GatorGirl4Life
Forum Replies Created
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Hi everyone,
I’m with Brass Ovaries Pole dancing and I’m NASM (National Association of Sports Medicine) certified and getting a Pole Position Fitness certification in February. My NASM cert is about to expire and I’m not sure if I should get ISSA certification as planned (a very well respected personal training exam) or ACE. ACE seems to be preferred by pole instructors, can I ask why? Is it because they have a group exercise focus?
Julie
AFAA also has Group Fitness Instructor Certification (what I earned my cert. with), but ACE is probably heard of more than AFAA. Both are equally good IMO. I have heard tho that the ACE Personal Trainer stuff is harder than the AFAA Personal Trainer stuff, but I have no experience with either course, so I can not give a fair opinion on that. Essentially you should be learning the same info from both programs, so I guess it depends on the price of the course and what the Pole Fitness Certification you are going to take prefers. Good luck.
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No matter how you break it down, it still amazes me the people who expect to not only get a short cut to certification but to pay a fraction of what I did to get there and cant understand why I won’t do it cheaply! I dont expect each person to pay what I did to share my experience and knowledge with them but I won’t insult myself by offering it for a couple of hundred dollars.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
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Thanks girls, great explanations. I got the grip but how high and low should I grip to be able to start practicing a gentle lift into the TG handspring lift https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_question.gif How far down should I bend my body https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_question.gif Any tips into lifting up https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_question.gif Thanks,again https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_razz.gif
I have been watching a lot of people doing this lift, and it seems that we all do it a little different. I know for me, I need my top hand high, but not overly extended, and my bottom hand just below my waist height. I start standing to the side of the pole, lift my outside leg, then push with my bottom arm and pull with my top arm. Once my feet are off the ground, I turn my hips upwards and tuck my legs into my chest and I pull my body up the pole. This is what works for me. As far as tips for lifting up, a good way to get strength is to reverse train. This is done by slowly lowering your body down from the handspring. Instead of just falling down from the move, engage your abs and upper body muscles and try to SLOWLY lower your body down to the ground. This is hard at first, but after a few weeks of training (and allowing some days rest in between) you should start to see a difference in your strength. I also did a lot of other conditioning to get my strength up to do it – lots of climbing, push ups, pole-ups and ab exercises. Remember, if you start to feel pain in your shoulders, arms, or wrists you need to stop immediately and allow your body to rest. Injury prevention, people! Good luck.
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That depends on what you are getting for $3000.
How many hours of instruction will make a significant difference. So will the range of content…is it just a beginner level certification – does it include intermediate…advanced?
Is it TRAINING to pole dance in addition to how to teach – two different things.
Is the certfication endorsed by any organizations or groups? That requires a lot of work on the part of the certifying school to become qualified…and money as well as ongoing expenses.
What is the reputation of the program/school you are taking it from.
Keep in mind…some schools/instructors have spent years learning and developing programs and techniques. This isn’t just about how to spin around a pole but how to do it safely and how to teach it. You have to pay for the years of hard work they have put into it and are now willing to share with you.
This is what people don’t understand. The studio I am with right now is trying to implement an instructor cert. course and were baffled when I told them how much I wanted to get paid and how much they should charge students. I had to break down all the years I have spent studying pole dance, studying the AFAA group fitness instructor cert., and all the money I spent getting the certification, attending classes and workshops. They wanted to charge just a couple hundred dollars, and to me that didn’t seem to be enough. I know these are tough times, but I am afraid that if they make the price too low, then anyone will want to do it, and not weed out those who are the most serious and dedicated. It can take years for someone to fully understand the CORRECT techniques, stretching, and execution of the moves and even longer for them to learn how to teach someone else properly. I know everyone is different, but it always made me nervous when I would see pole dance instructor cert. programs that were only held for a weekend or a couple days. IMO there’s no way someone with less than a year of pole dance experience can take such a short course and come out as a stellar instructor. Maybe I’m being a little harsh, but I have seen a few instructors who *think* they are doing moves correctly and end up having injured students because they weren’t educated on the safety aspects or how to go in and out of the moves the right way (and also emergency exit options). I just hate hearing about students getting hurt bc their instructor did not show them the right muscles to use and safe ways to get in and out of tricks….. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif
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When I was first starting out, I had very little grip strength, so I was having a hard time not sliding down the pole. Also I realized later that I was holding my breath as I performed tricks, which in turn causes the muscles to tense up and my hands to sweat. Once you build your grip strength up, you won’t be sliding as much. The weather and humidity has a lot to do with the stickiness of the pole. Since it’s been so cold here, my students have been having a hard time at first, but once the poles themselves get warmer, they are finding it easier to grip. Remember not to apply any oils or lotions on your hands or body before you pole, as this can also contribute to slipping. Whenever I am learning a new move, I find myself using more grip aid and wiping the pole down more. After I feel more comfortable with the trick, I see that I am not sweating as much and I am able to stay on the pole longer. Just keep at it and your strength will build up more.
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One thing I have my students do to try and build strength is to start with the chair spin (on spinny mode), then reverse mid way and start going backwards, then perform the back swing out (swinging your body around the other side of the pole so that you go forwards). This combination can keep going on forever as long as you can hold on. Start going forward, twist your hips mid spin so you then go backwards, then swing your body around the other side so you go forwards again, and repeat! Your hand position does not change, but since your legs are not on the pole at all, it is all abs and upper body. I find that most intermediate level students can complete the entire combination about two or three times before their arms give out. It’s a fun strength building combo that can only be done on spinny mode. Also helps build grip strength!
