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Hey. I don’t know if this is similar to what you are feeling. I was getting a dull ache on the outside of my elbow, especially when it was extended and had pressure on it. I think mine was from doing split grip moves, but it would also hurt doing small things like resisted shoulder stretches behind me. I had also had some previous problems with forearm tendon pain and side of wrist pain, and a doctor I finally saw about the latter told me the wrist problem was a weak ligament and the solution to all of those issues was to strengthen my wrist and forearm muscles. I’m now doing regular strengthening exercises, using tools like hand squeezers, a small weight to do wrist curls, and a gyroscope, which is supposed to strengthen all those muscles up to the elbow. In my case, it’s definitely working. If your pain doesn’t feel muscular but like a dull ache in the ligaments or tendons, strengthening the muscles that hold them in place may help. Veena has some wrist and forearm strengthening videos in the conditioning section.

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Thanks DizzyKitty and BabyDragon! Once I knew this injury was serious-ish and not going to go away on its own, I gave in, put my arm in a sling, told my boss I couldn’t do my main job for a week or two (gulp!), and started physical therapy. Weirdly, as soon as I did, I started to feel really optimistic, picturing how in a few weeks or a month i’d be feeling great and back doing what I love.

DizzyKitty, I worry about the same thing, that everyone I know is sick of hearing about it. I feel like I’ve become a pole evangelist. I don’t tell everyone I know, but when I do, I’m so enthusiastic that a lot of them want to try it. And then they introduce me to other friends with “she does pole.” Still not sure how I feel about that, but I can’t help being so enthusiastic. I’m obsessed and (where people aren’t throwing around dumb stereotypes) proud of it. 🙂

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It hasn’t ended for me either! I’ve been poling a year and two months and I’m still completely addicted and thinking about it constantly. Case in point, I’ve currently been injured for a month with at least a few more weeks to go before I can pole again, and yet I still find myself checking in here daily to read posts and watch videos, I do tend to completely throw myself into new things that I love, but pole does seem to be particularly sticky, for the reasons babydragon mentioned. It’s so rewarding to see how consistent practice pays off and to see yourself constantly learning to do things you never thought you’d be able to. My only worry is how much time I’ll lose to injuries from overdoing it! Enjoy!

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At my studio, they taught us TG handspring into Ayesha without teaching Ayesha first, so I guess that would mean I learned TG Ayesha at around 6 months. I learned caterpillar climb and elbow grip Ayesha at around 8 or 9 months. I had been poling almost a year when I taught myself split grip handspring and Ayesha, but they are both still weak and unreliable on my left side. I don’t have a cup grip Ayesha yet, but it’s on my list. There are girls at my school who have been poling much longer and only have their TG Ayesha if that. But, they can do Yogini and rocket man and pretty flow, which I can’t. Everyone really does progress differently and find certain moves easier than others. One day it will click, and when it does, you’ll feel amazing!

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Three weeks ago, a straight leg handspring directly into pencil. I was so excited to get it (a little messily) on the first try. But then when we switched to my weak side, I widened my grip last minute, went up too fast to be in time with the music, and had my bottom hand slip. I landed on my feet, but twisted a back muscle on the way down. Haven’t been able to pole since. I look forward to trying it again whenever these injuries (now I sprained my AC joint too!) heal up.

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Thanks for this discussion. I was confused about whether these were two different moves, both legit variations of one move, or if one was “wrong.” My school is usually asking for the short one, so I get corrected when I instinctively extend into a long version because it hurts less. As some others have said, I find the short version the most painful move I do. In learning other moves, the pain quickly fades and I stop noticing it at all. But Scorpio still hurts like a mother%#|!

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Hey guys, thanks so much for sharing what you know about this type of injury. It’s good to know how serious even the mildest form of AC strain can be, since it doesn’t hurt all the time and didn’t seem that bad. I also appreciate the info about lack of blood flow making healing a challenge. You’ve convinced me, and I’ll try to see a doctor tomorrow. I really hope it doesn’t require immobilization, since I won’t be able to work. But, it’s true that because I have to carry heavy equipment on the job, I do keep accidentally irritating my shoulder injury, and before that my back strain (I did go see the doc for that after a week, and now, two weeks later, it feels healed). I want to recover as quickly as possible, so I’ll make an appointment ASAP to confirm diagnosis and see what steps I need to heal. Maybe with luck it could be some more minor form of injury that affects the same area. Thanks!

