Performance Tips & Tricks

PoleGrrrrl started this discussion · 5/20/2010

Hi ladies, I've been a bit remiss recently in hanging out on this site as I've been a bit busy, both with a new job and also training for a comp. Soo... As some of the irish girls here know, the Irish Pole Championships is this Saturday (so less than two days), and I'm entering the advanced section. Although we're not quite up to the level of the USPDF girls (not yet anyway 🥂 ) this is the biggest comp there is in Ireland. EVERYONE will be there (pressure, what pressure?) Naturally I'm very (very) nervous, so I'm reaching out to ask all the performers and competitors on this site to give me any last minute tips on body prep, mental prep, organising myself on the day, etc etc. Basically anything that may help me either with my routine, or overcome my nerves, sweatiness, slippiness, you know the drill! n.b Unfortunately the comp is being held on an Xstage, which wobbles like a BIATCH when you get up the top (I did a comp on it last year and it was horrible 🙁 ), so any tips on how to work around that would also be much appreciated. And I PROMISE I will put up a vid of my performance once its over and done with 🙂 xoxox

9 replies

minicoopergrl · 5/21/2010
Ive been performing my whole life and I still get nervous up until they annouce my name as next. I will pace the hallway, listen to my routine song 17x over. Once I get out on stage in the opening pose and the music starts, its all over and down hill from here. I also suggest having a good stretch session the morning of or right before to get you warmed up. If you music calls for it smile. But most importantly - HAVE FUN!!!
MommaBear · 5/21/2010
I have nothing valuable to offer in terms of getting ready for a competition, but I wanted to tell you best of luck and think positive! I'm sure you'll do awesome!!
ManCandy · 5/22/2010
I am a high performance gymnastics coach. Part of my job is mentally preparing my athletes for competition, here is my advise and even my 8 year olds understand it: Everything in our bodies and the way they respond to stress was designed for when we lived in tribal communities long before society as we know it emerged. Every day we would have to chase after things for dinner or run away from things to avoid becomming dinner (including warring tribes)! In order to protect ourselves, our bodies had a special response for our SURVIVAL! Those butterflies you feel in your stomache is actually the blood in our digestive system being diverted elsewhere in our bodies like our muscles to make us stronger and our reflexes better, and our eyes to make our vision sharper. The twitchyness, extra energy, pacing and restlessness is a chemical release of adrenaline, endorphines, stimulants and painkillers! Powerful stuff! All meant to help us survive when our life is in danger! When at competition, our lives are obviously not in danger, but our bodies respond AS IF THEY WERE! So, when you feel the butterflies and the nerves, think of them as "rediness" and remember that they do not come to annoy us or get in our way or make us lose the competition and they are not something to fight either. Welcome this response! Most people get even more worked up because they are stressed about being stressed, or nervous about being so nervous, or upset about being upset!!! Just by allowing yourself to feel this way and being ok with feeling this way makes things a whole lot better. The next step is to actually HARNESS this energy and focus it on what you're about to do (rather than hating its existance and trying to fight it). If you let this nervous energy just roll off your body scattered, you'll probably bobble, make mistakes you'd never make in training, overdo things, rush, forget stuff etc. If you can focus it like a laser beam and understand that its there TO HELP YOU PERFORM and be ok with it, this can give you the biggest edge in your life! THIS RESPONSE MAKES YOU STRONGER, QUICKER AND SHARPER! trying to make it go away will only make things worse. Respect it, embrace it, ENJOY IT and it can truley be your friend!
2dyzzi · 5/24/2010
That is SO awesome Man Candy! I've never thought about it that way! Thanks for sharing - I'm gonna save that and look back at it from time to time ☀️ Hope it went well polegrrrrl! I'm sure you rocked it
ManCandy · 5/26/2010