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Ok found what you guys say about dancing on carpet. I’m just starting so will be dancing in my bare feet for a while anyway. And we have carpet. Veena’s suggestion about tape on the feet is along the lines of what i was thinking, but would ballet pumps be a more practical (and attractive!) solution? I havent used these in years (you know the flat pink ones with the elastic across them?), I think they would be slippy, and therefore suitable for poling on carpet? Would these be good for poling in, or would they prevent pole-foot contact??
What do you think?
My ballet slippers always had suede on the bottom, so I don’t think they would be very slippy on carpet. When I dance without shoes on my carpet, I just wear socks and I slide all over the place! I had a friend of mine who tried the plywood piece under the pole. It worked great for a while, but then after some time playing on the pole and tightening it when necessary, the plywood started to bow a bit in the middle from the pole. The edges of the plywood started coming up off the floor and were no longer flat on the carpet. I don’t know if she did something wrong or the plywood piece just wasn’t big enough, but she eventually removed the piece of wood and went back to just carpet. I told her about the packing tape on the shoes and now she doesn’t have any problems!
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youtube.com/alliegatoruf
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ooo nice, I’m glad you had such a great experience last year! She always seems…well exactly as you described…whenever i see her in a video or interview. the workshops you’re taking on saturday are at B&P too? or are they the ones through USPDF?
All of the workshops I’m taking are at Body and Pole. Money has been a little tight this year, so I went with the place that was less expensive. They also have less poles, so less people per class = more attention paid per student. I originally tried to register with the USPDF site, but for some reason I wasn’t allowed in the site to sign up, even though I am a USPDF member. I emailed Wendy about the problem, but she took a few days to respond, so I ended up going with Body and Pole….
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Sandy – I’ll be in that workshop with you! I signed up for Jenyne and Alethea on Saturday and Leigh Ann on Sunday @ Body and Pole. I took Jenyne’s workshop last March at NYPD and she was awesome!! She came in and laid out all of these professional photos of her doing things on the pole and told us if we saw anything we wanted to learn, to ask. She also came around and asked what we were working on, and what we needed help with. She is soooo sweet and humble and patient!! She wants to see you succeed. No one should be intimidated by her because she is SO NICE!! Unless the skill level is specified, I wouldn’t worry about it because Jenyne will work with people at all levels. Anyway, looking forward to meeting some of you in March!
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Welcome!! I teach at a studio in Florida called Vixen Fitness. It’s just 5 minutes north of Orlando, so if you are ever in the area come check us out!!
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I received my tickets from Symphony Space earlier last week!! I booked workshops at Body and Pole (Jenyne -Saturday, Alethea – Saturday and Leigh Ann – Sunday) and can’t wait to see Lian’s new studio!! Still haven’t booked my flight yet, but that’s next!! Anyone else taking the Body and Pole Workshops?
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Wow! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_eek.gif I never would have thought to do that to one of those poles. Very innovative, just please be careful! xo
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Final amateur list has been posted on USPDF site.http://uspoledance.com/pole_dance_competition/2010_amateurdivision_USPoleDanceCompetition.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
We were missing Kyra Johannsen.Interesting that they pick her. After the east coast comp, I could’ve sworn she said she wasn’t going to compete again because she didn’t like the 45mm poles. A few weeks later, I learned that she is a part of NYPD’s Climb and Spin program, so I guess she changed her mind and asked Wendy and Anna if she could compete again….very interesting. I guess they wanted to give her a second chance at performing since she fell twice in her routines on stage. I hope she does better next time!
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Congrats, girl!! You did so well!! Loved the video footage! Thanks for sharing!
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Yes, I finally got a rejection email saying the same thing – runner up until people are confirmed. The email did say, "We’re planning to host more than one national competition in 2010, and
hopefully by our third year in the works (2011) we’ll be able to offer
various categories and more spots in the amateur division. We do
encourage you submit next time as we witness several of the
re-submission videos show great improvement."I’ll see you all in the audience at the pro division!
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You can do it girl!!! Anything you put your mind to….
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I love Leigh Ann and her YouTube videos, but it all depends on what you are looking for in a DVD. Here is the other thread discussion about her videos:
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Well, what about Lisa from BeSpun?! I thought for sure she’d make it!
I spoke with her this morning. still hasnt heard either…..very upset bc at the west coast after party she was told by the USPDF people that they wanted her to enter again in the next one and would be sad if she didnt….she’s confused now as to why they said that….
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Hmmmm. So, the last person has already been selected, they’re just keeping the goods to themselves? Or did the emails really come in … so not-at-the-same-damned-time.
and is amy guion be spun amy?
Yes, that is Amy from BeSpun. They must have picked all 6 yesterday and we just don’t know the 6th person….would’ve liked to receive a rejection email tho….
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I heard Cat Genarro made Amateur. Still no email over here. Wondering who the last person is….
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Looks like they are picking all new people for this competition. I still haven’t received an email either way, but at this point it’s not looking too good for me. Congrats to all of those who made it
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I’ll be going up there as well – even if I don’t get picked for the Amateur division (still no email yes or no yet…) I bought my ticket for the pro show, so I’ll be cheering everyone on!!
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I’ve been texting Lisa all morning, but she’s been in class so I haven’t been able to reach her. I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t make it though – she blew a lot of people away at USPDF West!
Yeah i saw her Cali pole dance routine and was blown away. Now I want to try and get the RG to TG lift…lol I hope she makes it!!! Still no email over here….
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I haven’t received anything either, although I know one "Amateur" who has already received her email saying she didn’t make the cut.
It wasn’t Lisa Wilhoit was it?
