Chopper - body type?

DaniDuB started this discussion · 7/25/2011

Hi there! I'm née to posting here so just want to say hi and also mention I'm having problems with the chopper. It is the only move so far that I've learned that has me stuck. I'm level-5 at the pole studio I go to which is is intermediate. I'm good at spins. I can do the pretzel no problem. I can do the Scorpio (just learned it) and climb. I'm just so stuck on the chopper. I have watched the lessons here too on tuck invert and chopper. I can get in to a half chopper easily but once I let go of my left leg my hips fall right down. When I try the tuck invert, I canny bring my hips up at all. I can regular invert no problem. I use the inside of my left leg to pull my hips to the pole. One instructor told me she still has problems with this move because she has boobs and a butt and it's hard to distribute the weight. I'm petite 5'1" and about 130. I have an hourglass type body type so I do have boobs and a butt too. Will this make it impossible for me to ever get this? I do have good upper body strength. I just don't get why I can't get this after 2 months of trying. Do I need to lose 10 more pounds to make this move doable? Thanks in advance for any advice. :)

20 replies

DaniDuB · 7/25/2011
sorry for the typos. I was typing from my iphone and the auto spell checker thing changed the spelling. ugh. :)
chemgoddess1 · 7/25/2011
You should NOT be using your legs to pull yourself up into an invert at all!! If you are inverting without being able to do the tuck STOP!!! You will end up hurting yourself! Go through all of teh inverting threads and blogs. Read about what people have done to their shoulders and backs from not inverting properly. I am not being a biotch here, I am trying to keep you from an injury that will take months to heal and will never go away. Start working on the tuck...hold your hands in baseball grip and pull your knees to your chest and then lower them....SLOWLY AND CONTROLLED. Once you have that, bring the tilt of the hips into the equation.
DaniDuB · 7/25/2011
Thanks so much. I actually do tuck when I invert and the swing my left leg up to the pole. Once the back of my left ankle touches the pole I then use that leverage to get my hips up against the pole. I hope that makes sense. I can also use the baseball grip and tuck 5 times in a row on each side (knees to chest) without my feet touching the ground.
vamp79 · 7/25/2011
I still can't tuck well but my basic invert is flawless. You can keep inverting, just don't try going into the chopper using momentum to avoid getting hurt. Focus on making ur scorpio and geminis prettier un the mean time and keep working on some conditioning exercises.
BACE16 · 7/25/2011
@DaniDuB - " I actually do tuck when I invert and the swing my left leg up to the pole. Once the back of my left ankle touches the pole I then use that leverage to get my hips up against the pole. I hope that makes sense." This makes perfect sense to me, I used to do this. I learned wrong and jumped into my inverts, I'd have to use my calf to pull myself up to get my knees above my hands. Now that I've learned the correct way and can pull my knees above my hands with just my arms, but I still have the muscle memory. I'm trying to unlearn that bad habit. Half the times I invert, I'll put my calf against the pole to pull up, but my body knows I don't need it, so I'll take it off and pull myself the rest of the way up and put my calf back on. This all happens in a fraction of a second, but it makes for some silly looking leg bouncing inverts. Just my experience where I learned a bad habit and am having oh so much fun unlearning it. Your millage may vary. I think its more important to go slow and learn it correctly the first time. Don't beat yourself up over "body type" or "slow learning" :)
DaniDuB · 7/25/2011
Thank you, everyone! :)
DaniDuB · 8/1/2011
Just want to update you guys. I did the invert without using the leverage of the back of my ankle and got up there just using my arms. Thanks again everyone and BACE16. What you said really helped! I'm getting closer and closer to getting the chopper. :)
xtinalovespole · 9/17/2011
I have been poling for 1 1/2 year. I was taught to kick up to the invert. We were also taught to tuck and lift and that was preferable. I couldn't get the tuck so I continued kicking up....not cool. I was at a workshop and come to realize that I have been inverting improperly all along. I am not tucking and lifting. My upper back hurts. Not to mention I am not as far along as I thought I was. I am disappointed. I am not sure of where I should go with this. If I stop all inversions and go back to basics, will that be enough. If anyone has any advice, I am open to hear it!
Lyme Lyte · 9/18/2011
xtinax, take time to heal....go see a chiropractor if you need to. I wrecked my back from inverting wrong and it never healed until I started with a chiro. I went about three weeks, and my back is good again. During the time my back was hurt, I worked on my spins, climbs, and lay-back moves because that didn't bother. Don't get discouraged, just change it up and work on other things while your back heals.
hookedonpole · 9/18/2011
