help it hurts way to much

wilksjo started this discussion · 4/11/2009

ive been pole lessons for bout 4 months and can get into the basic invert or one from the chair. im flexable enough to move but am just in to much pain. im quite slim so my knee doesnt wrap round the pole much or my bones just clash. what am i doing wrong. i can stick for a few mins letting go but it just tares my skin to pieces as i squeeze. please help want to move on to greater things

9 replies

lily · 4/11/2009
Hang in there - and be tough!! It really is such a brutally physical sport - meeting the challenge is part of the high!! My only advice is to go slow....I feel like I am going at a turtle's pace because of the pain too....take time off if you need but don't take time off from stretching and strength exersices (k I need to take my own advice here 🙂 ) and you'll see improvement the next time you brave the pole.
Veena · 4/11/2009
it's really common to feel like your ripping the skin right off LOL. It just takes time to get your skin use to it and to learn how to control your grip. Also it can be more painful on the skin if your close to, or during menstruation. 🌸
Foxy_Rei · 4/12/2009
Like the other girls said, you'll get used to it. I used to be in soooo much pain from doing a pole sit and now it doesn't even bother me; which is great because now I can concentrate on working up the ab strength to sit up without holding on or hooking my bottom foot! Just keep at it and your skin will get used to the feeling.
wilksjo · 4/24/2009
thanks think im just being inpatient now i can invert i want to do it all
RubyLynnOliver · 4/26/2009
I know how you feel just wanting to do it all. Everyone is amazing here. I can't wait, I am impatient. I want now!!! 😂
Rouge_LAmour · 4/26/2009
boring old pole sit drills is what you need to do to reduce the pain. Get on the pole, into a sit position, hold for 30 seconds - or build up to 30 seconds in 10" blocks. It will hurt. Crazy pain hurt. Get down, fan your thighs and get back up there and do it again, for 45 seconds. Do it again and make it part of your pole practise. Increase by 15 seconds. Work up to 5 minutes. After a very short time, the pain will go. Your skin will be used to the friction burns and pain. slenderness has very little to do with it, we have very slim students who have no problems, it's about muscle memory and knowing the correct placement of the body. Now you're getting excited about pole, in the haste to be amazing, don't forget to work on control and strength. Take your moves very slowly, right back to the basics, and do them very slowly with good body and arm positions. Then practise them with the other hand, ergo if a lefty, do them right handed. Great tools for making things get better, but not so flash as getting the big tricks, but, as any good tutor will tell you, it's not all about the flash, inverted tricks. Is this all boring, yes. Good for your Pole development, absolutely. This will build up strength and help prevent injury.
wilksjo · 4/26/2009
thanks for that. that sounds like a good idea and plan. i only go once a week to class , i have my own pole but at the moment no time to work on it. will i still get better with the pain or will i go back to square one every week?
Rouge_LAmour · 4/26/2009
You'll get better, or more importantly, the pain will go. Once you can comfortably do 90 seconds without any pain, make that your starting point. then increase the starting point as you get to a higher time with ease. This also helps for learning the laybacks (x ankle / fantasy and x knee / figure 4). Do you have a tv near your pole that you can watch while doing this? I sometimes get girls to sing along to Madonna, takes the mind off what you're doing.
nikki_christie · 4/26/2009
Hehe in the beginning I DID rub the skin right off my wrists! I had to wear bandaids on my wrists for a while so they wouldn't go all bloody! But eventually the skin just gets tougher, like now I have callouses on my hands and much tougher skin on my right wrist than my left! But basically, every time you try a new move, it will probably hurt (with the exception of some moves where you are more off the pole than on it) - but when you have done that move for a while and do it regularily your nerves just seem to get the point and you don't feel it nearly as much. This process can take a while tho, depending on how much you practice! Good luck, stay brave, wear your bruises with pride!!