Hi!
I don't have any personal experience with the Elektra pole, but from what I understand the finish is chrome. Is that correct? If so, I can say something about that, because after I learned on a brass pole at a bar I frequent, my chrome X-Pole seemed like someone had smothered grease all over it before I tried to mount it.
I found out that while I could grip the brass pole okay with a minimal amount of warming up, I cannot do that on the chrome X-pole. That has become even more true as the weather has become cooler. I do about ten minutes of calisthenics on the floor, like lunges, push-ups, crunches, and a little Yoga, and then I proceed to climb the pole and slide down a few times with as much skin on the pole as possible. In fact, you watched me do that in chat once! But maybe you didn't realise that's what I was doing at the time. If I am right that the Electra pole is chrome finished, it seems reasonable to me to think that the same principle would apply. I would suggest that warming yourself and your pole should help a lot.
Also, my skin is a little dryer than some other peoples', so I have to make sure I moisturise my thighs and hips and anything else I might try to grip the pole with. Dry skin won't hold the pole. So even though it's a bad idea to use the pole while lotions or moisturisers are on your skin because it can cause a fall, moisturising several hours before poling may be helpful. Any excesses of moisturiser can be removed with a towel, or even just by the clothing you wear before you begin your pole workout. Make sure your moisturiser isn't too oily though. Also, as your body temperature comes up, your skin will moisturise itself with a little sweat.
So warming yourself and warming your pole should help. Now that I know how to warm myself and my chrome pole, sometimes I almost feel as though it is TOO sticky, instead of slippery. Warming a pole is time consuming and can be annoying, but it's an important thing to do for your safety. Trying inverts or body grips on a cold, slippery pole can be dangerous! But if you and your pole are warm, your skin is conditioned well, and your pole is clean, you should be able to start doing pole sits and other beginner body grips safely. Also, I like to wash my hands with warm water and soap right before I get on my pole, because unlike the rest of my body, sometimes my hands need a little drying out to get a good grip that I can hold for a while. Plus, if I have anything slippery on my hands, it will make the pole slippery any time I try to hold it with any body part. It sounds basic and silly to even say, but its easy for me to forget to wash my hands before poling, even though it makes a big difference sometimes.
I hope this helps! Last, if you pole in a room that's usually cold, I recommend putting a space heater in the general vicinity of your pole for a few minutes before poling. Someone on this forum also suggested a hot blow dryer to warm the pole, which sounds like good, common sense to me.
I was relieved to find that my X-pole wasn't teflon coated, but rather it was just cold. I hope that the same is true of the Elektra pole.
Oh, yeah, and I hope you don't have to use this pole for too long before you get to have one of the safer, stronger, more-reputable ones. I'm in love with X-pole and recommend it to everyone. It's a low-cost pole when contrasted with its reputation and what it offers, and the customer service at X-pole is fantastic. On the subject of customer service, though, I doubt Carmen Elektra, or the obese men in suits who are mass producing and selling her pole would take the time to tell you how to get the most use out of your pole.