I just thought I'd share a mental focusing exercise that has worked well for the teams I've coached: There are two different types of focus: internal focus and external focus. One of the most powerful ways to "center" your mind is to alternate focus between the two. Here's how: 1. Take 3-5 deep slow diaphramatic breathes to start with. 2. Close your eyes and focus on only one thing you feel in your body and say outloud (or as words in your mind), "I feel..." Some examples could be: I feel my heart beating in my chest; I feel an itch under my left knee; I feel tightness in my neck; I feel where the root of my hair touches my scalp; I feel myself breath into my stomache; I feel butterflies (remember, not a bad thing 😉); I feel my pulse in my big toe/left arm; I feel the fabric of my shirt on my skin; I feel the warmth of the sun on my back; I feel a wedgie from my damn underware etc... Really really feel it, become super-aware of it, and focus your thoughts on that one internal thing with your eyes closed. 3. Open your eyes and focus on just one thing external in your surroundings and say outloud (or as words in your mind) something like: I see the hour hand of the clock on the wall; I see the treebranch blowing in the wind; I smell my training partner's sweat; I smell my competitor's fear; I hear the ticking of the clock; i hear a girl shouting; I see my image in the mirror; I see a speck of dust on the floor, etc... 4. Continue to alternate between the two (Don't worry about breathing or anything.) Just focus internally with eyes closed, then externally with eyes open, and keep repeating for several minutes. You can do this anytime you need to ground yourself, its especially good with a partner. It also works for life-stresses, job-stresses, and performance stresses too. I reccomend incorporating "mental training" into every work out for at least 15 mins for anyone who is even thinking about competing. Think about how important mental preparation is for competitors. So many athletes will spend 8 - 16 hours a week working on their "physical preparation" and "physical" skills for their sport, but never work on the equally important "mental" skills that every competitor needs.
ManCandy · 5/26/2010
Visualization and positive self-talk is also extremely important! Heres a very important note, though: VISUALIZATION AND POSITIVE SELF TALK WILL DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING FOR YOU ON THE DAY OF THE COMPETITION UNLESS YOU'VE DONE IT CONSISTANTLY AND DAILEY FOR MONTHS. The first little while when you repaet to yourself: I am an amazing pole dancer; I am strong etc, Your powerful brain will reply "bull s@#t!!" and bring to your concious mind every reason why you think you're not. It may even "feel" wrong to say great things about yourself out loud! But keep doing it. Your subconcious mind cannot differentiate between whats true or not. It only proccesses whats put in it, and over time can be reprogrammed with enough consistant dailey input, and will start going out of its way to support the new programming! Some athletes actually write affirmations and put it on their mirror to recite everyday when they wake up and go to sleep. Another great point about the sub-concious mind is that: THE SUB-CONCIOUS MIND CANNOT DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN WHAT IS REAL AND WHAT IS VIVIDLY IMAGINED! This is so true that scientific equipment can pick up low level electrical activity in the muscles that you would use to do a move when you are still and just imagining it. Visualization actually trains your mind AND your muscles. You can practice your newest invesion at your desk at work in your mind and your muscles will practice and learn the move, and nueromuscular pathways (muscle memory) are reinforced! You can also feel your flawless performance in front of a crowd this way over and over again for weeks and months before you perform!!!
Voodoochild · 5/27/2010
Wow, Mancandy will you please come to Texas and be my coach!?!?!?! =] I want to print off all your posts and read them every day! I have a competition coming up on Monday so im glad I read this post!!! Thanks Mancandy!!! <3 Voodoochild
ottersocks · 5/27/2010
Heheheheheh. 😛 Take it from all of us who were in NY for USPDF: Mancandy knows how to PERFORM!!!!! 🥂 🥂 🥂 🥂 🥂 Excellent advice from an amazing dancer. Good luck with your competitions!
MommaBear · 5/28/2010
Ditto on your idea Voodoo. So glad you posted this Mancandy!! We are taking a trip to Florida, which is HUGE. I haven't left my little safety zone in years because of panic attacks. I'm hoping they are under control enough to allow me an enjoyable vacation. I'm working on visualizing a panic free plane ride and vacation - hopefully my stupid brain will fall for it. 😂 This trip will take me full circle to the incident that I think started all this madness. During our last vacation I watched a young girl pulled from the pool, they tried CPR, but she was gone. This was such a defining moment and I think the incident which started my anxiety/panic attacks. Who knew that the love you have for your children could work against you in such a negative way. I haven't been the same since. I hope by doing this I can re-face the issue that brought me this place and find peace and closure and move on with my life. Off to deep breathe and visualize, just speaking about it stills up the feelings of anxiety and panic 🙄 Hubby is going to have to be my psychiatrist for the moment, maybe just getting this off my chest and out in the open will help. I deserve a good cry. Thanks again for posting this ManCandy 🫡