What do your workouts REALLY look like?

Runemist34 started this discussion · 11/8/2014

Something I've been thinking about recently is the difference between what we may THINK other people's pole workouts are like... and what they actually are! I seem to have this weird belief that everyone else is doing some kind of amazing thing every time they touch their pole; be it dancing some kind of fantastic and beautiful freestyle or routine, to nailing moves left, right, and center each time they practice! It's all pole-oriented, and I don't seem to "compute" that other things are necessary sometimes. My own workouts consist of some light freestyle (usually grounded, few spins) for about 15 minutes as my "warm up," which then easily transitions into struggling my way through my current move-focus, which is currently the chair spin. I try to add some dancing to it, but it doesn't often go that way. Then, I get into major strength-training, with side-pole-hold knee lifts, an actual workout routine for about 15-20 minutes focusing on either my arms or my core, and then lots of flexibility training. This all takes about an hour, and then I'm done! It doesn't FEEL like a lot of pole-oriented workout. I'm not working on a routine or anything, so I suppose it's tough to get perspective! So, what do you REALLY do when you go to "hit the pole"?

36 replies

msusagi · 11/8/2014
There is only so much a beginner like me can do... Lol! But what you describe sounds like what I do! To me, the warm up means I don't do serious strength or flexibility training yet because I want to operate at my optimal strength and energy when trying out the new moves. I try to warm up using the pole because well... it's there and in doing so try to figure out ways of moving my body around it, all with at least one foot planted on the ground. But there are also a few warm up exercises I do away from the pole like planks. Then work through the basic hook spins that I learnt, then the new ones, and intersperse with trying out various landing and transition moves. I do a bit of light stretching and conditioning in between because being up in the air is tiring. I think my arms and legs would also appreciate a different position or move to just lubricate the joints and release the tension from having to hold on tight. When I feel like I am done with the technical learning and practice, I do my serious strengthening, then stretching and a little bit of a cool down just moving around with light stretches.
grayeyes · 11/8/2014
I warm up my muscles for about 5-10 minutes (neck rolls, arm stretches, a few lunges and leg stretches, some hip rolls, etc.--nothing major). Next I usually do some static spins like carousel and reverse grab to try to warm up the pole alternating with some climbs and V-leg lift type things to further warm up my muscles and build a little strength. Here's the part I think I need to change. I then sort of run through every trick I know because I'm afraid I'll lose them if I don't practice them. I need to stop this or I'll never learn anything new. By the time I've done this I'm pretty worn out but I do usually try to learn one new trick or at least start learning one. I rarely freestyle but I do like to put my heels on usually at the end and dance around a bit or do tricks in them because I LOVE THEM AND THEY MAKE ME HAPPY!
Rachel Osborne · 11/8/2014
At home, I warm up fast and hard (mountain climbers or similar to get body warm then roll head shoulders wrists waist hips do plies and kicks) then start freestyling. Sometimes this turns into me playing with a single move over and over, videoing its variations and entry/exit, and watching clips back while I stretch a bit, then dancing it into a freestyle, then dancing some other moves I have down into another freestyle, then stretch (not as much as I want/need) then I rush off. I have to cram my workouts in to under an hour because I have to collect my son from morning preschool. I shower and eat later once he's home and had lunch. I try to grab a bit of foam rolling when I can, I keep the roller close at home! I also do 4 morning pole classes which are more structured. I try to fit in yoga and stretch time in evenings but there's not much time as I have to make dinner and after dinner I am not up for it. If husband works late I eat dinner early with son and then I have free time once son in bed to do yoga etc
Anzia · 11/9/2014
I more-or-less do Veena's 13 min warm up, and I focus particularly on knees, ankles, feet, wrists and fingers at the end. I also stretch my hip flexors and calves lightly as they're often a bit tight. Then I do the beginner and novice spins/holds from my studio's guide book to warm up the pole. Then I try to focus on 1-3 newer intermediate moves and practise those with my crash mat out. Then either a few more basic spins or some stretching. I prefer to stretch after running though, when I'm REALLY warm!
Phoenix Hunter · 11/9/2014
I do a 15minute warm-up: I work from the bottom up. squats,plies, then hamstring stretches and lunges for hip flexors, maybe some high kicks. for my spine I do body rolls. 10forward, 10 reverse. then 10 cat/cow stretches while kneeling on hands and knees. for shoulders I do arm circles all directions, various shoulder stretches. then a few shoulder rolls and neck circles. sometimes I do handstands in my warmup. I will do 3 handstands and 3 elbowstands and hold them for as long as comfortable. for my main workout:45min I usually pick 4-5 tricks I want to work on or maybe a combo or tricks. I attempt each trick on each side for about 5 tries. I always know what I'm gonna work on before I pole because otherwise I just stand around. I will make myself move on after 5 attempts whether they were good or not. I find this important because it keeps me from getting frustrated and sore. cool off 5-10min: any light stretches, what ever feels good. on days that I dont pole I do flexibility training which usually consists of 1 hour of following along with cleo's rock n legs n abs or Get Bendy flexibility DVD
