can't pole sit/climb/etc...:(

strawberryss started this discussion · 12/15/2010

i am feeling soo lame!!! i've done studio lessons for 2.5 months (not long i know) and just got my pole for home. I've been reading through threads and veena's advice on when to different levels (getting the lessons next week, broke now bc on new pole 😀 ) I can do all the spins listed in beginners and most of them in intermediate. I can do them well on both sides, one hand and split grip variations. BUT.....i cannot pole sit! or climb, from standing or from the floor. what is going on????? 😳

16 replies

minicoopergrl · 12/15/2010
try some upper body exercises - push ups are perfect! I couldnt do alot of moves due to not having alot of upper body strength to pull up myself. I do push ups every morning and its been perfect for me!
amy · 12/15/2010
can you post a video? it's a lot easier to troubleshoot when you can see what you're doing =)
strawberryss · 12/15/2010
lol, I hate pushups!!!! gravity likes to leave me on the ground. but seriously, i do them and i don't make progress with them. even the years busting my azz at the gym (or above my azz for that matter) i can't seem to get that upper body strength. My upper body is sooo small and thin. It doesn't look scrawny, just won't build more muscle. to give you an idea here, my bra band is 30 and when I get my blood pressure taken they have to use the childrens cuff on my arm. 😳 a friend just told me that depending on your body type some areas are harder to build muscle in (but she said she read it in glamour mag years ago 😂 so who knows). i think ill try to find some info about that, maybe thats my nonmuscle area and i need special exercises (like muscle implants, heehee) *sigh* just don't want to be left on the ground, I can fly! I can fly! about vid, can I use my webcam on laptop to record a vid? (sorry, i'm special when it comes to stuff like that)
amy · 12/15/2010
yes, absolutely, use the webcam and then upload to the video section by clicking video above ^^ and then hit the green button "upload your own" to upload it.
Audball · 12/15/2010
Do you find yourself sliding off? I know that the biggest difference for me between home and studio pole is that my home one is so much slippier. I don't know why but it is! I can do spins but anything else I often need grip for which leaves my hands dry and sore 🙁 I'm sure with practise you'll be fine. I'm presuming you can do these things in the studio?
strawberryss · 12/15/2010
Thanks amy! I'll have to do it tomorrow on my day off/pole on! audball- STUDIO hasn't taught me any of that yet. One of the last days I went (about a month ago) we did a pole climb and that was it. I guess they do it diff??? I have all kinds of spins, transitions and floorwork, up my sleeve, but can't sit or climb and have no routine, soooooo. I was doing twice a week for almost 3 months.
strawberryss · 12/15/2010
sorry didn't finish answering your questions!!! i used brass at studio so got a TG for home. I don't have much to compare with as we only did a climb/sit once. but doing a sit from home I just slid down. same with climb. I had help at the studio, soooo. i prob would have slid then as well. my hands are pretty well calloused already due to brass.
Veena · 12/15/2010
Spins are not great for strength building. I'm not sure if you meant your getting the lessons here or have them but if you do be sure to check out the Strength training section! 💪 Strength does not come over night.
strawberryss · 12/16/2010
I will post a vid tomorrow. I am getting ur lessons Veena prob next week (as I am broke from buying a pole 😲 ) can't wait! thanks for everyone's suggestions!
vamp79 · 12/16/2010
I could not climb or pole sit for a while because the studio that i go to doesnt teach those things in the normal level classes. It wasnt until i got a chance to take one of the other random classes that i was taught to climb properly. I did get a pole a few months ago and now climbing is super easy. Practice often even if you can only do it for a short time and you will get better fast.
Cynthia D · 12/17/2010
a warm body and warm pole helps too 😉
hookedonpole · 12/17/2010
Just want to chime in on the small size body 🙂 (I deal with blood pressure cuff too) I am also very thin, but have developed strength I never thought I would. I have always worked out with some form of aerobics, very good power flex class for years, etc. However, when started poling it was as if I'd never done anything. It's different dealing with lifting own body weight. It comes with time, strengthening and learning new moves in baby steps. And each new trick or hold starts over with building strength, for me anyway. I use a lot of veena's strength training, it works wonders, as well as her lessons! Poling also takes patience, which can be as difficult as learning new moves. 🌸
HannahElizabeth · 12/18/2010
I couldnt climb properly or site for ages either, I've also got teeny arms so you're not alone! Even now I can do a lot of advanced moves, I still find climbing can be a bit of a challenge sometimes so I've had to work on it a lot more (it doesn't help that my pole is so short though 🙁) Just want to chime in on the small size body 🙂 (I deal with blood pressure cuff too) I am also very thin, but have developed strength I never thought I would. I have always worked out with some form of aerobics, very good power flex class for years, etc. However, when started poling it was as if I'd never done anything. It's different dealing with lifting own body weight. It comes with time, strengthening and learning new moves in baby steps. And each new trick or hold starts over with building strength, for me anyway. I use a lot of veena's strength training, it works wonders, as well as her lessons! Poling also takes patience, which can be as difficult as learning new moves. 🌸 Like hookedonpole, I've developed strength I never thought I'd have through doing pole but I hadn't done any real exercise since school (apart from walking) until I started pole. I literally had no muscle and now I feel strong 🥂 Because i pretty much started from scratch, I had no upper body strength so concentrated on doing pole lifts and moves like the teddy hold (with hands) in order to get used to holding my body weight and strengthening my arms. It really worked and now I find a lot of other pole moves easier because I took time to develop my strength. Thats not meaning to say that I didnt spend a long time being frustrated that I couldnt do certain moves but I put the time and it does really pay off 🙂 Good luck! 🌸
yogabeachbabe · 12/18/2010
There are many different ways to climb, but they all involve technique. Climbing requires strength, yes, but once you understand HOW to do it, it's pretty effortless. When I first started, I never learned how to climb properly so it was always a mad scramble up the pole! Once I learned how, it never seems like "work" now . Some dancers use more upper body strength, and some dancers use more leg strength to climb. Veena teaches one very solid method in her Lessons, which I believe many people call a Showgirl Climb. I have one teacher who only teaches that because to her, it's sexier. There are other ways in which you use both legs on the pole. I learned a technique with both legs that is a never-fail way to climb although I get yelled at because it's not as sexy. As for a sit, I feel that is all about practice. It's all squeezing and figuring out the rotation of the thighs. It is honestly easier to settle into a sit from a climb than to practice it from the ground. If you post a vid, I'm sure you'll get more help specifically for what you need.
MissChiefNYC · 12/18/2010
I have trouble with the climb also. It hurts my feet, and I slip like crazy. The pole sit isn't something I can do with regularity, but I've found if I'm warm, my thighs are super grippy.
polebunny · 12/18/2010
one thing i learned from veena is to really lean to the side in a sit. its pretty impossible to sit straight up. so i cross my right leg over the left, lean to the right, and stretch my left leg towards the right and that really locks me in.