Am I ready for an inversion?

Fleur · 2009-05-31T17:09:37+00:00

Hello ladies, I have seen a lot of posts on tips for inversions and I commend you all for working hard to achieve inversions with proper form 😀 Please do consult Veena's lessons, you have one of the BEST resources at your disposal, use it!!! Veena works very hard to provide you with excellent lessons, take advantage of it! I want to address a slightly different issue in this post which is: Am I ready to start trying to invert safely??? I see a lot of beginners who are so enthusiastic that they want to start inverting right away! But I caution you, unless you have already been participating in some kind of physical activity that uses your abs and upper body intensely, you probably do not have the strength to pull your body upside down in a safe and controlled manner right off the bat! Please be aware that it can take weeks and months to build your arm, back, and core strength effectively to be able to invert properly. It is very easy to injury yourself in an inversion so why rush it before you can do it properly? The first studio I attended did not let you invert unless you had been taking classes for at least 3 months continuously. I think having some kind of policy for inversions is very important for safety but a time requirement is not always effective: some people will be strong enough to invert before 3 months of poling and some will not be read to invert after 3 years of poling!! So, here are my personal guidelines for assessing whether or not a student is ready to start trying to invert on their own: -Can you double climb? By double climb I mean climbing further up the pole without starting with the feet on the ground (ie from a pole sit) And I'm not talking barely being able to get an inch higher on the pole with your shoulders glued to your ears before being completely exhausted and having to jump off! I am blessed to have tall poles at the studio so I can see which students are able to climb halfway up and which are struggling to hold a second climb.…

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SissyBuns · 2/16/2010
Thank you ms Sissybuns I figure I'm good even if there is a problem because I have perfected the art of crashing without injuries(I crash at just about everything I do), but I brought a friend the first night who happens to be pregnant, so that wound up being majorly uncool, so I haven't brought her back, but I have been woried about muscle damage, and joint damage because since I started 3 weeks ago I've gotten something like shin splints in my forearms from doing what I think yall call the boomerang and some shoulderblade pain from spins so I'm scouring the forums for saftey tips on the things I probably shouldn't be doing. Are there any moves upside down or sideways that should be jumped into? If you're getting pain from boomerang like spins you might need to back off a bit and work on some other things until you build up more strength for the split grip. I see a lot of people who hurt themselves while doing split grips repeatedly or too quickly. My bestie punkrocgirlie was one of them. She hadn;t been poling very long (just like you) before she started busting out al kinds of moves that require that grip and before you know it she was injured and had to take a break from that move for weeks. The same with the shoulder. Listen to it. Also are they making sure you're nice and warm before you guys start spinning? Spinning with cold muscles can definitely lead to injury and sometimes it takes some people longer then others to warm up. I'm one of those people. I seem to take like twice as long as most people LOL.
chemgoddess1 · 2/16/2010
It took me almost a year and a half before I could do a boomerang without pain. Look up samsara pilates online and on youtube....she has some really really really good explanations of body mechanics and why things hurt. My biggest issue is forearm strength....it was not until I started targeting exercises that worked the forearms and wrists that I could do a boomerang without pain. It is also important to know that you really are not holding weight on the lower bracket....it is there to push you way from the pole. Try learning the move with the same type of grip you would use for a chair....basically fingers up.
Chrissy05 · 5/4/2010
I am glad that this post is up b/c I've only been poling for about 3 months and trying to take it slow. I want to make sure I'm building up my strength and doing the moves with correct form. I got my pole sit, crucifix, fireman, and flirty fireman. I'm working on my plank (trying to get my hips up) and my wrist sit(building up arm strength). But after 3 months that's all I got. And I come up here and see some newbie advertising "a week in" and doing inverts! Sometimes I can't help but think that I'm a LOSER or something 😳 b/c I am nowhere near that strong yet. My thing is I want to do with correct form and without jumping off the ground. So seeing this forum makes me feel good knowing that I at least have the right frame of mind 🥂 Thanks for keeping me motivated ladies 😀 I'm like Thomas the little engine that could...I can do it... I can do it... I CAN DO IT 🌸
hookedonpole · 5/13/2010
Love this thread. I thought I was inverting decently, but now rethinking. After beginning the basics before studio I attended closed, I'm basically self taught at this point. Need to go to a workshop or something to get tips on improving invert properly. Will begin exercises discussed here. Maybe that's why I have a very weak ariel invert and struggle with it. Thanks everyone!
NerdasaurusJess · 7/28/2010
umm not to ask a stupid question but how exactly can you hurt yourself inverting before your ready, or kicking up into inverts because at the studio I go to because that's all we do, you invert on your first night and go from there,(i first got suspicious when we were told we can't fall like that) but I tend to research more than most people i have class with so I don't want to do something that will do more damage than shin splints in my arms(if anyone knows anything about that I would love to know) because being that far out of commission would not be cool. I find this absolutely terrifying! 😲 I have students beg and pled me to teach them inverts in their first day/week of classes. I always try to explain this to them, maybe I should refer them to this thread. Most understand, some go to different studios. Luckily most of the studios around here have specific requirements before you invert, not just time frames.
lazydaizy · 8/9/2010
umm not to ask a stupid question but how exactly can you hurt yourself inverting before your ready, or kicking up into inverts because at the studio I go to because that's all we do, you invert on your first night and go from there,(i first got suspicious when we were told we can't fall like that) but I tend to research more than most people i have class with so I don't want to do something that will do more damage than shin splints in my arms(if anyone knows anything about that I would love to know) because being that far out of commission would not be cool. Just an example of how you could hurt yourself: I started inverting pretty early. I was fairly strong so it wasn't a huge issue until I pulled both romboids (the muscles between your shoulder blades). Since this happened about 6 months ago, I have both taken ample time off and worked to strengthen my back, but they still flare up once in a while and cause me problems. Be careful!
Polecat88 · 1/10/2011
thank goodness i read this! I've been taught the absolute wrong method in class. I just tried the tests Fleur mentioned and I am just about strong enough on my right but way off on my left. Time to kick it back a notch and get into some strength training! Thanks for this great info!