@Dani, glad that you not using momentum and back of your ankle to complete invert. Others can give more appropriate tips, however, when I was learning this, I had trouble getting hips up so legs could more parallel to the floor. A couple of gals mentioned it was because I was stopping short of tilting my body all the way back, like looking at wall behind me. I realized I was not tipping totally back and was still looking up at the ceiling instead of behind me. I've been working on that and it's getting better. Again, make sure you are not kicking and using momentum to get up :) @xtinax, I was also taught kick up into invert and ended up pulling a muscle in my ribs so bad I couldn't do anything for two months. It was painful I thought I fractured a rib. Then I found this site and learned SO much. I did stop what I was doing and went back to the basics. The lessons here were a great help in correcting it. Don't take a chance on hurting yourself. :)
hookedonpole · 9/18/2011
@Dani, glad that you not using momentum and back of your ankle to complete invert. Others can give more appropriate tips, however, when I was learning this, I had trouble getting hips up so legs could more parallel to the floor. A couple of gals mentioned it was because I was stopping short of tilting my body all the way back, like looking at wall behind me. I realized I was not tipping totally back and was still looking up at the ceiling instead of behind me. I've been working on that and it's getting better. Again, make sure you are not kicking and using momentum to get up :) @xtinax, I was also taught kick up into invert and ended up pulling a muscle in my ribs so bad I couldn't do anything for two months. It was painful I thought I fractured a rib. Then I found this site and learned SO much. I did stop what I was doing and went back to the basics. The lessons here were a great help in correcting it. Don't take a chance on hurting yourself. :)
pegasusaerialfitness · 9/19/2011
chemgoddess is right. slow and controlled. I've found good hamstring flexibility helps too with the chopper position.
Mary Ellyn · 9/19/2011
After 9 years of pole dancing I still cannot get the chopper invert - and it has nothing to do with my body type though I have a large chest and full hips. I've seen plenty of women larger than myself who get this with no problem. If you know how to do it "correctly" and still cannot it's either lack of core and upper body strength or it's lack of flexibility. In my case it's lack of flexibilty - both the hamstrings and upper back which I fractured in my 20s. I can get up and hold it with my hips in the correct position but my legs do not hang as low as they should. There are many tips to the technique needed to get into this move though - like tilting to look down and back behind you, allowing your arms to extend and straighten after your hips go up, and to think more of pushing your hips UP making certain they are up and against the pole. Perhaps a video of how you're doing it would help?
pegasusaerialfitness · 9/19/2011
Try to laterally rotate the femur in the hip socket and use your adductors to bring the legs farther apart in your straddle. You will able to bring your feet farther apart and will appear to have more flexibility
pegasusaerialfitness · 9/19/2011
Also, use abs and flex your lower lumbar (low back, c curl, round, tilt, whatever you want to call it)
LizzyLiz810 · 9/19/2011
I have trouble with this myself, and i am a certified instructor. I have no problem doing shoulder mounts, or twisted grip lift, but for some reason the regular chopper invert just never looks right. Its really uncomfortable to me, and i feel like my boobs get in the way, but i will keep working on it. I have alot of scar tissue in my upper back, and it gets so aggravated with this invert. Make sure you look back when you do it though. That really helps.
sexygyrl · 9/20/2011
I was taught by practicing from the floor doing Basic Invert (same as in the lesson), then tuck one leg at a time before extending them out. That helped me some, but the rest was just hip tilt and stop trying to watch my legs.
AmazonLady · 9/20/2011
Girl, you are NOT alone. From the moves you described in your post, I think I'm about the same level you are and I can't get the chopper to save my life! I don't think it's your body type, because my shape is quite different than yours. I'm tall and fairly thin (5'10" and aprox 145 lbs). Not much butt or boobs to work with and I still can't get that move down. It is by far the hardest move I've learned so far (I'm still at an intermediate level). I can pull myself into a tuck, lean back, and extend my legs, but then they just fall right back down. I have pretty good core strength. I have no problem lifting and tucking or pulling myself up from a handstand, but that DAMN chopper! LOL. You must have to have abs of steel to pull it off. But I'm confident I can do it with enough practice. :) I'll definitely be trying some of the tips you all provided. 😀
DaniDuB · 9/20/2011
Thanks so much everyone! I read all of your great advice! Today was my first day of my new session at pole class. It's the first thing I tried and I did it!! I only held it for about 3 seconds but the whole class was cheering for me. :-). This is what I did: -started with hips in front of pole, hands at head level -tucked my knees up in a frog position and tilted back -once I was tilted back far enough, I straightened my legs -at the same time I straightened my legs, I tucked my pelvis inward and held it as long as I could. :-) My intructor is now teaching us to do the chopper into the Gemini. I will be so happy to get that down, but want to practice the chopper a little more...or a lot more. :)
xtinalovespole · 9/21/2011
@ DaniDuB I am so happy for you I am actually a bit misty! Congratulations! I had the oppurtunity to take a work shop with Jamilla Deville. She taught exactly what you described and tada I was up and held it! I feel that there is a light at the end of this tunnel! This is what I will be focusing on for my inverts and getting the technique right before I move on to other inverted holds.