How long do you workout for?

Runemist34 started this discussion · 1/5/2011

Hey guys, I was wondering...how long do you work out for, in a day, or in a week? I mean, everyone (or at least everyone I see) seems to get a LOT better, a lot faster than I do. Last time I was pole dancing, I was barely getting into inversions, and I'd been pole dancing for at least six months to a year. So, this leads me to think that people are pole dancing like, every day for at LEAST an hour, and I just can't fathom it! I've got school and all kinds of other things, I don't have time to do all this strength training and pole dancing and stuff! It would take me like...three hours to get everything done if I did all of the exercises I see for strength training, AND trying to pole dance and enjoy it! Ugh! 😈 There you have it. I'm terribly frustrated. Is it just me? Is my body not responding properly? Am I screwed for doing advanced moves?

16 replies

Kobajo84 · 1/6/2011
@Runemist34- Everyone progresses differently. Some people are being taught by instructors at local studios while others are getting their instruction from online lessons. A lot of people that are self taught have a harder time because they're learning on their own with no one there to critique them and guide them when they're doing something incorrectly. It helps to have someone teaching you because that person has a plan for your progression and guides you in your progress. I try to work out every other day. I've been poling since July 2008. I took 5 months off in early 2009 and had a few months off in 2010 due to sickness. My workouts now are generally 1 to 2 hours, depending on what I'm working on. I start with a head to toe stretching exercises focusing on working my way down my body- that usually lasts about 10 minutes and sometimes I incorporate the foam roller to loosen up my back. Then I do a cardio warm up dance of pirouettes and spins. I move on to tricks then put things together. I finish with some cool down stretches and my foam roller to loosen everything up. I make sure I work out every other day so I have a day of rest in between. Today was my day of rest and I did some 5 minute stretching before work since I'm sore and feeling muscle tightness from yesterdays workout. Tomorrow I'll get to workout again but I'm going to take it easy on some of the more intense tricks because I'm so sore today. It's important to listen to your body and feed it what it needs during your workouts. Sounds like you just need to come up with an organized routine. I also have a pole diary where when I randomly think of or see moves in videos I will write down the reference of the video or the sequence of the combos so when I'm working out I can have something to work off of. Hope some of that helps. 😀
Runemist34 · 1/6/2011
Kobajo84 - Thank you :) I know that people progress differently, but this has been an ongoing problem for me. I started pole dancing...well, probably three years ago? Maybe more? I seem to have my phases, going in and out of passion for it, but the longest was the most recent, of 8 months or so. I started dancing through a local pole dancing studio, of which there was only one, and we didn't have a lot of moves. I've done Veena's lessons some time ago (probably about a year ago, actually!) and I've been learning a lot of moves from the internet. I realize it's a whole lot harder to learn things without someone around to tell you what you're doing wrong. I've had some difficult times with moves that people tell me are easy, but I've been doing wrong somehow. And yes, I likely need a regular routine. It's hard for me to transition from my normal status of chaos to something more organized...really, I would get a lot more done and feel happier with organized, but...I get worried I'd lose a lot of those weird spontaneous things that happen during my day, too. It's an interesting issue.
JenLFG · 1/6/2011
i pole on mondays, wednesdays & fridays for 3 hours, well, the first 20 mins is getting warmed up & the last 30 mins is all about stretching so about 2hours of pole work. on tuesdays & thursdays i go to a kickboxing class for an hour 😀
meaganoff · 1/6/2011
Wow, you guys pole a LOT! Background seems to be important in how you progress; I've been told I progress really fast, but I was a gymnast from birth (both my parents are coaches) to about age 12 - mind you, a really crappy gymnast who could never do that well in comparison to my peers - but it was enough to build strength and body awareness that has helped me 15 years later in poling. That said -- lots of AMAZING polers like Natasha Wang don't come from a dance or gymnastics background; I don't think it's how long it takes to achieve what you want, just that you stick to it! As for schedule. I started poling once a week in a studio class in Mar 2010, then when I got my own pole at home in Sept 2010, I would do one pole session in the studio and one at home, about between 1.5 - 2 hrs long, including stretching. Occasionally I would throw in a dance only session, no tricks. No set schedule, just when I felt like it. Right now I'm doing one in-studio session and two strength training sessions a week; working up to two pole sessions and two strength sessions a week. Pole can be - especially in places with cold winters / slippy poles - really hard on the joints / tendons. At least, for me. So it's nice to lift / do resistance training as an alternative, so I can keep progressing without burning out. I completely second Kobajo - My best advice for anyone is: listen to your body - it really will tell you how it wants to be worked and how often, if you can get in tune with it.
chemgoddess1 · 1/6/2011
When I was going to a studio I poled usually 1.5 hours there and maybe (and that is a HUGE maybe) on other session a week at home for maybe 30 minutes. I know for me it is so much better if i am with other people...I tend to give up too easily when I am alone. Last night was a good example....I intended to pole but once I hit it I was having issues with grip. The things I wanted to work on required me to have a good grip, so I basically just worked on pretty-ing up some moves and then did my stretches for the splits. All in all with warm up and stretching I worked out 45 minutes. Outside of pole I try to do zumba at least 3 times a week. If I get to pole once a week I am donig good.
Runemist34 · 1/6/2011