Phoenix Hunter · 11/9/2014
also, some days I only do strength training on my pole, no tricks or spins. on those days I will do Veena's strength training routine with a few of my own strength training exercises that I like to do. then I will do a quick cool down. on those days it is usually a total 45minutes.
Rachel Osborne · 11/9/2014
Phoenix your training sounds really organised and effective. I need more structure in my home practice, think I will be stealing your ideas!
CatsEyes · 11/9/2014
I work just like Phoenix Hunter :) I do a 15 minute warm-up ending on a freestyle doing some spins and dancing moves. I pick 3-4 tricks or combos I want to work on and try them about 3-4 times. If there is one I succeed, I try it 2 more times so that i'm sure it's not luck ! Then, I work on things I succeeded during my last training and need to be perfected, trying to find a nice combo, entry, exit, etc. Then I stretch a little bit and end my training using my foam roller. I don't train on tricks or combo everytime. Some days, I will just dance around, working my flow, foorwork or focus on gaining strength.
Phoenix Hunter · 11/9/2014
haha! Tropicalpole, I am a creature of habit. I structure my work out very similar to what my studio does. if I dont have an outline to go by I just get lost.
Tamarinda · 11/9/2014
Sometimes I warm up with pop Pilates if my goal is strength building. Then I do some pole with whatever energy I have left. I always end with at least an hour of stretch no matter what I do. Sometimes I warm up with a feestyle. Then work on pole moves before my energy depletes. While working on pole moves it generally looks like me trying a move, failing then laying on the floor for a bit, throwing my fists up at the pole asking, 'WHHHHHY' in a very dramatic manner. Then trying again and generally failing again. My pole practice is quite boring with a lot of lulls. When practicing pole moves I end with strength building exercises on the pole (found on youtube) with what little energy I have left. Pole is very boring especially in the beginning where we focuses on strength, flexibility, and stamina training before we get up and just execute moves after move. The videos we see that are very put together do not show the thousand hours of training. And the sexy floor work we see do not show the goofiness and awkwardness that first begun. Training is a very defeating process that takes a lot of motivation.
Phoenix Hunter · 11/9/2014
Tamarinda, that sounds dreadful! haha! I think I would get discouraged and give up if my workouts were that tough. you have alot energy and drive.
Phoenix Hunter · 11/9/2014
there's no way I could do an hour of stretching after poling. flexibility training drains takes alot of my energy so I have to do it on days I dont pole
Tamarinda · 11/9/2014
Pole is very dreadful and much harder than it looks. One thing that keeps me going and happy is that I feel awesome after I've sweated out all of my guts. My bad moods always turn into good moods after a good pole session where I get my blood pumping and endorphins going. I figure one day it will all be worth it and the muscle memory and stamina will be up :D
Runemist34 · 11/9/2014
Tamarinda, that sounds... surprisingly a lot like my running! It's horrible, and painful, and I hate doing it all the time... but I feel SO AWESOME afterward! And, I see progress often and feel like I'm doing something really good for myself- and I am! I haven't had pain in my knees for months now, and I can actually use them in ways that I haven't been able to for over ten years. I've considered working on routines and things for my pole workouts, rather than freestyle... or, I suppose, putting together combos and working on those at easy levels to warm up, and then progressively harder as I get all warmed up! I love seeing how everyone's workouts are put together, and how different it all is from the beautiful pieces we put together for showing off!
Tamarinda · 11/9/2014
Phoenix Hunter, the amount I stretch you would never know because flexibility comes horribly slow to me. I try to put work into my weakness which is flexibility. I truly have to force myself to stretch and keep at it. I took part in a 60 day splitter challenge so hopefully that helps... But... I'm not getting my hopes up because even consistency doesn't get me too far with stretching it seems. Runemist working out does feel great afterward and I guess it doesn't matter what our training session looks like as long as we do it and feel awesome afterward!!!
Lucca Valentine · 11/9/2014
