What will help improve my upper body strength

islandeyes started this discussion · 4/12/2009

my arms arent QUITE stong enough for me to invert and do Vs like i would like, although i might be a little too ambitious seeing as i just started yesterday. i use to do ballet and gymanstics and feel like its all coming back to me now that i am pole dancing. what are some pole exersizes i can do to improve my upper body strength. the spins i have been practicing are making me soar but i want to step it up a bit. thanks

7 replies

Foxy_Rei · 4/12/2009
I think Veena has some lessons on building upper body strength, but I'm broke and can't get the lessons so I'm not 100% sure.... The spins actually do help quite a bit with building strength, so keep up on those. Also try doing things like pulling yourself up into a pole sit from dead weight - don't jump or climb into it. I also pull myself up and bring my legs up into the V position at the same time so I get the abs and thighs going, too. With inverts, your grip is a better friend you to than strength for now. It's one thing to pull yourself up into an invert, but another when you can't hold on! The spins will help with grip, too. When I started, when I did a spin my ears were nearly touching my arms because I couldn't hold my body up nicely, although the form for my spins wasn't bad. Now I can spin much more confidently. That's all I can think of... I'm sure some of the more veteran girls will be able to give you better pointers. Just keep at it! P.S. make sure you switch up which side of the body you're working on, too. Do spins from both left and right and inverts left and right. I can spin both directions but am regretting not working on inverting lefty... it's important to make both sides strong!
islandeyes · 4/12/2009
Thanks thats a great PS. tip. Weirdly i write with my write hands but it surf goofie (lefty) and left is my dominate side on the pole. i hate working with my right arm because it is weaker. i did some right spins yesterday and my arm feels like its gunna pop out of its socket
RoxyPink · 4/12/2009
spins, climbing and pole-ups will drastically help with upper body strength! 😀
islandeyes · 4/12/2009
ugh sorry about the bad grammer in the earlier post (my write hands...wtf?) i'll blame it on being early and hungover. thanks for all the advice. im about to go work on spins right now 🙂
Former member · 4/12/2009
check out veena's lessons too, she does a lot of strength training vids for what you're looking for 🙂
azzwoo · 4/13/2009
When strengthening your shoulders you want to strengthen your rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus etc) as well as the larger muscles you use for lifting (i.e. deltoid, biceps etc). When doing spins on a pole the torsion works your rotator cuff muscles to stabilise your whole shoulder girdle so these are important to strengthen too. You can find various R-C exercises if you type it into google, however to relate them to poleing, practicing various spins is also good for strengthening them. Its very easy to get fixed on strengthening the larger muscle groups as these are easier to achieve, however it is the smaller groups that will give you more control over a movement. Also don't forget to strengthen your upper traps, as these help support the top of your back, shoulder and neck. Make sure when you do any strengthening (i.e.lifing yourself) exercise on your pole, that you control it on the way up and the way down, most injuries in sport occur on this 'down' phase where people lose control. Hope this makes sense!
Veena · 4/13/2009
Yes I do have strength exercises you can do in the lessons. Two good ones that work a lot of the major muscle groups are the pole up, and a push up. Shoulders are important to strengthen so he is a video I did a while back that will help with that. https://www.studioveena.com/video/gallery/medium-2009-02-23