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Pole Instructor Mistakes?
So, I took my first pole class a few weeks back at a pole studio near my house, I'd heard good reviews about it and a few people I know went there before…plus their online reviews weren't bad either. But I was a little confused when I went. I was the only one there, which she says was normal for the night I signed up for because it usually wasn't busy those nights. But I'm looking back and thinking about it. In hindsight, I realized we never did a warm-up or anything like that. She just kinda started me swinging around the pole. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_surprised.gif Thinking about it now it's kind of bad…I guess lurking on SV has showed me that. I'm not sure if it was because it was a different environment because I was the only one in the class, or if that's how all the classes start out. So I quess what I'm asking is…should I find a new studio to try out and compare?
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33 Replies
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What do you mean by "swinging around the pole"? It has been proven time and time again that dynamic warm ups are superior when doing strength type workouts. So depending on how you were swinging around the pole may have been her warm up.
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I’m interested too to find out what you mean by “swinging”. The pole needs to warm-up w/ you so that you’ll stick, but maybe that’s not what you meant…?
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The prevailing wisdom that I've heard is to do a gentle, easy version of your activity as a warm up. So like… walk as a warm up for running. Swim a few slow laps before going for distance. Start with light weights before lifting heavy ones. For pole I can see it going two ways – some light dancing for a dance focused class, or some easy pole moves before working on more advanced moves. I don't have any exercise background, this is just what I've heard from friends and using my own common sense.
I can see how it might worry a student if they hear a big list of warnings or "don'ts" before the class even starts. Safety is obviously very important, but maybe the instructor just wants to get people moving to start.
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Well she pretty much taught me how to properly grip the pole…how to do a pole walk, then wrap my knee around the pole and swing while holding myself up. I'm not sure what the move is called, sorry. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif But maybe you're right. She did start off really slow and went at my pace…I'll upload a video of what she actually taught me and then maybe I can show you better than I can tell you.
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That sounds about right actually. If the instructor made you feel uncomfortable at any point, then of course you can try another studio. But that sounds like what I would expect to be taught in a first class. The finer points of mechanics come with time.
An instructor can also see if you're getting something or not and adjust accordingly. Some people pick things up quickly and others do not. So the pace really depends on the students. With SV lessons, a person may be performing exercises without supervision, so of course there is lots of extra safety information included.
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That doesn’t sound bad. I’d say she was probably mainly trying to check out your form and warm you up w/ some light pole-play. (btw, the move you described is what some call a “front-hook spin”)
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Looking at the video it looks like you were doing a side spin kinda….not really a front hook. But I'm not sure what was intended. In the last version it looks like a combo of side hook into a front hook…..odd. What day did you go on that no one else would be at the studio and in a class?
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Yeah… looking at your video, I would agree with SensualRain. Kind of an odd combo to try in a first class. But your form doesn't look bad, and you look reasonably fit. I might give it one more class, especially if you can take one with more people in it. Maybe the instructor felt weird teaching a "full" class with only one student and did it more like a private.
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Generally most classes I have taken begin with at least a 5 min warm up, moving the arms (especially wrists and fingers), hips and legs and getting in some stretching. Other classes I have taken tend to spend more time warming up and including strength moves, up to 15-20 min.
Either way, you can always warm up by yourself more prior to classes, or request for some additional warms up before class begins.
Personally, I wish all pole classes were 90 min with 20 min or warm up and cool down. =)
Was the spin and the pole walk in your video the only thing you learned during the class? I would consider that a side spin. It's not a hard spin to learn, you did a good job for your first class.
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Yes, I think you did an amazing job! However, I am a strong believer in a good warm up and conditioning exercises as well. I've seen young, strong, fit girls sustain injuries due to improper warm ups. While you certainly can warm up a bit on your own, I think that it's the instructor's responsibility to get his/her students warmed up enough to pole. So if you feel that something is…missing… perhaps you might want to politely ask what her teaching background is.
