Fit for pole: without pole

Prilladonna started this discussion · 11/8/2013

Hello there! About a month ago I moved and I wasn't able to get my pole with me. I miss doing pole work in my own house, and I havent really found a substitute to it. As it seems now I am able to do some pole at least in a studio. I also have got a gym card, and combine with some yoga in a hot yoga studio. Is there anyone out there having the same issues? Or does anyone have some tips for staying pole fit without a pole? Any experience from time off pole? Anything? Feelin a bit upset here, and in need of some advice of how to keep my spirit up and keep up with my pole journey. As it is now I wont be able to attend any classes until maby after christmas.

7 replies

Runemist34 · 11/8/2013
Hey! It can really suck when your pole is unavailable, and there isn't much for resources to get your fix... It sounds to me like you've got a pretty good handle on things, though! Gym membership, yoga, and a bit of pole in a studio, and sometimes that's all you need for a bit ;) I've experienced a lot of time off pole- going back to it can be pretty challenging at first, but I find often that the muscle memory sticks around, and you pick up those old mental notes to yourself ("Oh yeah, I put my hips THIS way!") fairly quickly. Last time I came back to pole from a brief hiatus, I was back up to speed within three or four sessions. Keeping yourself moving and working with things like yoga and weights will keep you from losing your strength, too :)
Prilladonna · 11/8/2013
Thank you Runemist34!:) Yeah, I hope that I wont loose my strength, even though I do train a lot of other stuff, it kinda isn't the same as pole, and the "pole muscles" is really what helps me keep fairly fit, at least I believe so. But once a week is maby enough :D
Lee lee · 11/9/2013
I agree with the previous poster, it sounds like you do have somethings to keep you fit and busy. In terms of missing pole, what if you took this time to work on your floorwork (or headstands/elbowstands, if you are there)? That way when you do get back into poling, you'll still feel as though you've been working towards that directly relates to pole.
AriesWolf · 11/10/2013
I had a similar experience when I moved this summer, and had to take about 3 months off pole. I had a gym membership, and doing weight training definitely helped. It still took a few pole sessions to get back up to speed, but I didn't lose nearly as much as I would have otherwise. Plus, in some ways, I was stronger than when I stopped poling. Verticali - Great suggestion about the floorwork. That's something I really wished I would have worked on over the summer. Just hang in there! Taking a forced pole vacation SUCKS, but it's not the end of the world. At least you don't have any injuries that prevent you from exercising altogether, so you should be able to get back in the swing of things fairly quickly.
RanPolaHolic · 11/11/2013
I also moved this summer and due to some family issues I had to stop pole dance for about 3 months. I was working on my flexibility though (front and middle splits) and did some yoga sessions, which I found very good. Check also www.lovingfit.com, this girl, Tatianna, suggests wonderful workouts, routines and challenges for the whole body. These have helped me a lot.
aurelka · 11/11/2013
I'm poling for one year now and only at my studio, I can't have a pole home. There were no classes during the summer vacation and I didn't do any kind of workout neither and when the classes began in september, I had lost strenght but it quickly came back with the pole classes and the exercises home. So if you go to the gym, you'll stay fit for pole without any problem.
RoseMay · 11/11/2013
Pull-ups & chin-ups! Obviously other weight training exercises are beneficial as well, but I think those exercises have a huge impact on pole strength. Add to that some handstand work and you're golden. I recently was off my pole for 6+ months while training for something else. During that time I increased my pull-up strength (from 0.5 to 5) - when I came back to my pole I "accidentally" did my first ever aerial shoulder mount in my first session :-o Obviously you will lose some of the skills during your time off. I know it would take me a few weeks to get back to being able to do Ayeshas and so on, also the pain tolerance for leg hangs gets a lot worse :p But not as bad as it was in the beginning. But it's definately possible to increase pole strength with gym equipment.