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Hi Raven, I don’t know if it will help, but I can relate when it comes to certain moves. For me, the problem was anything involving a back arch. Even the slightest arch would just feel so intense to me, I would completely stop breathing. Working on my back flexibility in stretching classes helped a lot, especially being forced to hold stretches and learn to breathe into them. After working on it, I can now relax more and breathe (except in Janeiro, though! Maybe someday?). If your problem is one of being too tense and too unaware of what your body is doing, you could try getting into a static, somewhat strenuous position and just holding the move while taking a few controlled breaths. Depending on what you are working on, it could be holding yourself in a pole pullup, a layback, a back bend, a jasmine, etc. When you are working on moving between positions, it’s easy to forget to breathe, so making yourself hold one static position for three deep breaths could help you to relax and learn to breathe in to the position, making it steadily more comfortable. Good luck.

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So they haven’t gotten back to me yet with answers to my questions, but unless something changes, I won’t be participating. Really, it seems like what this comes down to is that they are selling packages of eight or ten private lessons with a show at the end. But, if that’s the case, they really should have marketed it that way and not as a school-wide show with exorbitant prices for participation.

As for the details, they will need to rent a space, but they shouldn’t need poles or any other equipment. They already organize shows for other people and have all the sound and light gear and portable x-poles. I went to a Christmas student show they managed for another pole school and that is what I was expecting: low key and fun, with student and teacher performers, and only about 30 spectators who were all friends and family.

It’s a pity they aren’t doing the same at our studio, because I do believe those of you who said performing is empowering. As a shy person, I think it would really have been a good step for me. I love pole so much and am proud of the skills I’ve developed, so it’s the first thing I would have risked putting myself out there to perform publicly(cellulite and all!). I guess I’ll have to wait for a better opportunity. Cheers.

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Thanks everyone for the feedback, good to know I’m not crazy. This just doesn’t seem to make sense at all. I really like the people who own my studio, and their classes are some of the cheapest around if you buy the annual packet, so I keep thinking I must be missing something. I don’t think they would just be trying to scan us. But surely the venue rental doesn’t cost more than a couple hundred dollars.

I’ll wait and see what they respond on the private lessons, and on my question of whether I could pay for those with multiple class credits instead of cash. I’m still baffled that my Mexican classmates are fine with paying this!

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Thanks for your input. Yes, they must be renting another venue because our studio is very small. And if they insist every participant bring ten guests, it’s going to need to be a giant space. The instructors will just be our regular class instructors.

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Sounds like something worth trying. If it’s a lack of potassium, could you eat the banana beforehand? Being well hydrated is probably good too.

This doesn’t happen to you on any other moves, just Scorpio?

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Whoops, don’t mind the weird autocorrect.

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Hey. Could you be squiezing your toes and feet really tightly when you are pointing them. I haven’t had this problem in pole, but I did when I first started surfing. I just had to learn to relax them more, and no more cramping. Thinking about pole, I think I point my toes by squeezing my legs and straightening my feet, but not squiezing them, if that makes sense. But I’ve only been poling for a year, so I’m no expert and my legs and feet could still be a lot prettier.

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I wish I could do the splits! Regardless of age, you have a leg up on those of us who are super unflexy. Have fun getting started!

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Ooh, I’m also going to try dividing them up by type of move (strength, leg hangs, floorwork, etc.), so I can remind myself not to do too many of the same type in a row and overwork those muscles. That will also give me ideas at hand if I want to switch to a different type. Eg. enough handsprings already, but remember you wanted to work on yogini… (God, I am a spreadsheet dork.)

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A spreadsheet for pole moves, fun. I’m playing around with it. One thing I’ve added is separate columns for right side and left side, so I can track what still needs work on the weaker side.

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Hi Serzi. That’s really a shame that you keep running into such people. Who are you thinking of at the moment? Are they people at your pole studio? If so, it might be time to look for another one. The incredibly supportive, non-judgemental environment I have found at most pole classes I’ve been to is one of the things I love about this sport. You shouldn’t have to settle for an environment in which people are rooting for others to fail.

Like you, it always amazes me that there are adult women still behaving like high school mean girls. But sometimes you do run across such people. As Strawberry said, their behavior is about their own insecurity and they aren’t worth your time or emotional investment. Maybe try trusting your intuition more when you first meet people? If something doesn’t feel quite right but you can’t put your finger on, there could well be something your subconscious picked up on. Maybe all their words are right, but there is something about their body language or their tone that doesn’t quite match. If people don’t reflect back the sincerity you put out, I’d be wary about investing your emotions into a relationship with them. Good luck.

