise. We all have stories or heard horror stories. -
Yup agree w/all said above, esp abt Arnica — so funny someone called it a Poler’s heroin, it sure is! I’m a total Arnica junkie, I’ve even tried everything available (topically and ingestive!) only to whittle down to what seems to me to work the best… which so far are:
(1) the oil by Weleda — an organic & biodynamic brand from Germany, which we now even stock @ studio where I work & sells pretty well
(2) and these tiny pellets by ….(3) Also, I almost nightly DRINK the stuff — my nearby Sprouts (think While Foods only WAY more affordable) sells dried Arnica flowers in these little packets for $1.69 or so, in the Mexican food products, a brand called God’s Garden/Pharmacy or s’thing like that). So I have a steeper that I put abt 1/2 tsp of that loose dried Arnica in per cup of tea (delicious too, and super relaxing, possibly more than good old Chamo, so watch out — at least for me has the tendency to knock me out, & I tend to be a night-owl, sometimes even on the insomniac side).
Also, I like the tip above abt ice-then heat, and I’ve heard abt the iron pills before (be careful if u tend to struggle w/bowel movements tho, this can make things “harder” — sorry, but we’re all family here, right?)… As mentioned, really anything to support the blood flow, hydration, cardio-exercise, and even sleep.
I really need to take all this advice myself bc I taught a class last Fri focused on the Apprentice move, variations, & transitions, and OMG I may never do THAT again! Have these CRAZY mean DARK bruises on both my hips, yikes! I think possibly the worst I’ve EVER had! And I’ve been poling for 3 yrs! That said, like also mentioned above, I agree no matter how long you’ve been doing this, you venture into “new territory” w/moves, be ready for new bruises too if it’s an area of your body u hadn’t trained yet on the pole. For me in last couple months was knee-pit holds. I only had Cupid, but felt so limted. And sure enough I’ve even now gotten my 1st Marleys that I just was resigned to thinking I’d never be able to do. And oh the possibilities that have opened up on spin-mode from this are so great! Next frontier: armpit/torso holds — little by little getting there, and SURPRISE: no matter how hard or how much I practice those, no real (or significant!) bruises — go figure! Yes, indeed we all do have our “areas” that bother us more than others, and everyone is so different that way.
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Wow, what a newbie like me has to look forward to! I have inner thighs and bicep and back of my feet bruising now…I know there’s more to come….but in a weird way. I am loving it! Their like my love bites! It’s showing that I’m progressing. I yet have my knee pit, arm pit, torso to bruise up 🙂 thank god it’s cold here now in Canada- I can cover up a little more. I’m going to rub oil of oregano with some coconut oil or olive oil mixed in: oil of oregano gets blood flow and warms your skin. It’s a spicy oil…it’s actually something I take too keep me from getting colds or flu. And it also shortens the amount of time your sick with the symptoms. I swear by the stuff. I sing for a living and I cannot afford to get sick. Oil of oregano rocks. Look it up online for its many benefits. It’s really spicy though. Some may want to dilute it with juice and take it quickly.
I’m off topic now…thought I’d put something useful in to keep the polers rockin on their poles. Happy Holidays everyone! -
You may wish to take a look at some of our protective gear for pole fitness/dancers on our web site.
Joel
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You may wish to take a look at some of our protective gear for pole fitness/dancers on our web site.
Joel
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Your body and skin will get used to it. I remember when I first started when even climbing the pole hurt me. Different people have different sensitivies. Evenually you will learn to apply pressure in the right places and the bruising and burning will calm down if not disappear completely. I do find, however, time to time even simple moves will leave me sensitive if I'm havng an off day. A lot of the times it's just a mental probelm and if you find yourself getting lost in a song you won't even notice the pain!
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Thank you all so much for your advice. This is such a great community!!
I guess I'll just have to wait and get used to it… I have a feeling it's going to take a while :D.
Thanks again!
Rachael
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