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Thanks guys! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
Yeah, I guess you could say I felt like a little something was missing I guess. I'm going to a class tomorrow night at a different studio so that maybe I'd have something to compare it to. In general the class was bad. The instructor was really nice and she was good about going my own pace. She told me always practice equally on the right and left side, and told me about grip aids and such. Maybe she just did feel a little odd only teaching one student. I went on a Wednesday Portable…
And yeah, the spin and walk was pretty much it JB. She told me I was supposed to touch my toes together and try to hold my body up in the end, but I couldnt get my legs to stretch enough or my arms to hold my body up enough. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif But thanks!
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BTW, we were talking and it turns out the instructor I guess started out as a stripper so pretty much everything she knows was self-taught. Not sure if that means anything. Do you have to have certain qualifications in terms of teaching to open up a studio?
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No, there are no qualifications that anyone needs to open a studio besides money.
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Chemmie is right–sadly. There is no governing body so therefore, there are no enforceable standards. There are a ton of industry dancers (or ex) who are incredible dancers but if they don't know have any teaching technique (which, in my mind, includes technical issues and how to keep a student safe from injury) or methodology, I think the student loses out. I'm curious to hear about your experiences with other classes. It's super important to try other teachers and studios to see which one is best for you. Nothing wrong with chatting to other students (if there are any, like in your first class!) to see how long they've been there, etc. Keep us posted!
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It doesn't sounds like the instructor was totally bad, but obvious not the right instructor for you. It sounds like you didnt meshed very well with her. At my studio I will hold a class even if only 1 person has signed up. I have found you have to give it some time, before classes fill up regularly, and if people don't see the time they want on the schedule they will go somewhere else. And for the stripper part, that is a job…not who someone is..or does it give some one the qualification of there ability to teach this type of fitness. Even though there can be a sassy side to pole fitness/dance/artistry….blah blah blah..it is not "stripper fitness"
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You definitely need to explore studios! The in-studio classes I go to are 1 hour & 45 minutes. At least 30 minutes in the beginning are spent on warming up with a combination of stretching, light conditioning, easy floor work, and a climbing pole flow (climbing from pole to pole for half a song). My instructor, who is also my Pilates instructor outside of pole, explains what we are stretching, what muscles to engage, reminds us to breathe. She explains how to protect joints, muscles, etc. as she is teaching. That side hook spin on spinning that this instructor taught you is not something that my instructor or that I would even teach to any beginner. I would suggest finding a studio that focuses on progression in their teaching. She had no idea what kind of shape your shoulder was in and didn't even prepare you to hang your body off the pole – sideways and spinning!?! Do your body a favor. Try other studios and work on the beginner stuff here on SV.
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So I listened to you ladies and went ahead and booked a class tonight. Unfortunately there arent that many studios around me, most of them are at least an hour to an hour and a half away, almost bordering into NY. ): But I did find one close enough, and I’ve been chatting with a woman there on and off for the past week…I’m just going to go in and compare to see my vibes from each one. Plus its half off an intro class tonight so BOO-YA! 😀 I’ll keep you ladies posted on what happens.
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I really believe that appropriate warm up/stretching is very important before each pole session to avoid injury & to properly warm up your muscles. I also think its important to do moves & spins that progressively build your strength.
Definitely explore other studios if you can. When you find the studio that’s right for you, you’ll know it.
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I'm from the Hartford area and have taken multiple classes at both of the studios that you are mentioning. I personally prefer the teaching style at the first studio you went to. The intro class is different than the average pole class, since everyone only takes it once. Definitely give it another shot in the Beginner 1 classes, which usually have more people in them. Feel free to message me if you want to know more about either studio!
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That's one thing that frustrates me about the studio where I go. It's not a strictly pole studio, it is a "class gym" – no treadmills and ellipticals and such, but lots of classes in a variety of disciplines – pole, aerial silks, TRX, barre, Pilates, Zumba, hooping, weights, you name it. Trouble is, they have only 2 classrooms and only one of them has poles in it, and with SO many things on the schedule, they make their classes really short – 45 minutes. Kudos to the instructors, because they do a great job with what limited time they have, they never skip warmups and send us to the back of the room to cool down & stretch while the next class is coming in. And typically we do go a little bit longer than 45 minutes, as long as the next class is able to start on time.
