[LillyBilly]

@CapFeb – my point exactly. I've been working on my Ayesha for months and I can't do it for the life of me. What did I get from all my pullups?

[LillyBilly]

I do pullups – I don't know how many exatly. It depends of the hold – different holds work different muscles. When my palm is facing me ("women's hold"), I can do ~4 one-handed pull ups on my good side. At my best, I used to do 20 poleups on every hand (right hand higher and then the left), but I haven't done that in several months so I probably can't do it any more. I can also climb using my arms only on static as well as spinning pole. 

All the intermediate-advanced girls in my studio do pull ups as well.

I believe that doing pullups will help certain pole tricks, but not all of them, and that doing other strength excercises is a must for most strength-based tricks. There are also so many other things one must work on to be good at pole – flexibility, technique, core strength, balance and control, that I find that my improvement with this pull ups alone hardly affects my overall performance.

I definitely don't think that one's ability to do pullups is the sole indicator of fitness/strength or anything else for that matter.

Everyone's anatomy is different – women tend to have weaker upper-body in relation to their overall strength than men, and strength in different area varies among women as well. I have strong upper body, but my calves are really weak. Other people will have strong legs, but weak arms etc.

In addition to that – it is silly to assume that if you practice in a certain way, your performance will improve in every concievable aspect. If I run, I will be a good runner – not a good weightlifter. If I do abs curls I will have strong abs, not strong legs. To be good at pullups – you need to practice doing pullups.

Strength doesn't "leak" from one part of your body to another.

[LillyBilly]

But Veena, you ARE famous 🙂

[LillyBilly]

LOL, this discussion reminded me of this meme:

http://www.tattrpufffitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Strength_Training.png

http://ahdalin.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/what-actually-happens.jpg

Anyway – As monary said – I too have never seen a woman in real life that I thought was unattractively muscular. I build muscles fast, and I love it. My boyfriend loves it. I get compliments all the time. When I look at my teachers at the studio, I admire their bodies. 

Personally, I think that my body looks and feels best when I do whatever makes me happy, and let it reflect my lifestyle choices and passions.

[LillyBilly]

What an interesting question!

I don't have this problem most of the time because my theacher's sexy-flowy style sits well with me most of the time, but I can identify with you – I definitely feel the need to do something different and more 'edgy' sometimes, and I think that he will have a hard time helping me with that.

However, in the show we had about a month ago, one of the guys in the studio danced and really made the dance "his", which means that it is possible:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SXBJqQuwNG8

(sorry for the bad quality. relevant part starts at 2:30)

I've been thinking about choreographing songs in my own style as well, and this is what I came up with:

– Go to dance classes (non-pole) with teachers whose style fits you. In pole classes, try to apply what you've learned to pole.

– Research – find choreographies you like, and keep them with notes – what moves did you like? what moments in the choreography? why did you like them? I have a huge youtube list with comments like "attitude at 1:03" and "cool jump at 2:30" and such.
When I work at home, I use it for inspiration.

– During private lessons, maybe you can go over your list with your teacher? She may be able to help you learn some of the moves, or have a better understansding of what you want so she can adjust her style for you.

– Keep a little notebook with you all the time. Does it ever happen to you that you listen to a song and suddnly know exactly what felling/moves would match a certain moment perfectly, and you can envision it clearly in your head? 
When this happens, write down what you thought and draw little stick figures as needed, so that you don't forget.

I have a special format for this: I divide my notebook into two vertical columns. In the middle of the column, I paint a "beat line" (it helps if this is a math notebook): Lets say that in your song, every bar has 4 beats, and every musical sentence is 2 bars long. You draw evenly spaced horizontal lines in the middle of your column. Make every 4th line a bit longer, and every 8th line even longer than that. Then, use one side to paint little stick figures of what you want to do, and the other side for music/lyrics notes.

I'm not sure if my explanation makes sense, so I made a small example:
https://www.studioveena.com/photos/view_photo/5082767b-bad0-4069-8402-5db90ac37250

This way I can remember moves, rythm, and why I thought they fit a certain part of the song. This idea is also very good if you want to remember a choreography you learned in class, btw. My teacher almost cried of happiness the first time he saw me do that https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

And most importantly – experiment and enjoy what you are doing! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

[LillyBilly]

Thank you!

I just ordered two pairs, medium size. I hope they are as good as everyone say, and then I will order many more! 🙂

[LillyBilly]

I love you blog! I've been following it since day 1!

But from some reason, I never manage to leave a comment on any of the posts 🙁

[LillyBilly]

@X Pole Tech – Is there a picture somewhere of the old x-joints vs. the new ones?

[LillyBilly]

Some moves take more time to nail because they require strength/flexibility/balance in areas you are naturally not strong. When it happens to me, I stop working on the move, and focus on preparations for it, and when I try the move again – I always find that I've made some progress.

For extended butterfly and ayesha – you need a strong caterpillar, but you say that you are wobbly when doing this move. Before I was able to nail either of these, I spent several minutes after every lesson just holding a caterpillar position on each side:

https://www.studioveena.com/galleries/view/4f87a110-f2a8-473b-b0db-3d520ac37250

Hold on one side for as long as you can, then switch to the other side, do ~5 on every side. This will strengthen your back/shoulder muscles and help you feel secure. You can also work on different hand positions.

