Pole Sit Skin Tearing

Kalighhargraves5811 started this discussion · 8/8/2014

I've been learning how to do pole sits and I seem to be progressively worse at it. I started out unable to do it at all, would just slide down. then I got to the point where I could do it, but I would get chafing/tearing in the crease where my crotch and inner thigh meet. My instructor told me with time this would stop happening. or at least not be as bad. But its getting worse, I'm now to the point where I can't even get to the leaning forward to move in front of the pole, part of the pole sit because my skin splits open and i ooze blood everywhere. Someone Help Me Please!!!!!!!

9 replies

Phoenix Hunter · 8/8/2014
If you are bleeding, I would not do this move anymore until your skin heals. so sorry that is happening! that sounds painful. when I was learning the pole sit I would chafe and bruise terribly but not bleed. pole sits are very painful when first learning them. also, you don't want the pole too close to your body/crotch. it's usually a little further down on the thigh on the thickest part of your thigh. actively squeezing your thighs together and tensing those thigh muscles will stop the sliding that chafes your skin. it takes time to get used to this move. but it really does get better and you wont feel pain at all. but don't do anything that will cause your skin to bleed in the meantime. let your skin heal and work on other things maybe.
Rachel Osborne · 8/8/2014
Oh gosh poor you, definitely heal up before doing it again! I had game-changing advice on this which will share in case it helps you. I was taught that a pole sit is not a straight thigh- clamping sit but an optical illusion. You are not sitting straight on the pole, clinging on with a tiny, tortured bit of skin: you are twisted - tilting your hips to distribute weight along your long, strong thigh bones, cushioned by muscle and fat, rolling your thighs inward towards each other, engaging all your muscles so the skin is supported by the muscle underneath and doesn't catch and year. And then you tilt your rib cage and upper body the other way so you appear to be straight. To have a feel of it, exaggeratedly cross your legs whilst sitting on a chair and look at yourself in a mirror. Drop the hip bone of the underneath leg so you are pushing it towards the chair seat. The other hip will rise. You look all wonky, yes? Now shift your upper body and shoulders away from the dropped hip so your shoulders look level. Ta da! Good luck. Ps. Sudacrem nappy rash cream is amazing for healing chafing, raw skin. :)
Rachel Osborne · 8/8/2014
Veena lesson!https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/18f0621c-b91f-11df-856f-001b214581be
CrazyKosters · 8/9/2014
Yes what Tropicalpole said. Depends on the type of sit too. I would say take a pic or post a vid but you need to let your skin heal!
MeganJoan · 8/9/2014
What the others have said! Never, ever, ever do something to the point that you're bleeding! Aside from anything else it's counter productive to progress! Definitely give yourself adequate time to heal up and then practice in the style outlined above. Practice sitting static until it gets too much and do that maybe three or four times (if you can). Then come back to it two or three days later and do it again. You'll find that over time you can stay in it longer until you realise it barely hurts at all and you can sit in it all day! Hope you heal quickly, because that sounds awful!
Phoenix Hunter · 8/9/2014
yes, tilting one hip down will lock you into place. tilt down towards the crossed over leg. truthfully, I have big thighs and I have never been comfortable with crossing my legs around the pole. I stick my legs out in front of me and cross my ankles. but on the rare occasion I do need to cross my legs, I tilt that hip down. veena has the best pole sit lesson. try to get her lessons if you don't already have them. they didn't even teach the hip tilt thing at my studio and they are great instructors. but I would never have been able to pole sit if I didn't watch venae's lesson. I struggled really bad with the pole sit and was scared I would never make it past that. it is now very comfortable and I can sit for days...:)
Veena · 8/9/2014
OMG you poor thing! I good rule to follow is to make around 10 attempts when it comes to a move. This will help you avoid excessive bruising and overuse injury. Let your skin fully heal before trying the pole sit again. Pole should not make you bleed! Feel better soon!
Kalighhargraves5811 · 8/10/2014
I will give it a try when my skin heals. I always wait till my skin heals when I tear it. and when I do manage to break skin in a pole sit it usually happens right when I let go of the pole to move forward. I do have a picture of me doing a pole sit correctly and After this one I got a little chafing but nothing bad. I attached it. I'm almost wondering if I am currently trying to put the pole to far back into my crotch and thats the problem. When I heal, I am going to try and seed what putting the pole just a tad farther out and see if that solves it.
MeganJoan · 8/10/2014
Maybe wait until you've fully healed and would usually try, and then wait an extra week as well just to be sure. Make sure you're really squeezing your thighs together and don't just suddenly let go of the pole. If you're really dropping into the move and your skin isn't ready for it then that could be part of the problem. So, get into position, squeeze tight and slowly loosen your hand grip. If you find that loosening it off a bit makes your skin burn then just sit like that for as long as you can, jump off and do that again a couple more times. I've been working on death drops (not sure what other call them but it's a release back with legs out straight, crossed at the ankles so you can fall back into a handstand etc.) and it uses a slightly different part of skin. It burns so bad I cannot let go, but each time I practice this way I lean back further and loosen my grip a little more. I've been doing this for weeks, so don't expect progress over night, and just make sure you're working at your own pace and not pushing yourself.