But still, it's not ideal. It's like, just as I'm getting really warmed up and mentally/emotionally "there" for practice, the class is almost over. They've been dicking around with the schedule lately, posting fewer of the classes I like (Intermediate, Freestyle and Sexy Pole). And the classes fill up INCREDIBLY fast. If you are not online the moment they post the new schedule, you're gonna be on the waitlist for classes a month out. I like to plan ahead so this drives me nuts, I don't like not knowing if I'm going to a class until the morning of. I bought a six-month membership back in February but I don't think I'm going to renew it when it's over – I'll wait to pay for classes until I know I'm actually in them, thanks.
I go there primarily because I love the instructors, and it's not too far from my house or my work, but I do wish it was a full-time pole studio. 🙁
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Very few studios can exists as just pole studios. There is not a single on in NE Ohio and I want to say even into eastern PA that teaches just pole. Not even the Columbus studios either. It is much easier to make the rent when you can teach a Zumba class to 30 people as opposed to a pole class to just 5 or 8. The studios that are teaching burlesque and twerking and aerials actually are keeping students because as they get further in most students want to learn these skills so the ability to keep it in house is just good business sense.
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Aerial studio, then. The studio in the city where I used to live does Aerial, Silks and Burlesque and has been in business for at least 5 years that I know of.
The demand at my studio strikes me as high enough to merit adding more pole classes to the schedule instead of cutting them back – what with the waitlists on pretty much every pole class. They charge more for pole classes too. I have to go to at least 3 classes a month to get my money's worth from my membership – between my own schedule limitations and the waitlist issue, it doesn't work out that way, hence why I don't want to re-up my membership. Like I said, I'll pay for the classes when I know I'll actually be attending them.
And I wouldn't have a problem if it was only a few extra classes to pad the schedule and make the business run, but they just have SO many options there (and they keep adding more!), that to get everything on the schedule in a week (in the peak times), they have to make the classes shorter than I'd like them.
Two of my best friends teach there, and I LOVE training with them, so I continue to make this "my" studio. I'd kind of feel like an asshole ditching them to go to another studio, especially since there aren't any studios that are as convenient to me location-wise as this one. I only know of two alternatives within the area I'm willing to drive, one is way out of the way of anywhere else I go, and the other has a bad reputation for really catty, nasty behavior.
I'm pretty sure once my membership at this studio expires I'll still go to classes now and then, but I'll also re-enlist in Veena's lessons and probably practice at home more.
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Correction – The studio in the city where I used to live does Pole, Aerial Silks and Burlesque.
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Usually the only reason a studio cuts back on popular classes is when they do not have enough instructors. There are very few instructors up here in Cleveland and if you are talking about the studio I think you are, aren't some of the instructors preparing for competitions? That alone will tear up your body, not to mention having to teach on top of it. Trust me, I know it sucks. Cleveland is going to be losing an instructor as of July and she covers classes at 2 studios.
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Yeah, I'm just venting mostly. From what I have heard (and have insider knowledge), it's less about teacher availability and more about offering new classes that the non-pole students have expressed interest in.
There's a core group of very dedicated/interested pole dancers there who are already filling and over-filling the classes (and new ones coming up through the ranks from the Beginner levels), but we're still a smaller sliver of the overall studio clientele. I get that, and the non-pole students deserve their classes too – I'm not trying to say this studio should run their business differently. Just that the current model, and especially the recent cutbacks, are not ideal for the serious, pole-and-nothing-else member.
If I had my druthers, as they say, I'd be a regular at a studio where pole is more central (if not exclusive) and didn't have as much competition from non-pole/non-aerial classes and students. That's all. I'll take what I can get, though, I'm just going to change how I pay for it.
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