working on shouldermount advice

polebunny started this discussion · 8/22/2010

so today i was working on prances to start training for shoulder mount... whenever i kicked w my second leg i felt like i was going to slide down immediately and ended up putting the first foot down really fast....will this improve with practice or is my technique wrong? i was using the grip behind my head with thumbs down, not around the pole, and the pole a little left of my spine, back to the pole like a shoulder mount.... any advice for working on this (even core exercises) would be really helpful! 😳

6 replies

Veena · 8/22/2010
I am personally not a fan of the "prances" for preparing for Shoulder mounts. It doesn't give you a feel for the whole move.....In the lesson I teach this move from the ground first. It reduces the risk of loosing grip and falling....it also gives you a better "feel" for the move as a whole. If your taking the lessons here it is... http://ver3.studioveena.com/lessons/view/2677 Also I teach the shoulder mount (mounting up onto the pole first) not the variation with the legs held out in a V...this comes later. For grip there are a lot of options out there....I like the cup grip both hands above and behind the head, thumbs on the same side as fingers. I also like what I call the Veena grip. Same idea for the lower hand, but the upper hand...(the hand of the shoulder that isn't resting on the pole)...that upper arm is extended almost fully and the fingers are on the opposite side of the pole. I use this grip all the time in my vids. Place a pillow or mat under you.... Sit on the floor....The farther you are from the pole the easier it will be....so you really want to be leaning, not sitting straight up! With the pole in close on the curve of the neck, pull yourself into the pole using your arms, there will be a lot of pressure, so it important to have the pole in the right spot or it will hurt even more. 😢 With one leg, lift the torso by press up and way from the floor The other leg is your "lead" leg and it will point straight up and towards the pole hooking behind the pole at the back of the heel. If your ready then bring the other leg up.....if not... continue working on lifting (NOT KICKING) that lead leg up to the pole using your abs Its harder to do it from the floor because you CAN'T use momentum, but it will be safer and it will help you understand the mechanics of the move. The lesson explains it all much better, but I hope that made some sense...... 🌸 I'm sure others will add some great tips as well.
polebunny · 8/23/2010
thanks veena! that is some great advice! i will try that in my practice tomorrow, i did not like the prances either lol 😳
Danielle Tillie · 8/25/2010
I can attest to Veena's method, I used it myself, and after getting it several times on the floor I wanted to try it standing up. Although I missed many times before finally getting it (probably was a courage thing!), I did eventually get it! 😀
Audball · 8/26/2010
To be honest, I sort of got the shoulder mount 'by accident', as in I was just trying it for fun and it worked. However, I had a private pole class a couple of months ago, and the instructor was teaching me to get my core trained up so I don't need to 'jump' into it, which is exactly what Veena's lesson has. Yes it's harder from the floor, but the hardest way, in this case, is the best way! In terms of SM in general, I found the shoulder V easier, well I could just do it before I could mount. The key with mounting, I feel, is keeping your body curved, and then pushing your upper body away from the pole as soon as your legs are holding you on the pole - to avoid collarbone-pole contact. Ouch. Actually if there's another way to do this I'd love to know! And regarding sliding down the pole - make sure your shoulder is bare as much as possible, start doing it with just a sports bra on and no tshirt and squeeeeze your shoulder into the pole. It hurts 🙂
Poleluver · 8/26/2010
I have tried the prancing and standing for SM before and I kinda got a good feel for where it should be in the shoulder with a little control but really today I messed with the floor just to experiment with this move. Still can't do it but it felt safer.
polebunny · 8/26/2010
jennasmom i totally agree! ive been trying the floor thing the last two practices then later on in the practice ill try a few from standing, crunching my legs up as high as i can while at the same time, kicking as little as i can, but i do step into it. not really a kick tho lol. kinda hard to press the one leg into the floor while lifting w the other! but i think its really working 😳 thank you veena!