Next things you will need for these moves are balance and core strength. I found it beneficial to practice headstands/elbowstands (with lift, not with momentum) – it helped me really "feel' my balance and learn how to use my core muscles to stabilize myself.

[LillyBilly]

I really feel there's a cultural thing going on here. 

I understand why eva x said what she said – where I come from, people are much more blunt about everything, and are much more likely to criticise than give praise. It's not that we are being mean, it's just a different way to motivate people, that some (me included) think is more powerful.

To be honest, I find the "american" style hard to navigate sometimes as well. To people like me, who are used to being told when something we do simply sucks, that kind of discussion doesn't sound supportive – it sounds dishonest, just as I often come across as mean-spirited when I talk to americans.

So my point is – cultural differences are hard 🙂

[LillyBilly]

Bobbi has a tick tock tutorial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvVKcDQKvw4

[LillyBilly]

I bought the cup for similar reasons.

I found it hard to get used to , and it leaks a bit. I also stopped using it because I am to lazy to sanitise it. Either way, I never trusted it during practices, so I used regular tampons as well.

If you don't like pads, you can get reusable cotton pads, like these:
http://www.amazon.com/Menstrual-Color-Cotton-Pads-Pack/dp/B0001ZZJQ4/ref=pd_sim_ba_1

I use similar product that is soled in Israel, and they are really good.

[LillyBilly]

Butterfly -> cradle -> superman -> superman drop into gemini -> allegra -> whatever (you need a tall pole for that)

Cupid -> invert into butterfly -> extended butterfly -> flatline scorpio

Superman -> cradle -> superman -> superman drop

Superman -> figurehead -> fan kick into pole sit -> CKR -> brass monkey

[LillyBilly]

Well, she used to be a rhythmic gymnast. Now wonder she has ultra-flexible back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYCDBRD184Q

[LillyBilly]

Yeah, sure, I would do it for the experience regardless of my economic situation if I didn't think it will have consequences on my other careers.

 

[LillyBilly]

I use a combination of methods:

I apply tite-grip to my hands an hour or so before practice.
Right before practice – I wash my hands with vinigar. I keep a bottle of cheap synthetic vinigar in my locker at the studio, and I pour some of it on my hands, rub well and dry with a paper towerl. 
After my hands dry from the vinigar, I apply tite grip again
On top I wear mighty grip gloves (the kind that has less tack, because I want to be able to spin).

After that, I don't have to wipe my hands or the poll at all during the entire practice (unless my back or some other extremely sweaty area of my body touches it). 

[LillyBilly]

That was great! 🙂

[LillyBilly]

Pushing your hips forward correctly actually makes knee grips so much more secure!

My tips would be:

1. Try it from the floor first. Stand near the pole, hold it with one leg, try to push your pelvis forward and lean your body away from the pole and release your hands. This is a good way to build muscle memory of how this grip feels on the gripping leg.

2. Watch your alignment (this is the most important tip) – you want the shin (how do you call the part of the leg between the knee and the foot in English? LOL) of your gripping leg to be parallel to the floor. This ensures that your grip is secure. Pushing your pelvis forward helps aligning your leg this way.

3. Squeeze the pole tightly with the knee! you want to push it hard into the knee pit. This is why alignment is so important – if there is an angle between your joint and the pole, don't use the entire width of your knee pit to grip, and your grip is less secure. 
I hope this makes sense – it is hard to explain in words 🙂

4. If you have no grip with the feet of your lower leg, try resting your ankle on the pole instead.

5. I found it really helpful to hold the ankle of the upper leg when I let go for the first time. It is really not healthy for the knee joint, but it secured my grip and forced me to fix my alignment. Maybe if you try it it's a better idea to try from the floor.

[LillyBilly]

Yes, this is the move 🙂

I find it harder to let go and drop than to catch myself…

[LillyBilly]

We do it slightly differently – start from a drama queen:

http://poledancedictionary.com/moves/68/drama-queen/

Hold the pole with the arm that is far away from in for security (but not to tight – you want to drop!), and release your thigh hold. Squeeze your thighs again to stop your fall in mid-air.

[LillyBilly]

I can also search google for workout plans.

She asked for suggestions – if I have to google the moves in order to follow her workouts, I will not follow them.

[LillyBilly]

I third that.

[LillyBilly]

I like high heels because I like the aesthetics of them, but I hate dancting in "stripper heels". They are too big and heavy in my opinion, and they prevent you from doing nice footwork (pointe). I prefer to dance in ballroom heels – they are lighter and have a soft sole, so I can still point my feet.

I like wearing stripper heels when I go out, though 🙂

[LillyBilly]

We call them "Inside leg shrimp" and "Outside leg shrimp".

LOL!

[LillyBilly]

My teacher doesn't allow us to flex our feet when we climb 🙂

The other girls already covered climbing with pointed feet, but one thing I wanted to add is how to make your first climb prettier:

– Make sure that you have upper body strength, keep your shoulders down and your back straight while you climb. 
– Point feet (duh!)
– Bring your other leg frem the back, completely extended, in a large round motion. This will give your movement a lot of volume. Only when your leg is pointed forward and your knees are together, bend the other leg.