I agree with Meganoff...you guys pole a lot! @Meganoff: Yes, I know :P I should be listening a bit better. It's an interesting catch 22 for me...it's kinda like physics! You know, object in motion tends to stay in motion, object at rest etc? Well, normally I find myself "at rest" and it's hard to make myself not be! So, when I'm in motion, sometimes I fight it, and sometimes I don't. The funny part is that, after a while, I hit a seemingly insurmountable plateau, where I've gotten everything I know how to do down pretty well, but the next step is too hard! I'm strong in one way, but not strong enough in another. It's frustrating! It's interesting to me that some of you pole 3 times a week for an hour each time, and some pole once or twice a week, but it seems like for longer, usually. And, people seem to have other methods of fitness, too, so that's also probably helping. Thank you for the information! It gives me a good gauge for what people are doing and how they progress. Of course, I'll be making sure that I don't overdo it with my own fitness routine (whatever it ends up being). At least now I know I should probably be doing stuff for longer! :P
JenLFG · 1/6/2011
If you will give your muscles a day of rest between your pole days you will build muscle faster :-) also if you can eat something high in protine afterwards (like within 20 mins) that will help you too! I usually eat a cliff builders bar while I work on spilts right after pole. I have only been doing that for a few months but I feel like it makes a big difference!
Runemist34 · 1/6/2011
Scandalicious: Yeah, it used to be that I would dance for a couple of days, and then if I woke up sore, I'd stop until I wasn't so sore anymore! I didn't want to push myself, you know? And...well, isn't their protein in bananas? Maybe I could have some of those...or is granola bars having of protein? I'm horribly picky with what I eat, unfortunately, and that DOESN'T mean that I eat healthy! I tend to eat like a little kid, actually...all sugar and chocolate and salty things! It gets better when I actually exercise though. I think I have a plan, however...thank you very much, ladies! I appreciate the feedback. :)
JenLFG · 1/7/2011
im picky with what i eat too 😀 the peanut butter cliff builders are like a candy bar😀😀😀
velvetvixen · 1/8/2011
I currently Pole Dance 3x a week for 90 minutes total. I also use a timer or else I'll dance the whole time. 😉 20-strength training 1 song-Transitions only/ work on flow 25-practice/learning new moves (Veena's and different resources) 25-Dance to songs (The fun part for me!) 20-Stretching (DVD) -- http://www.poletopia.com/ Unique items that embrace the spirit of pole!
Veena · 1/8/2011
One thing everyone needs to consider.... why are you pole dancing? If its for fun and exercise? Then 3 times a week for 45m to one hour or more if time permits is a great workout!! You might progress up into Advanced level moves but it will take longer.....however....THAT'S OK🥂. We all shouldn't feel like we have to be a super star to be a pole dancer!! We need to remember pole dance can be done just for the expression and fun of it while getting in shape. I wish everyone would stop worrying about how advanced they are or aren't. Live is short enjoy it! If your goal its to shoot for advancing for competing then its a whole different ball game! Then you need to be "training" This will require you to train off the pole as well. Long flexibility sessions, long weight training sessions, and massages to name a few things . A healthy diet is also really important or you will lose energy and your training will suffer. Right now I have had almost 2 months off the pole and have only danced 4 times in that time period. Other times I will "train" 6 days a week...but not pole every day. You run the risk of overuse injuries if you do the SAME thing alllllllllll the time every day. Also remember dancers or anyone for that matter, who train to compete tend to have injuries because of their sport....We think of bodybuilders or athletes as being the perfect example of health but many times they have injuries and do some pretty unhealthy things to get to a high level. The home poler should enjoy their experience and focus on slowly gaining strength, flexibility and having fun while improving your overall health.
Runemist34 · 1/8/2011
Veena, I completely agree with you. A lot of people are surprised to find out their favourite athlete is injured, or deals with chronic pain. I prefer to think of myself as a "fun and exercise" kind of girl, though that ever-niggling need to be "advanced!" is in the back of my mind, no matter how much I swat it off. I think it's more that I love to see improvement, so getting into things like spins and inversions that are very hard is always an achievement for me. However, I'm starting to also realize that I like the idea of pretty-ing up my moves, so I'm hoping that even that gives me a sense of accomplishment. I'll need to set up my video camera, after a while! Thank you, Veena, for letting me know! :)
Julian · 1/8/2011
When I train on my pole at home, I don't think I ever train for over 1 hour, including warm ups and warm downs! I am happy if I do a good 45 minutes session. Everyone is different as Veena rightly said. I have been pole dancing for 5 years. I imagine that if I'd trained every other day for 2 hours, I'd be a professional by now. But I have decided to take it slow. I want pole dancing to be my sport all my life, so why rush it? I have just started an advanced class (level 5) in London (UK). And precisely because I took my time in building up strength I did very well and could already do a lot of the moves with great control. It was really gratifying! I also really believe in letting the body recuperate from sports also. I was in a lot of pain after this last pole session. So I just has hot baths and didn't do any sport, apart from walking! And I am sure it will help my next session.
MrsNaughtywed · 1/8/2011
I think I'm on my pole almost every other day for about 30 minutes to an hour. I have my pole in an area of my house that I walk by a lot and this makes me want to do a spin every time I pass it. lol!
chimponaut · 1/9/2011
I tend to pole at a studio for an hour and a half on Monday and Wednesdays (that includes warm up and cool down). On Tuesdays, I do aerial silks, Chinese Pole (sometimes lyra as well) and assissted stretches for 2-3 hours. Although I wish I had a day in between pole and silks but that's the only way it fits into my hectic work and family schedule. Sometimes I pole on Thursday or Friday at the studio as well but in general I either run, bike, stretch or pole at my house and then take Saturday and Sunday to rest and spend time with my family :) I used to only pole at a studio one day a week and then pole at my house 3 to 4 days a week and have found that since I pole 2x a week at a studio and have been doing silks and Chinese pole, my strength, motivation and dedication have all increased.
Reyn · 1/9/2011
I think if you've hit a plateau in moves then you might consider doing more off-pole strength training. For me I did the same thing, hit a wall.... and now that I'm balancing it out with some extra strength stuff I am (slowly but surely) overcoming that wall and also finding my old tricks are improving as well!