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Thanks lilbit. I’ll think about what I could offer as a suggestion. My instructors are great and clearly put a lot of work into preparing their warm ups as well as the class. I certainly wouldn’t want to offend them. I think it’s just a question of the latest research on stretching not having reached every corner of the Mexican fitness community yet.

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I don’t think any of the regular lessons are free. The quick lessons might be. Why don’t you try the three day free trial and have a look around?

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Hey Quancutie. I would be disturbed to see anyone being taught chopper on the second day too! When I first started pole, I had teachers who got me inverting the first day and then doing one handed ballerina spins on static over and over again at three weeks in. That day of spins shredded my shoulder, and weeks of improperly done inverts gave me excruciating back pain. I ended up having to take almost two months off in the first few months I was poling.
Where I go now they are more conscientious, but there are still times when they encourage unprepared students to work on moves that are way beyond their current skill level. When I see another student trying one of these moves that just looks unsafe for them, I do discretely give them some tips on intermediate or strengthening moves to help work up to that or on positioning to prevent injury, such as holding their shoulder blades back and down, etc. I also mention how it took me way longer to get that or how that’s really an intermediate or advanced level move so they don’t feel like it’s something they are expected to be able to get immediately.
The friendly and supportive dynamic at my school makes it possible for those of us more advanced students to cheer on and give advice to newer students in a way that is appreciated. I don’t know if that is true of the place you are at. If you are going to classes with the same students regularly and they know you are at a much higher skill level, then they may respect and appreciate some gentle advice from you. If you aren’t that advanced at pole, then maybe mention your fitness experience and all the research you’ve done online and just present things as suggestions they might want to try. Either way, I would say gauge if the student seems open to it and talk to them directly. Confronting the instructor openly is probably going to make them defensive and create an ugly dynamic.
At my school I’m still stressed about how bad the warm ups are – mostly too-cold stretching, and done with lots of bouncing. I’ve never known how to address it with the instructors. So if anyone has any suggestions for that, fire away!

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I used to use a Polar and it was good (except for surfing – it would lose it’s read whenever I got hit by a wave). I’ve never tried it for pole, but for high intensity cardio it was useful to know how hard I was working.

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Hi Georgia, I listen to a nutritionist podcast called Dishing Up Nutrition. They talk about cravings, including sugar, as a result of vitamin or mineral deficiencies or blood sugar imbalances. For sugar cravings, they point to possible zinc deficiency or to uneven blood sugar caused by eating lots of refined carbs. Maybe their info could give you some ideas to try.

Glancing through the podcast archive, the third episode down on this list, from July of last year, is specifically devoted to sugar cravings:
http://www.weightandwellness.com/index.php/radio-show/search-for-previous-radio-shows/filter_topic/?topic=Addiction%252FCravings

I have a wicked sweet tooth as well. I’ve (mostly!) replaced sweet snacks with nuts, like cashews, pistachios, or almonds. They are full of healthy fats that keep you satiated and don’t spike your blood sugar. Good luck!

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And ditto what K bang just said in her post about meds. I could have written the same thing nearly word for word.

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Hi Runemist. I don’t think any of us are advocating indefinite medication as an optimal solution, or as one that should be common. I agree with you that major depression is not a permanent problem. But the underlying issues that make a person vulnerable to it can be. Most people may only need temporary medication, and that’s to be encouraged. As you say, the longterm effects of these drugs are not well understood at this point. But, for people who have repeated episodes of major depression over their lifetime and have had to be on the medication repeatedly, doctors advise them to stay on them indefinitely, rather than playing with your brain chemistry by going off and and on them multiple times. For some people there is a very real risk of suicide, not to mention the years you can waste half-living while trying to prove you can function without any medication. We don’t shame people with physical conditions, such as thyroid disease, when they need to take medication indefinitely, nor for that matter do we shame the schizophrenic for continuing their treatment when they stop having delusions. It’s something that each person will have to judge for themselves, and there are online sites where you can find the experiences, both good and bad, of thousands of people who have been on different anti-depressants (at their doctor’s recommendation) for 10, 20, 30, or more years. I suspect most of them would love to go off the medication if they felt they could. Yes, let’s not encourage people to medicate longterm, but likewise, let’s not shame them in advance if they do turn out to be among the minority who really need it.