Ever since my knee injury my workouts are insanely unstructured and I just do what I feel like doing that day...I'm crazily adhd which works to my benefit cuz I have to exercise or I'll lose my mind. that being said I tend to "work out" multiple times a day even if just for a short while. Like if I'm studying or doing school work and my mind starts to wander, I'll do some pull ups or push ups to refocus, go hoop for 2-3 songs, run through some sub salutations, or go mess around on the aerial hammock. Pole is a different situation cuz once I start that it's pretty much all I'm doing for the rest of the day, so I can't really do it sporadically o_O So on pole days I warm up with freestyles or hooping. If I'm feeling not very creative/expressive I'll use veenas conditioning or strength routines to warm up. Then it's kind of whatever happens happens. I keep a sheet of goal moves/moves to perfect/spin pole moves/old moves to practice to keep fresh. There's about 3-4 moves in each category at any given time and I'll pull from those moves for whatever I feel like working on that session. Then once I hit all the goal moves on that sheet I start a new sheet with what I feel are appropriate moves for each category. Now that my knee is starting to feel more stable in hoping to get back on a structured schedule which was running/stretching every other day and pole/strengthening every other day
Phoenix Hunter · 11/9/2014
Yes, flexibility is not natural for me either. sometimes I think flexibility training is harder than my pole training
HilaryKate aka LolaSlaytor · 11/10/2014
This is a great thread! I definitely struggle with making my home training sessions productive. When I get the chance to go to my friend's studio, I get loads of stuff done but it's still pretty unstructured. I think I'm going to have to start using some of the ideas here!!
Vdub · 11/10/2014
My workouts aren't really structured so sometimes I spend a lot of time trying to think of what to practice. I've tried to change that lately by incorporating some of Veena's conditioning workouts so at least I know that part gets done. I like the idea of a goals sheet and having a more structured workout plan. This thread has some great tips. Thanks!
Vdub · 11/10/2014
Structured workouts will be key once it gets cold. I live in Chicago and I don't have a car so I'm planning to practice at home in the winter as opposed to braving the snow!
msusagi · 11/10/2014
I am also curious whether any of us try to have a good variety of workouts. I try sometimes to stay away from the pole or keep it to just two or three times a week. Similarly with stretching or strength training to keep them to at most 3 times per week, and have at least 3 rest days per week. It's just that I find my muscles, tendons and ligaments need the rest and recovery time.
Phoenix Hunter · 11/10/2014
i usually take two rest days each week, sometimes 3 if I just feel really tired
I polekat I · 11/11/2014
I combine my pole with lunchtime workouts - i am lucky to have a great gym right by my work so during the day i will do 40min classes like pump (with weights), core for abs, yoga, insanity, x-cube circuits - i find these classes really efficient for me, i am rubbish working out alone ha i have no focus or motivation! =P (plus i have a really long commute so i find working out at lunchtime really maximises my free time as i dont have much time in teh mornings or after work) then in the evenings i have a weekly pole class thurs, alternating stretch class/studio pole jam on tues (i also want to start a gymnastics/parkour class!! if i can find the time to fit it in haha.. ) then try pole at home one or two other days in the evenings or on the weekend - so i end up doing some kind of workout most days, but its very varied...and i discovered my gyms sauna last week so that is going to be my new friday treat! aaaaand ive joined a splitting challenge on fb so am stretching most days now too. PHEW! =P my pole practice is always very haphazard haha, if i am pushed for time at home i will just freestyle and see where that takes me, i tend to work more on movement and flow at home on my own, but then floorwork (on the nice slidey wooden floor hehe) and tricks in class or when i home pole with my mates. Dont know why its so hard to practice tricks home alone haha!!!! xox
I polekat I · 11/11/2014
its tough for me to find the balance with working out/rest days.. i am really all or nothing!! i go hell for leather for a few weeks smashing the workouts and feeling great, then i feel like its too much and i am too fucked so i need some time off the gym, then feel shit cos im not working out and can feel my fitness slipping haha so then i dive back in, feel great at first then it takes its toll again haha derrrpppp. groundhog day!!! i either do everything, all at the same time or nothing =P
missym357 · 11/11/2014
My pole workouts tend to start with 10-15 minutes of warming up- dancing, stretching, light spins, warm up strength work. Then I have at least 2-3 moves I try to work on. I do each over and over again until I'm satisfied and will record, review, record again, review again...etc. I will try to combo the move before I'm done with it. Somedays I freestyle, somedays I don't. I try to finish things with strength circuits...pullups, pushups, handstands against the wall, etc. I also lift weights twice a week with a focus on weighted relatively heavy lower body compound exercises- back squats, deadlifts, split squats, goblet squats, glute bridges, single leg deadlifts, cable leg extensions, to name a few. I used to do this three times a week but it got to be too much and I was not recovering properly. I also go to zumba or spin class 2-3 times a week as well. I love zumba- it is pure fun for me. Both of these classes keep my aerobic capacity up and my mental health in a good place (I truly need to get my heartrate way up a few times a week). I take 1-2 rest days per week.

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